June 2008

A bushel of strawberries

For all of you who were wondering what to do with a bushel of strawberries, I will share with you what we did with them.

First of all, the kids finished off quite a few before we got home. Then I washed them up. My dad suggested freezing the bit size ones to eat on a hot day, so we froze a gallon bag full of strawberries. We used another pound of them to make ice cream. One night for supper, we had fresh strawberries, hot biscuits and cream. Yum! We also had some with our breakfast one morning. With 6 people, a bushel of strawberries doesn't have a very long life. I didn't make jelly though. My strawberry jelly never seems to turn out the way I wish it would.

Now, for the two 5-gallon buckets of sweet cherries. Well that is another topic all together! They keep a little longer than strawberries, so we are enjoying them fresh as much as possible. They travel well in school lunches too. I have frozen a gallon bag full. Then we had some in ice cream. But most importantly, they are turning into jelly. So far, I have 20 pints ready to go to the pantry. Cleaning the strawberries was a cinch compared to cleaning and pitting 10 gallons of cherries! My fingers are a funny color of purple now.

Thank you for praying for us. The blessings of fruit from the Lord have been so wonderful this year. I remember our first summer in Germany. People would give us so much fruit and it was just Paul and I. We didn't have a freezer yet, and I didn't have any canning jars. We ate as much of it as we could and we gave some away, but in the end, a lot of it spoiled - cherries, plums, berries, peaches. I felt so terrible about not being able to preserve any of it, I just sat and cried. I begged God for the things we would need to store the next gifts of fruit that He sent our way. In the years since then, He has provided us with a large freezer and plenty of canning jars, and He continues to bless us with fruit each year.

It is however for the bushels of souls that we are most thankful. Please continue to pray with us to see fruit from the spiritual seeds which have been planted during our 10 years in Wittenberg. The summer holds so much promise.

Praying for fruit in your life as well,

Chelli

alternate reality

Recently we were pondering the state of the world, including how it all has affected our finances and our ministry. The thought that we may be forced to return to the states and abandon our dream, our vision, our ministry here, left me pretty down. The "reality" of the situation really packed a wallop. After an "anti-depression nap", I awoke refreshed and with an idea to make an alternate reality list. I began listing the many recent blessings that God has showered upon us. Then I determined to live in this alternate reality. If God sees fit to send us back to the states, it will be His doing, in His time, and it will be the right thing to do. Until then, I will focus on the path that I am on and I will live in the blessings that He rains down on me. Here are just a few of the blessings that we have experienced lately.

1. My children are all old enough to play outside by themselves.

2. The children get along well and love playing with one another.

3. The neighbor kids are friendly and enjoy playing with our kids.

4. We were given a bushel of strawberries yesterday.

5. We were given a mixing bowel of cherries today.

6. We went to a picnic yesterday and they sent us home with enough food to last a few days.

7. We are all healthy.

8. The gout has left my hand.

9. We had people at church today.

10. Two families contacted us this week asking for info about our Sunday School so that they can bring their children.

11. We have email and are not isolated here.

12. We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this weekend.

13. Our children are bi-lingual - an awesome advantage that we didn't have.

14. Our children are musical - an awesome talent that we never developed.

. . .

I would love to hear some of your recent blessings.

Chelli