A few weeks ago we fed the missionaries—story a little ways down on this post. Now, in our Church we have young men and young woman missionaries who give up 2 years of their lives to go on missions—men age 19 and women age 21. They pay for it themselves usually, but if a family can't afford it, then the home ward of a missionary will help out. The wards feed them dinners to help out with their expenses but if hubs and I are out at a McDonalds or Jack in the Box, we'll pay for their lunch. They live very frugally during these missions. Some are sent to all of the U.S. states and some are sent all over the world. Today, I'm going to relate a few experiences we've been told about.
Two men we know personally went to Russia or Siberia for their missions. One man said when he arrived he thought he was in another world. Everyone smoked. Most of the members of our Church don't. But he got on a bus to go to a town far into the interior of Siberia. He said there would be hours and hours of nothing but frozen tundra. Then the rickety bus would stop for a smoke break. This was a bit puzzling as they smoked on the bus also, but he thought they'd never get to his destination. It took days on that bus and it was frigid cold. When they did arrive, he thought 'What town?!' There were just a few shacks and he was sent to try and convert them? Several times he asked to come home because he just couldn't get used to how cold it was and the vast cultural divide. But he stuck it out.
Several year ago, a friend told us that sending a letter to the missionaries in Russia was about $40 per letter!
The other man said the differences were vast also. We have no idea how good we have it here in the U.S. The food was very different, as you would expect. They didn't have much meat. Food was scarce. The toilet paper was so bad it was indescribable. The missionaries would tear up catalogs/books/magazines to use; it was softer than the toilet paper. You have no idea.
Now, I'm going to tell you about our experience the last time we fed the missionaries.
I signed up at the last minute when they needed someone to fill up the calendar. I told hubs we would go to WM and get some orange chicken at their deli but when we got there that morning, they didn't have any so we got BBQ chicken nuggets instead. I took them home and stuck them in the fridge. Around dinner time I took them out, put them on a foil-covered pan in the oven. They arrived here as I was pulling the pan out of the oven. I forgot to spray the foil and the chicken stuck! I said a few mild expletives, told hubs to set the table with 4 wet washcloths and told them dinner was ready. I also told them they would have to pick the foil off each chicken nugget! I wasn't about to do all that work. As missionaries are sweet and kind, they agreed. What a dinner we had to talk about the next day. I told hubby he knew this was going to be a blog post, right? He just looked at me. I did not do this intentionally to blog about. I was in a hurry and simply did not think. :-) I'll remember to spray the foil next time...if they ever want to eat with us again.
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Two men we know personally went to Russia or Siberia for their missions. One man said when he arrived he thought he was in another world. Everyone smoked. Most of the members of our Church don't. But he got on a bus to go to a town far into the interior of Siberia. He said there would be hours and hours of nothing but frozen tundra. Then the rickety bus would stop for a smoke break. This was a bit puzzling as they smoked on the bus also, but he thought they'd never get to his destination. It took days on that bus and it was frigid cold. When they did arrive, he thought 'What town?!' There were just a few shacks and he was sent to try and convert them? Several times he asked to come home because he just couldn't get used to how cold it was and the vast cultural divide. But he stuck it out.
Several year ago, a friend told us that sending a letter to the missionaries in Russia was about $40 per letter!
The other man said the differences were vast also. We have no idea how good we have it here in the U.S. The food was very different, as you would expect. They didn't have much meat. Food was scarce. The toilet paper was so bad it was indescribable. The missionaries would tear up catalogs/books/magazines to use; it was softer than the toilet paper. You have no idea.
Now, I'm going to tell you about our experience the last time we fed the missionaries.
I signed up at the last minute when they needed someone to fill up the calendar. I told hubs we would go to WM and get some orange chicken at their deli but when we got there that morning, they didn't have any so we got BBQ chicken nuggets instead. I took them home and stuck them in the fridge. Around dinner time I took them out, put them on a foil-covered pan in the oven. They arrived here as I was pulling the pan out of the oven. I forgot to spray the foil and the chicken stuck! I said a few mild expletives, told hubs to set the table with 4 wet washcloths and told them dinner was ready. I also told them they would have to pick the foil off each chicken nugget! I wasn't about to do all that work. As missionaries are sweet and kind, they agreed. What a dinner we had to talk about the next day. I told hubby he knew this was going to be a blog post, right? He just looked at me. I did not do this intentionally to blog about. I was in a hurry and simply did not think. :-) I'll remember to spray the foil next time...if they ever want to eat with us again.
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I think the owner just threw a tablecloth or huge pieces of lace over this chair, but it's gorgeous no matter how she did it.
Just cute little cottages.
I'd love to cover my garbage can in my kitchen like this but it's plastic and I'm not sure it would look this great after I did it. Isn't this adorable? Looks vintage.
White, red and pink bedroom. Lovin' it!
An exquisitely packaged gift.
Darling little coin purse someone made.
I love polka dots.
Exquisite portrayal of oranges.
Why don't we do this more often? Picnic in our back yards.
Another lovely bedroom for you. Notice the lace on the sheets.
A scrap bow for a gift package. Very creative.
I just wonder where people find these pretty outdoor rugs. All I can find are the generic beige/brown ones at WM and Home Depot. And we all know how I feel about beige!
I'm even picky about the pencils in my house. No, these aren't mine, but I only buy a certain brand of pencils and a certain lead in it. Picky, very picky. ;-)
Wow!!! What gorgeous colors adorn this home.
Oooooh, it truly is. I hope your day is lovely. Mine usually are and when they're not, they still are.
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