Ben's Mission to Toronto

From Ben: 42 Days with one of the Refined Elder Ballard and Anderson walked in, these two, sweet old men.  With a buoyant energy, and a smile stemming from a real joy, they waved their hands our way, and we waved ours back.  Elder Anderson:  "Think of a truth you  really  know. Then find a scripture that backs it up. Let it become dear and precious to you, so that five decades from your mission, it will still hold a dear place in your heart" (paraphrase)  President Ballard: "Never lose sight of how precious a single soul is. And to do that, you must  never lose sight  of Gethsemane " Together: "We witness that Jesus is the Christ and He leads this church. He knows you and He loves you. We know His voice"  Overall, quite the experience. It was my last Zone Conference!  A Sister told me that mid-bite of a muffin and it slapped my heart.  It was also transfer day, so I said farewell to my beloved German companion, and embraced and welc...

From Ben: Sanity. Overrated? " Hey! How are you? Do you have a quick second? My friend and I are missionaries for our church and we're curious if you'd like to hear a scripture to go along with your lunch?"  "What do you want?!?" "Oh, not a good morning, eh?" (Wrong thing for me to say) "What'd you say to me, Jesus boy?!    And the man rose from his bench, starting to walk towards us.  Fury in his eyes, fists clenched "This is it for us, we gonna die"  my brain thought " if he swings, do we swing back?"  "Well! Have a great day!"  And we bee-lined speedwalked past the angry man, eyes determinedly straight ahead as he continued to swear and threaten.  10 seconds later "Oh NELLY, Elder Wack, we legit almost got jumped back there" (In his German accent) "Yes, that is why we are two. After he started following you, I looked at him in the eyes, and didn't look away" "Thanks, Elder. I ap...

From Ben - Personal Titles of Liberty While cutting an onion this morning, I  zinged  my thumb with a kitchen knife.  Only a couple drops of blood made it into the breakfast hash, so hopefully no-one contracts this one-in-a-million disease from ingesting the pan-fried liquid that flows through my veins.  I put on some green salve and two Spiderman band-aids so the crisis is averted, however, the typing capacity of my thumb is hindered, so instead of the 'thumb + thumb' typing combo usually employed to write these emails, I am attempting the less well know, and less effective  'left pointer finger + right thumb' technique.  For the first time in my life, I got to sing a musical solo in front of a congregation - I'd been invited to participate in the Easter Program.  I usually sing in a choir, or with the cover of theatre lights, allowing me some cover and protection,  however, I've never yet stood in open light in the midst of a great crowd.  ...

From Ben - Board Games: Stronger Than the Sword A couple months ago, one of our senior Sister missionaries was flown home due to some unexpected health challenges.  A couple weeks ago, her health rapidly faded and this same senior Sister quietly stepped through the veil. This last Thursday, the entirety of the CTM tuned in for the funeral service.  It really impacted me.  Within the service, this senior Sister's dear friend, and each of her seven children spoke, sharing stories and memories and expressing their love for their Mom who had embarked on to her next adventure.  I recorded some of the quotes that stirred my soul: "First time I saw her, she had the most amazing chocolate eyes and chocolate hair... I love this woman, she loved me no matter what" - The Best Friend "How do you say goodbye to the greatest woman you know..? We don't. We hold her close in our memories and in our hearts" - The 2nd Child, a daughter "I just needed to hear my Mom's...