Preaching in the Nude

There was a brand new missionary to Quebec and as is often the custom he was asked to introduce himself to the congregation at church. He said 'Bonjour, je m'appelle Elder Smith et je suis 'new'." In his nervousness he had forgotten the French word for new, which is "nouveau" and had unfortunately substituted it with the English word "new." The entire congregation erupted into a tremendous laugh at hearing the Elder say he was "naked."

-David Jarvis

Special Experiences

What kind of experience is Japanese food?

The worst I've heard of is a common mistake in Japanese. In the MTC they were quick to warn me not to mix up the words "reiteki" (spiritual) and "seiteki" (sexual). Very awkward if you want to tell others about a spiritual experience you had with your companion.

-Danniey Wright

Dangerously Gross

Dangerous.

While serving as a missionary, another missionary was telling a story about a guy in a speedo. She was trying to say he was really gross (asqueroso). In Spanish she said, "el fue muy peligroso," which sounds similar to gross but what she really said was, "he was really dangerous"

-Heidi Broadbent

So Wet

Caught in the rain.

An older American woman in Germany wanted to tell people how nice they were, but she kept saying the wrong adjective. Instead she told them, "Sie sind so nass, so nass!" (You are so wet, so wet!)

-Jennie Taylor

Proud Partygoer

Proud weekend partygoer.

In German, I got the words "aufgeregt" (excited) and "ausgezeichnet" (awesome) mixed up, so for a long time I would say things like “Am wochenende werde ich zur Party gehen, also bin ich sehr ausgezeichnet." (During the weekend I'm going to a party, so I'm awesome.)

-Joel Roman