A Tribute to My Parents

Looking through pictures of my family in Papua New Guinea, I decided to write a post about my parents, who are still faithfully serving the Lord as missionaries after 21 years.

When my dad surrendered to go to Papua New Guinea, he did not feel worthy to be a missionary.  He simply surrendered to go there to help those bush pastors build churches in the Wiru tribe.  His call took him to the farthest inhabited village in that tribe.  It took 14 hours to get there from the nearest "town."  And there God made him into a missionary.  From that day until now, my dad has been driven with one single purpose--to see as many of those bush people saved as he can before the rapture hits.

Every time my Dad left the house, he witnessed to people.  Walking the trails with him, I knew we would stop each time we passed someone so that Dad could ask them about their soul.  This really made an impact on me growing up.  I lost count of the many times my Dad joyfully told me, "Jess, being a missionary is the greatest thing in the world!"  And I saw in my parents what being a missionary really is.  They lived it.  It didn't matter how far they had to walk to get to the place they called home.  It didn't matter that we didn't have electricity, refrigeration or a real stove.  It didn't matter that we had to haul our water in buckets and wash our clothes out by hand.  The outhouse didn't matter.  The knee-deep mud didn't matter.  Malaria and typhoid countless times didn't matter.  All that mattered was seeing those precious souls come to know Jesus Christ.  And that is still what matters most to them.

They have lived among five different tribes in the last 21 years, doing the same things over and over--witnessing, passing out tracts, market preaching, baptizing, and building churches.  

 

Mom with Galu

After this lady got saved, she looked at us with tears coursing down her cheeks, and said, "Thank you for coming to my country to tell me how I can go to Heaven."  That makes it worth everything!

I would not be where I am today if it were not for parents who taught me to love God and the mission field.  "Thank You, Lord, for Godly parents, and thank You for letting me grow up on that mountain in a far away land."  Surely, I have a goodly heritage.    

The view from behind our house where I used to live

 

Mincemeat Pie

I have been craving a mincemeat pie for a month or two.  Each time I've gone shopping, I've eyed the expensive jars of already prepared mincemeat on the shelves, knowing that I could not bring myself to buy two jars of it to make a pie. 

Then BJ's tomato plants finally blossomed, and I started thinking about that mincemeat pie again! 

The problem was, after all of his hard work in growing his garden, BJ wasn't thrilled about harvesting those tomatoes until they were a nice, juicy red!  I hinted this way and that way about needing green tomatoes (which you can't buy at the store or market here), and he would just grin at me and put me off.  It was a big joke between us for a couple of weeks!  Finally, with his consent I picked 10 of those green tomatoes and made a pie.

It so satisfied my craving!  The pie didn't last long; I ate most of it myself!  Now if I can get my husband to give me some more green tomatoes, I will make another one!  Hubby insists that it didn't satisfy my craving if I am still craving it.  Maybe he is right, but it definitely is satisfying to me!
 

  
P.S.  I wonder where it ever got the name "mincemeat pie". 


Mincemeat Pie
1 lb. green tomatoes, diced small (about 8-10 tomatoes) (may use apples for some of the tomatoes)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/8 teaspoons cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup apple juice or apple cider

Pie Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup Crisco                                         
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon vinegar
6-7 Tablespoons ice cold water

Instructions:
In a saucepan, combine green tomatoes, raisins, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.  Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.  In a cup, stir together juice and cornstarch.  Stir the cornstarch mixture into the boiling tomato mixture.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture returns to boiling and thickens.  Cool slightly. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

For pie crust, combine flour and salt.  Cut in the Crisco until you have coarse crumbs.  Add the vinegar and then the water a little at a time, stirring, until the dough forms into a ball.  Divide in half and roll out the bottom crust.  Fit it into the pie plate.  Pour the tomato mixture into the uncooked pie shell.  Roll out the top crust and lay over pie.  Flute edges of pie, and bake for 30-40 minutes. 

 

Deaf Culture

Wow, the subject is so vast.  I don't even know where to begin!  How does one tell everything about a people's culture in just one post?  It is a subject dear to my heart, though, so I am excited to write this post.

The Deaf all around the world have a community mentality.  They are very clannish with their own.  I will give you a great example of this.  Recently, the deaf pastor from our church in the States went to Israel.  He visited a deaf school there where he found deaf Jews and deaf Arabs in harmony with each other.  Also, they all accepted him, a Baptist American, without restraint.  In their culture, deafness is the most important thing.  Race, religion, and whatever else that may divide the hearing is of very little importance. 

Most Deaf are reserved at first around hearing people.  They have a hard time trusting hearing people.  Imagine if you were deaf, and everywhere you went, you saw people talking and communicating among themselves, but you had no idea what they were saying.  You wouldn't help but wonder if they were talking about you, and you'd probably experience a feeling of insecurity and distrust.  On top of this, the Deaf in many countries are treated horribly by the hearing.

A story is told of a deaf girl in India.  Her family made her live with the pigs in the pigpen.  The only food she was given was what the pigs ate.  In the eyes of the hearing people around her, she was worthless.  Many deaf are outcasts here in Kenya as well.  Hearing people view them as a curse, and they try to physically distance themselves from that curse.  Understandably, because of the way they are looked down on, the deaf do not have a very high opinion of the hearing either.  For this reason, it takes time to build a relationship with them and to show them that you love them and care about them.  The best way to build this relationship with them is to learn their language.  And the only way to learn sign language well is to get around Deaf people.

On an interesting note, many people think that sign language is universal.  However, this is not the case.  Many countries have their own sign language, although some countries like Papua New Guinea have no sign language at all.  The reason sign languages are different around the world is because different cultures will see a different picture of things.  For instance, in American Sign Language, we sign "coffee" as if we are grinding coffee beans in a grinder.  In Kenyan Sign Language, it is signed as if you are picking coffee beans from a tree.  Very few Kenyans drink coffee.  So when they think of coffee, they think of harvesting it from the trees.  By the way, recently, while interpreting the song, "How Great Thou Art", I made a mistake!  At the part, "I see the stars", I only knew the American sign for "star".  Well, I later found out that here that same sign means "travel"!  So I signed, "I see the travel"!

The Deaf are very proud of their language and rightly so.  In my opinion, the Deaf have the most beautiful language in the world.  As with any people, when you are willing to put forth the effort to learn to communicate with them in the language of their heart, that sacrifice on your part opens their hearts to you.  They slowly begin to love you and trust you for it.  We have found that the Deaf are very accepting and patient with hearing people who know sign language or those who really want to learn it. 

However, let me caution you about something.  When it comes to the Deaf, don't start something that you don't plan to finish.  Many people get excited about learning sign language.  As they begin learning some basic signs, the Deaf are watching, wondering, "Will they stick it out?  Can we trust them?  Do they love us enough to learn to communicate fluently with us?  Or are they merely doing this for their own personal enjoyment?"  They will not fully trust you until they know the answers to these questions.  Therefore, it is better not to start at all than to start and later quit after the excitement and newness of it wears off.  The Deaf take this personally.  To them it means that obviously they are not worth the trouble.  Learning any language takes work and determination, but in learning a language, you are showing people that you love them. 

When you meet a Deaf person for the first time, what are some things he or she will want to talk about?  The Deaf love information, so most likely, they will pump you with all kinds of questions.  And sometimes these questions can be rather personal!  Take it in stride, knowing information is very important to them.  They will probably ask you your name, how old you are, where you are from, if you are married or have a girlfriend or boyfriend.  How many kids do you have?  Are you deaf or hearing?  Is anyone deaf in your family?  Where did you learn sign language?  And if by some chance, you happen to know a deaf person that they know, it really delights them.  Honestly, it opens all kinds of doors.  You get into the Deaf community by contacts.  If you know one, they introduce you to all of the others!

The Deaf are also very blunt.  They do not know how or even feel the need to "beat around the bush".  They just tell it like it is!  Do not be surprised if they tell you you've put on weight since the last time they've seen you.  This is a compliment!  And if they have put on weight and you fail to mention it, you may be in some very hot water!  Sometimes hearing people get offended at some of the things the deaf will say . . . or sign, I should say.  Just remember, every culture is different.  What is considered rude in one culture may be totally fine in another. 

These are just a few things about the Deaf and their culture.  There is so much more.  How I wish I could adequately share my burden and love for the Deaf!  Sadly, they are a forgotten people.  The only times most people even think of the Deaf are the rare times they happen to see Deaf people signing to each other.  The Deaf are so unreached around the world because very few people can communicate with them to tell them the Gospel of Christ.  How many missionaries to the Deaf have you met?  Very few, probably.  Here in Kenya, the work is so vast that sometimes it can seem overwhelming!  Where do we even begin?  Wherever we go, we could be in that one place for the rest of our lives and still not get the work done.  The Deaf harvest truly is ripe, but the laborers are so few.  My desire and prayer is that more people would get burdened for these precious people, that they would determine to learn sign language, and that God would continue to call more people to reach the Deaf around the world for Christ.

Translation Work

As soon as we finished language school (and we got back from Dubai), BJ began translating Gospel tracts into Swahili.  He has been meeting with Ephraim, the assistant pastor, and together they have been working on it almost non-stop throughout the last few days.  Today, BJ went to Hekima to meet with our teacher, Ndelegua, to make sure the tracts are grammatically correct.  And while BJ is working to get the tracts translated on this side, Bro. Madory, the missionary whom we are currently filling in for here, is preparing to have them printed in the States by the Fellowship Tract League.  Then he will put these Swahili tracts on a container that is to be shipped soon.  By the way, it is very easy to pass out Gospel tracts here because people actually want them!

BJ and I were encouraged Sunday.  Karen Baptist Church supports several national missionaries, one of whom is serving in Tanzania.

BJ with Bro. Peter Kasamba, our national missionary in Tanzania

This missionary had visited our church shortly after we arrived in Kenya back in October.  At that time, we were just one month into our language classes, and we couldn't understand a thing he said when he preached!  But Sunday, we were able to understand almost his entire sermon!  It was good to be updated on how his work is going there in Tanzania.  And it was encouraging for BJ and I to actually understand what he was saying!

Since completing language school, I have noticed myself losing confidence in speaking the language.  The reason for this, I am sure, is that I do not get as many opportunities to use it as BJ does every day.  This really bothers me even though I know this is the way it is for missionary wives.  Our main ministry is in the home taking care of our family.  However, I hate to see six months of study and labor be for nothing.  So this morning, I pulled out my Swahili notebook again and determined to study my vocabulary words at least 15 to 20 minutes each day to keep them fresh in my mind.

It is a struggle for me because there is so much that I want to do--things that I need peace and quiet to do--like really study my Bible (and not just read it), memorize verses, study Swahili.  As all mommies know, we have precious little quiet time!  Right now, I am trying to finding that balance because I don't want to let the important things slide.  Yet, how many important things can you fit into your schedule without letting other important things slide?  It's all important!!!

Sunday we had a small crowd in church as most families had gone back to their villages to be with family during Easter.  The Deaf are not back yet either.  I believe they are coming back to school next week.  BJ preached this week on "The Power of Christ".  Christ's power is most clearly seen in His resurrection.  I am so glad to know that I serve a risen Savior!    

Some blessings for us this week--one young man received Christ as his Savior last Saturday on visitation, and on Sunday, a lady was baptized and joined our church.  This week, two more are wanting to speak with BJ about joining our church soon.  God is still at work.

Married to a Cajun

I mentioned in an earlier post that the taste and flavor of foods is very important to Cajuns.  They know how to cook, and they know what food is supposed to taste like!  While we were courting, BJ would cook Cajun meals for me, and we'd eat them together!  I just knew the other girls in the dorm were green with envy!  

I guess you can imagine after I married my Cajun, I did not feel confiident when it came to cooking for him!  Oh, I knew how to bake.  But baking and cooking are two different things!  I knew how to cook a little too, but not like Cajuns cook.  After we were married, he took me to Louisiana.  I tasted their food--seafood, crawfish, etoufee, gumbo, red beans and rice.  Honestly, I'd never tasted anything like it in the 46 other States I'd been in!  It was delicious!  I was amazed and intrigued to find out just how important good food is to Cajuns.  It tickled me that BJ's family could sit around the table for an hour or more talking about the flavors in the food and what spices they could add next time to enhance the flavors even more!  I soon learned that food is very much a part of the Cajun culture in south Louisiana.

So different from my family.  Mom cooked (and she is a good cook).  We sat down, thanked God for the food, and ate it whether we liked it or not because that was what God had provided for us to eat.  You eat because that is the thing to do at mealtimes.  Not so with Cajuns.  They thoroughly enjoy cooking and eating flavorful food.  It is what they love and talk about!  

After four years of deputation, I am just now getting my chance to learn how to cook like that!  Now we sit around and talk about the flavors in the food and what spices I can add next time!  And I appreciate all the help BJ can give me.  I think I am starting to get the hang of it.  Recently, I tried my hand at making a roux for the first time, and it didn't burn!  Yay! 

In 2007, when BJ came to Kenya on his survey trip, I stayed two weeks with his mom and dad.  Even though I missed my husband terribly, I have fond memories of those days spent with his parents.  They took me to Church Point, Louisiana into the heart of Cajun country where BJ's grandparents were from.  It is a three-hour drive from Baton Rouge.  All the way there and all the way back, I got a crash course in Cajun history and culture.  BJ's dad proudly told me of his heritage, and I loved just sitting there listening to him.  It was obvious how much it meant to him, and it made me so proud to now be a part of it since I married a Cajun.  It piqued my interest so much that I traced BJ's family tree all the way back to Nova Scotia.  I was excited to find the name of the Cormier who left Nova Scotia and moved to Louisiana because of the religious persecution up there.  Cajun history is so rich, and their food is truly the best!

A Match Made in Heaven

Never say never!  Traveling through hot, humid, Louisiana on furloughs with my parents, I playfully, yet seriously vowed I would NEVER marry someone from Louisiana!  I hated the 100% humidity that frizzed my curly hair, and turned it damp.  And the heat!  I can take dry heat much better than humid heat, but I prefer nice, 70-degree, mountain weather!  Well, I can just see God smiling at that comment I made and saying, "Oh, you won't, will you?"

Then I got to Bible College and met BJ in the orchestra.  No, it was not love at first sight.  The previous orchestra leader graduated from college, and BJ was put in his place.  He was SO strict about us practicing our instruments throughout the week, and well, with my college load, and learning sign language, I just didn't have time for that too.  I tried my hardest to find time.  I really did, but BJ Cormier irritated me.  It even irritated me that I couldn't say his last name.  It took me forever to figure out it was (Cor-mee-a) instead of (Cor-mee-air).  I remember shaking my head and saying to myself, "I feel sorry for the girl who marries him!"  Once again, I can imagine God smiling up in Heaven, and saying, "Oh, if you only knew!"  I think God had fun writing my love story!

I feared I was becoming an old maid at 22, so I prayed that God would please bring Mr. Right into my life soon.  I also prayed that somehow He would make me know who the right one was, because I didn't want to blindly date a bunch of guys before I found the right one.  Something in my heart told me that was not the best way to go, and I wanted to be spared all of that heartache.  So I prayed and I waited.

At the beginning of my third semester in college, one of my teachers gave me an assignment for class.  I was to go to the college library, find a word in the Hebrew concordance, and bring the definition back to class.  So I went to the library, pulled down the Hebrew concordance from the shelf, and promptly got confused.  How in the world are you supposed to find anything in a Hebrew concordance?  I asked Miss Fogelman, the librarian, if she knew how to use it.  Right at that moment, BJ walked in.  She smiled sweetly at me, and said, "Here's a preacher!  Preachers know how to use these things."  In my heart, I rolled my eyes.  Great!  He is the last person I wanted help from.  I know, I know, my attitude wasn't great, but BJ had no interest in me either.  However, being the gentleman that he was, he asked me what my word was that I needed to look up.  Horror of horrors!  I suddenly remembered that the word was "helpmeet"!  I told him as nonchalantly as I could while I struggled to keep my composure.  I did NOT want to blush right in front of him!  As he kindly helped me find that embarrassing word, God spoke to my heart.  I "heard" it as clear as a bell, and I knew as sure as I was saved that God had just told me, "That is the man you are going to marry, and you are going to Kenya with him as a missionary."  (BJ was already called to Kenya, by the way.)  Well, God had answered my specific prayer; He had told me quite clearly who Mr. Right was.  I immediately began back pedaling.  "Oh, God, not him.  I mean, I don't even like him."  But God wouldn't listen.  He simply told me to start praying about him.

Reluctantly, I did.  I prayed for 10 months.  I told the Lord I didn't see how it was going to work because sign language and the Deaf were my passion.  BJ was about to graduate in another year, and he had no interest at all in the Deaf.  To my surprise, that summer God brought a deaf student to our college and moved him into BJ's room.  Then He fixed it that BJ's other roommate was a young missionary called to the Deaf in Peru.  Therefore, the main language in his room was sign language, and BJ began to get interested.  He started studying his roommate's sign language books, and his deaf roommate began teaching him sign language.  That fall, he took ASL I, and in the spring, he took ASL II.  I watched all of this happen, and awe filled my heart.  "Well, Lord, I guess You know what You are doing after all."  Little did I know, BJ had started praying about me too shortly after that episode in the library!

Ten months later, we began courting, mostly in sign language!  We had to become friends first because we barely knew each other.  We courted for a year and a half, and our friendship slowly turned into love.  Then, after my graduation from college, we were married on July 1, 2006.  That day, I was the happiest bride ever, and I still am!

Success With a Homemade Cake!

I tried this homemade cake recipe recently, and I was very pleased with how it turned out.  It is very light, almost like a cake mix.  I am excited to have a recipe that tastes so good for future birthday cakes, especially if we move up country, and I don't have access to box cake mixes.  I want to share it now with all of my friends!

Good Homemade White or Yellow Cake

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

5/8 cup Crisco shortening

1 cup powdered sugar, divided

4 eggs for yellow cake, separated and whipped OR 6 egg whites for white cake, whipped 

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup milk

* Makes one 9-inch round or square cake. For a larger cake pan, double the recipe.

Instructions:
All ingredients need to be room temperature.  Gather all your ingredients beforehand.  Prepare a 9-inch round or 9 x 9-inch square cake pan beforehand.  Grease and flour the cake pan, and then cut a piece of paper to fit in the bottom of the cake pan.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sift the flour three times with the baking powder, salt, and cornstarch.  In a separate large bowl, cream the shortening (by itself) thoroughly with the back of a spoon.  Add 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar to the shortening a little at a time.  Cream until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Separate the egg yolks from the whites.  Beat the egg yolks, and add to the creamed mixture.  Beat the creamed mixture vigorously until it is thick, fluffy, and quite pale in color.  (For a white cake, forget this step.)  Note:  Up to this point, it is almost impossible to overbeat.  Add the vanilla flavoring to the creamed mixture.  Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the creamed mixture alternately--dry in 3 to 4 portions, milk in 2 to 3 portions.  Beat the egg whites, adding the remaining 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar a little at a time.  Beat until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter quickly and thoroughly--extremely important.  Pour batter quickly into the prepared cake pan.  Bake cake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes.  When a toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven.  Let cake sit in pan 5 minutes (no more, no less) before removing from the pan to a wire rack.  Leave paper on while cooing cake.

P.S. Sorry for the mix up with this post. I found out that the icing recipe was a family secret that I didn't know was a secret. Oops! I had deleted the whole post, then tried to post it again. I can't remember all that I said in the first one, so here is the second version, plain and simple, and without the icing recipe! Oh, well, the cake is the most important part anyway.

The Little Things

My mind has still been pondering today how much God loves me.  Even as I struggle in my heart with something, something that I want so badly, namely another little one, I have to keep going back to the reassuring fact that God always loves me.  He knows me like no one else does, and He loves me more than anyone else can.  It is comforting that I can cling to that constant--God's love for me.  And He shows me in the little things.

When our container arrived from the States, I was so happy to have our couches.  I decided I would look for pillows to go on the couches.  However, after shopping around here in Kenya, I decided I really didn't need pillows that bad after all, not for a hefty price of $80!  I thought about making some, but I hadn't gotten around to that yet.  Plus, the kind of material I was hoping for would be pretty pricy to buy here as well.  So it kind of got put on the back burner.

Then we went to Dubai last week.  I wasn't planning on getting anything there as I am not really a souvenir type person.  However, when we were in one of the stores, I saw these pillows!

They were the same soft, velvety material as our couches are.  And best of all, they were five dollars a piece!  So I got four pillows for the price I would've paid for one pillow here in Kenya!  I knew it was God giving me the desire of my heart.  True, it was just a little thing, but He delights in showing His love for us even in the little things.

I have had this song in my heart the last couple of days.  It is one of my favorites.

   The Love of God

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair, bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song

Author and composer:  Frederick M. Lehman

The Beauty of Salvation

Yesterday was such a blessing because I actually got to sit in church and listen to the message--a rare thing for me.  Most weeks I am either interpreting the message (You don't really "hear" it when you interpret because your mind is working overtime to translate it!) or I am in the nursery.   So yesterday, I soaked in the preaching, and boy, was it good!  I have to say that my husband is my favorite preacher ever.  He preached on "The Love of Christ".

Many times I am guilty of getting routine in my Christian life.  Oh, I am still faithful to read my Bible and pray, and I try to please my Heavenly Father.  But as the days fly by and I stay so busy as a wife and a mother, many times I don't take the time to remember Christ's immense love for me and what He went through to give me eternal life.  My heart should swell with thankfulness and praise each day in knowing that I am forgiven completely, loved unconditionally, and saved forever!

Part of BJ's message was on the crucifixion.  He told in graphic detail what Roman crucifixion was like and what Jesus suffered and endured in order to pay our sin debt.  The amazing thing is that He was willing to go through all of that for His enemies!  Talk about unconditional love!  When I really stop to think about Calvary, verses in the Bible take on new meaning--"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)   And "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Romans 5:10)

He willingly died for me so that I could live forever.  He willingly forgave my sins and freely gave me His righteousness so that I can go to Heaven someday.  Not because of any good in me; only because He loved me.   It is so simple, and yes, so beautiful to me.  It makes me want to love Him more, to serve Him more, to be more like Him that I might willingly give of myself and love others with His love, that self-sacrificing Love of Calvary.

I am thankful that my husband has a tender heart.  He could not make it through that message talking about the love that Christ has for us without tears in his eyes and a cracking voice.  I love following a man who loves God!

A Cookout With Our Neighbors

Today our neighbors invited us outside for lunch.  They had grilled beef and chicken on their barbeque pit.  We had a good time together with them, and the food was wonderful.  Elpina also made "ugali" and "kachumbari" to go with the meat. 

"Ugali" is made with water and a very fine, cornmeal-like flour.  It actually tastes like very thick grits.  It has very little flavor because they do not add salt or anything else to it, but I still like it.  "Ugali" is the main staple food here in Kenya.  They eat "ugali" with almost everything, and it is very filling.

And I love Elpina's "kachumbari"!  It is the best "kachumbari" that I've tasted here in Kenya.  It is a salad made with tomatoes, onions, avocado, and lemon juice.

They cut lean pieces of meat for us, but they actually prefer meat with some fat on it.  She had marinated the meat for a while before cooking it, and it tasted really good!  Elpina is an amazing cook.  In fact, she even has her own catering business.

Elpina does not like having her picture taken, but she let me take this one of her and her husband.  They are really a blessing to us as our landlord and neighbors. 

And here are their two boys.  Clinton is on the right, and he is 18.  Arvin is 11.  Seth and Arvin play a lot together.  Clinton is actually in college on weekdays studying computers, so we don't see him around as much.

Home Sweet Home!

On the plane back to Nairobi, it was so nice to hear Swahili being spoken all around us.  Seth kept trying to talk with the man in the seat behind us!  My little boy has the gift to gab!  Of course, the man loved every minute of it!

Home Sweet Home!  There is no place like home.  It feels so good to be home with our own things and our own familiar routine in Kenya.  This is the spot on this earth where we are supposed to be! 

Today, I did tons of laundry--four loads.  That is a lot for our little family!  The last load didn't get dry, and it is waiting for tomorrow's sun.  We had a kick-back day today.  I got caught up on writing my posts, and BJ took a nap.  Seth was outside most of the day getting reacquainted with his ants.  I didn't feel like doing much of anything today, but I did manage to get unpacked and my house picked up a little.  Why is it that you always come home from a vacation more tired than when you left?  It's crazy that you have to recuperate after a vacation!  We had so much fun in Dubai, but we are homebodies!  We are perfectly content here in our little house.  I think four years of deputation did that for us.  Once you finally have a home, you never want to leave it again!

Meeting an Arab Deaf Man

Thursday, April 14, 2011

This morning we packed our things, caught a taxi to the metro train, and then rode the train all the way to the airport.  An African lady sat next to us on the train.  Seth thought she must be Kenyan since she looked like a Kenyan, so he started talking to her in Swahili!  Come to find out she was from North Sudan, from the capitol city, Khartoum.  She liked Seth a lot.

We got to the airport and found a place to sit and wait a while before going through security.  A short time later, to our surprise, we saw a man in full Arab garb walk by in front of us signing to someone.  He was actually video-calling with someone by cell phone!  Technology is amazing these days.  BJ was extremely curious to know what kind of cell phone the man had!  We watched him buy a paper; then he found a table to sit at.  He continued his conversation with his friend for a little while; then we saw him lay his cell phone down and begin to read the Arabic paper.  BJ and Seth decided to go for a walk!  They walked around the airport and just "happened" to pass right by his table.  All it took was BJ signing, "Are you deaf?"  I was sitting pretty far away with our bags watching the whole thing play out.  The deaf man's face lit up, and the conversation began!  I couldn't sit there for long when all the fun was going on across the way, so I gathered up all of our bags and lugged them over to where they were chatting.  Arabic Sign Language was obviously quite different from American Sign Language, and many times the deaf man had to ask questions several times for us to catch his meaning.  He did not know English either, so fingerspelling and writing were both out of the question.  But he was so pleased to meet people who knew sign language.  He actually thought we were deaf!  American Deaf know pretty quick that we are not deaf by our use of signs.  We are not fluent in all the deaf idioms and slang.  But because of the communication barrier between Arabic Sign Language and American Sign Language, and the fact that BJ does not move his lips when he signs (which is very Deaf), he mistook us for being deaf.

He actually works at the airport with the computers and is a very intelligent man we gathered.  He told us where we needed to go to get our suitcase checked in, and we reluctantly said our goodbyes.  As we walked away, BJ and I were amazed at what had just happened!  What were the chances of us meeting a deaf person a few hours before we left the country?  It makes you wonder if God didn't cross those two paths.  I only wish that we would've been able to do more about getting the Gospel to him.  The communication barrier coupled with the lack of time was so frustrating.  With the Deaf, almost every time, you are starting from scratch, from the very beginning when it comes to sharing the Gospel.  This is especially going to be the case in an Arab country.  They are very concrete in the way they think, and the Gospel is very abstract--sin, love, redemption, grace.  Sometimes it takes years for the lights to come on and for them to finally grasp the fact that God died for them.  And that is only if you can communicate in the language that they understand.  My heart ached as I wondered how many Deaf there are in these Arab countries with probably no one to teach them the Truth, no one to take time with them and to go at their pace until they fully understand how to be saved.

The Deaf are truly our people.  BJ and I commented that anywhere we go around the world, we fit right in with the deaf culture.  Knowing sign language, even if it is not their sign language, we are welcomed into their culture because the Deaf have the same culture all around the world.

A Tour of the City

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Today when we went down to breakfast, I noticed they had different authentic foods to try.  "Uttappam" was a lot like a very thin pancake without syrup.  There was also a dish called "Sambar".  I tried it and decided that it was not my favorite.  I was able to identify one slice of carrot.  Other than that, I wasn’t sure what the ingredients were.  It did not taste bad, but the consistency was such that I decided against seconds.  It has a spicy, curry, mushy flavor.  Very interesting.

After breakfast, we took a taxi to the bus station to begin our tour of the city.  It was a great because we could get off the bus wherever we wanted to and explore for however long we wanted.  The buses came through every 20 minutes, so it was easy to get back and continue our tour.

The tour was narrated over the sound system, so we were able to learn much of the culture and history of the city this way.    

The first place we decided to get off at was the beach.  It was not the public beach, although there were some people there.  We were happy to find a quiet corner of the beach all to ourselves.  BJ and I enjoyed hearing Seth’s delighted giggles as the waves came in and broke over his bare feet.  

We tried hard not to get wet because I had not thought to bring extra clothes.  The bottom of my dress got a little wet, but Seth was wet all the way up to his waist by the time we left!  He was one happy, wet, little boy though! 

We caught another bus and continued our tour of the city.  Once again, we were amazed at the beauty and grandeur of the city.  Every building we saw was ornate and beautiful.   

 

This building had an Egyptian theme
 

 There were mosques throughout the city, literally every two to three blocks. 

 

Their minarets point to the sky, and five times a day the call to prayer can be heard echoing across the city.  Each morning at 4:45, we were awakened by the call to prayer.  It is a moaning, singsongy, minor key chant that goes on for a couple of minutes.  As we drove past the mosques, we could see people inside all bowing from the waist in unison over and over again.  Their devotion to their god puts us Christians to shame.

In the afternoon, we took a boat ride down the Dubai Creek.  Actually, it is a beautiful river that flows into the Gulf.

The city is built up along both sides of the river with skyscrapers reaching to the sky.  So beautiful.

It was a very fun day.  And tomorrow we get to go home! 

Tourists in Dubai

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

We woke up late this morning and went down for a late breakfast.  The food on breakfast bar looked very Middle Eastern with dates, cheeses, and different kinds of fruit.  There were a couple of hot breakfast foods with strange names that I was excited to try.  "Tawa Parathia" must be the English pronunciation of the Arabic name for "Chapati".  "Chapati" is a food in Kenya that is basically like a tortilla fried in butter, and I found it on the breakfast bar!  Then beside it was a dish called "Channa Masala" that looked delicious . . . and it was!  It was garbonzo beans cooked in a spicy sauce.  I went back for seconds!

After breakfast, we caught a taxi to the metro train which we took to the Dubai Mall.  The Dubai Mall is a huge shopping center with an ice skating rink in it and an Aquarium.  We walked around for a while, then took Seth to the Aquarium which he really enjoyed.   

We also saw the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in Dubai, which stands over 2,600 feet tall. 

I thought it was interesting that the architect who designed the Sears Tower in Chicago also designed this building. 

The money in Dubai is called dirhams and their “cents” are called fils.  It takes 3.5 dirhams to make one U.S. dollar.  It didn’t take BJ long to get the hang of their currency.  I stayed confused the whole time we were in Dubai!

We ate supper in the food court at the mall.  BJ chose Subway, and Seth and I ate Taco Bell.  I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the names of some American restaurants written in Arabic!  

 

Dubai has strict laws, and they enforce them.  Therefore, Dubai is known to be one of the safest cities in the world.  It has a very low crime rate.  They have dress code laws too which I found interesting.  A foreigner can actually be arrested for immodesty!  The shoulders and knees have to be covered, and no tight-fitting clothes are allowed.

Speaking of clothing, most Arab people dress traditionally.  

The men wear long, white robes with a headpiece called a "gutrah".  The headpiece is a long white or red and white checked piece of material that hangs down the back and is held in place with a black band on top of their head.  The women wear long black robes with black veils.  Sometimes their robes are embroidered beautifully.  Their hair is always covered, and many times their faces are completely veiled except a slit for their eyes.  Also interesting to me were the tattoos that pretty much covered the women's hands in intricate designs.  My guess is that in their culture, this is very beautiful.

In that taxi last night through the city, I prayed that God would help me see these people, not through eyes of fear and stereotype but through His eyes of love.  He opened my eyes to a people with no freedom, steeped in a religion full of fear, laws, and rituals.  My heart broke and I about wept when I saw one lady trying to eat under her veil.  It was spread out over her food like a tent while her husband sat across from her nonchalantly eating his ice cream.  What kind of life is that?  They have no knowledge of the only One Who can set them free from their bondage.  The entire country is in spiritual darkness.

Arriving in Dubai

Monday, April 11, 2001—10:15 p.m.

As we came out of the jetway tunnel, we looked around us in awe at the splendor of the Dubai airport.  It was like no other airport we’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in quite a few in my lifetime!  Pictures will describe it better than I can in words, but everything looked immaculate and extremely expensive.  

There were huge, silver pillars throughout the airport, a beautiful waterfall, and enormous lights in the ceiling that looked silver as well.  Men in traditional, long, white robes with the white, Arab headpiece called a "gutrah" were everywhere.  They were airport employees, and that was their uniform.  Very strange, and yes, I was still quite nervous.   

We found our suitcase with no trouble, and then headed outside to find a taxi.  Our taxi driver was a lady, and within a few minutes we were speeding through Dubai at night.  The word that kept coming to our minds as we looked out across the city was "safi".  In Swahili, this word means a number of things depending on the context—clean, fine, elegant, fancy . . . you get the picture.  The city looked just like the inside of its airport.  I guess in this context, “safi” could be translated “ornate.”  It was obvious that this city has a lot of money.  We have heard that there is no bad side of town.  The whole city looks like this. 

Finally, at about 11:45 p.m., we made it to our hotel room.  Brrrrr!  After not having air conditioning for 7 months, the room felt like ice!  The heat outside felt wonderful compared to freezing inside.  We unpacked and fell into bed exhausted.

En Route to Dubai

Monday, April 11, 2001

We left our house this morning at about 11:00 a.m. in a taxi bound for the airport.  Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4:40 p.m., so we had about 3 hours to wait in the Nairobi airport.

A tender moment in the airport

Seth was so excited about all the airplanes!   He asked if he could sit outside on the wing while it was flying.  I don’t think he remembered from 7 months ago what it was like to fly in an airplane.  Soon we boarded, and after much urging from Seth, the plane rushed down the runway.  As we lifted into the air, however, Seth gripped me and the arm of his chair, trembling!  I had forgotten about his increasing fear of heights!  I gently explained to him that Jesus had both His hands under our plane as we flew, and that He was holding us up.  About 20 minutes later, he loosened his grip on me and the arm of the chair and relaxed a little.  Then he deliberately put his hands in his lap and said, “Look, Mommy, I’m believing because God is here.”  A little while later, he asked me if he could go outside the plane.  I told him that there was nothing out there except Jesus’ hands.  Then he stated confidently, “I can step out on Jesus’ hands.”  A child’s faith is so precious, so trusting.  This really made an impact on him, and he talked about it off and on the whole way.  “Mommy,” he said, almost in wonder, “if you believe in Jesus Christ your Lord, He protects you because for God so loved the world.”  Of course, Seth only has one volume when he talks which is very loud.  So there he was quoting Bible verses and talking about Jesus on an Emirates plane!  Mommy was a bit nervous!

I was very impressed with the service we got on the plane as we flew over northern Kenya, through Somalia and Djibouti across the Red Sea.  We continued across the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula to Dubai, a tourist city on the Persian Gulf.   On our plane, there were flight attendants representing nine different languages.  That was pretty impressive.  We actually met a couple of attendants from America. 

They gave Seth a camel puppet which he promptly fell in love with.  

They also took our picture on the flight and gave it to us in a nice paper frame that shows we flew with them.  Seth wanted to know if the lady in the red hat (the stewardess) lives on the airplane! 

The supper they served was huge and delicious!  On other airlines I have travelled on, you’re almost better off not eating!  I chose the curry chicken with vegetables and rice.  Normally, I don’t care for curry because many times, the flavor is too strong for me.  However, I wanted to taste different Arab foods on this trip, so I decided to give it a try.  It was so good—not overpowering, and with just the right amount of spicy heat. 

Our flight lasted about 5 hours; then came the landing.  Seth tried so hard to be brave, but that little hand kept finding its way back to my arm.  I smiled as I remembered that feeling of security in just knowing my mom was close by. 

Dubai is beautiful at night.  As we taxied up to the terminal, Arab music was played in the plane.  It sounded like someone moaning in a minor key—very Arabic.  My nerves tightened up again—foolish me.  Didn’t I just hear a sermon from my little son about believing in the Lord to protect us?  

Now on to the next phase of our journey . . .

A Family Vacation

We had to go on a family vacation this week after being on the field only 7 months.  To be honest, we would much rather have stayed home, but we had to leave the country for a few days.  Let me explain why.

Visa paperwork is never an easy process in foreign countries, especially in Kenya.  When we arrived here in Kenya, we got tourist visas, hoping to get student visas while we were in language school.  However, our applications for student visas were rejected.  BJ was able to get an extension on our tourist visas to buy him time in getting us set up with longer term paperwork.  But nothing gets done fast in this country!  We ran out of time on our tourist visas again.  So our only recourse was to leave the country, and come back in again on tourist visas.  Once again, BJ will do all he can to get us set up with more permanent paperwork here.  Tourist visas last three months.  We need your prayers that God will give us grace in the eyes of the government officials that they will approve the paperwork we need to be here in Kenya.

We really wanted to just cross the border into Tanzania.  Then we’d be able to use our Swahili!  Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania which we have heard is very beautiful.  However, in spite of the fact that it is close, it is expensive to fly there.  Also, we found out that we had to leave the East African Community which includes Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.  We finally decided on Dubai, U.A.E because it was the cheapest flight for us, even cheaper than going to South Africa.  By the way, U.A.E stands for United Arab Emirates.  I was not thrilled about going to an Arab country for our vacation.  I was nervous, but at the same time I felt peace.  Does that make sense?  Plus, since we were saving $1,000, it kind of made sense.  So Dubai is where we went.  It was like nothing I’ve ever seen, a completely different culture from any I’ve ever been in.  I have so much to write about!  The posts will be coming as soon as I can get them written!

My Little Friend, Meshach

The Deaf were not here this morning.  School let out a couple of weeks ago, and they went back to their villages.  By the way, the school system is different here.  The students go to school for three months; then they are off for one month. 

Since I did not interpret, I took the opportunity to work in the nursery again.  It happened to be Winnie and I in there this morning, and we had a great time talking about the Lord and all that He has taught us these last six months.  It was truly a blessing!

I have noticed one little boy in the nursery the few times I have been in there.  His name is Meshach, and I don't think he is more than a year old.  I've never seen him mad or crying . . . until today.  He is always so cheerful, and he's usually singing to himself with a smile on his face.  The last time I was in the nursery, he played a game with me nearly the whole time.  He would come and touch my arm; then turn and run away.  When he would come back to touch me again, I would say in a teasing voice, "Huyu ni nani?"  (Who is that?)  He did that over and over again and grinned every time I said it.

Today, he sat beside me playing contentedly with blocks the whole time while I talked with Winnie.  Sometimes, he would hand me a block, and I would say, "Asante!"  (Thank you)  At one point, I had tons of blocks in my lap because he enjoyed playing that game too!

After church, his mom came to get him, but he did not want to leave me.  After all the other babies were gone, he followed me around trying to help me as I picked up the toys.  He even followed me around after church calling me Mom.  I could hardly believe that he had gotten so attached to me!  Sometimes, the babies are a bit afraid of me.  Not this one though!  As I sat outside in front of the church waiting for BJ, he came and sat down beside me.  Then when his mom told him it was time to leave, he wrapped his little arm around me as if to say, "I am not going to let her go."  I couldn't resist a picture.

Finally, I had to hide, so that his mom could carry him away.  He was hollering at having to leave me.  I felt bad for his mom, but couldn't help falling in love with him a little bit more! 

Here are a couple of more pictures that I took at church today.  I thought these girls looked so pretty.

Seth found a stick bug after church, and had lots of fun letting it crawl all over him!

An Interesting Creature

The chameleon is growing on me.  I went and hunted grasshoppers for him today in the tall grass, and he ate them.  It was really something watching him nab those grasshoppers.  I did not realize that his tongue was so long!  BJ read later that a chameleon's tongue can stretch 1 and 1/2 times the length of its body!  This chameleon is about 7 inches long with his tail!  Amazing.

All three of us were crouched around his box, fascinated, watching him eat.  He moves extremely slow, and he has way more patience than I do!  I kept coaxing the chameleon to eat his food because I wanted to see that tongue again!  BJ and I were as bad as Seth today.  Both of us kept making trips out to the veranda to see the chameleon.  It is very interesting to watch him change colors.  If you will notice, he looks different in this picture than he did in the last one I posted.  He is trying to blend in with that yellow bamboo stick, and he's doing a good job of it!

Earlier, while he was sitting on the rocks, he looked gray and blended in very well.  Then we put a tree limb with dark green leaves in there, and his color changed to dark green.  Isn't is amazing how God created each creature so perfectly exactly the way it needed to be to survive?

By reading and looking at pictures online, we have discovered that our chameleon is male.  The males have the three "horns" on their faces while the females do not.  We named him Badili.  In Swahili this word means "change".

We have also learned that chameleons are very difficult to raise as pets because they stress out very easily.  So we are not sure how long we will have Badili.  If he does not look like he is doing well, we will let him go back into the wild.  I know Seth will take it hard, but it's not fun to watch them die either.  He sure makes an interesting pet, though.  I can't believe I am actually saying this, but I hope we can keep him!

Seth's Newest Pet

Eeeeeeeek!  How much worst can they get?  First, lizards and centipedes, then toads, and now . . .

Yes, a chameleon.  Isn't he ugly, and oh, so creepy?  He looks like a miniature dinosaur!  Any of you mom's want to trade places with me?  (Just kidding)  Boys can find all kinds of pets here in Africa!  Seth is delighted!  I am leery of this creature because Mr. Roger and Arvin, the neighbor's boy, have told us that chameleons spit.  Gross!  All I gotta say is stay away from me!

You know the statement, "A mother's work is never done."?  Well, it's true.  My next job is to find out what chameleons eat.  And yes, I will probably end up hunting food for the chameleon too.  If only you could've seen me out in the tall grass behind our house catching grasshopper's (yes, in my bare hands) for Seth's toads.  I wonder if I'll be climbing trees now to find chameleon food.  By the way, the toads died.  I don't know if it was loneliness, starvation, (the picky things) or lack of something else that I didn't know they needed.  I am mommy to a boy, not reptiles!!!  Unfortunately, the reptiles come with the boy.  When he asks me if he can have a snake for a pet, the answer will be a flat, "No."  I will stoutly refuse to be a snake's mommy!

This Time I Was the Teacher!

We had such a fun day today.  When Ndelegwa and Winnie got here, we started right into our "party".  I decided that they should get their gifts at the very beginning because I was so excited that I couldn't wait!  BJ said that I was as bad as a child!  The look on Winnie's face when BJ deposited that huge basket of ingredients beside her on the couch was worth everything to me!  As she realized her dream of making muffins coming true, her eyes were shining.  The first thing she said was, "Now I will be able to give more to the Lord each week."  It really touched my heart that her desire was to go above and beyond to please her Lord first, especially since BJ has not even taught or preached about giving.  She is growing in the Lord, and her heart longs to please Him in every area of her life.

After we gave them their gifts, we started right into making muffins.

They each made a batch in separate bowls; then we baked their muffins.  There was a lot of teasing and joking going on about whose muffins would win the competition!  Ndelegwa was very firm about not mixing the baked muffins together, so that when BJ tasted them, he would know which one was Ndelegwa's and which one was Winnie's.

BJ had appointed himself as the judge and official taste tester, and being Cajun, he knows how to judge food!  To Cajuns, the taste and flavor of their food is extremely important.  (I think a post will be coming later about Cajuns, and it will be a fun one for me to write!)

After the muffins were baked, we made two loaves of banana bread, or as they call it in Kenya, banana cake.  Cake, in their mind, is more like our banana bread, pumpkin bread, quick breads, etc.  And they actually prefer it rather than birthday cake because they don't like that much sugar.

The "judge" decided that both batches of muffins turned out very nice.  Then we celebrated our last day of Swahili language instruction.  What a tremendous blessing to be done and to be able to see the fruit from all those hours of lessons!  What a blessing to be able to communicate with these people in the language of their heart!  It was definitely worth it.  We are not completely fluent in Swahili yet, of course.  But we can communicate in the language, and that is the most important thing at this point.  We can only get better with time!

Thank God for Winnie.  Without this lady, I would not be where I am today in this language.  I don't even know if she realizes how much she has helped me these past six months.  But God knows!  He knew exactly what I needed.  "Thank You, Lord!"

Delicious Sandwich Buns

I recently found a recipe for sandwich buns over on Cooking With Littles.  I was very excited to try it because the buns here at Nakumatt are not so great.  I was very pleased with how these turned out.  I even like them better than the store-bought buns in America.  Most homemade buns are heavy and bready, but these are very light and so yummy.  We had them with Sloppy Joes last night, and my husband loved them!  If you need to make a lot of buns with this recipe, check out Cooking with Littles.  I think she makes around 80 buns at a time and freezes them!  I had to majorly scale down the recipe though, because I have a tiny freezer!  Also, there are a lot of gluten-free recipes over there for those who may be interested.


Delicious Sandwich Buns

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons warm water (120 to 130 degrees) (just cool enough to hold your fingers in it without pain)

1/4 cup butter or bacon fat

1 and 1/3 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon, divided

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons yeast

Some ham seasoning if you don't have bacon fat on hand.  I just sprinkled some in.  Next time I am going to try 1/8 teaspoon.

Instructions:

Make a sponge with 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and 1 cup warm water.  Stir, and let sit 10 minutes until it bubbles up.  Add the butter, salt, the rest of the sugar, ham seasoning if desired, and two more Tablespoons of warm water.  (I also added 1 Tablespoon milk powder just for fun!  Can you tell I love to make bread?)  Stir together.  Now add the flour 1 cup at a time until you can knead it (probably 2 to 2 and 1/2 more cups).  Knead well, adding flour as needed until you get it soft and smooth and not sticky anymore.  Grease a large bowl with oil.  Put dough in and turn to coat with the oil.  Cover and let rise about 1 and 1/2 hours.  Rip off pieces slightly larger than a golf ball.  Shape and set on greased cookie sheets.  Cover and let rise again 30-45 minutes.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  Allow to cool on pans or on wire rack.  You can bag up and freeze once totally cooled.  To thaw, remove from freezer, and leave bag open.  Makes 8-13 rolls, depending on size.   

One More Busy Week--Almost Done!

The internet has been in and out, so I’ve gotten very little posting done this week.  I have gotten a lot accomplished around the house though--all except for the pile of clothes still waiting to be ironed.  I really hate ironing!  It is my worst chore, and I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to ironing!  Usually, the clothes stack up really high before I get to them!  Everyone has their weaknesses.  Well, I'll be honest with you, mine is definitely ironing!     

Our last busy week of language school is coming to an end.  Today is our last day of class; then tomorrow, we’ll celebrate!  Our teacher, Ndelegwa, and Seth’s “teacher”, Winnie, are still coming tomorrow.  However, the game plan is different.  I am going to teach them (in Swahili) how to make muffins and banana bread—Ndelegwa’s two favorites!  Then we will eat it, and celebrate 400 hours of language school completed!  Accomplishment feels so wonderful!

Winnie wants to learn how to make the muffins to sell as a business.  So as a gift of appreciation, we are getting her set up with all the ingredients and the muffin pans.  I think she is going to be very excited tomorrow when we give it to her!  We’ve got some gift ideas for Ndelegwa too, including a muffin pan!  He thinks he is in Heaven whenever he bites into a banana muffin!  

I took these pictures of Seth yesterday.  

He came in for a little while saying that he was hot.  So I gave him some cold water, and he rested on the couch for a few minutes.  However, his eyes were glued out the window nearly the whole time!  Can you tell where his heart is?  It wasn’t long before he hit the ground running again!  He has “play” constantly on the brain, and the pull outdoors is just too great for him!

Make It From Scratch

I love cooking from scratch!  There is such a feeling of accomplishment for me to take a bunch of single ingredients and make something equivalent to what I can get already prepared at the store!  Or maybe I can't get it in Kenya--like frosting.

After our lunch at Java on Saturday, I walked over to Nakumatt to see if I could find frosting for Seth's cupcakes.  I found tons of cake mixes lining the shelves but no frosting to go on them.  I could not understand it.  Don't these people know how to eat cake?  It hit me later why there was no frosting on the shelves.  The Kenyans don't like a lot of sugar, so frosting must be sickeningly sweet to them.  No big deal.  I had a recipe I could try.  I was impressed with how good the frosting turned out, so I wanted to share the recipe!  It is so easy to make.  Also, it is thick, but very spreadable like the stuff you can get at Wal-mart in America.  I hate homemade frosting that is so thin, it runs off the cake!

So here is the recipe.  I will definitely use it again sometime.

Good Chocolate Frosting   (For a 9 x 13 x 2 inch cake or 24-30 cupcakes)

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup whipped cream or just regular cream  (I used Dream Whip)
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
A little water if needed
1 cup finely chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions:
Combine the butter, whipped cream, cocoa, and cinnamon in a pan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is heated through.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  (For me, it was very dry at this point.  I added water, a tiny bit at a time to get it to a smooth and spreadable consistency.  It may not need water if you use regular cream.)  Stir in walnuts if desired.  Spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.  Enjoy!