January 30, 2013

Outdoor Education

As I write this, our eldest is in the mountain village of Mamit, doing work projects, helping wtih health clinics and kids clubs, doing his own laundry by hand (that I would love to see!), probably smelling rather ripe, and hopefully having the time of his life.

This past Monday, Carter, along with the entire high school student body at his school headed off to Mamit via MAF planes for a 12-day trip known as Outdoor Education (OE).  I listened to moms talk about the preparations for the trip, and how some of them worry about sickness or injury or the kids being cold.  I had wondered, in the weeks leading up to OE, if I would be wracked by worry (as I am prone to do) about sending Carter off.

And then the day came.  And I was filled with nothing but excitement for my son, with not even a hint of worry or anxiety.
Perhaps it helped that David was C's pilot.
David reported that the first flight of his day was his most beautiful in all his time flying in Indonesia.  The moon was full and enormous, and the sun was rising, and the sky was clear after days and days of rain.
I received news from Esther in Mamit that the kids helped carry an 184-meter long pipe from Mamit to another village to help with a hydroelectric project.  A man sick with pneumonia was already getting better after the kids helping with the health clinic gave him an injection.

My prayer is not only will the people of Mamit and surrounding villages be impacted positively by OE, but C's heart will be moved and he will catch a vision of service to others.

January 20, 2013

Chik-fil-A it ain't


Sometimes, we just get a hankering for Chik-fil-A.  There is a local restaurant in Sentani that does a pretty good chicken sandwich, but it's just not the same as a Chik-fil-A-pickle-juice-soaked-into-the-bun-chicken sandwich.  I recently came across this recipe which promised a chicken sandwich that tasted just like it. The skeptic in me said "no way" but I decided to give it a whirl.

 This recipe would of course be much easier in the U.S., where I could just go out and buy beautiful pieces of chicken, pickles, and buns, although if I were in the U.S. I'd probably just go to the nearest Chik-fil-A.  Anyway, here's how it went...

Step One - Make the pickles.
Step Two - Go to the pasar, get the chicken
Step Three - At home, make the chicken look purty, then marinate in pickle juice per Food Babe's recipe
Step Four - Make the buns
Step Five - Bread the chicken (pictured below.  Me, still sporting my pool wear.) 



Step Six - Fight the urge to smack a certain teenager of mine who takes one look and declares "that looks nothing like a Chik-fil-A."

Step Seven - The final product.

Yep, no waffle fries, no lemonade, and very questionable pickles.  It definitely was not a Chik-fil-A sandwich.  But, it tasted just fine, and it will make the next Chik-fil-A sandwich we eat, whenever and wherever that may be, taste all the better.