Life...

My little angel is peacefully sleeping beside me as I am typing this.  He really is a good baby and I am very thankful. Still there are moments when I get frustrated and come close to loosing my patience, usually in the middle of the night when he wakes up only a half hour after I just fed him!  Being a mother is the biggest blessing in the world but also quite a challenge.  I have literally not been separated from Benjamin for more than a few minutes since the day he was born!  Daddy does try to help out as much as he can, watching him while I am outside washing diapers or doing something quickly in the kitchen but other than that we are pretty much attached to each other.  Healthy or not, I don't have much of a choice in the matter since I am breastfeeding and we don't have family nearby or anyone we can trust to take care of him.  But I love being a mommy and I don't mind being with him all the time.  He is so sweet and brings so much joy into our home.  His little personality is starting to really shine through and he makes us smile and laugh often.  There is nothing quite like the love a mother feels for her child!

In other news, things are going well at the church and with the Hands For Hope project with the women.  I am just trying to work out a good schedule that works for me and baby and ministry.  Takes a bit of juggling but we are making it work!  Basically Benjamin gets strapped to me in the little front pack that I have and everywhere I go, he goes.  This kid is getting familiar with ministry from a young age :)  It works though because he is such a content baby most of the time, thank the Lord for that!  We are going to try to make Mondays a "restful" day for us.  Appolinaire says that Monday is the pastors' day of rest since Sunday is packed full of ministry.  Tuesday I want to try to focus on communication (newsletters, blogging, writing to supporters).  It is so easy for that part to get lost in the every day life and it is a very important thing!  Appolinaire has started doing evangelism in the village on Tuesdays and that is going really well!  Just this week one woman gave her life to Christ and another man was interested and said he would come to church to hear more!  Praise the Lord!  Wednesdays I go to the Hands For Hope shop in the village and spend time with the women who are learning to sew and make jewelry.  I am planning to start doing a "tea and devotion time" with them to be able to feed into them spiritually as well and I am excited about that.  Then we have church in the afternoon on Wednesdays.  Sometimes I am able to go and sometimes not but Appolinaire is always there and gets to do lots of teaching.  Thursdays my goal is to continue focusing on language study.  It is coming along really well but I sort of feel like I will be learning it forever.  I need to not get lazy with it which is why I want to set aside a day that studying Kinyarwanda is at the lot of my list of things to do.  And then Friday is church again!  And mixed into all of that is cooking, washing diapers, taking care of baby, and finding time to fit is teaching English in the village.  Life is full and good!

Catching up...

So it has been awhile...but I was understandably busy!  Benjamin is now six weeks old!  The last month has been a blast!  Here are some highlights:

Benjamin meeting his Aunt!

Benjamin meeting Grandma!

Benjamin's first trip to town (Kigali's Bourbon Coffee, comparable to Starbucks)...he slep through the whole thing :)

First Sunday back at our church after having the baby.  Here we are giving thanks and introducing Benjamin to his church family!

Little family photo shoot (Thanks to my sister for taking the pics!)

Benjamin meeting Kirenga!  He is the son of Jessica and Kalisa (our good friends).  We already informed the boys that they WILL be best friends :)

Attracting a crowd at the market (and everywhere else we go for that matter!)

Setting up the Hands For Hope Shop!

My sister, Angela, meeting with the women making jewelry with Hands For Hope.

Great meeting with all the women (sewing and Jewelry) involved in Hands For Hope

Lots of shopping trips to get all the supplies and materials needed for the shop!

The sewing school well under way!

Jewelry making!

And one cute little boy who is growing up too fast! 

It has been a great and very busy month and a half since Benjamin was born.  I am so blessed that my mom and my sister were able to be here about ten days after he was born.  Angela stayed with us for two weeks and my mom stayed for three.  They were both such a huge help!  We worked hard to get the Hands For Hope project off and running while Angela was here (using the funds that she raised thanks to all of you who bought and ate chicken bbq!).  We had lots of fun times and great memories!  God is so good!

For more about Hands For Hope go to my sister's blog about it:

handsforhopeinrwanda.blogspot.com

Daddy's little boy

Having a baby changes everything!  Little Benjamin is only a few days old but already there have been so many challenges and so many joys!  One of my greatest joys is seeing how much Daddy loves his little boy.  He is so proud and I just loving watching his face as he looks at his son.  There is nothing like it in the world! 
I have to take a moment to brag on my husband...  He has been absolutely amazing these last few days.  Well, he is always an amazing husband but he has been such a great support, caring for me and waiting on me hand and foot, always ready to bring me whatever I may need.  I am truly blessed to have him!
It means so much to me that he is so willing to be near and help me during this time.  Culturally, here in Rwanda, the husband would not be very involved in the birth or taking care of the mother after giving birth.  Usually their will be another woman, mother, sister, or friend, that would be doing these things.  I guess it is kind of seen as "women business."  Appolinaire has been such a trooper!  A couple of times I catch him saying "I didn't know it was like this."  But he never fails to be by my side.  He was there for the birth and I could not have done it without him.  And he is here with me now as I recover, try to learn how to breastfeed, and deal with all the changes, physically and emotionally.  He says I am a hero but he is my hero and my best friend, and a wonderful father! 

Muhire Benjamin Ntiganzwa...our little angel!

Our precious little boy, Muhire Benjamin Ntiganzwa, was born on May 20th around 5:40 pm (Rwanda time). He weighs 4 kilos (about 8 lbs. 13 oz.) Muhire means "one who is blessed." God was totally looking out for us! We live an hour from the hospital but we went to have a normal appointment in the morning. We were told that my doctor was not going to come until 1:00 pm. So we enjoyed a nice morning in town, having no clue that I was so close to giving birth! We went back to the hospital around 12:30 to be told that the doctor was coming at 1:30 but could not see us until 3 pm. We sat around trying to decide if we should wait or go home and try to come the next day. Thankfully we did not try to go home because when we did finally see the doctor she sent us right to a room because I was already 4 centimeters dialated. The next moments flew by so fast. I started feeling really really strong contractions and in no time my water broke and then in a matter of minutes I was being taken to the birthing room to start pushing! There was no time to waste... four hard pushes and we had our baby!
Imagine, we almost went home and if we had, I am pretty sure he would have been born in the car! Thank you Lord for Your protection! It was the most painful thing I have ever felt but I am thankful it went so quickly. And it was totally worth it! We love you Benjamin!

Our Dear Benjamin,
Words can not even begin to express the love in Mommy and Daddy's hearts for you.  We have loved you and prayed for you from the moment we knew you were growing inside.  To see your sweet face and hold you in our arms gives us more joy than we have ever known.  You are so precious to us, little one!  We love you forever and ever!

Preparing for baby!

We are getting ready to welcome our precious little baby boy into our family any day now!  I can hardly believe that the time has finally come and we will finally get to hold him in our arms and see his sweet little face!  I must say, preparing to have a baby in Rwanda is a bit different than preparing for a baby in America.  No Babies R Us here, that's for sure!  I have been collecting things here and there whenever I come across something and I am very thankful for a good friend here who had a baby boy last year who has been passing on lots of little boy clothing!  The baby will be sleeping in our room for awhile so there is no preparing a nursery but I have tried to make his crib and little corner of the room a little bit special in my own way :)  Cribs here are unbelievable expensive so we decided to get a local carpenter to make one for us.  Not too bad for $50!  They make mosquito nets especially for babies but I saved about $20 by using a regular one and adding my own special little touches by hand.  I purchased a cute little mobile to hang in the crib at a little craft cooperative in Kigali.  I made my own boppy nursing pillow cause they don't sell them here.  Just cut up a soft blanket and hand sewed it.  Of course I looked everywhere and could not find what I needed to stuff the pillow so I ended up just buying a cheaply made pillow at the market and using the stuffing from it to stuff my pillow.  A couple blankets, some diapers, and we are pretty much ready for this little guy.  Nothing like America where there are huge stores full of baby "stuff" that we are convinced is essential!  haha, life is simple here and that is just okay with me :) 

Easter at our church

Yesterday was quite a special day at church for us.  It was our first Easter in our new church, our first baby dedication, and our first communion together!  What a blessed time we had!  Here are some glimpses from the day...

I just think this little girl is so precious!  She was among the little ones that we dedicated.

God bless these little feet!

Just a few of the little children from the church.  We have lots of children!

The choir of women wearing their colorful ibitenge (traditional wrap skirts)!

Sweet little girl in her princess dress!  She was also dedicated yesterday.

It was a baby dedication but some parents wanted to dedicate their older children to God to since they didn't have the chance when they were younger.  Never too late to dedicate your children to Jesus and ask Him to bless them!

Appolinaire praying for a little one during the dedication.

Last Night's Dinner

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I was trying to put together a nice birthday dinner for my husband.  Well, here's how that went... (pictures would have been ideal but someone is borrowing my camera so words will have to suffice)!

Let's start with the cake...DELICIOUS!  I used a recipe for cupcakes but put it in my 8 inch baking pan instead and turned it into a cake.  I was very pleased with the outcome.  It was a nice moist cake, very simple, using orange juice for a really nice flavor.  Then i just used a bit of butter, milk, vanilla, and lots of icing sugar to whip up a nice creamy icing.  Cake= success!

Okay, the fish... My dear husband like fish so much but we don't eat it often.  We are living in a land locked country and finding a nice fish fillet is a bit expensive, the hour drive to town to buy it.  This is the lesson I learned yesterday. :)  I decided that there might happen to be a place in the small town where we live that sells fish so I sent our house helper on a mission to find out.  I probably should have gone myself but I was feeling tired and didn't feel like walking all over town with my huge belly searching for fish...mistake number one.  Well, he was quite pleased with himself when he came home and was excited to show my what he found.  I took a little peek in the bag while he ran to get a pot and I saw tails so I knew what was coming.  Indeed, he found some fish, probably caught from nearby Lake Muhazi.  But they were not the nice little boneless fillet that was I hoping for.  Instead what I got was eight little fish dangling from a rope, tails, eyes, scales, the whole thing.  I smiled and thanked him for finding them and put them in the pot.  That pot sat in my kitchen for the next few hours smelling up the whole place while I contemplated how to cook them.  All I could imagine was a nice birthday dinner gone horribly wrong!  My husband came home and I showed him the fish and began to appoligize for my mistake explaining to him that I have no clue how to cook these fish.  He had a great attitude and reassured me that I could just clean them up good and put them in the oven.  So that is exactly what we did.  Our house helper cleaned them very nicely for me and I just put them in the oven on a pan with a little oil.  Oh, I did cut the tails off first at my husband's request.  I am not sure why that was important since I left the heads in tack :)  Anyway, long story short...they weren't too bad.  We just had to pick them apart and chew carefully to avoid bones but the meat (the little meat that there was) tasted pretty nice.  Oh and I learned that the popping sound coming from the oven while they were cooking was probably their eyes exploding :)  Fish= semi-success
I also threw together a simple sauce with carrots and tomatoes which turned out okay.
The realy success of the night was the rice!  I am very pleased to say that I finally found a way to make rice that is not sticky!!!!!!  I know that rice is so simple and people all over the world cook it, but I am horrified to admit that I struggle to make a nice pot of rice.  It is always either too sticky or I don't cook it long enough.  Last night, I made Spanish rice and it was amazing!  I think that I learned the key is to saute the rice and onion and pepper for a few minutes before adding your water.  It may have been the first time that I cooked rice that was fully cooked (not still crunchy), and not sticky at all.  Yea! Rice=success!
All in all my husband was happy and had a nice birthday so all is well here in the Ntiganzwa household :)

It's been too long...

It has been too many days since I posted!  General update: We are doing well and keeping busy!  It is now only a month away from my due date!  I can hardly believe that we will be meeting our precious little boy so soon.  I know that life as we know it is about to change forever!  But we are excited and blessed. 
Today is Appolinaire's birthday!  I am trying to put together something special for dinner tonight...maybe I'll have to write about how that went tomorrow.  I sent our house helper on a search to look for fish since that is a favorite of my husband.  Yeah, I maybe should have went myself?!  In my kitchen right now is a bunch of fish and by that I mean whole fish, skin, eyes, tails, the whole deal!  Problem?  I have no clue how to clean them or cook them!  I guess I'll wait until my husband comes home and see if maybe he knows how?  Sorry honey!  Anyway, I am planning on cooking some rice and veggies too and of course I have to make a cake!  So I will be heading to the kitchen soon :)
Things at the church are going well.  We had a great time with the youth last weekend.  Saturday we had a youth seminar all day.  Appolinaire and I took turns teaching and God really blessed our time.  Our church is pretty small but we have a good amount of young people so we are trying to really invest in that area.
Yesterday we had a nice time with the women from the church too.  We met with them to discuss and exchange ideas/plans for the upcoming "Hands For Hope" project.  I am excited about what God is going to do there.  So many of these women carry such heavy burdens and such pain in their hearts.  I am really starting to feel connected with them in a deep way and I thank God for that.  We had a precious time sharing with eachother.  The afternoon rain came and boy did it ever come!  It poured so hard we couldn't hear anything so we just sat together praying and waiting for it to let up.  What a sweet moment it turned out to be.  One of the older ladies noticed that I was cold (I had forgotten to bring a wrap to wear) and she came to let me share hers.  We sat together, not even able to talk because of the loud rain, but keeping each other warm.  I love those little moments when it is like God is just knitting our hearts together.  I am so blessed by the love that I feel so much from these precious women.  They take such good care of me, helping me to walk through the mud without falling and even cleaning my shoes after walking in the mud.  I am humbled and blessed to share life with them.  Thank you Lord for bringing us to this place!
Well, I guess that is all for now.  Just wanted to give a little update on life here in the Ntiganzwa house.  Now...to those fish...hmmmmmm....

Simple thought for the day...

"Really, we don't have to prove anything to anyone else, we just have to live as we believe we are called to live." ~ Carl Wilkens

Just heard this simple quote while watching a video clip of an interview with Carl Wilkens.  He was the only American who chose to stay in Rwanda during the 1994 Genocide.  He stood by "his" people helping to bring food, water and medicine in a time when everyone else seemed to "run away" from Rwanda.  
Simple quote...but believing and living it could bring so much freedom!  How much time and effort we spend just trying to prove ourselves when all we really need to do is follow God's call whole-heartedly.  Even if what God called you to do seems "different" or if you encounter people who don't agree with what you believe God has called you to do.  God's thoughts about you and what you do are the most important! 

April 7th

This morning started like every other morning in our house.  But today is not like every other day here in Rwanda.  Today is April 7th.  Today we remember that 17 years ago, on this day, Rwanda was changed forever.  Seventeen years ago, on this day, the killing began and for 100 days this beautiful tiny, landlocked country of a thousand hills became a type of hell on earth as those beautiful hills became the graves of over 1 million precious souls. 
As I sit here at my computer on this day in 2011, I can hardly begin to wrap my mind around what happened only seventeen years ago in this very place that I walk today.  I hear the birds singing outside my window and I wonder...did they sing on that day?  I hear some children laughing outside and I wonder...was it laughter or was screams of terror that were heard from children on that day?
April is rainy season here in Rwanda, the grass is the brightest shade of green you will ever see, the sky is overcast and the sun peaks through the clouds every once and awhile as if just to give a short greeting before retreating again.  The rains come, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon.  The red-tinted soil quickly turns to mud, as if overwhelmed by the wealth of water pouring from the heavens....and I wonder...I wonder about the rain on that day.  Was it mud or was it blood that ran in the streets? 
So many times, especially since we moved to Eastern Province, I have marveled at the beauty of this country that I now call home.  The road from Kigali to Rwamagana is lined with breathtaking beauty.  Rolling hills, scattered mud houses, grazing cows, and banana trees as far as the eye can see.  I often remark, on that drive, that I think I live in perhaps the most beautiful country in the whole world.  The air is clean and fresh, especially after a recent rain, and I take a deep breath, filling my lungs and feeling nothing but peace.  And yet I remember.  I remember that these beautiful hills once ran with the blood of hatred.  How can it be?  How is it possible that in such a place as Rwanda one of the worst and bloodiest genocides could happen? 
I have no answers.  Only questions...but I have hope.  I see Rwanda today and I see hope.  Today, I will remember the lives of those who were lost in this land seventeen years ago.  We will not forget them, and we will not forget those who still mourn and grieve.  We will pray, for those who grieve and for those who still hate.  But we will not lose hope.  If we lose our hope then the evil has accomplished it's purpose.  We will not lose hope.  We will hold on to our God who is a God of hope even in the face of hopeless circumstances.  Our God stills reigns in Rwanda and He will heal our land!

A woman's hands...

Oh there is so much in my heart!  How to express it all?  God is certainly up to something!  I feel like He is taking me through a time of refining my ministry.  I had a very interesting dream last night that confirms this to be true.
In my dream I saw a rope with many random things dangling from it.  I can't remember the specific items that were hanging there but they were certainly random and seemed to be completely unrelated to each other.  Then suddenly someone reached over and gave the hanging rope a little tug.  The random items began to slide toward the bottom of the rope and they disappeared and became an arrow at the end of the rope.
When I woke up I felt like I instantly knew the meaning of the dream.  I love when that happens because for me it is a sure sign that God was using my dream to speak something to me.  To this point (over the last year and a half) my "ministry" here has felt rather random.  I have been doing good things but never with any real purpose or focus to it.  It has been a "little here and little there" kind of ministry, often leaving me feeling as though I am not really "doing" anything.  Of course that is not true, but without a specific focus I have felt random, to say the least.  I have been crying out to God to "refine" and "clarify" what He wants me to focus on and spend my energy doing.  I truly believe that the "tug" on the rope is God (using my sister) pulling things together and showing me where He wants my focus to be.  Hands For Hope is the arrow at the end of the rope and the place I firmly believe He is calling me to focus.  Hands For Hope is in the process of being born.  Right now it is not an official "organization" or anything but who knows where it will lead in the future.  Right now we are planning to partner with the local church where my husband is the pastor.  It will be a project involving the women there.
In short, we are going to create opportunity for them to use their hands in bringing hope to their lives and the lives of their families.  My amazing sister has been raising funds to bring with her when she comes to Rwanda in the beginning of June to get this whole thing "kicked off the ground."  We will be setting up a place where we can train the women in sewing and jewelry making.  Lord willing, we will be trying to find a "market" for the items they will create, both here in Rwanda and also in America.
If there is one thing that I have learned about women struggling to survive here in Rwanda, it is this.  They are not looking for a hand out but they are look for an opportunity.  Even if they are at my door asking for a hand out, I know that in their heart what they really desire is an opportunity to make life better for themselves and especially for their children.  I have had many women come to my door looking for a job.  They want to work, to do something with their hands.  They ask if I have someone to do wash, someone to cook, clean, anything that they could do for a little job.  Most of the time I don't have anything for them to do and I have to turn them away saying that I have no work for them at the moment.  It always breaks my heart.
Hands For Hope is about creating opportunity for women to learn a skill and then to work with their hands, giving them hope and dignity in their work.  I don't know exactly where God will lead this project in the future.  I am praying that this is the beginning of something that will grow and minister to many more women in the future!  Pray with me for this vision to become a reality!  And watch for more updates as this project takes form over the next two months!

Umuganda Cookies!

So what does a pregnant girl do when she is hungry and craving cookies but all the shops are closed for the community work morning and she can't find a recipe that uses the ingredients she has on hand?  She creates her own cookie recipe!  Every last Saturday of the month here in Rwanda is a day we call "Umuganda."  On that day the people (or at least one person from each household) come together in the community and they do work together.  Maybe it is digging or cutting grass in the community or some other kind of project but it happens every last Saturday of every month.  All the shops are closed for the morning from around 8 until 12 ish, hense the reason I could not go to the store.  So I did something that I have never tried before...how hard could it be to create a simple cookie?  When I say simple, I mean simple, but in the end, after a near disaster, they actually taste great!  Just for fun, let me give you the recipe exactly the way I made it :)

Umuganda Cookies

Whatever margarine happens to be left in the container (it happened to be about 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup of shortening (or whatever it takes to make a total of one cup mixed with the margarine)
2 eggs (one Rwandan egg and one "muzungu" egg) *Rwandan eggs are generally smaller and have an almost             orange yolk, and for whatever reason they are also more expensive.  I think they come from a                   different kind of chicken?
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon of almond flavoring
a pinch or two of salt

1) Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add eggs (cracking them into a separate container first to be sure they are good since I bought them from a young boy along the road :)  Mix well (by hand of course since we don't have an electric mixer)

2) Gradually add the flour, soda, and salt mixing well with each addition.  Add vanilla and almond flavoring.

3) Turn on gas, light the oven with a match.  Turn the dial between the third and forth dash (it has no temperature markings so I just take a wild guess!)  Remove the tray that came with the oven but also serves as a cookie sheet since I don't have one of those either.  Grease the tray.

4) Drop two dough blobs onto tray and put in oven to "see" what happens. Be sure the oven tray is all the way at the top of the oven to prevent burning since your oven is basically a box with fire on the bottom!  Haha, no fan to circulate heat evenly.  Turn the tray half way through baking time in attempt to bake more evenly.  Bake until you realize that it is not working and the cookies are completely flat and beginning to burn.  Remove from oven.  Take a break and have lunch while pondering what to do with the bowl of dough that seems to have been a total waste.

5) Decide to try again.  Add more flour (making a total of about 2 1/2 cups) to the dough and refrigerate for about an hour or two.

6) Light oven again.  Roll the now chilled and stiff dough into small balls, roll in sugar until coated, flatten with a fork and test two more cookies in the oven.  Bake for about 8 mins. or until light brown around the sides.  Hey, not bad!  Taste one and let your husband taste the other one.  He approves :)

7) Bake the rest of the cookies in the same way, rolling out little balls and coating in sugar, flattening with a fork.

8) Make a nice cup of tea for your husband and enjoy the cookies!

So, it was a bit of an experiment and this recipe probably totally confused you but it was a fun little project and I was actually pretty proud of the outcome :)

So Mom tells me that quite a few people have recently told her that they enjoy reading and following my blog!  That is exciting for me since I really enjoy writing it but was never really sure that anyone was actually reading it!  So thanks for reading :)  Hope you continue to enjoy the little glimpses from our family and our life here in Rwanda.
Yesterday was a tiring day in town for me.  Mission #1: find a new (and not too expensive) fan!  There are several "western-type" stores in town that I knew would have fans but they are always way over-priced (sometimes even double the price).  So yesterday I decided to put my language and bargaining skills to the test on the street to see what I could find.  I ventured to the crowded vending streets of town where I tend to be the only "muzungu" (white person) to see what I could find.  I quickly became the entertainment of the day as I turned heads and heard whispers of "wow look at that pregnant white woman."  Of course they were not speaking English so I quickly made a fun little game out of surprising them by responding in Kinyarwanda and watching as they seemed embarrassed as they realized that I understood what they were saying about me!  It was quite entertaining on both sides, I must say.
My husband was at a pastors' seminar all day so I was on my own in my little shopping adventure this time.  It was a very tiring and very hot day but at the end of it I had found my fan and a maternity dress along with meeting some very interesting people and making a few new friends along the way.  I say it was a success! 
And after that long day, I picked my husband up at the seminar and we drove home together.  We had a relaxing evening and I slept like a baby with my new fan!  It was quite wonderful!

Just thought I would add (following yesterday's post with the Garden Herb Braid bread recipe) that this morning I used left over bread to make a fabulous egg sandwich!  It also makes killer grilled cheese!  You could even make the bread without all the spices (or use cinnamon and nutmeg) and then use it for some really great french toast.  So easy and very versatile!  It's a keeper :)

Mmmmm....rainy day lunch!

Rainy season has begun.  I can't say I am excited or looking forward to all that means...mud, mud, and more mud!  But I can say that I love cooking in rainy season!  Of course, it helps that I have set up a little indoor kitchen, no running water or sink (and obviously no dishwasher or microwave), but it is a little room where I put our gas stove and small fridge.  I also have a nice little table and shelf so I am pretty happy with my kitchen!  Rainy season puts me in the mood to cook (well at least it did today).  We LOVE soup in our house when it is a little chilly so today was the perfect day for soup and homemade bread!  I don't share many recipes on my blog but this one is too good to keep to myself.  Not to mention EASY!  I have to give credit though...the recipe came from my sister's blog.  I am not sure where she got the recipe but I am glad she shared! :)  It is one of those easy recipes that looks awesome when it is done and makes you feel like you really know how to cook :)  My husband was impressed too! We ate it with a simple creamy chicken (minus the real chicken, just flavor) noodle and corn soup that I whipped up. Top it all off with a little shredded cheese and you have the perfect rainy day lunch!   Delicious! 

 

 

 Garden Herb Braid

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 pkg quick rise yeast ( 1 pkg. = 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoons each:

          thyme

          parsley flakes

          basil

          oregano

         dried rosemary, crushed

         rubbed sage

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter, cubed 

1 egg

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, salt and herbs. In a microwave safe bowl combine milk, water and butter. Heat to 120-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients, beat just until all dry ingredients are moistened. Add egg and beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, just a few minutes. Cover and let rest for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into thirds and shape into a 15" rope. Place ropes on a greased baking pan and braid. Pinch ends and tuck under braid. Cover and let rise until doubled, only about 20-30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees fro 25 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle a few left over herbs on top (optional). Remove to wire rack to cool. (yields 16 slices)

 

 ENJOY!

 

Blessed and humbled

We had a wonderful visit from the women from the church today.  There were nine of them and five of them brought their babies or young children.  What a delight!  We enjoyed some fanta (soda) and cakes (sort of like a bread) together.  It was a great time.  I was so incredibly blessed and humbled by their visit and especially their great generosity!  I know these women and I know how hard life is for them and their families.  I see them struggling and suffering and yet they have such generous hearts.  They came bearing many gifts for us (pictures below).  How sweet of them!  Things are quite different when you are pastoring a church in rural Africa!  You get paid very little in the sense of money but the people give what they have and they have such good hearts!  I was almost brought to tears as one mama shared from her heart that we are together, and just because our skin is different we can't let that separate us.  We are the same and they accept me as one of them.  God has knit our hearts together in a way that only He can.  I am blessed and humbled!

A live chicken in the corner of the kitchen awaiting her fate...

Igitoki (like plantains)!  This is the second huge bunch that we received in the last few days!  We are blessed beyond what we can handle literally! : ) We'll be sharing the wealth with some neighbors!

A nice big bag of tomatoes and fresh eggs!  We use many tomatoes in our cooking here and I love making eggs for breakfast for the hubby and I!  We are going to enjoy!

Three huge pineapples!  Delicious!  Can't wait to ripen these up a bit and dig in!

The little ones at the church who brighten my day!

 

I don't know if you can tell from her eyes, but this little one is quite a character!  The first Sunday that my husband preached at the church, she spent the whole service in her bare feet running around the front of the church.  She started a game of chase with anyone who would try to catch her and make her sit.  Imagine her surprise when right in the middle of his sermon, my husband scooped her up in his arms and went right on preaching!  He held her and preached for a good ten minutes and it fit in perfectly because he was talking about the love of a father for his child!  What a priceless moment! 

I am not sure if this little sweetie comes to the church or just lives nearby.  But on this particular Sunday, she occupied herself by standing outside the window where I was sitting and periodically stroking my arm!  We played this little game for quite awhile, each time with me turning my head to smile at her and her smiling back with a little giggle.  Simple but genuine connection.

 

Yes, this little guy is carrying a pot of fake flowers on his head!  This is the only "decoration" our little church has and it is borrowed from the table of one of the church members!  Today, he is given the responsibility of taking the flowers back home, but be sure they will appear again next Sunday!  

 

Yesterday after church I had a precious conversation with this darling little girl.  Of course I can't remember her name because when I asked her she rattled off what sounded more like a sentence than a name!  She insisted that she was three years old but proceeded to tell me that she goes to school and is in first grade!  So cute!

 

These two are sisters (Naomi and Sabina).  They hopped in the car and came home with us after church yesterday.  We had a fun afternoon of playing with tennis balls for hours!  Here you see them sporting their new jackets that we gave them (thanks to a team who left a bag of clothing with us to distribute!) and they were quite tickled as you can see.  Even in the heat of the day, they refused to take them off!