Saturday, March 31, 2012

Big Girls Bible Club Learn About Jesus' Last Week on Earth

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the day we remember Jesus' triumphal entry in to Jerusalem, and marking His last week on earth. I tried to share some of the major events during that time. The girls recorded these events in their notebooks. I also taught them "Lamb of God." Many of these girls go to a Catholic school, although they are Hindu and Sikh. They have Friday off from school.
 Getting ready for the story
 Working on their notebooks
 Making the Jesus booklet


 Khushi and Tanya made bookmarks. They forgot their notebooks.
 Next week, we'll finish the story with the Resurrection of Jesus!Tomorrow I am returning to S District to present a breast cancer awareness program. We also have another baptism scheduled, so check back Monday for a report and pictures.

Friday, March 30, 2012

PREPARING FOR EASTER

I just love this time of year! I love any holiday that gives me opportunities to share my faith in Jesus Christ. What better time to share the reason for the hope that is within me that EASTER, or as I prefer to refer to it, RESURRECTION DAY!
I started this week preparing my Moms and Friends Bible Club for our Easter party by sharing about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. I have some lovely picture books to help get the idea across. This was the beginning of Holy Week. In just five days He would go from being heralded into the city with "Hosanna in the highest," and waving palm fronds to being savagely beaten, forced to carry his own cross, and then left to die upon that cross.
But Hallelujah! We know the rest of the story!
Sunday, I will go to a very remote area and witness many being baptized as their sign of standing with Jesus Christ. After lunch, S, Nan, and I will lead a Breast Cancer Awareness program for the new believing women and their unsaved friends and relatives. We are praying many more will choose to follow Jesus.
On Friday before Easter, many area churches will have Good Friday services. I will participate in Pastor Ajay's service. Saturday, I will have a party for the Big Girls Bible Club. And I also plan a party for the Children's Home. Sunday, I will be at Pastor M's church. I covet your prayers for all these events.
K and I made a family of bunnies from socks. To make, fill a sock to just above the heal with lentils. Secure with a rubber band. Wrap another rubber band just below the heal to form the head. Tie a ribbon around the neck. Hold out what's left from the rubber band and cut from the top to the rubber band forming two ears. Trim and shape into ears. We used glue to fix two google eyes, a felt nose and white felt teeth to the face, but you could use markers, fabric paint, or embroidery floss to make the features. We took another couple of small rubber bands and formed two front paws.


EGGLESS CARROT CAKE

1 1/2 cups flour                                                         1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar (brown or white)                                   1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp baking soda                                                      1/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely grated carrots                                        3/4 cup water
1/2 cup melted butter or vegetable oil                      2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp vinegar                                                              1/2 cup walnuts -chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C
2. Mix dry ingredients and spices until well blended.
3. Add grated carrots. Stir until blended.
4. Add wet ingredients and nuts. Mix thoroughly and pour into a greased 8 inch pan.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cupcakes take about 25 minutes.
I frosted with cream cheese frosting.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

St. Patrick's Day Party

Maewyn Succat was 16 years old when he was kidnapped by slave traders from his home in Britain (Scotland or Wales). He was sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. For the next six years, he worked as a shepherd. Lonely, he sought Jesus for comfort, and grew into a close relationship with his Savior. A voice came to him and said a ship was waiting. He escaped and walked all the way to the coast. He boarded a ship back to Britain. He studied in France and became a priest, becoming known as Patrick. He desired to return to Ireland and share the love of Jesus with the Irish people. Years later, he did just like that. Legend says he used the common shamrock to share about the trinity God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Another legend says he drove out snakes from the whole island. It is said he died on March 17.
Legends of Irish fairies called leprechauns, and stories of pots of gold at the end of the rainbow make this a super fun holiday, as well as an opportunity to share more about God.Twenty girls came!





 Cookie pops, chips, cupcakes, and Dew
 Shamrock potato  and green pepper stamps
 rainbow cupcakes with cream cheese icing
Word Search game
 Lookin' for gold coins
 Celtic cross craft
 Balloon stomp
 Stamping their scrapbooks
 Working on their scrapbooks
This year, the girls are keeping a scrapbook of lessons learned.

COOKIE POPS
Vanilla wafers or something similar (I used Good Day butter cookies)
Peanut butter
white chocolate or Milky Bars
craft sticks

Spread peanut butter on the flat side of the cookies. Press a craft stick on one side and put two cookies together.
In the microwave, melt white chocolate or Milky bars minute at a time until smooth.
Dip the cookie pop into the white chocolate. I made a stand from an old ice cube tray. I heated a knife and made slits in the bottom.
After they have hardened, decorate with colored icing, and bits of candies. I made green shamrocks from cream cheese frosting.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Moms and Friends Bible Club Returns!

Today we met for the first time  since Winter break. As I did with the girls, I taught about Eve. I also practiced sharing a gospel presentation in Hindi! Of course at this point, I had to read some of it, but they were happy to see me read! After I tell our story in English, one of the ladies reads it from the Bible. That's good for both of us. At Christmas, they each got an NT. If any of them asks me for a full Bible, I will give it to them. These ladies are from Hindu Sikh, and Buddhist background.
I also shared about St. Patrick's Day. It gave me yet another opportunity to share His story through sharing the story of Maewyn Succat, who later came to be known as Patrick. We made two dishes: pretzels shaped like shamrocks, and Colcannon, an Irish dish made with potatoes, leeks, and cabbage.




SOFT PRETZELS
4 tsp yeast                  1 tsp sugar                1 1/4 cup warm 9110 F or 45C ) water
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.
In a large bowl, mix 5 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp of salt.
Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and 1 Tbsp of oil. Knead on a flour surface until smooth, about 7-8 minutes. If dry, add a little oil.
Make into a ball and put in a greased bowl in a warm place to rise for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Dissolve 1/4 cup baking soda in 4 cups of warm water.
Divide the dough into twelve balls. First make a snake, then twist into shamrock shape. Dip the pretzels into the baking soda water and place on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt, or a topping of your choice. We used chili flakes, chili powder, garlic salt, parsley, and other seasonings.
Bake for about 10 minutes.

IRISH POTATOES AND CABBAGE
Five large potatoes peeled and sliced
1 head of green cabbage chopped
3 leeks sliced
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1. Put the potatoes in a pot and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash.
2. In a separate pot, boil cabbage for 15 minutes.
3. In a skillet, cook leeks in milk until tender.
4. Add nutmeg, smashed potatoes, cabbage, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Serve hot.
My ladies like topping it with diced green chilies!











Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Comments

Okay, I have been wondering why Idon't get any comments. I don't know what happened to the comment link. It just disappeared. I have gone to the layout and edited it but the commentlink still doesn't show up. Anyone know how I can get it back? Send reply to beautifulfeet2008@gmail.com

BIG GIRLS BIBLE CLUB Year #3

Saturday marks the beginning of the third year I have hosted neighborhood girls in my home to teach them lessons in life, love, character, and faith from women in the Bible. The girls are of Hindu and Sikh backgrounds. Fifteen big girls and three little girls came! 
We learned lessons from Eve, the first mother, the first woman, and the first wife. Eve was created by God in His image from one of Adam's ribs. It is significant that is was a rib, a bone whose job is protecting the heart and lungs, a bone from his side nearest his heart. Women was made to be a partner with man, side by side, to be protected by man, and loved by man. She was not created from the skull, to be lord over man, nor was she created from the foot bone to be trampled on by man. Man and woman were created equal, but with very distinctive roles to play in life. 
Eve traditionally gets a bad rap from men because she listened to the devil and ate the forbidden fruit. Where was Adam? If he is her protector and her partner, where was he? And why did he eat of the fruit when she handed it to him? Adam was held responsible by God, but when asked if he had in fact, eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he blamed "that woman." Eve, in turn, blamed the beautiful creature we know to be Satan.
To cover their sin, an innocent animal had to die. This was the first blood sacrifice required to atone for the sins of man. This is a precursor to what Christ did on the cross many years in the future to take away the sins of the world. 
I chose intentionally in these four weeks before Resurrection Day as I prepare the girls to understand the significance of this most holy festival. India has so many festivals, but some have greater significance than others. Indian just celebrated one of the more popular festivals, Holi, where colored powders are thrown on friends (and unsuspecting foreigners). Easter is arguably the most important Christian festival, for if Jesus had not risen from the dead, there would be no reason to celebrate His birth at Christmas. 
LESSONS LEARNED FROM EVE
1. Don't listen to the devil. Know God's Word so that you can recognize lies when you hear them.
2. Don't add to God's Word. It is complete. God frowns upon this.
3. Sin has consequences. Sometimes, others suffer consequences for your sin.
4. Don't blame others. Take responsibility for your own actions.
5. God's purpose for creation could not be fulfilled without woman! God has a plan for each girl's life.
6. God wants us to choose to obey Him. If we love Him, we will obey His commands.
VERSE
"I will praise you for I am remarkably and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13-14
 Making Peanut butter No Bakes
  Girls are supposed to be 8 years old to come but I had four little ones come.
 The big girls help the little girls. As long as they sit quietly during our lesson, I won't fuss.
 Peanut butter No bake cookies with sprinkles

INGREDIENTS
11/2 cups sugar ( the recipe called for 2 cups but I think that is too much)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
3 cups Oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. In a large pot, bring the butter, sugar, and milk to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.
2. Remove from heat and add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until peanut butter is blended.
3. Add oats and quickly drop spoonfuls on prepared wax paper. Add sprinkles if desired.
4. Store in airtight container.

CRAFT
Decorating Notebooks
This year, I decided to let the girls keep notebooks to record lessons learned from women in the Bible, recipes, and Bible Verses. I gave them each a blank sketch book, and colored paper to cover the book. They uses paper scraps, markers, and punches to decorate their book covers. They used markers, crayons, gel pens and templates to record the lesson in their books. 





now I just hope they remember their books each week!

Friday, March 09, 2012

Eggless Sugar Cookies

I use this recipe a lot. If you are veg or allergic to eggs, or go to make cookies and find out you don't have any eggs, try this recipe. I made them today for a friend's birthday. I like them iced, but I have found that my Asian friends do not, so I color the dough. 
2 cups flour              1/4 teaspoon salt                 1/2 teaspoon baking soda            1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Combine the dry ingredients and set aside


1/2 cup butter           3/4 cup sugar                       1/2 cup sour cream
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the sour cream.
Then gradually add the flour mixture.
Chill for an hour.
Divide the dough into four balls. Color three with gel or paste food coloring.
Roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. 
Cut with cutter cutters and embellish with colored dough or sprinkles.
Bake at 350˚F or 180˚C for 10-12 minutes depending on oven.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Today, we celebrate Women's Day. The following is from the United Nations:
"The United Nations General Assembly, composed of delegates from every Member State, celebrates International Women's Day to recognize that peace and social progress require the active participation and equality of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to international peace and security.
For the women of the world, the Day is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development.
You might think that women's equality benefits mostly women, but every one-percentile growth in female secondary schooling results in a 0.3 percent growth in the economy. Yet girls are often kept from receiving education in the poorest countries that would best benefit from the economic growth.
Until the men and women work together to secure the rights and full potential of women, lasting solutions to the world's most serious social, economic and political problems are unlikely to be found.
In recent decades, much progress has been made. On a worldwide level, women's access to education and proper health care has increased; their participation in the paid labor force has grown; and legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries. The world now has an ever- growing number of women participating in society as policy-makers.
However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men.
The majority of the world's 1.3 billion absolute poor are women.
On average, women receive between 30 and 40 per cent less pay than men earn for the same work.
And everywhere, women continue to be victims of violence, with rape and domestic violence listed as significant causes of disability and death among women of reproductive age worldwide." 
 Nonetheless, God created woman and gave her special roles to fulfill that a man cannot. God has a special plan for each woman. I am so thankful He has a plan for my life. I am so thankful I have the opportunity to work alongside some amazing women whom God has called. I have the opportunity to encourage young girls, and teach them about women from the Bible. Talk about amazing women! The Bible gives women role models -some positive and some negative, but regardless, we can learn from their lives. I have the opportunity to teach and encourage these young girls' mothers-to encourage and empower their daughters, to raise them to be of good moral character. 
Today is a day to reflect on women who have made and are making a difference, and to encourage young girls to dream, to become all that God has planned for them.
Celebrate the women in your life today. Tell them what a difference they have made. All over the world there are opportunities to make a difference in a girl's life -to help provide education she would not otherwise have. All it takes is a little research. If you need any ideas, just write me at beautifulfeet2008@gmail.com and I will tell you of some opportunities.
Happy Women's Day!

Monday, March 05, 2012

Return to Apple Country

I've just returned from a trip higher in the mountains to visit Victorious English school, and help start the new term. I always love going there. I stayed a week, teaching each day from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm, and training the teachers some days in the afternoon. The new school year is just beginning. Bill hired a new teacher this term, Sangeeta. I really like her. She is teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Thanks to a donation from Aunty Glenda, I was able to purchase some needed supplies, and some equipment for the school. Here are some photos from my latest trip. I hope these will help you pray for this rural school.
 The kids loved the tee ball set!

While I taught, the teachers and Pallu were gathered around a warm fire!
 Duck, duck, goose!
 Making name cards.
Principal Bill and his new desk.

 I taught the kids how to use tools to play with the Playdough.
 I love returning to the village across the river to visit these little sisters and brother.
 his is the goat I wanted.
This is the ewe I bought. Her wool and lambs will help Bill's ministry.
 The road home.
The roads were good -no trouble. The avalanches were cleared away, and the weather was great.