The Dinner Appointment

We were bad. On Sunday my husband was out of town and I semi committed to feeding the Elders the next day. I told our ward mission leader that I would call him to confirm once I had checked with JP at home. Then I went home and promptly forgot. Monday about 3:00 I remembered. I tried to call the ward mission leader and got the family answering machine. The Elders never came....

It has made me think about dinner appointments. Once when the mission calendar was not full I mentioned to someone that it was no big deal. I personally did not mind being "home" for dinner on occasion. An hour of down time was refreshing. This Sister was surprised and a little shocked. Her boys were fed every day on their missions, the Elders should have a meal every day.

Dinner appointment stories are great. There are always the "food" ones about what was eaten or where or in what condition. They tend to lead to the gross/scary side, but we think are worth noting. Missionaries are always on the move too. Dinner appointments are not just for eating. They are for finding, challenging, and testifying. Sometimes mission presidents put certain requirements on dinner. Some of the requirements are what I consider common sense (but still need to be stressed) confirm dinner, leave a thank you note, use good manners. Some are hard to live by, always eat at 5:00, never share a dinner appointment with the Elders/Sisters. Others were uniquely missionary, leave with a scripture and the name of a person to share the gospel with.

We challenge you to record some of your dinner appointments or ask your missionary what is required of them. Did any of them ever have a "green" meal? (Everything is died green to welcome the new missionary. See the pictures for Elder Eggett.) What new tastes did you bring home from your mission?