Over the past month we have been
busy. In addition to our regular daily activities of language study, homeschooling, and John’s foundation work, we have had
the pleasure of hosting two different pairs of friends from the states and
traveling out of the country for a conference.
Having visitors from the States is
always an encouraging time. We often see
our surroundings through the new eyes our visitors bring, then realize the
growth that has occurred in our lives from living overseas. The familiarity visitors brings is quite enjoyable as well; familiarity of culture, language, and often small treats they bring!
Our conference, like many work conferences, provided us with additional equipping for the task at hand and enabled connecting with others in the same line of work. Furthermore, the week among like minded people provided much fellowship and refreshing. Caedmon, Whitman, and Evangeline thoroughly enjoyed the organized activities they took part in and time with other English speaking children, many whom they already knew.
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Conference Talent Show
Caedmon had prepared a song to play while Evangeline sang.
From all the activities at the conference, Evangeline fell asleep early the night of the show. In true flexibility, Caedmon gladly welcomed a couple friends to sing with him in place of his sister!
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As we continue on with our daily activities we currently find ourselves having to adjust our schedules. We are in the middle of the fasting month, which brings many changes to peoples' daily routines. Our neighbors all wake up much earlier than normal, at about 3am. The women typically have fewer activities during the mornings as they are not cooking lunch for their families. Instead, many of them are inside cooking during the afternoon, preparing for the breaking of the fast at sundown. John has found difficulty meeting with people for language study as one helper is currently selling young coconuts in the afternoon and others have less predictable schedules than usual.
Most government offices and stores are open, doing business as usual. One exception has been the availability of baking ingredients. Baking is not a common activity in this culture, except during this time of year. Similar to holiday baking in the States, the Barat community increases their production of baked goods. Due to this fact, milk, sugar, flour, and gas (for stoves) have been harder to find regularly stocked in the stores. A difference here compared with the States is these highly sought after items, including chicken and eggs as well, are sold at an increased price during this time of year.
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Wrapped Coconut Rice
As I, Erin, have also had to find other ways to interact with our community during this month, I've been blessed to take part in preparing many 'Holiday Foods.'
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| Making containers out of leaves for a dessert. |
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Breaking the Fast
To break the fast each day people often serve their families a sweet, wet dessert and a pastry, which may be sweet or savory. One neighbor put it this way, "As long as there is something to hold and something wet."
So we prepared 'fruit soup' and a couple different savory pastries to share with neighbors.
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| Evangeline with neighbor kids at our Breaking the Fast event. |
