Good Friday

It's Good Friday! I like the way it's phrased in Spanish much better, Viernes Santo. Good has never been the right word to describe today. Santo, Holy, yes, that fits the day. Even the nightly merengue blasting from the speakers are absent today. Viernes Santo, yes it is a holy day.  I spent half of the day taking a bus trip back from the northern border of the country, allowing for a lot of time to think. Good Friday, Christ died, punished, crucified, paying a debt that he did not owe, allowing himself to be uncomfortable, enduring pain to bring change, love, and HOPE to the world.

I've felt really easily overwhelmed lately. You know, simple, small decisions... or maybe not so small ... what to do with my life next? Should I go here? or there?  Should I hang out with this group?  Will they like me? What to wear today? Should I relax my hair or keep it kinky?? Little stuff and big stuff has felt really stressful and it all led to a big old pow-wow, a couple of days ago. Not pretty, I tell you.

You see, it's hard stepping out into the unfamiliar. We crave comfort. The comfort of people we know. Surroundings that are familiar. Routines that are known. Habits and customs that are understood. I sort of  feel like I'm getting my bearings on some of those things, BUT I can feel the ground beneath me shaking. What!! More unfamiliar territory. What!!  New people. What!! More change.

Just when I'm at the point of wanting to resist. Wanting to cave and go for the comfort zone, I'm reminded of Calvary. My Savior didn't cave, he agonized, he pleaded, yet he surrendered his will completely, totally to the will of the Father. His Love for me, kept him on the cross. Change, it's coming, but I'm figuring out how to be ok with it. I know it will be for My joy and for HIS glory!


"For nails would not have held God-and-Man fast to the Cross, had Love not held him there"  St. Catherine of Sienna



ps: artwork courtesy of my kindergarten babies!

Arepa Dulce Dominican Style

I have an insatiable sweet tooth! I will choose sweet over salty anytime! Yes, yes, I know the way to kill this sweet tooth is to avoid sugar and eventually the sugar cravings will disappear. But I like sugar... a lot! SO, I don't think I want it to disappear, but I've worked on my discipline and most days I can control myself.... but not TODAY!! 

So, the google search for recipes started. And I stumbled onto this blogpost for arepa de maiz dulce. Looks easy enough. Hey, wait... I actually know this lady. I forgot Molly writes a blog too. That made it extra exciting to try this recipe. I do have a competitive streak sometime, and it came out. If she can make Arepa Dulce.... well, I can TOO!! 

So here are the ingredients: That silver shiny pot thingy is a coffee greco. It makes the best espresso! good souvenir too! My cake pan cost me 180 pesos (almost $5.00).  Yes, that was a SPLURGE for me! 

1 lb of fine corn meal (I could only find 14 oz packages)

3/4-1 cup of brown sugar ( I used azucar crema - its the sugar thats most easily found here. I didn't feel like adding the molasses to make my own brown sugar. You did know that you can make brown sugar, right?)

1 tsp vanilla (Dominican vanilla is cheap and GOOD!)

1/2 tsp salt

2-8 tbsp of butter (you decide- can your heart handle it??)

1 can evaporated milk

1 can coconut milk (LOVE THIS)

1/2-1 cup of raisins ( couldn't find golden raisins. I like them a lot better)

1/4 -1/2 cup water

Cinnamon - ground or sticks

In one bowl mix the corn meal, evaporated milk, vanilla and raisins. If using ground cinnamon add it here - 1-2 tsp based on your preference. I added about a 1/4 cup water be/c it was stiff.  Let sit. 

Next you are going to find a big sauce pot. Turn stove on to med low heat. Add the coconut milk, salt, sugar, butter, and cinnamon sticks if using sticks. Turn oven on to 350 to pre-heat. If using a Dominican oven... well, your guess is as good as mine. Strike the match, throw it inside, guess the temperature. 

I tried to be fancy and added 2 cloves and 2 nuggets of allspice. They are both super cheap here. I wanted to use nutmeg, but someone (my host dad- Amalio) used it up either in the coffee or the habichuela dulce (sweet beans). I can't complain because I like how he makes coffee with a little fresh ground nutmeg.  Habichuela dulce will have it's own post, VERY, very, Soon!!! It's an Easter Classic, although I've had it at least monthly since October or November.

When you start seeing little bubbles, not boiling, but simmering/bubbling, add the corn meal mixture. and STIR, and STIR, and STIR for like 5 minutes until it becomes ssmooth and pudding like. Then turn the stove off and pour into your well greased pan. 

Remember, to take out the cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, etc if you used them. This was a pain because it was hard to tell the cloves and allspice from the raisins. I probably wouldn't use them next time. I don't think it added much "depth". Also, I probably would simmer the cinnamon sticks and coconut milk a little longer on a lower flame just to build more cinnamon flavor. I'm sure there will be a next time :).

OK, so a couple of recipes on line suggested adding some pats of butter on top to ensure that crispy crust on the outside and moist center. I'm not sure that it was really necessary and my heart really didn't need it. BUT, if you are making dessert, just go for it.... maybe.

So bake maybe an half hour. It totally depends on the oven. You want a firm, golden brown outside, and the inside should be moist, but not wet or jiggly. My oven was being weird, like most Dominican ovens. The outside was a little too brown, and the inside was a little too moist. I guess I will just have to make this again until I get it perfected!! :)

And this was dinner tonight! Serve with coffee, milk, or  Dominican style hot chocolate. I enjoyed my slice with a chai tea that arrived in a care package from a dear friend. Enjoy!

International Women's Day

 Have you heard of the International Women's Day?? I had not either until my arrival in this Spanish speaking Carribean country. The Dia Internacional de la Mujer is widely celebrated here. There was even a page in the kindergarten textbook dedicated to this day.  Last week the teachers started brainstorming about how to celebrate this day with the kids at school. We soon realized that we had a valuable opportunity to instill in these precious hearts and minds the value of women as a baby step towards prevention of family violence.

Violence against women is a sad reality of life across the world.  All too often, violence against women can be an accepted part of society in lower income, less resourced communities.  I didn't know that domestic violence was not a crime in the Dominican Republic until after 1997. With such a recent change in the law there are very limited records of the magnitude of this problem. One limited study of family violence in a Dominican community revealed that over 90% of women aged 15 - 49 reported being victims of domestic violence. Click here for more on this issue.

Today we celebrated the Dia Internacional de la Mujer in our morning chapel by discussing the positive things that we can do with our hands. We want to plant seeds at an early age that the girls and women in our lives are precious, esteemed, loved gifts from God. We determined that our hands are not for hitting, thumping, slapping, killing, fighting. No with our hands we will.......

Yes, we will use our hands to do good. And above all, we will use our hands to worship the Lord.

Our new memory verse:

Salmos 63: 3-4

Con mis labios te alabaré; toda mi vida te bendeciré,y a ti levantaré mis MANOS en oración.

Psalms 63: 3 - 4
My lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.