The Joy of Dicing and Slicing

Hey Everyone!

I hope you're having an amazing week. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by...it's almost October. Then it will be November...Hooray!!!!!!! Yeah, I'm just a little excited about going home and seeing my family, my dog and everyone else. Only 58 days!

Wow, that makes me seem like I'm not having a good time. I really am; I just miss all of you.

Last week, I started catering classes (cooking is catering here). The girls are doing very well...turns out, I'm a better cooking instructor than a tailoring instructor. I think the fact that I like to cook has something to do with it. Hahaha!

We have been covering how to read a recipe, kitchen tools, knife skills and sanitation - a very difficult thing to get a cross; clean is a relative term here. I also decided to teach the girls how to double and half a recipe, little did I know that I would have to teach them how to multiply and divide fractions. I felt like I was back in elementary school.

Supplies are limited so there are 9 girls to a cutting board...we've also learned about sharing and patience this week. :0)

Dicing onions...only a few tears were shed.

My TA and translator, Kerungi Moreen, doing what I told the girls not to do...cut on an open table.

Some of the girls showing off their newly acquired skills.

Next week, we will start baking in the gas cooker (gas oven). The girls are so excited to learn how to make cakes and breads. I asked them if they liked cookies and pies; most of them have never had a cookie, and none of them knew what a pie was. So I'm excited to show them what a pies and cookies are.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa

Being Thankful

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well, and you're enjoying the back-to-school season.

Stars II, I miss you!!!! I'll see you soon!

I realized this week that my time here is getting very short. I crossed a couple of milestones this week. 1) I finished one bottle of Doxycycline; this might not seem significant, but when I went to pick up my prescription before I left the US the bottles read 1 of 2...quantity 210. I wanted to cry. So, now I have less than 105 pills left. HORRRRAAAAAAAAAY!

2) I realized (literally a light bulb moment) that I have a little more than 2 months left. My mom was right when she said that I would get busier the longer I was here. Mom, you were right. I'm now doing technical writing for Bringing Hope, teaching at Dorcas and teaching at the craft shop. I'm so busy that I forget to take pictures.

I was explaining my milestones to my friend last night, then I mentioned that I needed to write a blog but didn't know what to write about. He asked me what I had learned during my time here?...My first response was "What not to do." But then I had realization 3) Be thankful for the things that God has given you and the things He hasn't.

Being here has shown me that God knows me, better than I know myself. When I was in high school all I wanted was to get married, have kids and become a missionary. But, God in His infinite wisdom didn't give me what I thought I wanted. Now, 11 years later, I'm thankful that God didn't give me what I asked for. I love missions and will continue to be a part of it, but I realized that the life I wanted wasn't the best life for me. God knew that 11 years ago.

I'm grateful for the life God has given me; He has given me the opportunity to go places and do things that I would have never done if He had give me what I asked for so many years ago. My life is not what I thought it would be; it's much bigger...fuller than I envisioned.

So, this week thank God for the things He's given you and the things He hasn't. He knows you better than you know yourself.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa