As I’m sure you can tell from his last email, Matthew is happy this week. After six months of knocking doors all day every day, his latest transfer has given him opportunities to teach. The change in location, companion, and routine has been good for him. He is teaching almost every day right now and loving it. He loves his new companion and is adjusting well to being a trainer. He is just headed into severe weather season in Webb City, and he is loving that too. Before he flew in an airplane the first time and decided that he wanted to be a pilot, he was leaning heavily into being a weatherman and he is still fascinated by meteorology. So being in tornado alley is actually very exciting for him. They do educate the missionaries on what to do in the case of different weather-related warnings (tornado watch vs. tornado warning, when to head to the shelters, etc.) and while he is fascinated, he is not stupid. He isn’t going to defy mission rules and go tornado chasing or anything. And a couple of weeks ago he promised me he wouldn’t die, so I’m not overly worried. 😂 I do, however, reserve the right to freak out a little bit if tornados actually touch down in his vicinity.
When Matthew is super stressed or unhappy, he has a tendency to go quiet, so it wasn’t until this latest change gave him a burst of new enthusiasm that we realized that he is developing a mighty fine southern accent. When we talked to him last night, he was in high spirits, and the drawl was quite noticeable. It makes us giggle. He’s nine months into his soujourn in the south, and with more than a year left to go, I can hardly wait to hear what he sounds like when he is done. It should be quite amusing. 😉
He is also beginning to incorporate some southern traditions into his life. As we learned from Nathan after his mission in Texas, as well as from Elder John D. Amos in general conference last fall (FYI-he was one of Tawni’s mission presidents while she was in Louisiana prior to her service in Portugal), almost all foods are made better by putting some Tony’s on it. Tony Chachere’s is a Creole seasoning that is ubiquitous in the south. Slap Ya Mama is a Cajun seasoning that is also widely and generously used. Tony’s is not safe for Matthew, but Slap Ya Mama is, and he has been putting it in everything. Including his beloved stroganoff, which he ate last week for the first time since Fort Smith six months ago. If it has made it into the stroganoff, then he is hard core loving the Mama’s!
Another thing he is picking up is a mighty fine new set of vocabulary words. Last night he shared a “Redneck word of the day” with us.
Inhale: as in “Why inhale am I still in Walmart?”
Yup. Straight from the mouth of my missionary. Who is happy this week. 😁
