February 13, 2023
From Ben - Inseparably Connected
AAAAAHH!
Abby and Mia!!
I watched just snippets and bits from the Mamma Mia file dad sent.
OH GOLLY it filled and thrilled my soul to see my champion younger sisters conquer up the stage.
Of the bits I skipped through, Abby and Mia, you killed it.
Big fish too. Wow.
Sam and Josh and Madison. Amen. My heart my soul.
This week? Where to begin.
Tuesday; President's interviews.
I love this man. I love his wife too.
They care. A lot. And it strikes me straight to the heart.
A snippet of the conversation.
"Wait, you've only got two transfers left?? I didn't know that!"
"Yep, it's coming up quick"
My brain: oof, that IS coming up quick
"Elder Smith"
"Yes, President"
...
"You have a girl back home?"
...
"No, President...
AND HEY!!
You're not allowed to ask that question!
It's not even my departing interview!
What are you trying to do to me!
President eyes me from across the small table, piercing my soul.
He chuckles in his 6'3", CEO way.
Me, staring at him in my 5'6", non-CEO way.
And the conversation carried on.
His care and attention to each member of the Zone.
Elder Mercado and I are the last to be interviewed, and we ask if there are any missionaries we can better support.
He sometimes gives us gentle chastisements/ways to improve, but always gives us hope and an understanding on how to better serve.
Life changing conversations, and they only last 15 minutes.
The next day was MLC.
We, as a group, went through an endowment session, Elder Mercado and I sat beside each other.
Grandma Bruce, thanks for a name or two to use.
I got to go through for a Lionel Melanson, and it was cool.
Such special feelings were felt as the ceremony progressed.
I thought a lot about the zone, and a couple of the missionaries in it.
I thought a lot about my own faith and what areas in it could become more authentic.
There was a key moment, near the end, when Elder Mercado went up to take the final step to enter the Celestial room.
Out of nowhere, as I looked at my Filipino companion stand to make his way forward, I was filled with an almost overwhelming feeling of gratitude, appreciation, and love for him, and his many gentle kindnesses towards me.
I came really close to shedding a tear. (It would have been a special tear)
I love this Elder. It a blessing that the Lord allowed me to spend some precious weeks with him.
It amazes my soul when it realizes it is loved.
Whether by a friend, or by God Himself. It amazes me over and over.
A very special MLC
A couple days later, Elder Mercado and I went to a companionship's area and blitzed the day with them.
Both were struggling with getting along, and there were some red flags we wanted to hopefully make green.
Elder Mercado took one Elder, and I took the other.
Him and I had a five hour conversation about many subjects.
Over and over the principle and effective habit of
"Seeking first to understand before being understood" popped into my head.
(Dad, all those lessons and conversations still bear fruits)
I asked question after question, openly explaining that I really just wanted to understand this Elders' point of view, and understand some of his thoughts about the work and his companionship.
Just openly listening taught me a lot about myself, and even helped this Elder understand his own thoughts and feelings.
I barely gave half the advice and input I thought I was going to give as the Elder solved it himself.
It did take 5 hours, but it was needed.
And I learned in practice the point of listening and the power behind it.
A final subject of note was a talk that was given on Sunday.
It was given by a guy in our ward who is a bit awkward, and somewhat goofy.
But one who holds power.
Literal Heavenly power.
D&C 121 kinda power.
(In D&C 121, the powers of heaven are wielded by principles of persuasion, kindness, gentleness, meekness, long-suffering, pure knowledge, and love unfeigned. Nothing is said about charisma, looks, wealth, popularity, social skills, etc. Anyone and everyone has access to the powers of heaven based on principles anyone and everyone can choose to follow)
Back to this guy's talk. He is one who follows those gentle principles. He doesn't give a lick about the "honors of men" and to my knowledge, has no vain ambition.
Despite a worldly lack of social graces or worldly popularity, he is a character in the Hamilton YSA that holds the group together. He's literally heavenly glue for this small community of saints.
His talk wasn't to par with effective public speaking , but who he was as a person in giving it made a sledgehammer impact on my heart.
I'm done with all these cheap tricks and attempts to finesse the world into thinking I'm more then I am, I'm gonna follow this guy's footsteps.
In fact, as described by Isaiah, Christ himself
"hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him" he was a chap that the world really held in low regard and low esteem.
Peter caught fish for a living.
But it didn't matter at all.
Not one bit.
Jesus Christ, Peter, this guy who gave a talk. Each valiant lovers of truth.
One, working out the Infinite Atonement, allowing the possibility of salvation for all.
One, being the first chief Apostle of Christ's church.
One, giving a talk that impacted deeply a short missionaries' heart.
Cool stuff.
It was amazing. Dang it.
Love you each!!
- Elder Smith
1) Our champion STL's made us some grub for completing a church invite challenge
2) This picture cracks me up to NO END. The picture was took in the mid point of both our faces transition
3) The STL note. 303 isn't actually that much, but they had mercy on us
4) Sang a song and they had it both recorded and filmed
5) Elder Binns. A hero to me.
6-7) Shots from the music video adventure.
8) Toronto. The great humbler
9) Behind the scenes film
10-11) A drive to a Toronto baptism. One with me awake. The other, not so much.
Hi Ben,
Hope your week is going well. We've had an eventful week back here at home. This week we enjoyed having Grandma Smith and Grandma and Grandpa Bruce come up to watch the "Big Fish" play this week. We went together, including Garrett, on Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Josh and Madison and Sam did so well and I really enjoyed the story as well. Josh was the bully and sang a great southern twanged solo, Madison was everywhere at once kicking up her heels and changing costumes left and right. Sam of course flipped in and out of different scenes, unicycled across the stage and put on an amazing act as a ninja. Can't wait for you to watch it when you get home.
Not surprisingly, Grandma made a connection with an older lady, Jennifer Spencer, who has a grandson in the play. She recognized her as a Red from Raymond. We kept saying things like "Small world!" until Sister Spencer leaned in and said "Small World, Big Church''. Being a member of the church often gives us instant reference and connection especially here in Alberta.
Yesterday, my Mom and I spent most of the day running errands and agonizing over which laptop to buy her. We finally settled on a Mac Air laptop. You have a progressive Grandma!
The lead in the play was a grade 12 boy with an amazing tenor. Mia couldn't believe he was only 1 year older than her. She commented on how attractive it was to hear a boy her age sing so well, please the bonus of him being cute AND a member of the church! Have to get her brothers to arrange a meeting!
Grandma and Grandpa Bruce came up early to help work on our drywall some more. They are not ones to sit around. So grateful for them and the blessing they have been in our lives. Grandpa helped by fixing our garage light.
(These are Grandma's tracks :) )
Airdar has been super busy as we try and look for ways to get more clients and sales so the company can stay alive. Lots of uncertainty and risk in running a small business. Hoping I can help make a difference. Good for me to get out of my comfort zone.
Here's a couple of quotes from EQ today that really struck me from Elder Gong's talk.
“A bent branch does not mean a bad tree. How we come into this world is less important than who we are when we leave it.”Temple ordinances do not of themselves change us or those in the spirit world. But these divine ordinances enable sanctifying covenants with the Lord, which can bring harmony with Him and each other.
The first quote struck me that life is a journey and sometimes it bends us in the wrong direction but time and patience and the grace of God can work miracles in our lives over time to help us fix the bent parts of our life.
The second quote reminded me that just going through the motions of the gospel is not enough. It is about actually investing in and living the covenants behind the ordinances that counts and that by living them we improve our relationship with God and with each other.
Speaking of the temple, Madison is going through the temple this Saturday. We're excited for her. We enjoyed having her and the boys and Rachel and Damon over for Sunday dinner. Grandma Smith treated us to ribs, baked potatoes, dill pickle salad and green beans. We rounded it off with a fun game of sequence and gratitudes. Mom joined us at the end as she's been sick all day.
Love you lots, son.
Dad.
PS, not sure if your allowed, but here's the google drive link to Mia and Abby's play. We are only supposed to share it with family :)
Comments
Post a Comment