Domino Effect

Sometimes weird things happen.  For instance, I put on this hat for warmth and start to feel fashionable.  I look in the mirror and feel like I should be in Mongolia.  I dream about Mongolia all weekend long and blog about it.

 

 

This is the very fashionable me pretending I'm in Mongolia.  Yep, I'm running away from men on horseback hunting for gazelle.  They have spears.  By the way, I just bluetoothed this from my phone to my computer.  What?!?  Technology these days.

 

Back to Mongolia.  It's right north of China.  Run across the Great Wall of China and wha bam you're there.  When I think of Mongolia I think cold, frost bitten cheeks.  Come to find out it has more the climate of Oklahoma with summers that aren't so hot and winters that are a little more cold.

 

Not to mention it's official website has hiking as an activity.  I am a wanna be hiker so this makes my heart go pitter patter.  There is also camel riding and wildlife watching. 

 

Most Mongols are nomadic and wander from pasture to pasture with their sheep.  Some have become permanent farmers and other live in cities due to the influence of the Soviet Union. 

 

They eat fat (yes straight up fat) and mutton (sheep) most of the time.  They live in these tents that look like yurts.   I love these things and plan to stay in one eventually.  It's on my bucket list.

 

Their two main religions are their ethnic religions with medicine men and Buddhism while the rest are classified as non-religious.

 

The Joshua Project lists these ways we can pray for this man and his countrymen.

* Pray that Christian workers would have unity as they reach this large unreached people group for Jesus.
* Pray that the Mongol men would rise up to become strong in the Lord.
* Pray that God will open the hearts of the Khalkha Mongol government leaders to the Gospel.
* Ask God to set the Khalkha Mongol free from their bondage to occultism and Shamanistic beliefs.
* Pray that the doors of Mongolia will soon open to Christian missionaries.
* Pray that God will reveal Himself to the Khalkha Mongol through dreams and visions.
* Pray that alcoholism, violence, and divorce will be wiped out.
* Ask God to raise up teams of intercessors who will faithfully stand in the gap for the Khalkha Mongol.
* Pray that Christians will have opportunities to introduce the Khalkha Mongol to the Prince of Peace.

Come One Come All

Instead of telling you all about me decorating for Christmas (because our lights don't work and I can't find our stockings) I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  The Cushing band is having its annual Christmas concert this Sunday December 9!  This proud sister is going and you should too.

The concert starts at 2 pm in the auditorium by the high school, but if you want a little something to eat before hand you can attend the pork chop dinner in the field house at noon.  Both the concert and the pork chops are guaranteed to be wonderful.

So, grab your family members and friends and join me as I'm serenaded in lovely Christmas jingles by an amazing jazz band.  Okay, so there is more than just a jazz band.  That's just my favorite part so it gets a special shout out.

Heart of a Farmer

A Sunday morning tradition around the Morris house is to watch CBS Sunday morning.  I have missed this tradition lately, but occasionally dad fills me in on stories I may like.  Just this evening he told me about a story on chocolate or rather cacao from Congo.  To watch, click here. 

I needed to know more.  My heart has an unmistakable and sometimes unexplainable need to help those farmers in countries such as Congo and Honduras.  They have a commodity we as Americans love and occasionally think we can't live without.  Okay.  I know I can't live without chocolate.

I've seen first hand how developed countries (U.S., Canada, Great Britain) have given handouts to developing nations to the point they expect us to keep giving.  Why do it themselves when someday a North American will come and do it for them?  For the longest time we have been inadvertently telling them they can't do anything without our help.  They are poor, uneducated, and need our benevolence.  Right?

Maybe that's true, but I would like to propose we're going about it the wrong way.  Instead of giving them handouts, maybe we should teach them how to do it themselves.  Oh, you need a chicken coop.  Well, instead of shipping all the parts from Texas, lets go to your local ag store and see what they have.

Your corn isn't producing enough to supply your family with food for an entire year?  Let's see if we can plant it closer together, or add some fertilizer to get the yield up.  That would have a greater long term impact than shipping them a five pound bag of rice.

What Theo Chocolate is doing is paying the hard working farmer what he deserves to get for his cacao crop.  Rewarding him for trying to provide for his family.  So it may cost twice as much, but why not spend the extra  2 bucks?  That's less than a drink from Starbucks, a six pack of Dr. Pepper, a bottle of nail polish, a combo meal at McDonald's.

I buy chocolate anyway, why not buy from a company dedicated to the well being of the cacao farmer?

Oh, and this week I tried 72% cacao for the first time.  It's healthier and has fewer calories.  Love it! 

And if you are at all interested in donating to a ministry dedicated to reaching the hearts of people by sharing the Gospel and teaching them about agriculture rather than giving them handouts check out 61 Isaiah Ministries.  I've worked with them personally and LOVE what they do and the way they go about doing it. 

Love of Candy Canes

I love just about everything about Thanksgiving: the fall leaves, pumpkin decorations, harvest time, being thankful, eating off dinner plates with colors of amber, yellow, orange, and green.  This week I had to put up all the thanksgiving decorations...and the plates.  Can you tell I really loved the plates?  Oh, we have Christmas plates, but holly just doesn't seem to compare to the hues of Thanksgiving.

One thing I don't particularly like about Thanksgiving time is that everything is flavored like pumpkin.  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies.  I could live my entire life without eating anything flavored like pumpkin. 

Now peppermint is where my true holiday favorite flavor is found.  Peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint chapstick, peppermint kisses.  Usually my house has mint tea too.

 

So, to jumpstart my Christmas cheer, I made peppermint cookies shaped like candy canes!  Now the fun part about this cookie recipe is that the peppermint flavoring can be substituted for the flavoring of your choice. Almond, citrus, and rum are just a few I have on hand. 

Background:
I got this recipe from my magical book of recipes.  Okay, basically that means that somewhere down the road my mom or I cut it off a box, printed it off, or found it in a magazine. 

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup softened butter
3 oz. package of soft cream cheese
1 tsp. peppermint or favorite flavoring
2 egg yolks (reserve whites)
2 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl, place sugar, butter, cream cheese, peppermint and egg yolks.  Beat until blended.  Then mix in flour.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2  hours or overnight.  On a well floured board roll out dough 1/4"-1/2" thick.  Cut out cookies with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet.  Brush top of cookie with egg white sprinkle with colored sugar or leave plain for frosting later.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for 7-10 minutes or until lightly brown on bottom.



Rating: [***]
Very peppermint-y, which was my goal.  They are a little crumbly, but I guess that's better than being hard.  They are definitely a cookie that shares the Christmas spirit, but not one that you would want to snack on all day long.  Plus the recipe makes plenty to share with all your friends and co-workers.

Change it up:
I ran out of time to decorate them how I wanted.  Here are some ideas I came up with.  Instead of using sprinkles you could crush up some peppermints to put on top, make it interesting by frosting them, or dip an end in chocolate because chocolate peppermint goodness is twice as good at just plain old peppermint goodness.

So share your Christmas spirit by baking these cookies for your friends!  And you non-peppermint lovers, remember you can change it up by using the flavor of your choice.  If you plan on making them citrus cookies, I would hold up until I make my citrus butter cookies.  They are to die for.

Traveling the World

One of my best friends is now blogging!  She has a wonderful idea of sharing her year 22 bucket list.  Check out all 22 items here and follow along with her on her journey.  Item number 16 has inspired this new part of my blog: discover a new country via the internet.

I'm reluctant to change my current address on facebook back to the U.S.  And since I don't think I'll be using my passport anytime soon, this seems to be a good way to get my need to travel out of my system.  Or just make it worse.  Probably make it worse.

Instead of throwing a dart at a map or spinning a globe to see where my thumb lands (I've considered both) I'll be using the Joshua Project as a starting point in exploring the world.  For those who aren't familiar with this organization one thing they do is put together a collective list of unreached people groups and update it when they have new information.  An unreached people group is an ethnic group that has not heard the Good News of Jesus, or one that has very few Christians.

I have added a gadget to the bottom of my blog to help you keep track of unreached people groups daily.  I'll try weekly to highlight one in a post.  The website has information such as obstacles the people face, outreach ideas, and how we can pray for the people of that group.



Ahar of India taken from the Joshua Project.

Today it is the Ahar of India.  The caste system was officially outlawed several years ago, but most people in India still practice it.  They belong to one of the higher castes, which can work against them when it comes to accepting the Gospel.  According to the Joshua Project they may not see the need of a Savior like some of the lower caste people do.

Some interesting facts...mango is the national fruit.  I just happen to be allergic to mango.

They have an Indian version of Hollywood called Bollywood.  I've seen one of their movies and it was actually pretty good.  I would suggest you find one that sounds interesting and watch it.

And for weddings and other special occasions they decorate themselves with henna which is a substances made from tea leaves.  Do it.  Just make sure it's real henna and not the fake stuff at county fairs that burns your skin.  I'll post my picture as soon as I can find it.

One of the favorite tourist cities and one that holds great importance to Indians is Agra which is also a small town in Oklahoma.  Tell that to the international student at OSU.  They find it odd.  So do I.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

This weeks baking adventure is a chocolaty twist on the old fashioned Thanksgiving favorite pecan pie.  Pies are not my forte, so I'm a little scared about how this is going to turn out.

Background:
My mom found this in a magazine (one of my favorite places to find recipes) a few years ago.  She's the one that always made this for Thanksgiving, so I thought I would give it a try this year with the prior knowledge that when I went to bake it last year with my Vietnamese friend I had problems.  But with a positive mindset, I thought I would give it another try.  Oh, and Nestle sponsored this recipe.  You can find this more Nestle favorites here.

Recipe:

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell
3 large eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in medium bowl with a wire whisk.  Stir in pecans.  Sprinkle chunks over bottom of crust.  Pour pecan mixture into pie shell.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted 2 inches from center comes out with little bits of filling attached.  If browning too quickly, cover with foil.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours; refrigerate until serving time.

My notes:
When you use the pie shell, make sure you coat it with flour first.  The directions are on the side of the box.  Also, I changed the type of chocolate to dark chocolate chips to tone down the sweetness and to make me feel better about eating something with so much sugar.  Everyone knows dark chocolate is good for you.  Also, my mom always told me to wrap foil around the edges of the pie pan to cover the crust.  This helps to keep the crust from getting dark/burnt when the rest of the pie is still cooking.

How it turned out:
My crust looks great...I think.  Any crust experts out there?  The middle looks to be a few shades darker than golden brown (better than the plain dark brown of the center last time I made this).  The directions say to keep it in the oven until little pieces of filling come out with the knife.  That never happened to me.  After 10 extra minutes on top of the 55 the recipe called for, I took it out so it wouldn't get too dark. I even put foil on top of it at about the 55 mark to prevent the darkening.  This being said, I might have me a runny pecan pie. 

Sidenote: Dad just came in and said everything was going to be okay.  It will thicken up as it cools.  I'm feeling a little bit better about all this.  Maybe I should have just taken it out earlier if this is the case.

***Update.  The pie was good.  I received several complements.  It wasn't runny at all.  I think in the future I'll disregard the knife part of the instructions and just take it out at 55 minutes***

I know I promised you a picture.  I took pictures.  But this here computer doesn't have a place for me to put my camera card.  Can't win for losing, now can I?

As soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, I'll give you an update on how it actually tastes.

Up next:
I'm back to cookie baking.  I've baked enough pies for a lifetime.  Grand total: 2.

Cookie Time

Okay, so I mentioned in my last post about not really having anything to blog about.  Well, that problem is now partially solved.  My goal is to bake a different kind of something every week and provide you with the recipe and my reviews.  I like to change things up a bit when I'm in the kitchen so I'll cite where my inspiration came from and then tell you the changes I made.

I LOVE cookies; they are so easy to grab, easy to store, not messy, and they can keep awhile too.  Most of my baking will be different kinds of cookies.  If I had all the money in the world, I would open up a cookie/coffee/book shoppe.  Flour from the middle east, cane sugar from central or south America, coffee from Africa.  All ingredients from small farmers just trying to survive. 

Maybe when I retire.  For now I'm supporting my local grocery store.

First cookie up: White Chocolate Mocha

Background information:  Original recipe found here.  I just want you to know I had to search for like 30 minutes to find where I got that recipe.

My recipe:

2 eggs

2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals
2 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

In a small bowl, dissolve instant coffee crystals into the coffee liqueur; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.

Gradually add eggs and coffee mixture while mixing.

Sift together the flour,cocoa,baking soda,and salt,Stir into the creamed mixture.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.

Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes.

Immediately transfer cookies to cooling rack after baking.

These keep well at room temperature or refrigerated.

My notes:
Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate chips like the recipe called for, I used white chocolate chips.  Mainly so that I could name it White Chocolate Mocha.  And it gave the cookie some contrasting color.  For the coffee liqueur I used Kahlua.  I tell you this because buying coffee liqueur was my first experience in the liquor store and knowing a brand name would have made the experience less intimidating.

My rating: [*****]
I don't want you thinking just because I blog about a cookie that it came out perfectly.  Sometimes my changes don't turn out so good.  So, from now on I will rate the cookie.  Flavor was rich and chocolaty with a hint of coffee.  The texture was soft.  This will hit a home run for the chocolate coffee lovers out there.

Sorry for the absence of a picture.  I'll get you one next time.  If you want some of my cookies let me know!  I have plenty to give away each week.  Unfortunately these are all gone.

Up next:
Okay, I still have not decided.  It has the potential to be great, though!

Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart

Whew.  I feel like I'm in this limbo period of my life.  No work, no set time to go to classes.  I don't know what to do with myself.  This leaves little to blog about and a lot of time to ponder.

Usually, when I ponder too much I end up a basket case.  There are so many things I miss about my mom and many more things I just never learned from her.  Yesterday I was sad and irritated because I don't know how to make goulash.  It's the stupid little things that get me.  I mean, come on.  Goulash?

This is just one example of many.  There has been an OSU football helmet moment, a girly movie moment, a chicken moment, a picture moment, a boy moment.

I know I find my joy in the Lord and not in circumstances, but I've been finding that hard lately.  I know there are reasons to be joyful.  My mom is joyful.  She would want me to be that way, too.  It's just not easy.

So I'm pressing forward, looking for the joy I know to be deep down in my heart.

Livin' it up with the Boys

I'm back in Oklahoma!  Shall I stop blogging?  I shall not!

With my mom partying with Jesus in Heaven, I'm livin' it up with the boys at home.  My blog is not only about the "dirt" around the world.  It's more about the well being of souls.  In Mark Jesus teaches about the hearts of people and likens them to the soil.  Hence my blog title.  Right now, the "soil" I'm concerned with is at home.

So for the foreseeable future I'm stuck watching action/adventure movies.  If you're a girl and we hang out, you better be okay with chocolate and a chick flick.  Just sayin'.

But, I wouldn't change my circumstances for the world. 

Yesterday I was wearing heels and my brother dropped me off at the door of our church instead of making me walk through the newly graveled parking lot. Without me asking, mind you.  These are the little things I treasure.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that blogging must go on!

Plans Altered

What's new?  My plans change every five seconds.

Friday night Shannon let me know I was teaching Sunday school at a new church Sunday morning, but it should be more like VBS and less like class in Catulaca.  Lesson, games, crafts all made up in less than 24 hours.  Expecting 15 children, I handed out candy to over 20 by then end of our time together.  Needless to say, crafts didn't happen.

I taught them the story of creation and how God made Adam and Eve.  Prepared with a white board drawing of each day of creation, I told the story while Kristi translated.  Afterwards, one of the older children led us in some children's songs and then we played a game.

It was lunch before we got back to Gracias, so I went out to eat with the Hopkins' and Jessica.  This was followed by taking the kids to get ice cream and watching them in the park until their parent's finished errands in town. 

By the time I got home, made a few phone calls, and packed for Sunday night's lesson (a completely different lesson) it was time to go to Catulaca.

Tyler, the 10 year old son of Shannon and Kristi, helped me tell the lesson!  There is a good chance he knows the Bible better than me.  He often gets frustrated when I have the kids read the scripture in Spanish, because he still has a hard time at Spanish.  Having him tell the story in English allowed him to take part in the lesson he usually ignores.  It also helped that I had English worksheets for both him and his sister yesterday.

I helped the 2 English speaking Hopkins' kids while Kristi took the remaining 10 Spanish speaking kids.  I can't help them, okay!  Don't worry, I give Kristi the answers to the worksheets in Spanish.  She just gives them hints.  Anyway, this worked great for me.  I'll have to see about Kristi's thoughts.  She's the one with 10 kids.

I got home late, slept a few hours, got up early, and moved into another room.

I'm resting for the next 24 hours, okay maybe just the rest of the morning; taking my Sunday rest time on Monday.

All this said, I wouldn't change a thing.  I love what I do.

Greetings (My Take on Paul's Letters)

Meagan, a fervent follower and servant of Christ Jesus,

To my family, my friends, and to the people who surround us in your prayers:

Greetings.


I thank God for you continually.  Not a day goes by that I do not count myself blessed because of you.  You continue to persevere and keep the faith.  The community found in you has no equal.  You encourage each other daily, just as all believers are called to do. You meet the needs of those around you, going out of your way to make someone's day brighter.

 I only wish I could be there with you in person.  For now Father has called me to be away- called me to minister to His children in Honduras.  Nonetheless, I am with you in spirit keeping you in my prayers.  Prayers that are unutterable and only God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, can understand.

Because through the perfect life of Jesus, His suffering on the cross, and His resurrection from death we are no longer separated from our loving and merciful Father.  God hears our petitions and His peace that surpasses every thought can guard our hearts, no matter the situation.  Our joy can only be made complete in Him.

I long to be among you once again, cooking you new recipes, baking you delicious chocolate chip cookies, reminding you to take your medicine, watching movies, and cleaning up the never ending mess that accumulates over a day's time.  But more than anything, I wish to be with you so I can hug you tight and say "I love you."  So I can see your smiling faces and sit with you in silence knowing that being in your presence is enough.

Keep strong in my absence.  Grow together in love.  Continue to run the race set before you with endurance.  Remember that God hears your prayers, your wordless moans.  He is your portion forever.  His mercies are new every morning and His love never fails.  Encourage each other, even in times of utter discouragement.

My prayer for you is to love and accept the love of others.  To share your faith even in hard times.  Look for those who need an extra boost and find a way to give them something special.  But above all else, let your love for Christ and His love for you shine like the brightest star.

Please keep me in your prayers, that I might find comfort while we are apart and that I might be a comfort to someone as well.

May the grace of Christ Jesus be with you all.

Praise You in this Storm

"Praise You In This Storm"
        Casting Crowns

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

Autumn Smiles

I was just sitting here sipping on lemon water (because someone on pinterest said everyone should do it) in a large mason jar (because I love mason jars), and decided I should do something productive like blog.  Blogging is productive, right?

I wasn't hesitant when I left Oklahoma to come back to Honduras, but one thing was for sure- I wasn't leaving Oklahoma without bringing a taste of Autumn with me.  So, I went to Wal-Mart and hit the clearance isle...and the non-clearance isle.  Okay, pretty much every isle that may have had fall items on the shelves.  I was on a mission.

What did I bring back with me you ask?  Or maybe you didn't ask.  I'm telling you anyways.

Oh! Wait, wait, WAIT!  First I have to show you what I came home to.

An empty hamper with clean clothes folded at the foot of my bed.  Who has the best landlady around?  I do!  This just plum made my day.

Back to Autumn bliss and drinking lemon water from a mason jar.

New in the kitchen...

Happy Harvest sign!

Cork board(s) decorated with scrapbook paper, fall decorations, and pictures of adorable people.  Shout out to Aunt Debbie for taking the pictures.  Now I'm wishing I was brave enough to get a picture with you know who. There's always next time. *Sigh*

A deep red (cranberry?) coffee cup alongside a plate from Better Homes and Gardens.  Yes, I eat off it.  Yes, it makes me happy.  Have I mentioned how I love fall?

Sorry for the poor picture quality on this one.  But of course I couldn't miss seasonal drinks.  Mint hot cocoa, double mocha cappuccino, herbal tea, and mocha mint coffee with york patty coffee creamer (not pictured).  I'm really sad I don't care much for pumpkin.  There will be a caramel apple cider experiment later this month.  Using ingredients found in Honduras.

Now for my room!



Another sign.  This one obviously says "Give Thanks."

Pumpkin Spice candle which I think the ants like.

Another decorated cork board.  There are four total.  Two in the kitchen and two in my room.  I brought back scrapbook paper that looks more Christmas-y for after Thanksgiving.

I'm rather glad to be back in Honduras, despite their unchanging seasons.  I'll leave you with a quote from a couple friends of mine.

Native Minnesotan- "Have you ever seen snow before?"

Native Honduran- "Yes.  In the freezer."

Evaluation

This is the last week of the first half of my time in Honduras.  I have been here two and a half months.  Sometimes it seems like I've lived here my whole life.  Sometimes it feels like I just arrived in San Pedro yesterday.

It's hard to make an evaluation when one's lived somewhere for this long.  The things that bothered me at first I'm now used to.  The things that were once new are now just an everyday part of life.  Of course I'm still learning, and new things still happen.

In an attempt to wrap up what has happened over the first two and a half months...to make them more tangible...I'm going to list them.

I have....

1.)  written a factsheet over local corn production
2.)  designed and carried out an experiment
3.)  started propagating avocado trees
4.)  gained a Sunday school class
5.)  gotten a major sunburn
6.)  learned how to live without electricity
7.)  learned how to live with an inconsistent water supply
8.)  mastered cooking rice
9.)  been creative with marinades
10.) learned how to make lemonade
11.) become addicted to true Honduran food
12.) gained a whole bunch of friends
13.) taught someone how to make a grilled cheese
14.) gotten said person addicted to grilled cheese
15.) learned how to correctly scramble eggs
16.) learned how to count to 100 in Spanish
17.) fell in love with running
18.) become a bit more assertive
19.) and more self motivated
20.) and better at predicting the weather

I could go on forever.  But basically, I have learned to live in a completely different culture.  I have learned how to adapt to changing circumstances and to be more perceptive.

Yesterday Shannon called me an enigma.  I was like "a whatta"?  A mystery, a person of bewilderment, a conundrum.  Throw me a curve ball and I'll figure out how to hit it.  I guess not everyone is like that?  Anyway, he said it was a blessing.

What I'm trying to say is I've learned an immeasurable amount of usable information.  And I can't list it all.  How's that for an evaluation?

How Much is too Little?

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give.  I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.  In other words, if our expenditure of comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.  If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.  There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them."

-C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity-

I'm not posting this to say everyone should live in complete depravity, or to make everyone assume I give until it hurts.  This quote just got me to thinkin' this afternoon.  Typical after C.S. Lewis reads.

What are your thoughts? 

New in the Kitchen

One of my favorite rooms in the house is the kitchen.  Maybe because I like baking and cooking.  Or maybe because I like eating.  Or maybe because it's simply a comforting room.  Who really knows.

I long for the day I get my very own kitchen.  You know, one with an oven and a stove.  Preferably a full sized refrigerator.  Dishes and dish towels.  Silverware.  Kitchen Aid appliances.  I should stop talking about kitchens.

But, wait.  That's what this post is about...

Pressing on.

Each week when I go to the grocery store I aim to get something new.  It makes my kitchen feel even more like home, it expands my diet (I haven't had pasta in weeks- that's all I lived on my first 3 weeks here), and it gives me inspiration.

What's new in my kitchen?

First item up....

Spices and olive oil!  I have become a HUGE fan of marinating meat...okay chicken.  I'm going to be famous for it one day.  Yeah, maybe not.  Anyway, these are the spices I currently have: ginger, curry, black pepper, salt, cumin, and garlic.  Oh, oh, oh and fresh cilantro.

I have gained much wisdom from my friend Melissa and her mother in the matter of spices and pan frying chicken.

• Curry is the magic chicken seasoning!  Do it! You won't regret it!
• The pan needs to be steaming hot before you put the chicken on.  Steaming.  This will keep the chicken from drying out.
• If you put the fresh cilantro in a glass of water, and then place a plastic baggie over the stems, it will keep longer.

Secondly...

S'mores!  I haven't been able to find graham crackers, but I have found an okay substitute.  I'm going to have to buy more chocolate before I make them though.  Oops.

Third item of business...

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!  So, this looks like a lime.  I think it is a lime.  But they call them lemons and it tastes like a lemon so lemonade it is.  And yes, I made that without any help. Okay so I googled how to make it.  But that's all.

Forth...

Refried beans, crema, and tortillas.  But the tortillas aren't new. These are all items used in making my new addiction.  Baliadas.  The crema and refried beans go inside the tortilla.  Heat it up.  Eat it.  Yum.  Most people here like to put this nasty cheese in the middle as well.  I don't like the nasty cheese, so I don't put it in. 

And last but not least (this is my favorite!)...

 

My big bowl o' goodness.  I think it gives my kitchen a whole new feel.  I open up my doors, see this, and smile.  Definitely homey and inviting.  Actually, I'm smiling just thinking about it.

Now I'm going to go dream about my future kitchen.  Extra counter space.  A giant window.  Glass containers filled with all my baking needs.  Blissful and currently unattainable.

House Church and Small Group

All the North Americans are back in Gracias, school is back in session, and life is picking back up.  I still have not figured out how the starting up of activities not at all related to school still coincides with the start of school. 

As I drink my coffee and listen to the rain I'm going to let you in on what's going on in Gracias and the surrounding area.

Catulaca is a town about 45 minutes from Gracias.  Shannon started a house church there a little over a year ago, and that is the main one I go to every Sunday night.  The people there are beyond welcoming.  My love grows every time I see them.  This particular church has started growing; I see new people every Sunday.  Some have only been once, but others keep coming. 

As Shannon preaches through the book of Acts, I teach a Sunday school lesson.  This is what it looks like for me to study the material.

There's my Bible, a Spanish Bible, and a worksheet that just happens to be in Spanish as well.  The first time I taught a lesson I figured the kids would be able to do the worksheet on their own with little help so I didn't fill one out.  Big mistake.  Yeah, I should have known better...I know, I know.  Lesson learned.  This is what I took last Sunday.  Worksheets completely filled out.  In Spanish.

                                                                                                 

So, how class works is I tell them the story or one of the older girls reads it from the Bible.  Then I ask them questions from the lesson.  Last Sunday I took it a step further and asked them a life application question about the lesson.  I would do this all the time in the States, but here the education level and critical thinking skills are different. 

Then, they get to color picture about the lesson.  Below is the picture I colored of Adam and Eve aka Eric and Ariel.  Do they not look like they come straight out of the Little Mermaid?

When I color the pictures, I do it so they have something to look at while the story is being told/read.  I don't want to use all the ink in the markers so I just outline the picture.  One of the boys decided to do the same.  Such a cute copy cat.

After coloring they do the worksheets I talked about earlier.  And then...the end.  Oh, I forgot there is candy involved and scripture memory and prayer.  The class is a working progress, but it's going in the right direction.

There is also house church in La Puerta and Sanisera that I sometimes attend on Monday and Thursday respectively.  There is not yet a children's ministry at those places.  I see it happening in the future, though. Both towns are about 20 minutes from Gracias. 

 La Puerta is the same town the radio station is in.  Actually, the lady's house we have church in is the secretary/accountant for the radio station.  This church is just now starting back up after a time of business

Sanisera (which I think I'm spelling incorrectly) once had a decent sized church that had some disagreements and split.  Or rather ceased to exist.  Now they're trying to start it back up again.  If you want something to pray about, this would be it.

AND I NOW BELONG TO A SMALL GROUP OF ENGLISH SPEAKING NORTH AMERICANS!!  Can you tell I'm a little excited about this?  Well, I am.  We meet once a week to read through the Bible, pray, encourage, mentor, confess, and grow.  Ah, the joy of having accountability partners once again.  Seriously, it's joyful.

A Life without Cookbooks and Measuring Cups

I've mentioned before in a post quite awhile ago that I have to use recipes because I am not a wife nor a mother and therefore do not inherently have the ability to cook without them.  Well, it has become my goal to change that.  By learning to cook that is; not by becoming a wife or mother.  That's a little eccentric. 

Plus, I now have people to cook for!  Even better.  I love cooking for people.

So, what was on the menu last night?  Chicken somethin' something'.  Okay, so I really don't have a name for it.  I bet it has one if you google it.

Yesterday at about 11 am I decided to take the chicken out of the freezer and it was taking a lot longer than expected to thaw.  I wanted to make sure I was extra safe with this thawing out process because I am feeding three people other than myself, and I didn't want to be responsible for making them sick.  So what did I do?  Googled it.  (Seriously, I don't know what people did before google.)  The USDA is more helpful than I ever realized.

I put the chicken breasts into a ziplock baggie, placed it in cold water, and changed the cold water every thirty minutes until the chicken breasts were thawed.  This only took about an hour.

Afterwards I rinsed off the chicken (just a safe practice here in Honduras, and probably everywhere), and cut it in half horizontally lengthwise so the pieces weren't as thick.  Then I cut the breasts into strips and placed them into my homemade concoction to marinate in the fridge all afternoon.

The marinade consisted of crushed pineapple, lime juice, ginger, curry, and soy sauce.  Just a sprinkle here and a dash there.  I used my own judgement with no measuring...scary.

Three minutes after I cut up the pineapple, I was swarmed by bees.  But that's a whole other story.

About 6:45 pm I started cutting up the vegetables for stir fry: a potato, carrot, broccoli, green pepper, onion, and the rest of the pineapple.  I wish I had a red pepper to go with it, but I couldn't find one at the market.  Towards the end of cooking the vegetables, I added a little bit of ground ginger.  And, I fried up these vegetables while simultaneously cooking rice.

Once the vegetables were finished, I covered them with a lid and started cooking the chicken.  See, I was cooking three parts of one meal with only a two burner electric stove.

In the end there was rice, stir fried vegetables, and chicken.  Cooking time was about an hour.  Might I just say all three parts were still warm when we started eating.  Score.  And I was asked what I did to the chicken.  Score again.  And I was told that I'm the only gringa who has been able to cook rice. Three scores in one meal.  I'm just going to stop there or my next meal will end up terrible.

But all in all it was nice to be able to cook for the girls.  It felt like home.  I miss cooking for those I care about.  Let me just say, this will be happening more often.  I just wish there was a way I could bake here.

Life Update

I just realized I haven't updated you guys lately.  Sorry about that.  Let's see, what's been happening?

It's finally raining!!  I know Oklahoma is hurting something bad too, so I'm not going to say much about our rain problem down here.  Honestly, if I could bucket up some rain and send it your way I would gladly do so.

I have a Sunday school class again!  I miss the boys back home, but they now belong to another non-mother who loves them as her own.  It's a bitter sweet moment to be moving forward.  It's hard for me to communicate let alone relate to my kids here, but I'm enjoying it none the less.

A sense of being welcome and at home  has begun to take over.  I've started to go to two house churches regularly and I've visited another church several times.  It's nice going to a place and knowing the smiling faces that greet me.  The faces of the grocer, land lord, and restaurant owners are becoming ones I look forward to seeing as well.

My friend moved into my apartment compound.  We're pretty much as roommates as roommates can be without actually being roommates.  A little redundancy never hurt anyone, right?  Anyway, I love having a friend a hop, skip and jump away.  Literally, a hop, skip, and jump.  She's that close.

The North American teachers are here!  Two of them also live in my apartment compound.  Their school starts on Monday.  I'm hoping to get the chance to set in and observe some classes once they get settled in.  One thing I'm thinking about doing once I graduate and get a real job is teaching middle school science.  Observing their classrooms will be nice since I am not an education major...actually I don't think many of them are either.  Even better.

My stupid wisdom teeth are coming in.  Well, at least one of them.  Yeah, I hate it already.

I come home for vacation a month from today.  It doesn't seem possible.  Time has already flown by way too quickly.  It seems like I've only been here a few weeks...but on the other hand it seems like I've lived here forever.  Weird.  I don't know how to explain that one.

If you haven't done so already, check out my tortilla making video on facebook.  It's worth taking a look at.

Playing Catch-up with Pictures

I was going to attempt to pull a Pioneer Woman and blog about the food I learned to make this past weekend, but instead I'm just going to show you some pictures.  I might write about the food later.

I met a group from Georgia who was helping this particular church build a roof.  They were not associated with the ministry I'm involved in, but the people of the church are. 

This is one of three compost piles we have at the radio station.  It started out as tall as the wood posts in the corner.  We still have a ways to go, but it's working.

And this is a ginormous grub found at the bottom of one of the compost piles.  Yummy.  Shannon is the one holding it in the picture, but he made me carry it to the camera which was forever away.  I don't care much for creepy crawly insects.

Castle in Honduras?  Yes.  Some people call it a fort.  Not really sure which one it is, but I visited it!

I learned how to make gringas aka quesadillas, guacamole, and salsa all from scratch.  Best meal I've had here thus far.

I learned how to take a moto.  That's what the little red thing is called.  All I have to do is flag them down and tell them where I want to go...in Spanish of course.  I feel quite accomplished.





I learned how to make homemade corn tortillas.  I like them, but most people think they are a bit bland.  A video of the process is in the making.  You'll be able to find it on facebook.



The Prayer of Faith

"Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

-James 5:13-16-

I have recently finished a book by John La Noue called Walking with God in Broken Places.  For the majority of his life, he was involved in Baptist disaster relief projects all over the world.  He was one of the first Americans in Iran after Desert Storm and he willingly went into North Korea while we were technically still at war with them.  His book testifies countless stories of his faith and God's provision.  He is most definitely a man of prayer.

Towards the end of his book, he gave specific things to pray about while on any mission for the Lord.  I'm going to share those with you so that we can pray them together.  And, the fact of the matter is we're all on the mission field whether we're at work, at home, at school, or in some crazy foreign country.  So start praying these prayers for yourself as well.  I'll be praying them for you.

• You must pray that God will protect your mind and prevent it for accepting confusion, negativity or depression.
• You must pray for your personal safety and the safety of your crew, this includes praying for Angel guardians to stand between you and violence from the enemy.
• You must pray for every aspect of your day's activities everything from drinking water, food, transportation and places where you might go.
• You must pray that God will lead you in every casual and intentional contact.
• You must pray that God will make you alert and sensitive to every situation He has prepared for you to give a witness.
• You must pray that God will put a filter on your eyes, ears, and mouth; because the Devil will try to distract you with what you see and hear, and you might pollute the situation by what you say.
• You must pray for God to give you genuine love for the people among who you walk, and pray that His love can be seen in your eyes and His compassion be seen in your face.
• You must pray for God to put a covering of the blood of Jesus and the power of His name over the mission, missionary families, your team, and your family at home, because Satan can work in any of these areas and debilitate your effectiveness.

Now for a little more personal prayers...

• There is a team coming in to do construction work on a church as well as evangelize in the village next week.  Pray for travel, health, and Kingdom impact.
• I'm starting to work with children at a house church! (major excitement!) Pray that Father will lead in which lessons to teach.  Notice I said teach, not tell.  I think there is a difference.
• A new group of first year American teachers are coming in the next few weeks to teach a year at the bilingual schools close to Gracias.  Pray for their spiritual and logistical preparations before they arrive as well as their adjustment once they get here.

But I'm not just a prayer receiver!  How can I pray for you?  Pleeeeease let me know if there is anything I can lift up to the Lord on your behalf.

What's Behind Door Number One

For those of you who have been keeping up, you know this is my kitchen.  I just thought I would give you a run down of what I buy at the grocery store every week.  The nutritional value is equivalent to what I ate when living in the dorms at college, so don't freak out about my simplistic menu.  It's not because I lack food, it's because I'm only feeding myself most of the time and I'm easy to please. 

Let's get started... 

Coffee.  The most important thing in any person's kitchen.

Peanut butter and tortillas.  I don't typically get roasted honey nut pb, but I was paying too close attention to the super crunch to see the rest of the label.  It's even in English.  I need help.

             

Pasta, some version of tomato sauce, and ritz crackers.  If you can't already tell I'm grouping things in meals.  Ritz and pasta?  Works for me.

Pancake mix and orange juice.  Obviously I'm not putting these meals in any particular order.  I don't own any measuring utensils, so I just mix the pancakes up the Honduran way.  Or the grandmother way.  They're the same thing.

Milk and cereal.  I don't think I need to explain this one.

Eggs.  I like them scrambled and hot.  They're easy...and if you put milk in them they're fluffy!!  It took me coming down to Honduras and eating supper with a native Minnesotan to figure this out.

Then there is the occasional can of nuts or bag of pretzels or whatever else looked good in the store.  I have yet to buy meat and cook it myself.  Someday I probably will...maybe.  When I go out to eat is when I get my ration of meat.  Just like college, I'm telling you.