McDonalds

As most missionaries know, we tried to bless our food as we traveled around in the Ukraine. We did this for a variety of reasons: to show respect for our bounty, to seriously ask that the food would nourish us, and to set an example. We didn’t make a big deal of it, there was no rule, and some missionaries blessed their food and others didn’t. We often had to just watch the area and general authorities we were with because some were comfortable with this practice and some were not. In fact we had discussions with other mission presidents and their wives about blessing the food in public. Some blessed their food in the morning asking the Lord to make sure the food was all right throughout the day. One president’s son felt that they should bless the food the minute it was brought home from the market and get the entire process over with. We were comfortable with doing it because we had seen so many people in the Southern states pray over their food in public places. Elder Page and his companion blessed their hamburgers at the McDonalds in Zap. A few days later they were tracting and knocked on a door. The lady remembered seeing Elder Page in McDonalds and let them in because she wanted to hear more about the type of people the missionaries were. She was baptized and became a great member missionary. This is such a simple but profound event that shows the impact one can have by setting an example and it elevates the simple act of prayer to a wonderful faith promoting experience. I don't know how the rest of you feel about McDonalds but I loved it in Ukriane. good food, fast service, clean restrooms. We had lots of fun in Zap, Dneper, Kharkov, Cymi, Simferopol, and Donetsk. There were times in Donetsk when Sue and I would just head out late on a Saturday nigth to get a McFresh. When we had zone conferences in Dneper we went to the Pobeda McDonalds sometimes three times a day. The guy in Cymi who had been to the states loved serving us. We bought a lot of hamburgers at that place. I tell people that the two things that will help Ukraine is McDonalds customer service and the Churchs' selfless service principles.