I was told long ago by a friend who was an ex-Mormon to feed the missionaries. She explained they often just have one meal a day - if that. So, when we were in a tiny house with very little money, we had missionaries show up at our door. And I invited them in and we talked about faith and religion and didn’t get into any debates. And when they got up to leave, I asked them to come back that weekend for lunch and bring 4 of their friends (no idea what possessed me to do that). Somehow we were able to scrape the money together and I cooked a huge meal with roast, potatoes, etc. And it was such a lovely meal and great company and conversation. We ended up moving and they helped us move and we fed them again.
We didn’t have to agree in faith beliefs - we just wanted to serve and love on these young men.
We don’t encounter many missionaries now. I rarely have guests - let alone strangers - in my home. But this article has given me so much to think about. We don’t have any extra rooms. But I’m going to pray on what we can do - because our house was a gift from God. (An even longer story..)
Thank you for sharing this story! What a beautiful example of doing what you could, in the place you were, with the people God sent. Faith practices have to be embodied, and this story gives such a compelling example of that. Looking forward to hearing the longer stories...
I love the idea of just setting an extra place to remember that there are people who are hungry and that we can invite them in. I also LOVE the idea that God Himself is most strange bc He is holy and that we can invite Him into our homes and lives. Such a beautiful reminder!
I was "preaching" to myself when I wrote this -- it was a good exercise to clear all the miscellany off our guest bed, put on clean sheets, and say, "Good - now it's ready."
I was told long ago by a friend who was an ex-Mormon to feed the missionaries. She explained they often just have one meal a day - if that. So, when we were in a tiny house with very little money, we had missionaries show up at our door. And I invited them in and we talked about faith and religion and didn’t get into any debates. And when they got up to leave, I asked them to come back that weekend for lunch and bring 4 of their friends (no idea what possessed me to do that). Somehow we were able to scrape the money together and I cooked a huge meal with roast, potatoes, etc. And it was such a lovely meal and great company and conversation. We ended up moving and they helped us move and we fed them again.
We didn’t have to agree in faith beliefs - we just wanted to serve and love on these young men.
We don’t encounter many missionaries now. I rarely have guests - let alone strangers - in my home. But this article has given me so much to think about. We don’t have any extra rooms. But I’m going to pray on what we can do - because our house was a gift from God. (An even longer story..)
Thank you for sharing this story! What a beautiful example of doing what you could, in the place you were, with the people God sent. Faith practices have to be embodied, and this story gives such a compelling example of that. Looking forward to hearing the longer stories...
That's so cool. I didn't know that about the missionaries!
I loved this!
I love the idea of just setting an extra place to remember that there are people who are hungry and that we can invite them in. I also LOVE the idea that God Himself is most strange bc He is holy and that we can invite Him into our homes and lives. Such a beautiful reminder!
I was "preaching" to myself when I wrote this -- it was a good exercise to clear all the miscellany off our guest bed, put on clean sheets, and say, "Good - now it's ready."