...what missionaries do

We had dinner at the Grant's house the very same day as writing home. It was the most fun evening
meal on my mission. The Grants have a bunch of small children that were really excited at my movie quotes. They particularly enjoyed my Kronk voice from The Emperor's New Groove. Apparently it's pretty accurate. After dinner the whole family says, "You have to come see our foam pit!" I got pretty excited about that! We went to the basement and found a great deal of foam, cut into rectangles, piled into the corner of the house. Almost immediately, foam was flown at one another. Brother turned against brother, father against son, and even companion against companion. It was war! The battle raged for nearly twenty minutes until I said, "I'm Samuel the Lamanite! You can't touch me!" Everyone abruptly attacked me. I took some heavy foam to the face and my nose started bleeding. If you were
there for my farewell address, you know it's no big deal that Elder LaMont starts bleeding like a faucet from his face. But to the Grants, it was a big deal. Of course I played along, screaming from behind a load of tissue, "Help! Our own ward members are trying to kIll me! Call the bishop! Call the police!" The fight stopped and I received very motherly hospitality. Miss you Mom! And Dad, no one to this day is as good at stopping a bloody nose as you.





One particular Friday was very interesting. Elder Madson and I rode our bikes to Taco Bell to grab a snack and wait for the Sister's so we could exchange the vehicle. Every three days we make this switch, and Elder Madson and I bike the three days we do not have the car. All is very routine. I order my burrito and Elder Madson disappears. I find him talking to a man with his two kids. One of the kids asks me, "What do missionaries do?" Without skipping a beat, I snatch a pass-along card from the front shirt pocket of Elder Madson replying to the child, "Watch this!" I whirl around to an occupied table with three teenage kids. I offer them the card, ask to sit and start talking to them and eating my burrito. All of them are sophomores in a catholic school, but I shared the story of Nephi lobbing off the head of drunken Laban, listening to the Spirit of the Lord. All of them wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon after that one! We didn't talk long, but that's what missionaries do! The Sisters, arriving during mine and Elder Madson's separate conversations, sat watching the spectacle. We talked a while, and I was allowed to color the Snapchat icon on the Taco Bell receipt with Sister Merten's new pens.

We had a fun time! 

Sister Alisha Magda, Sister Kimberly Mertens, Elder Keaton LaMont, Elder Tanner Madson

There in the sink is a pink coin purse. Elder Madson claims it looks like a boat when folded in half. It floats well... For the first five seconds. "Wow," Elder Madson exclaims, "all boats should have these spheres on either end!" The so-called boat toppled over and capsized not even a second after that was was said. My roaring laughter followed. The comedic timing was perfect. You had to be there.

Playing the "Will it Float" game in another missionary apartment. 

I'm pretty sure I saw the first armadillo of my life! In the flesh! Rotting flesh... Poor guy. I half expected to find Rango somewhere near.














I have a really awesome story! While Elder Madson and I are sitting in the car on the side of the road

waiting to be on time for our scheduled appointment, Elder Madson says, "Hey! Something's happening!" The tone of his voice sounds uneasy. I see a car pass us, then reverse into view after slamming on the brakes. The window rolls down. "Hey Elders," a friendly voice calls out, "we want to buy you lunch! We will follow you." It was two adult men in their mid-twenties wearing Protection 1 uniforms. Elder Madson doesn't question it, and we hoof it to Subway. The two men introduced themselves as two brothers, Parker and Logan Anderson. The Anderson brothers say they are returned missionaries. Parker had a lot of stories from his mission in Indiana. The four of us swapped a lot of stories over lunch, and a few cookies as well! It was an excellent time. Heavenly Father is really looking out for me. Thank you for your prayers!



So! Unfortunately Elder Madson is leaving to go to Great Bend, leaving me in Rolling Hills. I'm really sad because Elder Madson has been one of my favorite companions and a real best friend. We've had such a blast in the short, short time we've had together. He's definitely a War Buddy. My new companion is Elder Andrasko!




I have a request. I'm really bad at introducing my new companions to my wonderful blog. Send me some questions you want to know about Elder Andrasko next week. I'll only have been with him for four-and-a-half days, but it should be enough to break the ice.

Much love to you all!