missionaryMAC

I had a wonderful visit to St. Louis over the past week or so, despite my lost suitcase. For whatever reason I feel like this year I really relished every moment that I got to spend with my family and friends, in the house and the town where I grew up. I know that YLM is where I am supposed to be right now, but it felt so natural to be in such a familiar place, among so many people who have known me for years and/or are so much like me that the relation is undeniable. It takes special people to turn Red Bull or the Chrysler Building into a fit of hysterics! There really is no place like home for the holidays. I guess at some point in my life that will change but for 2010 it was truer than ever. I won't bore you with explanations of everything I did in the days leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but some of the highlights that weren't covered in my last couple blogs were eating at a Nicaraguan restaurant (that had a song from Mariachi San Pablo's new CD playing o...

I'm actually in Missouri, but you get the idea ;) 'Tis the season for sharin' And the reason for carin' Is the baby that was born upon this day With our family and friends We're together again Celebratin' his birth down Texas way Chorus: Merry Christmas from Texas, y'all Where we hang the mistletoe and deck the 'ole dance hall May that big Lone Star shine on you from afar Merry Christmas from Texas, y'all Well the kids are up early 'Cus they're in such a hurry To see what is underneath the tree Later we're sayin' grace And fixin' our plates Sittin' down to watch the Cowboys on TV {Chorus} When the company leaves And the children fall asleep Surrounded by the toys that Santa brought Now that Texas moon is bright Against the silent night Peace on earth and goodwill to all {Chorus} From South Padre up to Pampa El Paso to Texarkana Merry Christas from Texas, y'all! --Tracy Byrd

I am working on this in between the baking I've been doing all morning: Batch #1: gooey butter cookies Batch #2: toffee bits cookies using my chocolate chip recipe...I wasn't happy with the consistency of the dough--it was a little dry--but the final product tastes fine, although they would be better with a combo of toffee bits and chocolate chips Batch #3: cinnamon struesel muffins Batch #4?: more cinnamon struesel muffins, from scratch since we're out of muffin mix Last week we got a phone call from a lady at Ascension Lutheran Church who was looking for families that her office could sponsor for Christmas. She asked if we knew of any...BOY do we know of some! We gave her 3 names to start with, although she wound up calling back for 2 more over the next couple of days for a total of 5. For each, I got the job of calling them with the good news, and also getting their wish lists, ages, and clothing sizes so the gifts could be as personalized as possible. Last Wednesday, it...

Well I made it to St. Louis right on time despite my sister calling me the day before to say she had a snow day due to icy roads...albeit minus my luggage for the 3rd consecutive trip--3 for 3!!! I should probably just stop checking bags! This one may have been at least partially my fault since I generally try and minimize my total travel time and thus my layover--when I disembarked from my first leg, my DAL-STL flight was already boarding--but it was the airline that scheduled my itinerary like that, and my bag obviously didn't just make it on the next flight from Dallas because it took over 24 hours for them to recover it. In the end, it arrived safe and sound yesterday around 5 pm last night. The biggest lost was some party games that I had created for my sister's 13th birthday sleepover, which was the night I arrived. It wasn't too big of a deal though; I had Jeopardy! on my computer, and five 13 year old girls have a way of entertaining themselves. I love love love bei...

I feel like I have done lots of noteworthy things since my last post. Wednesday: --Chris and I made the first of many Lowe's trips in preparation for Mayer Lutheran High School's arrival--70 2 x 4's. Thursday --I spent 4 hours at the urgent care for them to do a throat culture, inform me that I had strep AGAIN, and give me an antibiotic injection! Good thing I had Harry Potter with me... Friday: --Chris and I met with some representatives from a group that is probably coming in June to help fix up YLM building #4, which has been sitting empty since a fire in April 2009. The plan that is finally set in stone is this: turn the half where the fire started into the thrift store for improved street visibility/access, keep the other half (mainly smoke damaged) as an apartment, and turn the current thrift store into classroom space. --I spontaneously went to Vista Hills Family Dental with Pastor Heimer and Damian to pick up a donation of 1500 kits containing toothpaste, toothbru...

I had a great weekend but today has just been ho-hum. I am currently listening to Christmas music though and I just scrapbooked for awhile, two of my favorite things in the world, so it is improving :) Saturday morning I finished up my Christmas shopping...I had a list and a plan and therefore did so with flying colors, in flip-flops mind you. Then I came home and wrapped presents (a few of mine and all of Chris's), another of my favorite things in the world. I understand that all the work I spend making them look beautiful with matching ribbon and tags is all going to be ripped off in a matter of a few seconds, but it makes me extremely happy nonetheless. My afternoon was dedicated to tortillas! This was the 2nd time I have made them without Blanca, and they turned out a little drier than last time for whatever reason. Oh well, they tasted fine and made the perfect accompaniament to the chiles rellenos Chris's recipe) I made on Sunday! Chris and I invited Jeff, Frank, and Susa...

The 51 boxes of chapel offerings from the gradeschool kids at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Des Peres, MO, mentioned in this post arrived on Wednesday, as did some additional things that were collected for a medical clinic that wound up not coming. Little did I know that in total it would amount to 3 palettes! Chris, another volunteer Jeff, and I sorted it all this afternoon... The palettes had been stowed on the top shelf of the warehouse; Genaro helped us get them down with the forklift. A lot of other palettes had to be moved out of the way first since Orphan Grain Train ALSO came on Wednesday, so we saved him some trouble by clearing off one palette by hand. I climbed up and passed boxes down to Chris, most of which were full of Red Books for Christmas books in Spanish. Here we are with all 20 cases of them! Hitching a ride to the office with the books on the back of the forklift (Elvira told us later that she wanted them in the warehouse instead)! The other 2 palettes. Post-...

I wanted to learn how to make a turkey + stuffing and cranberry sauce aren't on OFLC's menu = Chris teaches Erin how to make a turkey and Erin makes Thanksgiving dinner on Cyber Monday! Ready to be stuffed! YUM-O! Our belated Thanksgiving dinner: turkey a la Erin, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls...and pumpkin pie!

The annual Alternative Thanksgiving group from Our Father Lutheran Church in Centennial, CO, arrived this past Wednesday night and is currently on their way back, hopefully not in the snow. This year seemed slower-paced than last year, probably due to the fact that there were less people in the group. It seems counter-intuitive that with over 1000 meals to serve, less people would equal less chaos, but they have everything so streamlined that there is really only work in the kitchen for so many. There were a few other changes this year due to safety concerns in Juarez--not crossing the downtown bridge, cooking for but not serving at Cristo Rey, and having the "market" come to El Paso--but all in all it was a great couple of days with lots to be thankful for. My role was more Servant Event Coordinator-esque this year as opposed to last, when my family and I jumped in and participated as group members since we had never experienced it before. This year I left that to newcomers ...