Cooking for a Cause Continued

Emily here.

Last night was such a success!  I was really nervous because I normally make the rice by eyeing the ingredients and adding whatever's lacking at the end.  I was also nervous about teaching a recipe in Spanish, since I'm not very familiar with kitchen vocabulary, but everything went so well!

Here are some pictures of our "class"

Walter & his wife (not sure how to spell her name : )  Notepad ready to go!

 

Pausing between bites to smile for the camera...

mmmm...the final result!  Want to try it out?  I posted the recipe over on my personal blog!

I really hope this will help them out a bit.  Next week Walter's wife is going to show me how to make flour tortillas from scratch, and the week after that Tedd plans to teach them how to make a good ole hamburger!  Should be lots of fun!

a day in the life

Tedd here. Going out to literacy class is always a learning experience. Last class was no exception. The ride out was nice because it hasn't rained in several days and so the dirt road was nice and dry as opposed to the typical soupy and slippery.

the moto on the way to class

A new fruit growing along the path to the church

I parked the bike and started hiking in to the church. The first house I get to is Bernardo's. He's one of our favorite literacy students and perhaps our favorite Nicaraguans....if Moses were still alive it would be a toss up for "most humble man". I walked in the house and Bernardo says, "God bless you brother. Sit down for a second because the dogs got an armadillo and we fried some for you." I was running behind schedule (for the first time ever : ) and eager to get to the church to start the literacy class but, culturally speaking, I had only one option - sit and eat armadillo. It was quite tasty - kinda like a cross between venison and chicken.

Bernardo

While I eat as quickly as possible, I enjoyed the conversation between Bernado and our most elderly student (86), Modesto, who had just gotten back after having a benign tumor removed from his back. It went like this:

Modesto: You know the doctor told me I could work again but that it wasn't good to get wet.
Tedd: So you're not taking any baths?
Modesto: (laughing) Of course I am, I take baths all day long....the doctor meant getting wet from the rain. He said that the rain-kind-of-wet can cause cysts and tumors.
Bernardo: You know what else is really bad about causing tumors is when, for example, you fall off a horse and hit some part of your body on the ground. The blood in that part of your body gets bruised and later on it can grow into a tumor.
Modesto: Oh well that's probably it then because one time I got thrown off my mule and landed on my back.
Bernardo: Then that must be it - bruised blood.

Modesto

I finished the armadillo and we went to class. Modesto did super, despite having missed 3 weeks of class because of the tumor. Bernardo did extra well too, as did the other students. We read the story of Christ's resurrection and how we can live with God for eternity because he defeated death and offers us life. It was a good day. 12 more lessons to go!

Some pictures from the class:

Cooking for a Cause

I am so super psyched about this opportunity!  Let me preface...

When we meet people who have needs, we try our best to enable them, rather than just handing them money.  That's another part of literacy ministry that's so great - it enables people to educate themselves and have more opportunities. 

Ya know that great saying:
"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."


It's so true!
That's why I'm so excited.  Last week, our friend Walter started asking us about business ideas to help him provide for his family.  Their livelihood right now is selling tortillas, bringing less than $25 a week.  Tedd volunteered us to teach Walter & his wife how to make fried rice (my specialty ;-) and/or hamburgers so they could have something unique to sell out of their home.  We could help them invest in ingredients to get them going, and they could take the recipes and run with it from there!

So I made fried rice for Walter and he said he really liked it and we set a date to do a cooking class - that's tonight!!

I'm nervous.  I really want to help them.  I hope they'll like it, and others will like it, and maybe they can get a little money to help provide for their family.  It doesn't take much to start a little diner here; you just put up a sign outside your door and build interest - no papers, no permits, no inspectors, just sell good food and you make money.

We think hamburgers would be a big hit here among the locals, too, since no one is selling them.  Tedd makes a mean hamburger!  So maybe we'll be having hamburgers next week?

I hope to post pictures of our "cooking class" soon.  Wish me luck!  This is like a dream come true for me - cooking for a cause!

Baby Lodes is a...

Something To Celebrate!

Hi.  Emily here.

We're really excited because the literacy students in Liquia are in Book 2 (of the two-book series) and have entered the final lessons, which are the simplified Bible stories!

It's truly amazing to think that none of them knew how to read when we began over 6 months ago.  Some are still struggling, but the majority are making wonderful progress.  (We ask for your prayers for those who are still struggling to learn, specifically for one of our oldest students, Marina).

To encourage them to finish strong, we worked together with their pastor to hold a special service and present to them their very own New Testament Bibles (donated by the Kirk of the Hills).

Pastor Marlon (such a dear friend) preached for a good 45 minutes on the importance of reading the Bible (to a largely illiterate congregation), how it's never too late to learn, and how ignorance can hinder our spiritual growth.  He spoke with such passion!  He's a fireball at the pulpit for such a small, humble, and soft-spoken man.

Pastor Marlon

Unfortunately, out of about 10 faithful students, only a few were present at the service that day, due to a variety of reasons, but the others will receive their Bibles at the final ceremony.

Tedd, presenting Bernardo (a founder & elder of the church) with his Bible

 Presenting Omar (one of the few teens in the church and the "co-pastor") with his Bible

P.S. His photo pose is completely normal for Nicaraguans in these parts.  I promise he's not upset, just painfully shy.

 And this is Iris, Bernardo's daughter, who has substitute-taught for us when we've been away or when the creeks are too high to cross getting out there.

  the church body praying for the students 

(notice: men & women sit on separate sides of the church.  I accidentally walked right in and plopped myself down on the men's side).

This particular weekend was a special one, actually, because Tedd & I were invited to spend the night at Bernardo's house that night.  While the lifestyle there is very quaint, and it's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience spending the night out in Liquia, it's also a challenge for me personally, because of the roughing-it aspect, and other discomforts.  

For example:

• The majority of the folks aren't big talkers, just big stare-ers, so that's always a little awkward when trying to converse with people.  I tried to do the socially correct thing and spend time with the ladies in the kitchen, but I felt like I was the only one there with a mouth, because if I hadn't talked, we'd pretty much just be staring at each other. 

The same day of the service, before spending the night at Bernardo's, Tedd & I had a great adventure hiking into the jungly countryside to visit another brother's home.  We hiked with Bernardo about 30 minutes up and down hills, through creeks and mud, and finally wound up at the quaintest little wooden home out in the middle of nowhere (and would you believe they have a solar panel and a DVD player!?).  The ladies immediately killed a chicken for us and got to work at plucking, gutting, prepping, and grilling.  It took about 5 hours.  In the meantime, we talked with the family about the origins of the church, and what life was like for them during the war (back in the 80's).  After dark, we hiked back to Bernardo's with our headlamps (compliments of Tedd) and we were so ready for a good night's sleep.

• There are only two bedrooms in the house, and we were 2 of about 10 people sleeping at Bernardo's that night...sooo....Tedd & I shared a room with about 4 other people.    
• No indoor toilets, so being pregnant, I was making frequent visits to the "outhouse" (aka the back yard) to squat.  No. Fun.  And poor Teddy came down with a fever, so he had a hard night as well.
• I forget how quiet things are out in the country.  I heard every snore and every creak, but I enjoyed the sounds of the frogs and I could even the rain coming from a distance it was so quiet.  And the pitch black...what darkness!  There wasn't a lightbulb or a candle lit for miles, just those millions of little twinkles in the sky.
• I didn't sleep much that night, and at the crack of dawn (about 5 am), everyone in the house was wide awake and talking and moving around as casually as if it were 3 in the afternoon.  Whew!  I don't think I'm cut out for this kind of life!
• BUT, the food was fresh and amazing, the scenery, breath-taking, the cool morning air was invigorating, and the people are just so so nice.  

Yelba (Bernardo's wife) and me...again, totally normal pose

Tedd & Flavio (another literacy student who works with Bernardo) posing for a pic in the morning

It wasn't an easy comfortable time, but it was still an awesome memory-maker kind of weekend with some good bonding, so I'm so glad we stayed the night, and I know it meant a lot to Bernardo & his family.