Best Dinner Guests Ever

Some people are surprised to learn that, although I love to cook,  I'm not much of an entertainer.  We talk about having people over to our home all the time, but I hate to admit that, except for the kids' friends,  it only rarely happens. Part of my issue is that I'm too distractible when I get out of my normal routine.  If I'm in my cooking groove, then rallying my troops to try to get the house clean enough to have guests over will just about knock me out.  And if I'm committed to getting the house really clean, then I couldn't be bothered with cooking or other tasks that invariably make the house even messier. 

...my humorously mismatching, chipped dishes don't help either. 

The only people, besides all the kids' friends, that we have over on a regular basis are these guys....

the missionaries from our church .   We have them over for dinner once a month and in addition to the good excuse it gives us try out new dessert recipes on them, we also love the spirit they bring to our home. 

They  never laugh at our mismatching dishes or scoff at my dusty mantle and they happily eat anything we put in front of them.   Best of all, before they leave they pray with us and  share uplifting messages that invariably inspire us to be better people. 

If you ever get the chance to meet these guys (or others like them), I recommend being nice to them for sure and if you have the time and interest, listening to their life-changing message about the restored gospel on the earth. 

If nothing else you can put them to work by having them  help you weed your garden.  Or carry that heavy box up the stairs.  They are far away from their families, have a lot of doors slammed in their faces each day,  and are just doing what they can to make the communities where they serve better places!

Random facts about Mormon missionaries:

• There are more than 50,000 missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving around the world.

• Young men serve for 2 years.  Young women serve for 18 months. 

• They do not choose the location where they serve their missions.

• Glen served his mission in London England.  My Dad went to Quebec, Canada, and we have siblings that have served in Germany, Russia (3 of them), Ukraine, and Switzerland.   Spencer has always wanted to go to either China or New Zealand. 

• They put aside worldly cares for the entirety of their missions and do not date, go to school, work, watch tv, or listen to secular music. 

• They spend their days studying, teaching, and serving.   

•   Most missionaries are around 20-years-old.

• Missionaries and their families completely pay for their own missions. 

• In addition to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with people who are interested, missionaries also spend a significant portion of their missions serving the communities in which they live.