Making tortillas, a birthday party and more ruins!

The Succotz sisters had made plans with Stephanie and I to come over to our house and teach us how to make tortillas. When the day came, we were surprised to see not only the sisters but rather 13 of the family members! We were thinking that we would have a short lesson on how to make tortillas. They thought they would take advantage of the time together; making a a whole day of it; showing us how to make stew chicken as well as both corn and flour tortillas! An example of our American mindset.

We had planned:
1)9 a.m Succotz ladies come over to teach us how to make tortillas
2)1:00 The ladies leave and we take the Kings to the Mayan ruins
3)3:00 Head home from the ruins and make dinner

Meanwhile the Succotz sisters had planned:
1) Get to Spanish Lookout sometime Thursday
2) Spend the whole day together enjoying the fellowship and showing the American ladies how to make an authentic meal.. until dinner.. or later...

We eventually met in the middle by offering them a ride home at 2:30 sharp in order to spend lots of time together but also making it to the Mayan ruins before closing. That turned out nicely as some of the ladies and children actually ended up coming with us to the ruins. Maria had Ashley take a photo of baby Hosea on the throne there at the ruins as her ancestors had lived there centuries earlier.

Brianna

Playing Around



Nellie shows us how to make the flour tortillas. Stephanie and I kept trying to get her to give us specifics.. how many cups of flour etc but she just kept saying 'until the dough looks right' :)


Instead of kneading the dough, she used a sort of push-pull sort of motion




Letting the dough balls rest

Meanwhile, Roberta teaches us how to form and cook corn tortillas

And Albalose showed the ladies how to cook stew chicken! Yum

Stephanie had made some yummy banana bread for lunch. When we heard that Rudy's birthday was just around the corner, Ashley and Stephanie decided we had better put a cream cheese frosting on it to create an impromptu birthday cake! (you know.. necessity being the mother of all invention) however, we were out of powdered sugar for the frosting. In this photo, the ladies are crowded around the pantry door, watching in amazement as Ashley makes powdered sugar in the vita-mix using granulated sugar and corn starch. They were fascinated by the process..

Voila! A banana bread with cream cheese frosting birthday cake! It was delicious by the way

Mandy wasn't feeling all-too-well this day but did come out a few times to check out all of the yummy smelling food

After a long fun day of tortilla making and a birthday party, we finished out the day taking the Kings and some of our new friends to some local ruins

Brother Jeremy and Jonathon

Grant with the birthday boy

This little guy perched on the same site which once housed his ancestors. May he grow to seek and serve the one true God.

The King Family

Headed back down and headed home...

Serving and Receiving

I praise the Lord that he does give us, by his Spirit, the strength to serve until we are exhausted and then gives us strength to serve more. This past few weeks have been so full. We have so enjoyed serving and playing alongside our very best friends. The women from Succotz especially have been such a blessing as well as a ministry field for us. The sisters and grandmother are raising the 5 orphaned children as well as their own children.


Here the ladies from Succutz pay us a visit~ When Maria and Anna came on this day, Maria's little one was very sick. Thanks to all of the donations from friends and family we were able to give her medication for him as well as some clothing items.

As a thank you for all of the help, they invited us to come out to the village again for some homemade tamales again~

Visiting Succotz Again

Whenever Ashley pulls out her camera, this family loves to pose for photos! Everyone got in on the act!

Our girls and Willow have really befriended these girls. They are able to share with them the Love of Jesus

Meanwhile while Ash was taking photos inside, the ladies were preparing chicken tamales in their outdoor kitchen

Ryan, Grant, Timmy and Becca brought along a few balls for Rudy and his cousins

I love this photo of Jonathan King talking with Ivan. Children do not know 'differences' nor do they notice things like holes in the floor, filthy outhouses or dilapidated homes. May we be more like the little children!

Maria's daughters

Becca and Stephanie were able to hire a lady in Succotz to sew some dresses. It was a blessing for Stephanie and also supports Gloria, who like everyone else in Succotz is looking to raise money to feed her family.

This darling is also one of the orphans who recently lost her mother. She loves babies and little children. She pulls on my mommy heartstrings. A truly precious child despite her difficult life. May she grow to love Jesus.

It was such a blessing to have Jeremy and Stephanie there on this day.

Grady and Jeremy minister to our friend here.. they were able to share the gospel and speak truth into his life.

Please pray for this sweet girl. Lucy is one of the orphans.. just months ago she lost her mother to illness. We found out on this visit that she has a lump on her armpit which is very painful and growing. The pain has become unbearable and she desparetly needs a diagnosis and treatment. Because of its placement we are very concerned about her. Please keep her in your prayers as we seek to raise money for her care. Her family has nothing and is unable to take her to the doctor.

After a very exhausting day, we climb into the van to head home.. Stephanie, the girls and I are excited because the ladies from Succotz are going to come for a visit soon and teach us how to make both homemade corn and flour tortillas! Stay tuned for that fun post. :)

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Grace Elizabeth McDonald January 7, 2008

We are so blessed to have this precious child to raise for our Lord Jesus. She has been such a great and wonderful gift from Him! In James he speaks of every gift being from above, from God. And definitely we see our little Gracie as such a gift. God has such wonderful plans for this precious child.. we continue to daily pray that she will continue to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and that she will commit her life to serving and following Him. May we, her parents continue to have grace, mercy and wisdom as how to raise this very special and complex blessing. Oh Gracie how we love to see you smile.. to see you serve your baby sister and choose to obey and choose the right way. We love you so much dear sweet one. May we always seek the Lord and not man for wisdom on how to raise you for Him. We LOVE you so much sweetheart!

Love, Daddy and Mommy

Greater joy have I none than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 ESV