September 13, 2021

 From Benjamin - Your Killing Me Smalls

Another transfer begins! 

Now, we are a trio. Elder Geisbrecht and Peterson have moved into Trenton, and I remain the guy that kind of knows what's happening here, but not really. We're basically just three nerds as we all wear glasses and look like geeks. (It's going to be a good transfer)

Elder Geisbrecht has this awesome laugh that he  puts to good use often, and Elder Peterson is amazing with voice impressions. Both of them have a great understanding of Gospel doctrine, and we've had some great conversations. I'm going to learn a lot from these guys. 

This week had its moments! 

On the day of Transfers, me and Elder Hamilton had to be at the mission office by 9:00. It was a two hour drive to Brampton from Trenton, meaning we had to be out of the door by 7:00. Quite predictably actually, we played ourselves and left the door by 8:00, an hour off schedule. We were going to get there by 10:00 instead of 9:00. By nature of natural travel complications  we actually got there at 11:00 instead of 10:00, two hours late. Oof. 

We only got minor heat for it at the mission office, and after a bit of groveling, everything was cleared up... :)

We moved Elder Giesbrecht and Peterson into the apartment and quickly realized that we had not solved the dilemma of having three Elders, but only two beds and two closets...

Elder Giesbrecht is now living out of his suitcases and sleeping on the floor with a fold up mattress thing. Bless his soul for the sacrifice he is making.

On our first full day as an official companionship, we went for a walk. We had seen this large Catholic church in the distance and decided to check it out. 

After taking a few pictures with the St. Peter statue, we had the cool opportunity to have a conversation with a Catholic Father who came up to us. 

This guy was the real deal. He had done 7 Years of theology studies, and that included Philosophy and Logic. If we had ever come to a point of contention in the conversation, and chose to contend (which would have driven away the Spirit, the actual power behind anything we say) this guy could've picked us clean, chewed us up, wished us a good day. 

Luckily, we didn't play ourselves to such a degree. The conversation went wonderfully. He shared his experience about how he felt a call from God and how he was hoping to bring people to Jesus Christ... I was like "Wow, this guy just stole our line" 

I learned a lot from Father Michelle. It was a cool experience. 

(Oh man, there's too many stories) 

On another walk we went on, we had made the goal to get out a single Book of Mormon to someone. We saw this wild fishing even happening in the distance and decided it was a good opportunity to go talk to some people and meet our goal. 

When we got there, this 12 year old kid was standing there. He was about 5'4" and by his own admission, "a little chunky" (imagine Ham from the Sandlot and we've got a picture)

The conversation we had was just the best. We introduced ourselves as missionaries and that we were from Alberta. This kid was so confident. He roasted me for my height and for the vocabulary I sometimes employ and was shocked that I was 19. He straight up thought I was a 14 year old... He flexed on us that he also had Girlfriend and started asking us about what a missionary's love life looks like. Oh man, guys, I just could not stop smiling around this kid, it was so awesome. 

In the end, we offered him a Book of Mormon and a pass along card, which he accepted. Then, not 5 minutes later, gave out a Bible as well to a Catholic friend he had that came up on his scooter. 

I'd call it a mad success. I'm not sure they'll read it, but hey, by small and simple things, great things come to pass. Who knows!

A high point of the week was Mission Conference. The whole mission got together (in-person too, which was nice) at the Brampton Stake Center to hear and learn from Elder Kelly R. Johnson, of the Seventy. 

He talked about becoming a Master Teacher, and used Ammon, Aaron and their teaching experiences with the Lamanite Kings as a case study. He discussed the difference between Authority and Power. How we as missionaries have authority to teach as the Lord's representatives because we got set apart to do so. The Power, however,  behind anything we say or do, is contingent upon our obedience, integrity to Gospel principles, love for the people we serve and teach and our own righteous use of agency.

His wife shared her conversion story as well, and explained the importance of understanding how precious even a single soul is. And how the motivation to bring even a single soul to Jesus Christ can provide a driving force that will carry us through many hardships. 

T'was a good conference. 

To sum up the rest, we'll use bullet point form.

• This angel lady unexpectedly bought me a new quad set in the distribution center because I had cash and cash doesn't work there. (Those things ain't cheap either) I tried to dissuade her and she was like "are you trying to deny me my blessings?" What do you say to that? I had to let her help me. 

• I put up ads for free Book of Mormons and Bibles on Facebook marketplace, and wow. The heat is real. Somebody dropped the classic "Book of morons" in the comment section for which I am grateful. I've been waiting for the comment to appear for my entire mission! It's just so classic! I did in fact message the guy, thanking him for his comment and tried inserting a bit of friendly humor to start up a good conversation. Nothing came of it, but we tried. 

Turns out I only had two bullet points 

Love you guys! Have a great and fulfilling week, eh? 

- Elder Smith

1) Getting some good temple pictures with the bros. 

2) Getting pictures St. Peter

3) Yet another temple shot, with some killer clouds in the background.

From Dad - Empathy:

Dear Ben,

As I start to write this letter, I am experiencing feelings of empathy for all my children who I’ve encouraged to perform in public. In a couple of hours I will have the opportunity to play my most often practiced piano piece in a Stake Priesthood meeting. I’m feeling that nervous anxiety of forgetting my place and blanking out. I can hardly sit still and I’m grateful for the opportunity to stretch and do something uncomfortable. 

I’m sure you are having your share of uncomfortable new moments on your mission. All of them can and will help you grow in proportion to how much you choose to let them shape your attitude and outlook. It is always amazing to see how the same trial can work with such different results in different people. I’m equally astonished and grateful for second chances and the power of the atonement to allow me to progress line by line imperfectly. 

As I’m sure is the case in Ontario, the topic of vaccinations is a hot one. I’m inspired by friends who are choosing to follow a prophet's voice even when they are nervous or disagree about the vaccination. 

Yesterday Josh and I went on an adventure to find a car. After a few tries at dealerships, we realized there was no real chance of finding something in his budget so we turned to Facebook marketplace. We found some leads pretty quick and found ourselves in north Edmonton looking at an ugly silver 2007 Chevy Cobalt for $1900. We took it for a drive and it actually seemed to work well. After another stop to look at another similar car, Josh chose the first one and made the deal. I was proud of him for setting up the insurance and making the deal himself. By 4 pm after a trip to the registries, he was a car owner. Like all our vehicles, this one might rely on a few prayers and tithing, but it opens up self reliance and work for him. 

Today after church Abby and I drove to the motor bike track field down the road so she could photograph the old truck there for her class. She needs a photo representing “shame”. 

Here is my picture of her taking pictures. 

Update. I just finished playing the piece.  I’m happy to report that I played it with little mishap and didn’t blank out at all. I had prayed earnestly to the Lord to bless me and that the song would bring glory to him and add to the spirit of the meeting. The Lord answered my prayer. I’m grateful for the growth that comes from doing hard things. And I’m grateful to belong to a church that gives me opportunities to do meaningful things. 

Josh and Sam's big news (and I may be giving a spoiler if you talk to them today) is that they tried out for a production doing "Newsies" and got some fun parts. Josh snagged the Jack Kelly role and Sam apparently gets to change costumes multiple times. I'll let them give the details, but it is fun to see them expanding their horizons. The girls were excited to hear that they would be doing musical theater at the same time!

Amelia is getting used to homeschool again and is almost caught up to her schedule. She and Mom spent some time in the library catching up last week. 

Abby invited her friend Gabby to the dance on Friday which was fun. Mom and I snuck in a movie date (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) while we were waiting. Only a little drama at the dance but mostly pure fun.

Love you son. Have a great week.

Dad.