The Gentle Giant

Meet Ray. He's a guy in our ward who is huge. He's about 6'7" and at least 300 pounds, he's not heavy set by any means just tall and plain huge. (Imagine you're my size, 5'1", very petite and short. Yep, he's like a giant to me). For months, Ray has been inviting us over for dinner and we've been so excited to go because from what we hear, he's an amazing cook. He and Lance are home teaching companions and all Ray ever talks about is how gourmet his sunday dinner was or his lovely dessert, etc. We've been to his house only once and that was to drop him off from church. He invited us in to show us around and it is immaculately clean. He had black porcelain dolls carefully placed on the couch, the lace table cloth on his coffee table was perfectly even all the way around, and his walls were bare but he had pictures stacked up by the floor. We thought maybe he was still in the early stages of decorating so Lance asked him why he hasn't hung up his pictures yet. Ray said, "Look at that wall! It's such a pretty white wall, I can't cover it up with my pictures, it's just so beautiful!" Of course he had to show us his kitchen where he works his magic and on the little wall above the sink, he had placed tons of the stickers that come on fruit, they were all in a perfect group on the wall below the cabinet. Lance and I got a kick out of that (you can see them in this picture). While we were walking out the door and I noticed in his end tables he had stacks and I mean STACKS of every cooking magazine you've ever heard of. My thinking that cooking is a hobby of his was a definite understatement!

With that preface, Ray invited over four couples and the missionaries (mind you, he's a member) over for sunday dinner. He had his black gospel music playing, the table was all set up buffet style with Okra soup, potato salad, turkey and swiss cheese rolls with a pretzel through the middle, broccoli salad with bacon, and green salad for appetizers. The missionaries had to leave early and so did two of the other couples so it was just Lance and I with the Tippings (the most hilarious couple we've ever met). Ray hadn't even served the main course yet so I felt really bad that almost everybody left early but that feeling quickly dissipated because that meant more food for us. (I know, I'm selfish). Ray then served an herb roasted chicken with the most delicious ham and spinach stuffing I've ever tasted and rich gravy. Then he brought out yummy, golden brown ranch chicken wings. Mmmmmmmm!! I was able to shoot a video of him doing a cooking demonstration for us on how to make this pound cake with mandarin oranges, peaches, pears, cherries, and strawberries topped with cook whip. Oh so good! He also had two different kinds of ice cream cake that he made along with the most outrageously large selection of beverages you've ever seen. While we were being served the different courses at a time Ray was in the kitchen just cooking away, having a ball. We finally convinced him to come sit down and eat, so while he did that I snuck away and started doing the dishes. Instead of everybody keeping the same plate for each dish, we were instructed to get a new plate and utensil for everything. As you can imagine there was quite a stack of dishes and I was relieved to see he had a dishwasher. I opened it and it looked completely brand new and unused. Lance asked Ray if he uses his dishwasher and Ray said, "No I usually wash them by hand because I do a much better job at cleaning than dishwashers do." So I washed as many as he'd let me.

Krystal Tipping with the finished pound cake dessert topped with all sorts of fruit and cool whip. It was delicious!

Ray bringing out his herb roasted chicken.

I don't think I've ever had a sunday dinner that was prepared with so much glee and humility. Ray was just ecstatic to have company over and to show us all his cooking skills. Every now and then he'd poke his head out of the kitchen with a gadget and tell us what it's used for and why we need to purchase it. We tried to convince him to open his own restaurant because that's not just a skill that he's learned, that is a God given gift! I cannot describe how tasty and delicious everything was. I mean it was just a huge buffet table of yummy food. It felt like a holiday! Ray was just tickled pink and so excited to have friends over. He lives by himself and every now and then his mother visits him so I think he gets lonely at times but he's the most humble man I know and I know that Heavenly Father takes special interest and care of him, especially on matters that he's not too keen about. We call him The Gentle Giant because he's just this big teddy bear that's all heart from head to toe.

Before one of the other couples left early, Ray ran upstairs to get a gift for Michelle (who's expecting her first baby so I assumed it was a baby gift). He came back down with this box and said, "Now I know you're married, but I know the minute I saw you, you were the biggest sweetheart I've ever seen. So I was in the store and I saw this doll and I knew I just had to get it for you." She opened it and it was a porcelain doll in a beautiful wedding dress. It was the sweetest gesture and gift I've ever seen. We were all so overcome with a full and tender love for this man. He's honestly the sweetest man I've ever met.

I think I learned more about the gospel just being in his home than I learned in all of church yesterday. He's amazing. The dinner was definitely a defining moment in my life. I was just aghast to see his understanding of life and the gospel. All the lessons I've learned of the principles of the gospel were confirmed to me tenfold by the way Ray lives his life and it was a treasure for me to be reminded again of the small and simple things in life. The service he gave yesterday was not just about inviting over several friends and cooking a gourmet dinner. He uplifted our spirits in a way that no one else could. He showed and added a greater and deeper meaning to the word humility. He is a testimony to me that Heavenly Father does have a hand in our lives, and not just during the large, life changing moments such as job opportunities, school, children, etc. But He's mindful of even the small, piddly, trivial things such as the ugly cockroach in the kitchen that freaks me out or the fact that I have an extremely obnoxious mosquito bite on my little toe. He taught me the still small voice is felt not always heard, and that love is an expression of selflessness. Thank you Ray for giving us a gift that no one else could.