June 5, 2022
From Ben - Of Cakes and Combinations
Elder Blum and I looked at each other.
Shock and guilt present in both of our eyes.
Bishop Zanoncello keeps on listing numbers.
20
25
50!
80!....
We both sloop a little lower in our chairs.
100!
105!
Finally, Elder Blum leaps out of his chair, determined to stop it before its too late...
This week was a curious one!
Exactly one week ago we had the craziest Monday night ever.
On our last hour walk to close out the night, we stopped this guy on his smoke break.
The conversation was flowing nicely until we asked what he did for work.
"Do you know what Hooka is?" He asked in his Eastern Iranian accent.
"Kinda, but not too much about it" Said I, unawares.
"Come, let me show you!" Said he.
To which then he open the door he was standing nearby, and started walking up this dark, suspicious staircase.
Elder Blum and I were frozen, not sure if to follow and get kidnapped, or to offend our friend.
In the end, both of us followed him up the staircase.
(In hindsight, definitely not the play)
At the top of the steps, we entered a dark empty restaurant like room, with popular music playing in the background.
Our friend Rami introduced it as a new Hooka hangout business, which had been open for two days.
It was definitely not a place conducive to the Spirit.
But we did quickly teach him about the Restoration, offered a prayer with him, both received a hug, a free bottle of water, and a job offer, then left down the dark suspicious staircase into the main-street of Aurora.
The next day we got him an Arabic Book of Mormon.
If we were to do it again, of course we wouldn't walk up the dark suspicious staircase.
The Lord definitely consecrated our bad judgment though.
That's not the end though!
After the Hooka shop incident, we started heading home.
Only a half hour left in the day.
When an old man who appeared to be drunken walked up really close to us.
He was holding a glass filled with some dark sludge that looked like someone had put a cup of dirt in half a cup of water, and mixed them together.
"I've been looking for the two of you" Said he, about a foot and a half from my face.
"You're Jehovah's Witness!"
We explained that we were in fact not Jehovah's witness, but missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
He introduced himself as Sam.
We held up the conversation for a couple minutes and tried to set up a time to come talk to him when he was in a better, more whole mindset with little success.
As we tried to make a tactful exit. We also came to realize that he was probably going to have a hard time getting home on his own.
So, we asked him where he lived, and started steering him that direction.
In our conversation with Sam, the old man from Jerusalem, we listened to his sorrows, his humor, his tears, with our arm in his (as he needed to stay steady and on track) and eventually got him home
After a prayer and trying to help him fix his TV, we walked towards the door.
He kissed my hand before we left
These tender moments really make a difference.
Turns out Sam wasn't drunk, but suffered from Dementia of some kind.
I am learning to see beyond what is immediately in front of me.
To see potential in others. To see something greater in the people around me.
It makes such a difference
I could have done better in seeing it in our friend Sam.
But so the process of growth begins again.
On Wednesday we again got to go to MLC.
Unbelievable.
I got to play the keys again and got a little too enthusiastic in the prelude music.
Sister Ensign came around and gave me some needed chastisement when Onward Christian Soldiers became a bit too much of a jam instead of a hymn.
Leadership is a question the excites me.
I don't fully get it yet.
But it's so cool.
Especially in church leadership, where revelation is a need when magnifying our stewardship.
My dear friend Elder Christensen got called as the AP, so it was great to put my arm around his shoulders and talk with him again.
Elder Hartman with his goofy grin and cheezy laugh came bounding over as well.
Gosh. I really love these missionaries.
By the end my mind was absolutely fried from all the insights.
Saturday was the Young Women's cake auction.
And this is where the drama begins.
The young women put out some BEAUTIFUL cakes.
With incredible skill these young women decorated the gym, created the cakes, organized the event and invited the members.
The money was to be put forward in helping them fund a week long young women's camp.
Sister Keutell, a legendary Sister in the ward came up and asked which cake we wanted her to buy for us.
We initially declined, but after some prodding and refusal to back down from her, we went and explored some options.
And so the mistakes were made.
The first being that we had rigged an auction.
The second being that it was only between us an the Keutells.
Of the 15 cakes on the table, we picked one that appeared modest and not very desirable (in a comparative sense) hoping to make Sister Keutell's wallet happy.
And so the auctioneering began.
Cake after cake sold. Ranging from the quirky and creative to the elegant and the excellent.
When the auctioneering came to our cake, Tres Lechas; the fourteenth cake on the table.
We realized we had made a grave error.
Turns out the cake was a little more desirable on the inside than we first anticipated.
And so the numbers went up.
One family was randomly determined to get the Tres Leches.
But because of our secret combinations, Sister Keutell felt the need to buy the cake as well.
When the price came to 60$, we felt terrible.
When it came to 80$ we felt like dirt.
When it got to 100$, Elder Blum got up and told Sister Keutell that we definitely weren't worth good old Ben Franklin. (Sorry, I don't know the Canadian guy on the bill )
Holy Moly.
That was randomly one of the most stressful moments of the week.
Our dear friend Adhi we got on date to be baptized on July 9th.
He asks great questions, has a sincere heart and a brilliant grin.
I'm grateful to be working with him again.
I finished up another Pride Cycle of mine again.
Woah. I got a very needed humbling.
It's always wild because it sneaks in so quietly.
I barely realize it's got me until I'm randomly miserable and realize what the source is.
So, this cycle has ended again. Thank goodness
Love you all!
1) I nearly walked into a bunch of low hanging leaves and decided to fake them out. Elder Blum misinterpreted the event and thought they shocked me or something.
Anyways this meme is the result.
2) The Auction of the Cakes.
3) The Cakes at the Auction.
4) Ah, yes. MLC. I deemed myself the unofficial photographer and with Sister Ensign's permission, and snapped some pictures throughout the event.
5) A quick one at Zone Council.
6) Snuck a picture of ZL Elder Kirby during his instruction on Incredible Miracles.
He wasn't too happy with the angle
7) Just me on a bridge. We read a verse from the Book of Mormon after the bridge with two sweet old ladies.
8) Another shot from MLC
9) A picture of some church notes during fast and testimony meeting that was influential.
10) A text from our friend Steve the Baptist preacher that warmed our hearts after a question about 2 Nephi 2.
From Dad - We love to sing
Dear Ben,
We had some time to kill until the concert so we hung out at Telford lake. I think we've gotten a lot of pictures in this spot over the years!
This week was another example of how much our family loves to sing. Abby, Mia and I had the chance to perform with the Piatta Forma community choir at the Daystar church, the same church you played at a few years ago.
What started out as a desire to do more in the community and be more social turned out to be a rewarding experience both for myself but also for Abby and Mia. When talking about the experience, the girls decided that singing with this choir topped the school choir. Part of the reason is that we were able to sing with some pretty amazing and experienced singers and of course have the opportunity to sing under Don SteenWinkel. What I loved most about him was his endless enthusiasm and skillful way of motivating with positivity and encouragement.
We practiced Thursday, Friday and again before the concert itself on Saturday. I was grateful as I needed to catch up after missing some practices and to memorize some key parts and pieces. In the end it came out fantastic!
Before the concert, we went to check out Abby's photos at the Leduc Rec center. It was the rodeo and fair grounds so we had to walk a ways to get there, but it was worth it to see the red ribbon beside the picture!
This is me cramming for the choir numbers!
Mom got to try out her chainsaw recently. I'm actually pretty impressed with the battery operated saw. I've cut down some decent trees with it!
As you've probably seen on the Family chat in messenger, Grandpa has been struggling lately. They've taken him off the steroids so now he is getting more and more tired with less and less of an appetite. Grandma is starting to have to think about a future without her cherished husband. She called me the other day and asked for advice about buying a condo in Cardston. It looks pretty nice! Good chance she won't go back to the acreage and will probably sell it soon after Grandpa passes away.. Hard for me to say that and as I've been pondering my relationship with my Dad, it hits me sometimes that he won't be around for much longer. He has been a pivotal figure in my life and a wonderful example of faith and dedication to his family and the gospel. He has his faults and challenges like the rest of us, but I'm so grateful for all the time, care and attention he has given me. I don't think I really appreciated all he did for me, especially when I was younger. I'm so grateful to know that this life isn't the end. There is a glorious resurrection awaiting us and the opportunity to be together forever in the life to come. Mom was studying her scriptures yesterday and we discussed the term "the quick and the dead". She learned that the translation in the KJV of the Bible for "quick" is "living". What we do matters both while we are living and after we die. I'm grateful for the restored gospel that gives me insight into the eternal nature of life and I'm sure there are many things my Dad has left to do for his family after he passes through the veil.
On a lighter note, It has been greening up a lot around here lately and we love it. The long days and warmer temperatures are getting us more active!
Speaking of active, Mom has been adjusting to working full time. Because of her new desk job, she has been actively using her posture muscles and they started seizing up on her the other day. Luckily she works for a chiropractor! She was able to get an adjustment. Between that and her Achilles tendon soreness, she is getting a little worried about her marathon training. It will take a while for her to adjust to her new reality, but she is loving having a paycheck and is saving for her University tuition.
Abby and Mia are in the home stretch of the school year. Seminary is over for the year and are looking forward to an eventful summer. We're looking forward to Steph and Tyler coming in the middle of the month. We'll likely head down to southern Alberta for Father's day week-end and maybe even meet up with them down there. I just heard from Grandma Smith that they have loved being able to watch the videos Stephanie took for her project with them. Thanks Stephanie for the inspiration to do that project and provide some comfort for Grandma and Grandpa during this challenging time.
Have a great week!
Love,
Dad
PS: Let me know if you have access to this folder. I'll try and upload a couple of videos of the choir there once they upload from my phone.
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