Miss(ionary) Manners~ July 2015 Interviews

The Soweto Zone came for interviews on Thursday July 23rd. Below, Elder Wegrowski, Elder Widdison, Elder Smalley, Elder Lyon and President Dunn. This is almost the last zone to come and we have enjoyed each and every one of them.

Elder Benge, Elder Ramiliarijaona, Elder Dzowa after our Etiquette Workshop.  Elder Manuma was getting interviewed.
New arrivals completing the survey President Dunn has prepared for them.

 Nice to see their SAJM messenger bags parked together. 
Don't they look sharp?
Belwo was our last group of the day- Elder Harris, Elder Rini, Elder Mapenda and Elder Dube

Elder Pulley and Elder Mamhere usher in the Johannesberg Zone

The interviews this July are starting with a personal survey for each missionary to complete. As President Dunn talk to them one on one, this gives him a feel for things they are doing and what they want to focus on. It is a good start to the discussion.

Below are pictures from each district as I engage them in an Etiquette discussion during the time they are waiting for their interviews. Of course, we serve a little lunch along with the discussion. How could you just talk about eating and etiquette..without a little practice?

We have the pleasure of hosting all the zones this month in the mission home for interviews. As President Dunn meets one on one with each missionary, I have an Etiquette workshop that lasts one hour with four Elders. We are focusing on Miss(ionary) Manners. 
Elder Barton, Browning and Nwokedi below, are showing their table manners by first showing how to set a table.
*I still have to add captions to many of the pictures below! *

Elder Johnson and Elder Morrell have just arrived as the second group from the Bedfordview Zone on Tuesday July 8th. 

Elder Roush and Elder Johnson begin to set the table.

Elder Roush, Elder Downs, Elder Johnson and Elder Morrell were very creative as they used everything possible to set and decorate the table. Their mothers should be proud.

Elder Tekurio, Hughes and Dlamini also did a great job brushing up on missionary manners. It is valuable to discuss actual situations missionaries have encountered that need good common sense and appropriate behavior.

Elder Watenga, Ramiliarijoana and Elder Melese all show style and manners in all they do. 

The Benoni Zone came on Thursday July 10th. Our first group had the pleasure of having their Etiquette lunch with our area doctor and Wonderful companion, Elder and Sister Barton.

Below we started again with Elders Dean, Yates, Ware and Ndwande.

Elders Hollaway, Nonumar, Todd and Rushton hold up their Miss(ionary) Manners handout they can take home with them. It has over 31 pointers of what to do and not to do at the table.


Below is the information from one of the articles I shared with the missionaries. These are valuable table manner tips. We also discuss other "sticky situations" missionaries can find themselves in, that call for manners, politeness and etiquette.

How to be gracious, not disgraceful.

There are times in everyone’s life when it is important to know proper etiquette. A mission is one of them. On a mission you will be judged by your manners. You will want to make a good impression.

After you return home, manners will still be important. Maybe you’ll meet a wonderful boy or girl and want to get married. You’ll want to make a good impression on his or her parents.

Maybe you’ll be interviewed for a great job that you really want, and the boss will invite you out to lunch. There will be times when you’ll desperately want to have good manners.

Wherever you go you leave an impression of the kind of person you are and the kind of people you represent. Elder Marion D. Hanks said, “Manners are a manifestation of good sense and good breeding and consideration for others. … They are outward expressions of what we believe to be important, of our values. They reflect our attitude towards others; they show how we really feel” (“Era of Youth,” [p. 5], inImprovement Era, May 1962).

There is never a situation where good manners are optional. Before his mission, my son would say to me, “It’s okay. I don’t have to have good manners here when I’m just with my friends.” Or my daughter would say, “We don’t have to have good manners here because it’s just us at home. When I go out I’ll do okay.” Then the whole family would be out to dinner and they both would be eating like slobs. I’d say, “I thought you two said that when we go out to dinner you’d have good table manners.” All they could say was “Oops!” They got caught by their bad habits. Good manners need to be practiced.

Manners are really very logical. If you know a few basics, you can make it through some sticky situations by using one tried and true rule: If you are faced with a food you don’t know how to eat, or are in a situation where you don’t know what to do next, watch what the host or hostess does and do the same.

Much of good manners is not making a fuss about things. And good manners can make all the difference in the impression you make. Here are some dos and don’ts to remember. Many of them you already know, but they are good reminders.

1. 1. 
   When you are invited into someone’s home, don’t sit down until invited to do so.
2. 2. 
   Stand up when the host or hostess enters the room.
3. 3. 
   Don’t pick up, touch, or fiddle with anything on tables or bookcases.
4. 4. 
   If you are seated at a long banquet table, yourwater glass is the one you would pick up with your right hand at the upper right edge of your plate.
5. 5. 
   When you are invited to be seated at the table, don’t rush in and sit down. If you are a young man, help the lady of the house with her chair.
6. 6. 
   Unfold your napkin and place it on your lap.
7. 7. 
   Sit up straight. Do not rock on the back two legs of your chair.
8. 8. 
   When a meal is served family style, take only one small serving until everyone has been served.
9. 9. 
   Wait until everyone is served before “digging in.” Wait until every dish has been passed around the whole table.
10. 10. 
    No matter how hungry you are, do not wolf down your food. Eat medium-sized bites and carry on nice dinner conversation.
11. 11. 
    Don’t play with anything on the table.
12. 12. 
    Ask people to pass things. Don’t reach.
13. 13. 
    Don’t cut all your meat up at once. Cut one bite at a time. You can cut your salad, but only one bite at a time.
14. 14. 
    Don’t make concoctions by mashing or stirring foods together.
15. 15. 
    Don’t put your elbows on the table or circle your arm around your plate.
16. 16. 
    Don’t butter the entire slice of bread or roll at once. Break off a small piece, butter it, and eat it.
17. 17. 
    Don’t use the serving piece to put butter or relishes on your food. Put the butter or relish on the edge of your plate, then use your own silverware to put it on the food.
18. 18. 
    Don’t use your finger as a pusher.
19. 19. 
    Eat around food that you don’t like. Never make any kind of comment like, “Yuck, I can’t stand this.” If you get something on your plate that you don’t like, cut a couple of pieces off and push it around so it looks like you’ve eaten some. Make only positive comments about the food.
20. 20. 
    Don’t slurp your soup or drink from the bowl. It is correct to eat soup with your spoon sliding from the middle of the soup bowl to the back.
21. 21. 
    Say “Excuse me, please,” if you must leave the table during a meal. Put your napkin on your chair seat if you are coming back.
22. 22. 
    If you have to sneeze, turn away from the table and cover your mouth with your napkin.
23. 23. 
    If you have a coughing fit, turn away from the table or leave the table until your coughing is under control.
24. 24. 
    Leave the napkin to the left of your plate when you are finished. Don’t wad up the napkin or throw it on the table. Don’t refold it. Just lay it to the left of your plate.
25. 25. 
    Don’t comb your hair at the table.
26. 26. 
    Don’t chew your ice cubes.
27. 27. 
    Don’t lick your knife.
28. 28. 
    Don’t eat food with your fingers. There is an exception to this rule. If everyone in the family is eating their chicken with their fingers, go ahead and join them.
29. 29. 
    When you are invited to a family’s home, always offer to help. If the hostess hesitates even the slightest bit before turning down your offer, jump up and get in there and help her.
30. 30. 
    Thank the hostess for the invitation to dinner and say something nice about the food. Make the family that invited you to dinner feel you are totally grateful that they invited you.
31. 31. 
    Take your cues from the family you are with. Don’t use overly formal manners as a put down. If they are relaxed and casual, then adjust accordingly.