How you eat apples in Washington

 I learning something new every single day.  Today one of the things I learned is that you can BREAK an apple open.  Honestly.  I brought a box of Honey Crisp apples from the Allred’s farm today to share with the missionaries, and I brought a cutting board and a big knife.  The knife never made it out of the car.  Everyone had these perfect apple halves in their hands and I couldn’t figure out where they found a knife.  Then they showed me.   You take a beautiful apple, grip it well, and you break it open.  It will split into 2 perfect pieces.  I was astounded and watched the Elders break apples, one after the next. Elder Oliver, below, attacking an apple the traditional way:And here are Elders Brinkerhoff and Bawden.   This was a red-letter day for Elder Bawden who has never tasted an apple in his life.  He is being very brave.  He came to Washington as what a mother might call a “picky eater.”  Every time I see him, he reports to me what foods he has been brave enough to try (today he told me about eating salmon and spinach).  When I asked him this morning if he’d ever eaten an apple, he said, “no.”  So I handed him a half and said, “today’s the day for apples!”  He tried it.  The skin didn’t impress him, but he ate a few bites and said it wasn’t too bad.   Missions change lives in more ways than one!  And today I learned there is more than one way to eat an apple!