When we talked to Matthew earlier this week, he told us that his entire district went out to dinner as their last big hurrah before transfers happened. There is either a ward member or a friend of some of the missionaries (I can’t remember exactly what the relationship is) who is the manager at a local restaurant, so they opted to go to that eatery. Which is why Matthew went into Texas Roadhouse. Texas. Road. House. Where the peanuts live. Which every allergist we have ever seen has specifically mentioned by name as a place to avoid. But Matthew has only been in Arkansas for six weeks, and the other missionaries honestly didn’t even think about it. And because he is a missionary, it’s not like he could stay home while his companion went to dinner. So, he grabbed a mask, a smart choice to keep any allergens out of his lungs and ventured into the forbidden zone.
Obviously, he came out alive. He was smart and in addition to the mask, he didn’t try to eat there. He shared some pictures today, and it is very clear that he is in full on allergy defense mode with his bag tucked up on his lap and his hands and arms tucked in tight, trying not to touch anything more than absolutely necessary.
We all knew that Matthew would have lots of new experiences over the course of his mission, but this one was not anticipated. And honestly, it’s probably better that I didn’t know about it until after it had happened. 😂
