Things to do when there's no electricity

Sometimes, I can get so buried in all my computer work that I don't get to visit with staff. And that's such a critical part of our ministry!

So this morning, when I discovered that we're having a blackout, I went to connect with the moms and had chai. In the process, one mom (Dorcas) asked me about some of the vegetables in her kids' garden. I had given them seeds to plant, and they didn't know what to do with the spinach and lettuce. So as a treat, I made all the moms this huge mixed salad, unlike any salad they've ever had. I'm still to hear if they liked it... I also harvested some of Dorcas' spinach and told her I'll make a quiche, something else they've never had. Somehow, I doubt Kenyans would like it. They don't care for cheese.

I combined the ideas of a few recipes since we don't have all the ingredients you need in most cases, and right now, the quiche is baking. (P.S. The quiche was GOOD! I went to deliver some to a few colleagues. Still curious what the Kenyans will think of the cheese.)

Praise:

• I cannot share the details, but today I had a total God-directed encounter with someone from the community. Every step of that encounter, especially the timing, was absolutely a God thing. I was blessed as our paths parted, and this person was blown away by the way God answered her prayers.
• For occasional blackouts, which in my case today, was a good reminder to step outside my usual world of global communications and simply go and connect with our staff.
  
• For electricity that's back on, and a toaster oven to be able to bake stuff! :) And for the fact that Kenya's changing so you can more and more ingredients here to be able to make Western food.
  

Prayer:

• Later this week, the assistant moms are coming to my place for tea and fellowship. I will be talking with those moms about the possibility of getting together for Bible study. Please pray for God's guidance.
• Every day, we are literally flooded with opportunities to give. It's sometimes overwhelming to live surrounded by poverty, and knowing when to give, or what to give. For example, I don't give money to the street children since many of them sniff glue. If possible, I like giving them fruit or bread, but don't always have that in my car... Please pray for wisdom in every single encounter, to know when to give. It's not always the right thing to give handouts, since it makes people dependant on you, and our ministry is all about teaching people skills rather than giving handouts.