Christmas Dinner at the Kitchen

Aldo, my little Latin brother. He is 14 years old and has an older brother named Bryan. Both of them claim me and watch out for me. Both of them have been helping in the kitchen since day one. They are very supportive and loving.









Franci is my "Catracha"--Honduran. Not long after I met her, she began calling me her "Gringa"--American. She has recently gotten jealous with my involvement in Sunday school. She told her mom that I had too many other kids. Yet, whenever I have a chance, this precious three-year-old is in my arms.





Melissa worked really hard to give an elegant touch to the party. These women never have experienced the fancy plates and glassware. At first, you could see the tension on their faces as they were unsure of how to act. Later, they appreciated even the littlest details that were added to highlight the day.








Neither I, nor Melissa, nor Brandy, nor my American friends that came by were able to taste the desserts. The workers and kids cleaned out the table. We Americans didn't even stand a chance.

Each worker and active volunteer was invited along with their families) to join in our feast. Each family left with a tub of goodies as a small thank you for their hard work and service to the community.

From Left to Right:

Back Row: Bryan, Katrina, me, Aldo, Alora, Melissa with Suani.

Middle Row: Reyna with Margarita, Keydi, Xiomara, mom of Ines, Ines, Evelin, Veronica, Iris with Carolina.

Front Row of Kids: Marco, Little Keydi, Alexander, Lesbi, Nicol.

What's been happening?

December 9th at the Kluge house, we had a Thanksgiving/Christmas lunch for the kids at Casa de Esperanza. Melissa worked extremely hard to cook a feast. The food was incredible. However, the fellowship was amazing. Randy, Melissa, Alora, Katrina, one cat, two dogs, me, Jen, Karen, and ten little ones running around. The house was packed with food, laughter, and fun.

December 12th I started English classes. The first day had 5 people while the second class had 15. Word is spreading, and people are excited. I have made up my own curriculum for now but want to do some research when I go to Nashville for Christmas. Each class begins with a Bible verse and ends with a prayer.

Today, the 16th, we had a Christmas party in Mololoa for the paid employees (3 ladies) and the volunteers who are consistently involved (7 teens and 3 ladies)…AND their families. It ended up being around 40 people. Yesterday, Melissa stayed at the house to cook another feast. Once again, she outdid herself. This morning, Randy had to make two trips to take all the food and decorations. We arrived at the kitchen at 10am with the intention to serve lunch at 1:30. “Welcome to Honduras”—I sometimes wonder why I even try to plan anything here. With all the work to do and running around (Randy brought a lady by the kitchen for me to test drive a vehicle) we served at 2:30. Everything was wonderful, and it was funny watching the ladies and their kids try totally different foods. The losers of the day were stuffing, green olives, and cooked carrots. The winners were cornbread casserole, sweet potatoes, and roast. But nothing got left on the table. More about that later…

About the time we were beginning desserts, Randy showed up with 9 people from TN (most of them from my home congregation). They were originally scheduled to go to Choluteca but had several changes in their plans. So, they headed our way. They had yet to eat, and we had plenty still on the table. They got to join in our regular food, but by the time they had finished, the dessert table had been licked clean. Afterwards, they were wonderful to help with cleaning up and helping to prepare the gift baskets we were giving for presents.

As we were wrapping up, two of the ladies came to me asking if it was okay to take home the left-overs from the plates of their kids (we don’t allow them to take home food from the feeding center). I explained that this food wasn’t under “feeding center jurisdiction” and that I would return with Ziploc sandwich bags. Word must have spread because when I returned, I was asked for another 10 bags, then another 10. I ended up bringing the whole box. When it came time to clean up, they had emptied all the regular food and the left-overs from their plates into bags. Each family took about 4 Ziploc bags of food. Even the things they barely touched (like the stuffing) were GONE!

We had a good day. I promise to post the photos later—I have some good ones.

Staying busy

The saying, "When God closes a door, he opens a window" really is true. If you search, you can find blessings in everything.

Last Saturday, Antonio (17-month-old) at Casa de Esperanza (children's home) gave us a real scare. He began to be sick on Thursday. When he didn't show signs of improving, Karen took the hour long drive into town to the hospital. That meant that Jen was watching 9 kids alone. Since I had just sold my vehicle, the girls said that I could drop by the hospital and take the van to come help. So, Katrina and I went Saturday night. I had to leave early the next morning to teach Sunday school, but Katrina stayed to help Jen. That afternoon, we all drove out to Casa to relieve Katrina while I stayed again. Jen had gotten sick that day, so for the next two days, she was unable to help much with the kids. I went back and forth in the morning and at night Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Last night, Antonio and Karen were able to come home.

I had been so busy with the kitchen that I had felt like I couldn't go out to the children's home. However, when I made time to do so, I was extremely blessed. I have several great stories but will have to sum up the best of it with Jen's blog. I cannot even begin to express literally everything half as good as Jen, so please, click on the link below.

Let me first say that I had just finished my long drive into Santa Ana. Immediately when I walked in the door, Yovanny drug me to his room to show me his birthday presents. Upon returning to the family room, three kids approached me with other news of the day and to greet me. While they were hanging on me, the only adult in the room announced that she had to immediately get home. She barely said hello to me. 10 seconds after she walked out of the door, her 12-year-old son (who was planning to spend the night), informed me that 15 minutes ago, Fernando drank some of the liquid in a container. Here is where Jen's story comes in...

http://calledandcompelled.blogspot.com/2006/12/day-in-life.html

Just one of those days...

Do you ever just have “one of those days?” No matter what you do, nothing seems to work out. You try everything you can think of, and then just fail at your goal.

Yesterday was like that for me. I started early and picked up a friend to hit several shops to get the kinks worked out of my car. Such as, one sun visor and a side panel covering are missing. A month ago, I took the car to a mechanic to fix one window. He was successful in that but somehow disabled the driver side control for all the windows. So, things like this, I wanted to take care of before I tried to sell my car.

And I had a deadline. The day before when Luis and I researched cars to buy, we met a lady who was more than eager to help sell my car (for an extremely low commission). We had stopped by more out of interest than to actually buy—her company was advertising an Expedition for $14,000 and a Ford F250 for $12,000. My budget is looking quite a bit smaller than those, but I thought—hey, why not? I now know that God was leading us to this place. Come to find out, the two cars belong to a missionary who came in 1998 and is looking to go back home to the States. So, he might be willing to part with one for a much lower price. But, this isn’t the best part. She said she had two different clients who were looking for a Trooper (my car). She called, and one guy wanted to meet that day. I replied that I needed at least a day to get the car together.

So, from 7am to 2pm, I ran around all over creation. And I accomplished nothing except a car wash. No one has the parts for Isuzu and what they do have is expensive. For example, a junkyard charged me $1.50 for a sun visor. When I called the only place in town with Isuzu parts, they said it would be $40 for one new sun visor. Yikes!

So, I just prayed and asked God to sell the car if He wanted to. I wasn’t too worried—it was after all, my first day to try to sell it. I have heard different numbers all around the same figure. So, I had a number in mind and the lady had already told that to the guys looking to buy the car. However, right before I met with the gentlemen to show the car, I had a meeting with a mechanic/car salesman to see some cars at his lot. He said that my car was worth more than I thought and that I should raise the price once the things were fixed. So, when I met with the men…

I sold my car. I sold my car. I sold my car.

I am still dumbfounded. I got exactly what I asked for it. The funny thing is, if I had accomplished the things I had set out to do, I would have spent my money with the original price in mind—which means I would have lost money. So, when I had “just one of those days,” it was God taking care of my financial needs.

So, my car is sold. I saved the headache and money of trying to find the parts and fix the window controls. I didn’t have to meet with lots of people and go through the hassle of advertising my car. I have money in the bank to purchase a more common brand. One of those days turned into a great answer to prayer. Thank you to all of you who have been lifting me up to our Father in Heaven.

I hope you have “just one of those days”!