Dough Knot: Try this at home!

I have always had mixed feelings about the Proverbs 31 woman, mainly because if each of her aspects were listed in a report card I would have a long list of "Fails", a few "Passes", and maybe one, possibly two "Excels". Maybe. On a very good day.

Yesterday was a very good day. I made these:

They are called Garlic Knots, and I found the recipe here at The Recipe Critic. It did not matter that there were dishes in the sink and laundry to put away. The house was filled with a wonderful hot bread and garlic smell that worked like a siren's song to distract everyone from all that other stuff. And they tasted wonderful. My son arose and called me blessed, my husband also and he praised me. 

Score one "Excel" for the day!

This morning I was up at an indecently early hour and decided to try another new recipe I found: One Hour Easy Cinnamon Rolls. 

Tah dah!

Except that because I am me, it took two hours. I just barely got them out of the oven before the morning power outage started. And it only made a dozen. So I will have to either double it next time or find another recipe. And instead of getting up early I will have to just not go to bed the night before. (Pillsbury Grands!, I miss you!) I think now I remember why I don't make cinnamon rolls very often. 

They were quite yummy, so if you are not me, and you don't have to feed a growing man-child, and you like to get up before the rest of the world goes to bed, it is a good recipe. I think next time my family asks me why I don't make cinnamon rolls more often I will just whip up a batch of garlic knots for supper and make them forget all about everything else.

Just a Small Thing

Medical thermometer (Photo credit: RambergMediaImages)

A while back I found a small growth on my tongue. When it didn’t go away on its own I was advised to have it removed and if possible, sent to pathology. 

It was a small thing and if we had been in the U.S. any general practice physician could have taken care of it right in the office. Getting it removed here turned out to be a bigger deal than we anticipated.

We first went to a new clinic in town that is run by a Canadian company and has a good reputation. The doctor there would not even see me. Without having even looked at my little hitchhiker, he insisted I needed a specialist called a stomatologist and told me I could find one at a place called CMK. 

We were not sure how to even find CMK and really wanted to go someplace we had at least heard something positive about, so we decided to call a Belgian physician we knew. He had seen David before and diagnosed his gall stones last year. He told me not to bother making an appointment because he could not remove it and recommended I find a stomatologist. 

At this point we were asking each other “what the heck is a stomatologist?”

Not knowing what else to do, we called CMK to get directions and headed back down town. The end result was I got the care I needed and did NOT need a stomatologist to get it done. When I saw the doctor there, he said he could remove it. When he realized I was nervous about having something cut out of my mouth he said: "It is a small thing."

I noted some similarities and some differences between taking care of something like this here versus the United States.

Similarities:
1. We had to wait a long time. It was one of those set ups where you “take a number” and wait for someone to yell out your number. We arrived before 8:30 am and they were already on number 29 with standing room only in the waiting area. We therefore stood a lot. After your number is called you go to the desk and give them your name, and go back to find that while you were at the desk someone stole your seat, if you had one. Then you wait until your number is called again and you go to a different desk and pre-pay for your exam. Cash only. Then you wait again until they call your number and you go to a little room and get your vital signs taken. Then you go back to the lobby and wait some more until they finally call your number to see the doctor. We finally got out of there about three hours later and still had to go next door to the lab for blood work and then on to the pharmacy.

2. Doctors wear white coats. 

3. You have to be proactive about your own health (though this is perhaps more true here).

That’s about it.

Differences:
1. The concept of germs and sterility. When the nurses called me in to take my vital signs, they pulled out a digital thermometer and stuck it in my arm pit while they took my blood pressure. Before the thermometer beeped they removed it, recorded the temperature, and placed it right back in its case. Without cleaning it with anything. I could not help but think about the fact that before I got my temperature taken, thirty-five or forty people had also gotten their temperature taken that day. The doctor who did my procedure washed and put gloves on but when he told the nurses to tie his mask on they didn’t know how to do it and he had to instruct them. They got it on really crooked, which was a nice distraction for me while he was approaching my tongue with a sharp cutting tool.

2. Equipment and resources. The doctor did not have the option of a big bright light on an extendable swinging arm attached to the wall or the ceiling. He had an old floor lamp with a nice hot 40 watt bulb which he kept having to ask the nurses to move around until he could see into my mouth. I know the bulb was hot because it was almost touching my eye lids.

3. Lab work. The pathology lab is not on site. You have to take your specimen to the lab yourself. It is in another part of town and we had no clue how to find it so for an extra fee we could have someone take it to the lab for us. We have been told that it is not uncommon for things to get lost in the system. 

4. Payment. Even in the states you have to arrange payment up front, but here you have to pay for everything up front in cash. No money = no doctor.

5. Patient privacy. This has happened at every clinic we have been to, not just CMK. While the nurses were taking my vital signs and asking me questions the doctor was examining someone else in the same room with just a little folding screen between us. 

Four Things That Happened On This Day

Today is a special day. On this day TWENTY-ONE years ago, our first child was born. It hurts to be so far away from him today, but I am glad he has his new wife and her family to celebrate with. 

And on this day SIX years ago, we were in Idaho for orientation and became official MAF missionaries. Yaay! Here is a photo from the week prior. 

And on THIS day, as in today, Daniel did THIS:

He was playing with a dog that we are babysitting for a few weeks and fell and sliced it on the air conditioner. We took him to the same clinic that we went to the last time he cut his leg (story here) but thankfully this time around he was not hurt as badly and did not get stitches, though I still think he could have used a couple. He will definitely get another "cool scar or two to add to the collection." His words. Not mine.

Also on THIS day we woke up to another power outage. Nothing new there. We found out that the line was stolen again. Unfortunately that is nothing new anymore either. Third time in as many months. I am grateful for the cooler weather, for our generator and that we had just stocked up on fuel, for our little gas stove, and for battery-powered lights and internet so that we can skype Josh on his birthday! 

Surprises

I tell people that I don't like surprises, but I really do. Let me explain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up. 

www.reusableart.com

I don't like when company shows up unexpectedly.











I don't like these kinds of surprises either.







I don't like having to make big decisions on the spur of the moment. Actually I don't like making decisions at all. 

Beth Moore said in one of her Bible study videos that she regularly asks God to delight her and He regularly answers in ways that only God can. Those are the kind of surprises I like. 

Ways God has recently surprised me:

Visitors who did not know I had been missing treats from home brought us m&m's candy. God knew!

While walking a friend's dog on the American school campus I found this fascinating critter. I thought he was a wasp at first but it turns out he is a "wasp moth" and his disguise is his defense. I'm weird, and easily entertained, but I really thought it was cool to see an insect with so many colors. Made me wonder what the caterpillar looks like.


You might not think this is a nice surprise or a good thing to give someone, but when our MAF friend David Francis brought this to us I was delighted. This was a part we needed to repair our water reservoir system. Without it, we had to keep city water turned off most of the time to keep the tank from overflowing and flooding the yard. When you live here, shutting off water supply just feels WRONG, because you never know when it will be available again. Now our tanks are full and our yard is dry.

Today we went to the orphanage in Kimbondo with armloads of soft knit hats and blankets for the babies and toddlers. Many of these kids are malnourished when they arrive and have little to no body fat or energy for keeping warm during the cool dry season. Several friends donated items and money to make this possible. 

Traffic is heavier than it used to be on the road there and construction projects add to the congestion, so it took about 90 minutes now to go 25 kilometers (about 16 miles) to the orphanage. By the time we got there I was tired and thinking about all the stuff I still had to do today so I decided I would just find Father Hugo, give him the stuff, and excuse myself to go home. After I talked to him and showed him the gifts from friends in the states, he excitedly told a nurse about it and next thing I knew she and another person had taken it all and told me to follow them. Turns out they wanted to distribute the hats and blankets right away and they were ordering inviting me to be a part of it. My five minute visit turned quickly into 45. Even though we had not been there in a year because of furlough and car issues, many of the kids and staff remembered us and greeted us warmly. Leaving the orphanage is always wrenching because the kids cry when we leave, but it was a real treat to see them again and give them hugs and hold them for a bit.

Does God hold out on us?

David told me that he had a conversation with a Congolese friend this week and the question arose: "Do you think you have all that God wants you to have? Maybe not all that He intends you to have, but all He wants you to have at this time?"

Compared to those of us who were born in the U.S., this friend has basically nothing. Nothing. It was a difficult question for him. 

It is also a difficult question for the rest of us because the more we have, the more we tend to want, and we desire that God would want us to have it. If we answer "yes" then we have to accept that what we want for ourselves and what God wants might not be the same. And if that's true, then we have to accept that our will might not be in line with God's will. Uh oh. If we answer "no" then we are sort of saying that God is holding out on us. Or maybe that we don't believe He is powerful enough to give us what He wants us to have. Neither is a true assessment of God's character.

It's easier for me to understand if I compare it to raising my kids. There were times I have held out on them protected them. I even withheld good things when I knew that my child was either not ready for it or could not handle it. If I had something they wanted and did not give it to them, it was always in their best interest. 

I know God loves me and those in my sphere of influence and because of that He gives me what He wants me to have to help me grow more like Him, trust Him to meet my needs, and bless others. 

Thank yous

I have a friend here who is about to leave for a vacation in the U.S. That means I have an opportunity to send mail back, so I have been busy writing letters. Serving as a missionary with MAF means we raise our own ministry support. We literally could not be here without the help of our partners who pray for us and give financially. A lot of the letters I write are thank you notes. 

When I was a kid and someone gave me a gift, my mom would make me write a thank you note and I would whine about it. It was a chore. Now when I look over at a stack of thank you letters that I have written, each one represents a relationship. Whether it be an individual, a business, a church or a family - all of them have invested in us not just financially but also in friendship. We are a team working together to advance God's kingdom. 

I took that photo of the church above a few years ago when we had the opportunity to visit the village of Nkara. This photo is one I took a couple weeks ago of the church in Kikongo village. They represent people in Congo who are part of the Body of Christ. 

There are more churches that have been planted and established here. There are also hospitals, seminaries, schools, ministries to lepers, and other evangelistic missions - even a Christian radio station! We are deeply grateful to be part of MAF and to be a tiny part of all that. 

I get really excited when I consider that one day, believers in Congo and believers who helped send all the Christian workers, including me, to Congo will meet one another in heaven and adore Christ together! 

I always used to think as a kid that we wrote thank you notes to show that we are grateful. As I grew up I learned that expressing thanks actually makes you more grateful. In fact I am not certain that sending a thank you isn't equally as beneficial for the sender as it is for the recipient, if not more so.

Writing thank you notes is a privilege! Each one is a reminder of God's power and provision, of a common vision He has given to us to see others come to know Him, and the incredible gift of a relationship rooted in the love of Christ. 

How cool beans is that?!?

Thank you for reading my blog, for praying, for giving and sending!