Tara's letter from today...

Here's a story from Tara-on-a-mission. The best part of this is that Tara is probably the pickiest eater in our family and would turn up her nose at food occasionally and be sort of uppity about it, so this story made me laugh so hard, I actually cried! I read it to Mike and laughed even harder the second time! (She's in Alabama, remember!)

Crazy story: The Elders invited us to go to this old lady's home for dinner the other night (she told them to). Elder Orme was kinda iffy on it but said we should go anyway because she's a good potential and super sweet anyway. He went to Alabaster on exchanges so we had our DL here, Elder T (his last name is crazy long and hard to say so we call him that). Sister Morgan and I get into the house: looks like a cute old lady home in the south. Just meets that stereotype. It's cute and clean so we were thinking, okay this should be a piece of cake. Well there was another couple there to help this old lady "entertain" us as she said. The food was laid out on the counter buffet style so this younger lady (probably in her early 60's) lists off the food: "Here's the potato salad, squash, country fried possum, creamed corn, fried ocra, and black eyed peas." Sis. Morgan and I start laughing just a little when she says possum, thinking it's a joke but no one else laughed. The Elders were talking to this lady's husband so they didn't hear and so we're like okay we'll just eat it's probably just regular meat. When I sit down I cut the meat...it's gray...and chunky. Disgusting. I ate a bite and started gagging a bit...it was the worst thing I have ever put into my body but I had to eat it to be polite. So, naturally, I say another little prayer in my head to help me out. (on the way up her driveway Sister Morgan prayed for us to have the strength to eat whatever was served. Inspired, right?) So I start cutting up the meat really small and eat it really fast and notice Sis. Morgan is doing the same thing. I ate everything else after that but still kept thinking, what if that really was possum? As soon as we're in the car, Sister Morgan and I are like freaking out! We decide to go see Jim and Dee and ask Jim if he knows what possum looks like when it's cooked. Sure enough. I ATE POSSUM. Proud of me?! Can you say you've eaten anything DISGUSTING like that? Are you aware of what possums eat? Because I am. And that's nasty. Especially because if people eat opossum, it's most likely that they just picked up one off the side of the road that was recently hit by a car. Nice, right? Super classy. Yes I ate it all. Yes I hated it. But prayer works even for the crazy things you eat. Just sayin.