A Missionary P-day

For a long time, our cleaning day has been on Monday. Missionaries also rest from proselytizing on Mondays, but I didn't pick up the habit of cleaning on Monday on my mission. Instead, Monday is the first day after I have rested over the weekend, hence, it's the day when the house is the biggest disaster.

Our home here in Taiwan can only hope to be a little disaster, because it's simply not large enough to be a big disaster, but we still give it a little extra love on Mondays.

However, this past Monday, we found ourselves doing other things missionaries do with their "day off" too. In fact, we met up with the missionaries in the morning.

We go to the next MRT stop down from where we live to buy groceries. We were out of food and they needed to email their families. We crossed paths at 11am so they could drop off a green papaya salad a member had made for us the night before that we hadn't had time to come and get. Seeing them there, in their white shirts, smiles on their faces, and up to all the business of preparation, or P-day, my heart wanted to do something for them, and I asked if they wanted to come to our place for Oreo shakes (a soft spot with the elders when I was a missionary). Sure enough, their faces lit up. They were fasting, so I invited them to come for dinner too. At the store, I was able to grab food I knew at least the American elder would appreciate: makings for a fresh green salad.

Then we headed home, now needing to clean for company!

However, Q was in the mood to get OUT of the house, so he took the kids hiking. That's an activity missionaries often enjoy on their p-days as well.

So I cleaned and cooked, the kids got time with dad and a larger taste of the hills near our home, and the missionaries came at 5pm for chicken curry, green salad with homemade dressing, and my favorite veggie, water lily (xue lian). For dessert we DID have oreo shakes and they were a hit! Elder Dong washed all the dishes while I blended the shakes in our tiny, 2 serving blender.

Left: Shot on a later day, but none the less hard-core for it!

This picture is from the Elder's second visit - for a Thanksgiving themed meal.

Then, before they left, I had an idea. Arthur was still limping. I decided he could use a priesthood blessing and asked the Elders, who I knew would have oil, if they minded lending a hand. Q gave them the opportunity to do it all, and Arthur was anointed in Chinese and blessed in English by Elder Jensen.

It was a very nice blessing. The miracle of the blessing itself was the wild Arthur, who had been full of explosive noise and crazy personality all evening, sat in complete stillness in my lap for the whole thing.  I think everyone felt something special in the room as the blessing was said, because afterwards, all the kids seemed a little different.

Anyway, the missionaries left at about 7 pm, and we cleaned up, finished our evening rituals, and went to bed. And....?

In the morning, Arthur was walking normal, and running too, and on his tippy-toes! I don't know what was healed, or how different things felt for him. I just knew that on Monday night I had been planning on taking him in for an x-ray on Tuesday if he showed no improvement. And on Tuesday morning, it didn't seem necessary.

I'm grateful for this missionary p-day to connect me, again, to the joys experienced by the missionaries!