HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Give THANKS to the Lord 

      for He is GOOD; 

His LOVE endures forever!

I feel so blessed to be here serving my Lord and Savior! I am thankful to all who support us in prayer! Thank you for your encouraging words! I love hearing from you! I am thankful to be able to gather (about four hours away from my city) with other American friends and share in this special day. Everybody's bringing food and it will be a special time for all, so far away from our families.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Big Girls Learn About Thanksgiving

Because I will be away for Thanksgiving (PTL), I am sharing the story early. I shared the story of the first Thanksgiving, and how we celebrate now. We played Thanksgiving Bingo, made signs with our favorite giving thanks Bible verses, and made sugar cookie leaves and turkeys. I am thankful to have this opportunity to invest in these girls and share Jesus with them. I pray someday they will each choose Him, but it is their choice. Most girls in this country have no choice. 

Playing Bingo let me explain some of the things associated with the holiday

Making the cookies

Babu showing off her verse

Their verses

Eggless Sugar cookies!

I won't see the girls now until after Thanksgiving when we start preparing for Christmas! Yea! Our big party will be on 17 December. The girls will bring friends and family members to this birthday party for Jesus.

Women's Meeting in SJ

What fun! I presented the breast cancer awareness program, "Pearls of Great Price" to a group of church women in a nearby town. Thanks to my home church, I had plenty of gift bags to hand out. The ladies said "thank you!" I challenged them to share the information with family and friends. I will return to that group next month to share again in their monthly meeting.

New Moms Come to Moms and Friends

I love it when one of the ladies brings a friend. I now have 12 neighborhood women who come to my weekly Bible and cooking class. Usually about 5 or 6 come in a given week. Each week I pray for them and for their families. They are starting to bring me requests. I color a page for them in my prayer book. Most are practicing Hindus but I have more Sikh families that I first thought. I have one Buddhist mom.
Today, I told the same story about Lot's wife that I told to the girls, but I added the part that happened after they fled Sodom and Gomorrah. I also have different applications for the moms.
We made baked potato appetizers in the microwave. They enjoyed this yummy dish.
Take four medium potatoes, wash, peel, and prick with a fork.
In a microwave safe bowl, cook on high for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil a cup of corn with a tablespoon of butter and some salt to taste.
In a small bowl, add 2 tablespons of chopped onion and 1 green chili sliced, seeded and finely chopped.
Add a bit of butter and microwave for 30 seconds. Add to the drained corn.
Slice the potatoes in half and scoop out a hole in the center.
Fill the hole with the corn mixture and top with grated cheddar cheese.
Return to the microwave for 1 minute. Serve warm.
Next week they want to make something with pumpkin! My topic next week will be giving thanks, and pumpkin will fit right in! I want to share some of my culture with them.

Big Girls Learn from Lot's Wife

 We don't know her name, just that she was married to Lot, Abraham's nephew. She is best known for turning into a pillar of salt because she looked back as they were fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah. Wow. High cost for her disobedience! God had chosen to destroy the wicked cities, but because of Abraham's pleading, He spared Lot's family. His son-in-laws thought he was joking, and didn't leave. His wife ignored the warning not to look back, and turned into a pillar of salt. Perhaps she forgot the warning in the stress of the moment, or she didn't hear it above all the screaming. Sometimes we think we have good reasons for our disobedience, but the consequences come anyway.
Today we made colored salt candles from salt, powdered tempera paint, baby food jars, wax, and string.
First, the girls colored the salt in many colors using powdered tempera paint.

 They secured a wax dipped string into the bottom of the jar with playdough. They used a paper funnel to layer the colors of their choice into the jar.

 I melted wax over boiling water and colored it with a blue crayon.

 Once their layers were finished, some used toothpicks down the sides to make designs. Then, I sealed the salt candle by carefully pouring wax over the top.

 Time for a popcorn snack.

 Finished products-reminders of Lot's wife's disobedience. When God says to run, we should run!

 Yanna used a toothpick to make the designs in her candle.

Sanvi is the youngest. Her mom comes on Wednesdays and she just really wanted Sanvi to come. Even though she is only six, she listens well, answers questions, and seems to understand. He mom says she absolutely loves coming to Aunty's house.
This story reminds me of when, as a primary teacher I had to prepare my students for emergencies. We had school-wide fire drills, and inclement weather drills. I told mys students that if we got word, or heard the bell to evacuate, not to ask me if any questions -it didn't matter if it was a drill or not. We would not wait to find out. It didn't matter if it was a bomb or a fire or something else, we would get to safety and then find out. If I was told to get my students to safety, I would do that without asking any questions at all, so they shouldn't ask me any questions. And they didn't. When the times came, and they did, they quickly and quietly followed my directions to exit the classroom to safety.
I guess Lot's wife didn't teach her that.
In the same way, God gives us warnings. We should heed the warning without question, without looking back. He gives us many warnings in His Word. If we know His Word, we can follow it. Disasters still happen today, and we may find ourselves having to leave behind things we love. But in the end, most of it is just stuff -stuff that mostly can be replaced -stuff that is not eternal. What is eternal is your soul, and the Word of God. God has promised His people treasure beyond measure. Remember, He wants His best for you. So when God says to run, RUN!

Delilah & Chocolate Balls

Hannah told me about this easy recipe, but didn't give me the measurements, so I made them up! The Big Girls Bible Club made them last week and loved them. We finely crushed three single packages of Oreos and mixed them with one tub of Amul Creami Cheese. We rolled the mixture into small balls and dipped in melted chocolate. We added colorful sprinkles and chilled until firm. Hannah says she also uses white chocolate. I tried that too, but didn't have any today.

 The girls learned from Delilah, whose story can be found in the Book of Judges chapter 16. Of course we had to learn about Samson, first. Hmmm. He's not the best example for listening to your folks, but it was all in God's plan. Delilah chose silver over the love of her man. Samson teaches us that God has a purpose for our lives. From Delilah we learn we shouldn't cut others down with our words, but encourage their strengths.
For craft, we made a Recipe For Me. I gave each girl a foam card. They wrote three physical characteristics and three personality characteristics for themselves. They decorated them beautifully! I always tell them that there is no one just like them. They are unique; they are special. God has a plan for their lives.

Some of the girls with their finished Recipe Cards.

Microwave Baked Apples

Thanks to a gift of a box of apples, my Moms and Friends Bible Club made this delicious and easy dessert. My ladies don't have ovens, so I am always looking for recipes for the microwave.
Take four apples and core and peel them. Place in a baking dish for the microwave. In a small bowl, mix 1/4 C brown sugar, 2 T raisins, 2 T chopped nuts, and 1/4 t cinnamon. Mix together and divide evenly in the apples. Top each apple with a tablespoon of butter. Cover with Saran wrap. Microwave on high for 7-9 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes/ Spoon the liquid over the top. It is delish served with vanilla ice cream!! The ladies really enjoyed this easy treat.

Apple Country Update

Bill and Rae are beyond thrilled by the generosity of the KY team! The new school van is keeping them from going in the hole each month for transportation. The van is also increasing ministry opportunities. Bill can drive it now, but still does not drive it to my city. On those roads, who can blame him? Rae is learning to drive! When there are two drivers, they say they will make the trip, otherwise they still take the bus.
They were here recently during the major festival of Diwali, or Festival of Lights. We celebrate the One True Light in Jesus Christ! I did a training on the Biblical basis for research, and collected Bill's numbers from the last year. He could see the value in reporting after we looked at examples of census taking in the Bible. He also saw the need for accuracy in reporting -not over-reporting, so that needed resources didn't get to his area because others thought he already had them. He saw the reason for not under-reporting, so that resources he didn't really need were diverted to his area from an area which really needed them. The numbers revealed where there needs to be more emphasis. They also revealed the toll that concentrating on the school took on his ministry, and the need for helpers. A monetary gift by the KY team will help in several areas -Bill needs to replace himself as teacher so he can just be the director, and be free to do more of his passion. They were also behind in their rent, which is a bad witness. We spent time praying together over the needs, and wise uses for the money.
Bill called and told me Rae's grandfather is very ill, and has been sent home to Rae's father's home to die. Bill shared the Good News and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior! His wife did as well! I had the blessing of watching them be baptized the very next evening -by Skype!!