A Visit from my Sister!

Last Tuesday, my sister Kim went back home to the U.S. after visiting with us here in Lichinga for 2 weeks.  We all had such a great time just having her here with us.  For me, the visit was way too short!  It seemed like we had just picked her up from the airport when it was already time to take her back and drop her off!  I guess we had gotten spoiled by my mother-in-law's 6 week visit last year and were expecting her to be able to stay longer.  Anyway, we asked Kim if she wanted to write a guest blog about her visit here and here is what she wrote (those of you who are subscribed to our blog at http://heartsforharvest.blogspot.com/ have already seen this post on last week's blog):



Kim and I adding toppings to homemade pizza.  Yum!



Though I doubted it was as cold in Lichinga as Tiffany told me, I obediently packed my flannel pajamas and warm socks.  I was surprised when I actually had to use them along with three blankets to keep warm at night.  Yes, it does get cold in Africa!   Another thing I found very surprising when I arrived in Lichinga was the price of food.  I had read the blogs about how expensive things are, but I guess I had to see it to believe it.  A couple of trips to the grocery store confirmed that things like meat, cheese, and ice cream are not affordable and reserved for special occasions.  I had to think twice about purchasing food items I would typically buy in America on a daily basis.  I am witnessing how the items we send in care packages go a long way to improve my family’s quality of life.  My visit to Lichinga has shown me how critical it is to support missionaries.  Everyone is not called to be a missionary but I feel it is our duty to support the people God has called to “make disciples of all nations”.  I know it would not have been possible for me to have the awareness of what life is like if I had not spent time here.  It does not take very much to make a very dramatic difference.  I am leaving Lichinga with a renewed purpose to support missionaries who are advancing God’s kingdom.   This experience has been invaluable!

Kim with us at Assumane Church Sunday morning.

Well, there you have it!  Keep those Flat Rate Priority Mail boxes coming!  Ha! Ha!  So, who's coming next? 

Blessings!

Tiffany

I Want My Stuff Back!

Last month, someone broke into our home (the 2nd time in less than a year) and stole a lot of our things.  My first reaction was anger.  I wanted revenge and I wanted justice and I wanted them NOW!  I couldn't understand how someone could have the nerve to break into our home, and literally "go shopping" through all of our personal items and just take whatever they wanted.  Some of the items they took are irreplaceable and not even worth anything to anyone besides us.  But they wouldn't have known that until they took stock of all of the stuff they stole when they got back to wherever they were planning to take it.  They probably just threw some of those things away when they realized they had no use for them. 

I was really unnerved and disoriented for quite some time afterwards.  Then I slowly came out of the haze and realized that my reaction to the theft was like a setup from the enemy.  It was almost as if the whole thing was staged...a strategic plan to throw me off course.  To distract me away from the purposes and the love of God.  To feel justified, even, for ungodly reactions to an injustice done to us!  I immediately repented, apologizing to my kids for some of the things I had said in haste that could have caused them to think my actions were justified. 

One of the things I thought about later, when God was bringing peace back to the situation (at least in my mind), was a story I heard on a Bethel Church podcast.  It was about someone who had his briefcase stolen.  He was driving down the road in his car and just said out loud, "Lord, I want my stuff back!"  Suddenly, out of nowhere, his briefcase just landed on the car seat next to him!  That's what I'm talking about!  I figured I'd try that...and I said, "Lord, I want my stuff back!"  Nothing happened.  OK, I thought, maybe I didn't say it strong enough.  So I said it another time, and then a few more times over the next few days.  Nothing fell from the sky!  Well, maybe the thieves would decide to return our stuff to us, especially the things they had no use for.  That didn't happen either.    

Every so often, since the break in, we find out something else that was stolen that we hadn't noticed initially.  Just last week, I noticed that my carry-on was missing.  I don't even know what I had in there.  (We use our suitcases/carry-ons for storage since we don't have a lot of storage space in our house.)  I got angry again.  It was a struggle to release the anger.  A thought that was so unlike myself entered into my mind that it caused me to stop myself again and bring myself into repentance.  The thought was, "I don't have to forgive them because they haven't repented of what they did to us!"  I finally realized that, even though I had repented of the initial anger, I still hadn't let go.  I still just really wanted my stuff back and resented those who had stolen it.  After repenting again, I willingly forgave the people who broke into our house to steal.  I've forgiven them and released them into God's hands.  I pray that they can bring themselves into a place of repentance also.  I believe one of them (who admitted he broke into our house last year) is on the road to repentance, if he hasn't already repented.  It's a start for him, at least.  I'm so glad that I didn't allow anger to stand in the way of showing love to someone who is truly sorry for what they have done.  And I'm glad that I can even show love to those who aren't sorry.  

By the way, God has brought some of our stuff back to us.  Not in either of the ways that I thought it would happen.  In His own way, which is higher than my ways, God has spoken to the hearts of friends and family who have offered to replace some of the items that were stolen.  Thank you to all of you who have allowed His love to flow through you to us!  And I pray that His love would continue to flow through me to all of those He sends my way!

God bless you, 

Tiffany 

What's Cookin?

I love to try new recipes here because if I don't, I'll easily get tired of the food we have available.  Last month I tried my hand at making mozzarella from powdered milk since we don't have access to fresh milk.  We can only buy long life milk or powdered milk in the stores.  Those of you who have read our Fruitfulness Newsletter may have been wondering how the mozzarella would turn out.  (If you don't subscribe to our ministry blog at www.heartsforharvest.com, you may have missed our annual newsletter called Fruitfulness.  Click the link to read it here:  Fruitfulness Newsletter 2011.)  Here are some photos of my first attempt at homemade mozzarella made from powdered milk...

Left photo:  I carefully followed all of the instructions-even used my handy dandy thermometer to get the mozzarella heated to just the right temperature!

Right photo:  The finished product...it ended up more like ricotta cheese, so I made lasagna instead of pizza!   

While trying to find ways to use my sourdough starter, I stumbled upon a recipe for Sourdough Potato bread.  It turned out to be pretty good...sorry, we ate it up before I thought about taking photos of it.  But, I did take some photos of the Sourdough English muffins that I've made for breakfast the past 2 mornings.  This morning, I even added some cinnamon and Craisins to the dough!  Yum!

Last week, Tyren decided to buy some beef from the market.  This isn't the kind of beef you're used to.  It was very fresh beef.  Here, when you buy meat from the market, you buy it by the kilo (~2.2 lbs.) and it's just all cut up into unidentified chunks of meat, fat and bones.  I decided to try to make it stretch for a few meals, so I added some of it to a pot of beans which lasted two meals.  Then I used the rest of it in another new recipe which I altered slightly.  My recipe was inspired by an Amish recipe for Chicken Stoltfuz which is a chicken stew served over a pie crust baked crisp like crackers.  Instead of chicken stew, I made a beef stew and baked up some of my homemade pie crust until it was crisp like crackers.  It was pretty good!  My kids loved the pie crust baked like crackers and have been asking me to make it again as a snack.  That meal also lasted for two meals.  (Whenever we eat meat, which is not as often as I'd like :), I try to use it in ways that will last for more than one meal.)

The last new recipe idea I tried recently was Eggplant Parmesan-without the cheese, using my homemade breadcrumbs.  Tyren found one huge eggplant in the market and that one eggplant served us with Eggplant Parmesan sans cheese for 2 meals!

Oh, I almost forgot about my homemade vanilla!  Last year, a visitor gave us a gift of real vanilla beans from Madagascar!  I looked online to see what I needed to do to make my own vanilla extract, and to my surprise, found out I would probably need to make a trip to the local bar.  Well, being a missionary, that wouldn't look very well here.  Fortunately, I was able to purchase a bottle of vodka from a grocery store in Blantyre on one of our trips to Malawi late last year.  Last week, I dropped the vanilla beans into the vodka bottle and 3 months from now, we will have our own homemade vanilla.  It's as easy as that!

 



















Well, until next blog...

God bless!
Tiffany