Tuesdays with Muerte

Today, members of our ward volunteered at the MTC referral center. It was wonderful, as always. When we walked in, the lead RC teacher was getting ready to prepare a big training for us and then noticed me among the group. Letting some air quickly release he said, "oh, Bryan's old-school. If you have any questions, he can help you." And that was the last we saw of him. I thought it was a little unfair that the others didn't get the full RC experience just because I was among them. Fortunately, our ward mission leader was present and took the reigns. I brought along my bound copy of the Conference Ensign and read a talk or two. It was the perfect source of inspiration to look at between calls. I handled about 4 Spanish calls, all of which reminded me of how wonderful sharing the gospel is. It's easy to forget here in Provo that there are families earnestly searching for the truths of the gospel. My favorite call was from a family man living in Columbus, O...

The very first time I wore these shoes I scuffed them getting out of my car. I'm not mad though because I pretend with myself that scuffs are in fashion… The second pair is what I use for work EVERYDAY. I'm so glad that I have them. The 1/2 inch rubber sole gets be to about 11:30am without getting my socks drenched at the car wash.

My hometeachers were so considerate in asking me out to dinner in SLC before our ward temple appointment. Randy (spelled "Rendy" because his parents didn't want his peers to receive the false impression that he was promiscuous in any way) served his mission in Taiwan and when he came here found this great whole in the wall resturant that served the most authentic chinese foods: hot-pot, pot stickers, battered pork, snow peas, etc. It reminded me very closely of every single meal we ate in China earlier this Spring. As we left, I asked if we left a tip for our $50 meal amongst the 6 of us. Rendy said, "No, there is no tipping in China." Trying to be witty by making an allusion to x-men III, I said "Tipping is a CITY in China." …silence from the group… Just to break the awkward silence I went back into the restaurant and left $2.50. I felt generous because before dinner, I popped in next door to a Equadorian bakery. There was a big soccer game goi...