Suggestions for Dinner for Missionaries

[The_Douger]

I hadn't really thought of it until reading this thread. I see missionaries out and about when driving the kids to school or whatnot but never once in our ward or even in our building at another ward. I've also never seen them in my neighborhood. I don't know how they are assigned but maybe my ward/stake doesn't have enough non members to warrant it. If missionaries came to our house I couldn't even point them to a non member that lives in my ward boundaries. Some probably exist but I don't know of any.

I gave them a ride the other day when I was leaving work. I see them all over the place.

[thesaint258]

Since we have moved to Utah, I've never seen a single missionary at Church or in my ward.

They come to our ward about once a month (though the only time they stay for all three hours is if they have an investigator), and I've seen them walking around the neighborhood once every few months or so. I guess I live among the heathen.

[Katy Lied]

Apparently I accidentally invited the missionaries over for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Katy (making small talk with the missionaries): "So, what are your Thanksgiving Plans?"
Missionaries: "Well, we can't make any."
Katy: "Oh? Aren't you allowed to go to someone's house for Thanksgiving dinner?"
Missionaries: "Well, we have transfers scheduled the day before Thanksgiving, so we don't know if we'll be here or not."
Katy: "What? That's an unfortunate coincidence-- you having transfers the Wednesday right before the holiday."
Missionaries: "Umm, it was planned for that day. So we can't make any Thanksgiving plans."
Katy (thinking): "What a dick move."
Katy (out loud): "Well that kinda sucks. Oh well, I know this mission is super strict about not doing anything but The Work."


1 week later. Doorbell rings.


Mr. Katy: "Oh, hi elders."
Missionaries: "Good news! Our transfer day has been cancelled so we can accept your wife's invitation to Thanksgiving."
Mr. Katy (yelling to the TV room): "Hey Katy, did you invite the missionaries over for Thanksgiving? They can make it."
Katy: "What?
Mr. Katy: "Yeah, they said they can make it."
Katy: "Ummm, please come here."
Katy (hissing): "Hey I didn't invite them. And we're having the Ute swim team over this year. I dont think I have enough food."
Mr. Katy (whispering): "Uh oh. The swimmers are going to think that we are siccing the missionaries on them. Why did you invite them without telling me?"
Katy (whispering): "I didn't. Invite Them."
Mr. Katy (whispering): "Ok, I will set them straight. This is important."
Mr. Katy (to the missionaries at the door): "Okay, we'll see you at noon on Thanksgiving Day."
Mr. Katy (firmly to the missionaries): "Oh yeah. I know you can't watch TV, but I am planning on watching football after we eat, so you'll have to make yourself scarce. You can make small talk with my wife then."

[TripletDaddy]

You could have just said you were hosting the ute swim team.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Missionary Dinners

If we already have a thread on this, let me know and I'll merge [Edit: Done!], but I'd like comments on interesting, funny, good or bad meals you've served to missionaries (this thread should focus on the food, not the conversation or other non-culinary aspects of their visit). Like most wards, we do a good job of providing dinner to the missionaries every night. However, especially with the sister missionaries, perhaps because they tend to have cars not bikes, it seems we've been feeding them too much. Most hosts seem to provide them with multicourse meals, including dessert. Consequently, they've been beefing up. We want to give them good, healthy and enjoyable meals, but we don't want to change them from Orson Hyde to Orson Welles.

Anyway, tonight while I was working late at the office, Mrs. PAC provided them with a meal that consisted of jumbo prawns (eaten cold with cocktail sauce), a rice/quinoa thing, broccoli, and a fancy salad. Strangely, neither missionary had ever eaten prawns before and, although they were polite, they only ate one each, passing on the other couple of dozen they'd been given. The missus ended up giving them portions of last night's leftover Costco chicken which they happily consumed.

BTW, we usually have the missionaries on Sundays, and feed them a lot of beef, potatoes, veggies and a dessert, so we've been guilty of contributing to what apparently is a bit of a problem here.

[scottie]

If we already have a thread on this, let me know and I'll merge, but I'd like comments on interesting, funny, good or bad meals you've served to missionaries (this thread should focus on the food, not the conversation or other non-culinary aspects of their visit). Like most wards, we do a good job of providing dinner to the missionaries every night. However, especially with the sister missionaries, perhaps because they tend to have cars not bikes, it seems we've been feeding them too much. Most hosts seem to provide them with multicourse meals, including dessert. Consequently, they've been beefing up. We want to give them good, healthy and enjoyable meals, but we don't want to change them from Orson Hyde to Orson Welles.

Anyway, tonight while I was working late at the office, Mrs. PAC provided them with a meal that consisted of jumbo prawns (eaten cold with cocktail sauce), a rice/quinoa thing, broccoli, and a fancy salad. Strangely, neither missionary had ever eaten prawns before and, although they were polite, they only ate one each, passing on the other couple of dozen they'd been given. The missus ended up giving them portions of last night's leftover Costco chicken which they happily consumed.

BTW, we usually have the missionaries on Sundays, and feed them a lot of beef, potatoes, veggies and a dessert, so we've been guilty of contributing to what apparently is a bit of a problem here.

:finger3: I had no more than five dinner appointments in my two years in Africa.

[clackamascoug]

:finger3: I had no more than five dinner appointments in my two years in Africa.

One good thing about serving in the States, (still bothered by the lower IQ insinuation) were all the dinner appointments. Probably had about 300+ over two years. The most memorable was the possum served by the former Carny Hooker, and her Willie Nelson look alike husband in Tahlequah, OK.

We had the missionaries over one night and found that I had eaten in the missionary's home on Thanksgiving Day 1979, when he was just a kid.

[PaloAltoCougar]

:finger3: I had no more than five dinner appointments in my two years in Africa.

In Austria, 40 years ago, I dined with members maybe 3-4 times a month. I assumed that had changed in recent years, but I suppose the daily feeding thing is limited to the States and then only with a fairly high concentration of Mos. I wonder how missionaries in the eastern States fare.

[Parrot Head]

Is this separate from the "Suggestions for Dinner for Missionaries" thread a little below?

[PaloAltoCougar]

Is this separate from the "Suggestions for Dinner for Missionaries" thread a little below?

Ha, you mean like the very next thread? It was too close! Merged.

[YOhio]

In Austria, 40 years ago, I dined with members maybe 3-4 times a month. I assumed that had changed in recent years, but I suppose the daily feeding thing is limited to the States and then only with a fairly high concentration of Mos. I wonder how missionaries in the eastern States fare.

Our ward supports nightly dinners for three companionships. It seems like they're over every other week.

Funny you mention the dessert thing. At stake conference last week the mission presidents wife asked the members to back off of dessert because the missionaries are getting fat.