Slow and Steady September

I'd be lying if I said September was an easy month. It was trying mostly in terms of continuing little battles of inconvenience. We're hopefully in our last necessary efforts to fix the fifth error on our marriage certificate (over a year later). We're hopefully fixing the very last issue with our car before we sell it...which we've been saying since July. And, we're waiting with some nervousness for my husband's immigrant visa interview. All of these are things that are matters for prayer and have caused us a lot of stress. But, with all of that said, September was also a month of nostalgia as I celebrated my seventh year living in Honduras and as autumn creeps upon us. This month has also been encouraging in odd ways. Our small group has continued, and we started planning a fundraiser of a soccer tournament. I've been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the kids as they raise funds and help me plan, and I've been surprised by the financial generosity of Honduran neighbors in contributing to our initial expenses to have the event. I have also been greatly encouraged by the ladies at Bible study and the study we've been doing on suffering. In many ways, I feel like I am turning a corner in my attitude toward life and in recuperating hope in the midst of facing old hurts and in dealing with every day little battles. It's slow moving sometimes, but God is faithful even when I don't understand.

Watched This Month:

1) You've Got Mail. In the spirit of fall and nostalgia, it was a good time to watch this movie, one of my favorites. But, when isn't it? I probably couldn't count how many times I've seen this movie, and it's one of those things that most feels like home to me. I love the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan combination in any movie, but this one is particularly charming. It's something about the setting in New York throughout the seasons, and the fact that the main characters are bookstore owners. It's the sweetness and quiet insecurity of Meg Ryan's character that reminds me so much of myself. It's the lively, classic music. It's the scene when Tom Hanks' character Joe brings daisies when she's sick. It's the quirky side characters played by Greg Kinnear, Steve Zahn, Dave Chappelle, Jean Stapleton, and Heather Burns. It's the fact that it's based on a Jimmy Stewart movie, The Shop around the Corner. It's one of my most favorite movies ever which is probably cliche because it's a rom-com, but I don't care. It's somehow soothing to the soul (at least for me). If you've never seen it, basically, Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly are real-life competitors in business, but they are also dear friends getting to know each other via e-mail online without knowing each other's identity. You don't watch it for the premise though. You watch it for the homey sets, the warm humor, and the dialogue I now have memorized.

2) Gilmore Girls. I must have been feeling particularly girly this month, I know, but around this time of year, I get the urge to watch this show. It's a show based in a very quaint and quirky small town. Having grown up in small town myself, I think there are a lot of things that feel familiar. Because the story line follows a single mother and high school age daughter, there are a lot of academic settings--something that also makes me nostalgic during the fall. The dialogue is very fast-paced, and the characters are very human, sometimes to an infuriating point. With all of that said, I hated the Netflix re-boot. There were elements that were kind of nice to revisit, but overall, I feel like there was no character growth over the elapsed time. And, so much of it seemed like a disservice to the original feel of the show.

3) The Book of Love. Starring Jessical Biel, Jason Sudeikis, and Maisie Williams, this is a story of the power of unconventional community in the midst of grief. It has kind of a twist ending but nothing too shocking. I liked the setting in New Orleans and the development of the characters in terms of their grief and their connection. I thought Maisie Williams did a good job. The only thing I wasn't fan of were some of the truly botched NOLA accents. In general, I love any depiction of someone providing a sense of family to someone who needs love but isn't their blood relative, and for that reason, this movie delivers.


This Month's Reads:


Thumbnail from amazon.com

1) The Power of One-on-One: Discovering the Joy and Satisfaction of Mentoring Others by Jim Stump. This was not a prolific reading month for me. At any point in time, I have about five books in process, but sometimes, the books I pick end up being slower going than others. This one got finished because it's a straightforward, easy read. I bought this book at an Ollie's when it was on sale. Given that I feel much more adequate in ministry in a one-on-one capacity, this book was interesting to me. It was written by Jim Stump who has run a one-on-one evangelism and discipleship program for college athletes for decades now. In his book, he got started talking about how he came to know Jesus and began participating in discipleship opportunities through Campus Crusade. I really enjoyed a lot of his personal stories about persevering in loving relationship, patient listening, and fervent prayer. It was encouraging to read a reinforcement of what I already live and believe--that making disciples and focusing on relationship is a vital part of ministry if not the most vital.

I didn't finish reading too many books this month, but I did want to share some online reading that I also enjoyed:

2) What Did I Do Today? I Made a Copy! https://www.alifeoverseas.com/what-did-i-do-today-i-made-a-copy-woohoo/  From the disclaimer at the beginning of this post, I understand that this was an imaginary scenario, but I didn't realize that until the second time I read it because it is a completely realistic scenario. Life is slower in other countries than it is in the US, for better or for worse. Efficiency isn't necessarily a value everywhere. I can attest to how futile some of the most basic tasks seem sometimes. Let me give you a rundown of one of my own experiences here--this one is real:
Raúl and I got legally married last year. Before we got married we had to make several trips to the mayor's office in order to show them our paperwork. They had given us a checklist, but every time we went, they said we were missing something else. When we finally had all our paperwork, they had to interview me to go over all of the information, of which I provided multiple copies of everything. But, on the day of the civil ceremony (where various other couples were also getting married), my name was spelled wrong throughout the entire marriage contract. I let the officiant know but didn't make a show of it. Afterward, they assured me that they'd fix it. But, given so many nightmare stories I'd heard from other people, I kept calling them the weeks after the civil ceremony to make sure they fixed it. They got annoyed with me and told me all the info was now in the Registry's office. I wanted to see with my own eyes that it was fixed, so Raúl and I went to the government Registry's office where they had no electricity because someone hadn't paid it. They didn't have electricity for two months, and thus, had no access to their systems. Finally, we heard of another Registry office that fixes errors on paperwork. So, we went there. There, we saw with our own eyes that not only had they never fixed the spelling on my name, but they also had Raúl's name spelled wrong even though he'd lived in the same tiny town his whole life with the same people who did the paperwork. We saw with our own eyes how they fixed our names in the system. We thought things were resolved. Then, this year, we needed a different marriage certificate for Raúl's immigration process. When we ordered it, and it was printed, my name was again spelled wrong and my Honduran identification number was wrong. On other paperwork in our file, they also have my address wrong. Since then, it's been two months of phone calls with the same small-town Registry office, where they, once again, haven't had electricity. We finally went this week, and they did have electricity. We found out that the name misspelling was a costly typo. And we had to go back and forth from the two different Registry offices toting paperwork in hand and making phone calls. Next week is a vacation week, so it will easily be the following week before they fix my ID number if not longer. I share all of this because while these may be small things, the stress of these small things and the larger legal consequences of these small things can be exhausting. As a missionary, it's a hard thing to deal with, and the more things like this you deal with, the more your stress level can easily snowball quickly. So, in praying for missionaries, praying for favor in these kinds of situations and praying for stamina and peace in regard to stress are good ideas.

2) Learning from Injustice While Overseas. https://www.alifeoverseas.com/learning-from-injustice-while-living-overseas/  This concept goes hand-in-hand with the previous topic. Because I am used to smoother sailing in terms of laws and administration, I can feel entitled to better treatment, better efficiency, and better punctuality. But, this is the never-ending reality for many people in other countries and for many minorities in more developed countries. Injustice and corruption have more openly public, unapologetic faces. God is a God of justice, but that doesn't always mean that life is going to look fair. Just take Jesus as an example. Judas stole money from the disciples' treasury. Jesus was falsely accused and suffered greatly for doing nothing. Paul was imprisoned unfairly. I don't have the answers to the whys, but I can develop greater compassion through the little issues.

3) Perspective: Life on the Streets. https://local.sltrib.com/online/perspectives/life-on-the-streets/
This is an awesome and unique piece done by my friend and college roommate, Rachel Molenda, for the Salt Lake Tribune. She gave cameras to people living on the streets, so that they could document their lives and perspectives. Check it out.


Food Finds:



1) Chicken and Dumplings. I am always trying to find hearty foods that can feed a crowd, and I'm always looking to expand my repertoire of cooking capabilities. I'd never made chicken and dumplings before making it for our small group last week. It turned out really well, and the dumplings were true, fluffy dumplings as opposed glorified noodles. I used this recipe as an inspiration but altered it to my liking: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/the-best-chicken-dumplings/ I used a whole chicken that I broke down as well as some cut up chicken breasts. I also added some cream because I like creamy soups.

2) Hollandaise Sauce. As promised, I learned how to make it even though I did the blender version. This was incredibly quick and just as good as what I had at the restaurant months ago. I used this recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_blender_hollandaise_sauce/

3) Roasted Okra. Let me be clear--this is not the best thing I've ever tasted. I definitely still prefer fried okra after eating this. But, I'm including this because it was cool to find another way of making okra and because in comparison to kale chips, these seem more like actual chips in terms of substance and texture. This is the recipe I more or less used: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/oven-roasted-okra/


Favorites:

1) "P E A C E" sung by Amanda Cook. In the midst of a stressful month where it was much easier to start believing lies and snapping at little things, this song hit the spot. Here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLSWtamikJk


I hope that the start of your autumn brings homey environments, good conversations, comfort foods, and sweet songs of peace.