Heder Herald: My Summer Vacation

I started a family blog several years ago and it never caught on. There were probably several reasons, not the least of which was the degree of cleverness of the author. I'm sober by nature and purpose. Now we have Sarah, Diane, Rachel and Matt joining the throng of bloggers with creativity, great pictures, humor, pathos, sarcasm, etc. These are really fun to read, so let me tell you a story that I've used and tried in my own interpersonal experiences. It probably helps me to rationalize my mediocrity or how I perceive that others view my mediocrity.

This is a story of a pair of young LDS missionaries serving in a third world country. There was to be a pot luck church function. An investigator family was excited about attending and, even though they had very little in temporal goods, they prepared a dish to contribute. The missionaries also were to contribute something and in the past, the richer gringos, often out did the rest of the congregation contributing a major portion of the meal. This time they were asked to bring dessert. They planned a real treat- a banana chocolate layered cake. Apparently, in the making, one of the vital ingredients was mis-measured and the cake was edible, but barely. There was no time to do another and so they timidly brought their contribution. Just as they were leaving their apartment, they realized they had made a chocolate cake and had forgotten the banana. Apparently, the banana was important and, so, one of the elders took a ripe banana, peeled it and stuck it into the cake. As the meal progressed, the dish offered by the investigator family was the hit of the event and they were amply praised. Dessert was eaten, but received little notice. With the attention on the investigators rather than the missonaries, the family was made to feel welcomed. Get it? I'll try to contribute some banana chocolate cake next week. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from my summer vacation.