February 18

Tonight I am to take a cake to the senior's FHE.  As usual with women a regular cake from a cake mix will never do, so I was under the gun a little.  Thankfully I had asked Abby to send me the recipe for a wonderful cake she makes, however when I went to the store to buy caramel and the candy bar one crushes to sprinkle on the cake there was none--NONE.  I knew I could not get the Cool Whip the recipe calls for which was actually good as I like whipped cream so much better.  Minus three important ingredients is not a good beginning.  But I love the cake and it is impressive, so I proceeded.  I got on the internet to find out how to make caramel and found a website that actually had a video--perfect.  I the caramel step by step with the video which made sure I understood that to have caramel taste caramel one leaves the sugar on the stove just past the smoking stage.  Done.  I made the cake while waiting for the caramel to cool.  When I could finally taste it, it was burnt.  I could not believe it. So while the cake cooked, I made another pan of caramel.  This time I decided to remove the pan from the heat when the sugar was liquid enough to boil; it never did because it got to the copper penny color before it boiled.  Off the stove it came.  By the time the cake was cool enough to use the caramel, it was cool enough to taste.  Burnt!  It was too late to make another batch even if I had had more cream. So the cake went to FHE with burnt caramel, whipped cream instead of Cool Whip, and no crushed candy bar on top?  Why is it when I am trying to impress people I almost always mess up?

FHE was wonderful.  Elder Wakolo spoke to us in a fireside type setting before we ate dinner. After dinner the senior couple who are the area doctor and his wife were asked to speak to us about medical issues.  For me the best part of the entire evening was when the doctor's wife spoke.  She quoted a general authority who had said to a group of senior missionaries something like this.  "You were foreordained to be serving here at this time.  And you are at your post."  He repeated the "you are at your post" several times.  She cried as she said it, and I cried listening.   How wonderful it is to know that I am at my post.  I have over my lifetime wondered if I have been where I should be, worthily doing what I should be doing or if because I was not diligent I have lost opportunities to serve God in His cause here upon the earth.