Sometimes, God asks us to do crazy things. No, not crazy things like that of the delirious religious fanatics that come into my mom’s ER on a full moon claiming to be the Messiah. Rather, things that seem against the normal flow of society. Things that are not typically socially, politically, or economically acceptable. Things that seem like you don’t really have it all together. I guess God sometimes asks us to do these things because, I imagine if I only had to do things that made it seem like I had it all together, I would be able to give a lot of glory to myself. And that is exactly opposite the point of our existence, isn’t it? The Bible says that we exist to give glory to God. That, even the trees and all of creation cry out His Praises! So, we have to get over the thing of wanting to be and look and act “normal.” We’re not really.
I wonder how many people read those sentences and think, “No, it’s people like that, people that think that they hear from God, that form the base of all the religious crazies and fanatics in the world.” Well, then count me in. I’d rather you think I was crazy than act like I don’t have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe. How about that for fanatic?
So, all that said, sometimes, God asks us to do crazy things. For me, God asked me to do a crazy thing last year when Jacob said, “I think we’re supposed to adopt this little girl.” My heart was full of love for her. It told me that I didn’t really want to live my life without her. But adopt? In our early twenties? Our first child? On our salary? Living in a third world country? Not having a home to live in in the U.S.? What about the social stigma? What if we did move back to West Virginia? As my dad put it, “Who will she date in Brooke County?” To me, it was crazy that God would put such a thing in our path. And I knew it had to be Him, because at that point in my life, I wouldn’t have thought of it myself.
In case you’re wondering, when Sunda is old enough for us to talk about all of this, I will make sure to make this part of the adoption process something that she knows about. How our love for her overcame all of the things that people might think and say. How it overcame my worry of our families and friends accepting it. How it overcame any prejudices that might exist now or in the future. How, sometimes, things that are absolutely NOT apart of our 5 year plan become the biggest blessing that we’ve known in our lives so far.
Before Jacob and I left to come back to Africa, I was terrified. Terrified that I wouldn’t be a good mother. An organized mother. A patient mother. An unconditionally loving mother. A mother who was able to rise cheerfully at 5 and have clean hair and French toast on the table by 6. I was certain that because adoption wasn’t in the original plan, I would be unprepared and that everyone would suffer for it. It was as if, in my own head, 25 marked the magic age for my readiness to be a mother. Anytime before that, and surely my childish immaturities would overcome me and I would neglect my child and scar her for life.
HA! Funny the things that we think. Don’t send me emails about being too hard on myself. If you don’t ever think these things, then just chalk it up to me being Obsessive Compulsive and we’ll call it a day.
The funny thing is that from the day that we got the paper stating that Sunda was in our custody, my life transformed. I’ve even thought, “Wow, this makes living in my own head so much easier, I wish we would’ve done it sooner.” Not only is having Sunda a joy and a blessing, it carries a weight that hasn’t been matched in my life so far. You hear this from all new moms, but I experienced it in a different way, because I wasn’t prepared for it by 9 months of pregnancy and 12 hours of labor. All of a sudden, my life wasn’t about me. It was about her. My bad mood doesn’t matter, because it’s not her fault, and she still wants to play. The fact that I’m tired and have a cold doesn’t matter, because she’s awake and needs to be fed. Even if there’s no electricity, or the gas has run out of my gas stove, or the hot water heater has stopped working, or there’s no water at all because the tank has run dry. It doesn’t matter. I no longer have the luxury of throwing my own personal fit and tossing in the towel. Believe it or not, to me, this makes life a lot easier. Like this:
It’s 5:45 am. Sunda has woken up and is singing from her bed, “Mama, walk. (as in, “Let’s go for a walk.”) Mama, walk. Mama, poop. I poop.”
It’s early. I don’t want to get up. But this isn’t college anymore. I don’t get to lay in bed and skip a class just because I don’t want to. I have to get up because someone else in the world is depending on me to start my day so that she can start hers. And, inevitably, 15 minutes after I’ve dragged myself out of bed, we are laughing and playing, and I think, “Would I really have wanted to miss this?” Suddenly, it’s a little easier to make choices because I can ask myself what’s best for her, instead of analyzing and replaying what’s best for me.
So, there are many chains that come with parenthood. You’ve heard them all before. No more sleeping in, no more spontaneity, no more late nights. Whatever. But, there are so many freedoms too. The freedom of not listening to yourself and your needs, because there are other needs to attend to. The freedom of going to bed at night and knowing that, even if you did nothing else of worth that day, there is a child who went to bed feeling secure and loved because of you. The freedom of making decisions, not upon your own best interest or profit, but your whole family’s best interest. And, especially for me, the freedom of not worrying anymore about my own inadequacies or inefficiencies. Because, I’m essentially in the middle of everything I ever worried about. So, if I want to change things, I can change them. And if not, there’s not really a whole lot to worry about. Mostly because there’s a not a whole lot of time to worry when I’m trying to keep a VERY active two year old entertained, fed, at least partly clean, and out of anything that could hurt her or make a huge mess.
Again, sometimes God asks us to do crazy things. And sometimes, these things end up being the least crazy decisions we’ve ever made. That’s why He makes them. He knows we’d never do it on our own. In that respect, I mentioned that I will someday tell Sunda that our love for her and God’s love for her overcame everything else that stood in the way. Right now, we need that love to overcome some pretty big things that stand in the way. The adoption process is not moving exactly as we’d hoped and we came home from a week in Lusaka tired, discouraged, and poor. Don’t spend time worrying for us. If God can overcome my will (all of our wills) then He can surely overcome the Zambian adoption process. Please pray that our adoption will be granted and that we would be light in the dark places that exist in this chaos. That’s all.
After all of that expose on parenting, I would feel completely remiss not to mention Jacob’s role in all of this. Typically, I am embarrassed by my friend’s sentimental blogs singing their husband’s praises. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed by such sentimentality unless it is for Jacob’s ears alone. However, I would feel like I left out a lot if I acted like I handle the bulk of the parenting, or get up every early morning, or change even most of the poopie diapers. I don’t. “Facts is facts.” Aside from being my best friend, a wonderful caretaker, and a kind and loving husband, Jacob is the best example of a father that I have ever seen…in my life. He has taught me any wisdom that I’ve gained from this experience. And I’ve learned about being a good parent mostly from his example. I don’t know where he learned to do the things that he does. I don’t know how he keeps from being overwhelmed. I don’t know how he always has time to stop and pay attention to whatever Sunda is doing. And I don’t know how he manages to love me so much at the same time. But he does. Our marriage was strong, joyful, and loving before. But being in this situation has completely changed my view of him. If I respected him before, I am awed now. I always knew that we would have a wonderful family…but now I am moved to tears to think of the blessing that our children will have in their father. I am a blessed woman. Those are the facts.
If you thought that we were just doing a good deed or furthering our mission with this adoption, you were wrong. God put this child in our lives, not only because she needed a home, but because we needed the lessons and the love that being parents brings. Even if it’s crazy, this crazy girl is standing in awe of the fact that God sees so perfectly into exactly what we need and exactly how He will be glorified through it.
Well, if you never got the depths of my heart, you have it now. I have been agonizing about posting a blog because I knew that if I started writing I just might share a little more than I wanted to. But, here you are, more than you wanted to know.
Peace.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Christmas!!
Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!
I've had a blog typed up for over a week now, but due to no internet, I have had no chance to send it out! Jessi, Sunda and I had a wonderful Christmas this year (even in spite of having electricity go out for Christmas eve and Christmas morning)! First and foremost we want to thank EVERYONE who sent a card, letter or e-mail our way. It was amazing! One day we went to our post office box to find nearly 25 letters from people all over Brooke County. We even got a whole packet of Christmas letters from a class at Wellsburg Middle School. You all helped make our Christmas very special.
We spent Christmas morning together and then went to a big gathering at our friends, the Colmbrinks. We had a nice dinner and lots of fun running around with Sunda as she chased around every animal in sight (cows, cats, dogs, etc.) The best part was that we obtained full custody of our little girl nearly two weeks ago so we were able to spend the holiday together as a family. We have a few meetings early in January and a final court date until the adoption is totally final! Praise the Lord!
We're working on getting a family pic up, but even now the internet is giving us problems so we'll continue trying...keep a lookout!
We hope and pray that you all had a wonderful time celebrating our Saviors birth and that you all have a great new year. Heiko, a friend of mine here in Zambia, told me about a question that hit him hard a few days back and I'm going to pose that same question to you. The three wisemen each longed for the day they would see their King and when that day finally arrived they each brought him the most precious thing possible: gold, frankenscence and myrhh (probably spelled wrong). So the question we have for all of you followers of Jesus Christ is this...What have you brought your King? Is it your best?
We love you all!
Jake, Jessi and Sunda
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Christmas and Adoption
I don’t know who started the Christmas Card campaign in Wellsburg, WV…but we are extremely grateful! The last three times that Jake and I have been to the post office, we have been flooded with 10+ Christmas cards! We’ve received Christmas cards from people we don’t know very well, from family friends, from community church members, and from a 5th grade class at Wellsburg middle school! We can’t express our gratefulness to those of you who have taken the time to think of us at this time of year. And the pure multitude of those that are thinking of us have us completely overwhelmed and full of appreciation. The farm director, Jeff, joked yesterday that if we keep getting this much mail, we’re going to have to rent our own post office box, because everyone else’s mail won’t fit! So, if you are reading this, thank you very much for your thoughts and wishes…if feels so good to get mail in Africa!
On another exciting note, Jacob is in Lusaka right now meeting with the Social Services Department. If all goes according to plan, he will walk out of the office with a form stating that we have permission to foster Mukansunda (meaning that we have responsibility for her and that she can stay with us full-time) until the adoption proceeding goes through. This is a great thing, and what we have been waiting for. Because as soon as we have permission to take her with us, we can really start embarking on the full-scale bush ministry that we are excited about doing. It’s just crazy the way that God’s perfect timing is not always our idea of perfection.
Two weeks ago, we were feeling in a rut because our tent was stuck in the airport awaiting duty fees, our apartment was still empty because of small problems that kept us from moving in, and we had heard nothing from the States about our homestudy adoption papers. All of a sudden, we received our tent, the apartment was livable, and we got word that our papers had gone through. All at about the same time! And really, we couldn’t have had Sunda stay with us until we had an apartment, and we couldn’t do outreach ministry with Sunda without a tent. So, once again…it’s a good thing He’s God and I’m not. Who knows where my impatience and independence would have ended us up?
Christmas is fastly approaching, but somehow it feels more Christmasy than last year. I want to decorate and bake cookies and watch Christmas movies. Last year, I wanted to go to bed and be woken up when Dec. 25 had past. It will be my first Christmas with an understanding of what work and commitment moms of all ages and races put into the holiday. I guess I’d better start planning ahead! Sugar cookies, here I come!
Just wanted to kick out a short update and let everyone know how grateful we are for the Christmas greetings. And how excited we are about how quickly the adoption process is moving! I will humbly, but boldly, ask you to pray that the process would actually move smoothly without red tape and hoop jumping. And for Sunda, that she would be seamlessly transitioned into our home.
Happy Tuesday, and Happy Christmas Shopping.
P.S.
I wrote this on Tuesday...couldn't post until Thursday so as of now we have custody of Sunda!!! Praise God! She spent her first night with us last night. :o)
On another exciting note, Jacob is in Lusaka right now meeting with the Social Services Department. If all goes according to plan, he will walk out of the office with a form stating that we have permission to foster Mukansunda (meaning that we have responsibility for her and that she can stay with us full-time) until the adoption proceeding goes through. This is a great thing, and what we have been waiting for. Because as soon as we have permission to take her with us, we can really start embarking on the full-scale bush ministry that we are excited about doing. It’s just crazy the way that God’s perfect timing is not always our idea of perfection.
Two weeks ago, we were feeling in a rut because our tent was stuck in the airport awaiting duty fees, our apartment was still empty because of small problems that kept us from moving in, and we had heard nothing from the States about our homestudy adoption papers. All of a sudden, we received our tent, the apartment was livable, and we got word that our papers had gone through. All at about the same time! And really, we couldn’t have had Sunda stay with us until we had an apartment, and we couldn’t do outreach ministry with Sunda without a tent. So, once again…it’s a good thing He’s God and I’m not. Who knows where my impatience and independence would have ended us up?
Christmas is fastly approaching, but somehow it feels more Christmasy than last year. I want to decorate and bake cookies and watch Christmas movies. Last year, I wanted to go to bed and be woken up when Dec. 25 had past. It will be my first Christmas with an understanding of what work and commitment moms of all ages and races put into the holiday. I guess I’d better start planning ahead! Sugar cookies, here I come!
Just wanted to kick out a short update and let everyone know how grateful we are for the Christmas greetings. And how excited we are about how quickly the adoption process is moving! I will humbly, but boldly, ask you to pray that the process would actually move smoothly without red tape and hoop jumping. And for Sunda, that she would be seamlessly transitioned into our home.
Happy Tuesday, and Happy Christmas Shopping.
P.S.
I wrote this on Tuesday...couldn't post until Thursday so as of now we have custody of Sunda!!! Praise God! She spent her first night with us last night. :o)
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Come....and Stay!
How incredible to be asked to "come" by the King of kings. This thought has come to my mind several times in the past week. Scriptures where Christ beckons us to approach Him and receive all that we need are hard to fathom. That the Almighty, Uncreated One would allow me to even enter His divine presence is a wonder to begin with; however, I've been reminded that He has called us to an even deeper, more intimate place.
A few years ago I felt a great pull in my spirit to go and spend some alone time with the Lord. I was at my parents home in West Virginia and so I went down to the basement and lay down on the carpet. I really had nothing to say, no prayer requests came to mind, but only a simple desire to be with God. I laid there on my face for maybe ten minutes in silence. The only communication taking place was my heart and God's...His love and my love being exchanged. After some time I decided that I was simply wasting my time and could be doing far better things for God's kingdom than laying on my face on the floor. As I went to get up I had one of the most distinct times of hearing the voice of God in my life. His words were, "Don't leave yet..." Now immediately the reality of God hit me and I spent quite a bit more time on my face thanking God for His love and nearness. This moment has not left me in the past few years and it is not until recently that I've understood it's importance.
The highest aim of God is for union with His people. This union begins when God says come to each and every heart and by His grace we are drawn to Him. However, this is simply the BEGINNING place for that union. The EVEN GREATER call is that God tells us to STAY! How wonderful when someone you love and desire asks you to come and speak with them, but to be constrained to stay is a far greater pleasure. John 15 speaks of this great desire in the heart of God to have His people "abide". To abide is to stay or remain. I'm tired of my "amens" at the end of a prayer translating to "see you later God". There is far more to life than "time with God". There is abiding with God. Never leaving. A constant, life-giving flow of relationship that can be maintained through every daily chore, work activity, and conversation.
The beauty is that it is by God's grace that we can stay. He has made the way for us to come and given us the ability to stay. All we are called to do is admit that we are weak and unable and receive His fresh mercy each morning to believe that His power is enough to conquer our minds and wills and keep us in that Holy of Holies. In that place where the only thing that matters is loving God with all of our being. Loving him with every action, every gesture, every thought, every movement and knowing that we do this because we have received indescribable love from Him! Let me ruin all of your comfort zones right now by saying that there is far more to this life than we are experiencing. We have been created to abide. I may be abiding for one hour a day (on a good day). But I want unbroken fellowship. I'm sure if it becomes our aim and pure goal that God will give us more and more as we humble ourselves before Him. For any of you who are hungry for this, let me give you two books that will truly set you on a good path: Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Andrew Murray on Prayer by Andrew Murray. Try them in the order I have suggested and you will not be dissapointed (of course use these in conjunction with the greatest book of all...the Bible). I love you all and am praying for God to give you a desire for unbroken fellowship with Him.
Jacob
A few years ago I felt a great pull in my spirit to go and spend some alone time with the Lord. I was at my parents home in West Virginia and so I went down to the basement and lay down on the carpet. I really had nothing to say, no prayer requests came to mind, but only a simple desire to be with God. I laid there on my face for maybe ten minutes in silence. The only communication taking place was my heart and God's...His love and my love being exchanged. After some time I decided that I was simply wasting my time and could be doing far better things for God's kingdom than laying on my face on the floor. As I went to get up I had one of the most distinct times of hearing the voice of God in my life. His words were, "Don't leave yet..." Now immediately the reality of God hit me and I spent quite a bit more time on my face thanking God for His love and nearness. This moment has not left me in the past few years and it is not until recently that I've understood it's importance.
The highest aim of God is for union with His people. This union begins when God says come to each and every heart and by His grace we are drawn to Him. However, this is simply the BEGINNING place for that union. The EVEN GREATER call is that God tells us to STAY! How wonderful when someone you love and desire asks you to come and speak with them, but to be constrained to stay is a far greater pleasure. John 15 speaks of this great desire in the heart of God to have His people "abide". To abide is to stay or remain. I'm tired of my "amens" at the end of a prayer translating to "see you later God". There is far more to life than "time with God". There is abiding with God. Never leaving. A constant, life-giving flow of relationship that can be maintained through every daily chore, work activity, and conversation.
The beauty is that it is by God's grace that we can stay. He has made the way for us to come and given us the ability to stay. All we are called to do is admit that we are weak and unable and receive His fresh mercy each morning to believe that His power is enough to conquer our minds and wills and keep us in that Holy of Holies. In that place where the only thing that matters is loving God with all of our being. Loving him with every action, every gesture, every thought, every movement and knowing that we do this because we have received indescribable love from Him! Let me ruin all of your comfort zones right now by saying that there is far more to this life than we are experiencing. We have been created to abide. I may be abiding for one hour a day (on a good day). But I want unbroken fellowship. I'm sure if it becomes our aim and pure goal that God will give us more and more as we humble ourselves before Him. For any of you who are hungry for this, let me give you two books that will truly set you on a good path: Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Andrew Murray on Prayer by Andrew Murray. Try them in the order I have suggested and you will not be dissapointed (of course use these in conjunction with the greatest book of all...the Bible). I love you all and am praying for God to give you a desire for unbroken fellowship with Him.
Jacob
Monday, November 26, 2007
A Spot on the Food Network?
In light of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, which we celebrated here with two huge turkeys, I thought I’d tell you about my recent weeks of intense Zambian cooking experiences. I’m not sure if you’re as much of a Food Network fan as I am (when I can get it). But I’m convinced that I’m marketable for a spot. Maybe Rachel Ray can interview me on her talk show about exotic cooking techniques. I’m not sure that power outages are a problem facing the general American public, or if cooking maize meal over the fire is considered exotic. But, hey, it’s different, right?
Last week, I decided that the time had come for me to learn how to make the traditional beverage that is very popular in the Zambian village. Chibwantu,or sweet beer to your average mzungu (white person), is a non-alcoholic maize-based beverage that is especially drunk during rainy season. The men and women carry it with them to the fields to give them a pick me up in the middle of a hot morning. It’s very different from anything that you’ve probably ever tasted. And, as far as my own limited knowledge permits me to say, it doesn’t taste anything like beer.
The pastor’s wife and I embarked on making a huge batch (I mean, if you’re gonna make sweet beer, make sweet beer, right?) We built a big fire and began to cook a porridge of “maize rice” which is just maize pounded into smaller pieces (a bit smaller than rice). The porridge cooks quickly, expands, and binds together. When it finished boiling violently and popping all over the arms of anyone who dared get too close, we removed the huge iron pot from the fire to allow the porridge to cool.
While the porridge cooled, we soaked a root called munkoyo in cool water. The root is dug from the ground and is what gives sweet beer its distinctive flavor. When the porridge cooled, we added the munkoyo water and stirred. After multiple tastings to determine whether the munkoyo had “taken”(never did figure out how you can tell), we added brown sugar for sweetness. I have to say, it was some mighty fine sweet beer. The batch made enough to fit inside an (unused) garbage can and was then distributed among all of my helpers and their families. It was a good experience. And I thought that I had effectively learned how to reproduce the recipe. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I tried to make a smaller batch just this week (without any help) just to see if I could do it. I couldn’t. It tasted terrible. Like rice soaked in fish water. Blech. Janice informed me that I had soaked the munkoyo too long. When we made the sweet beer together, the women looked like they were doing everything so haphazardly. But no, they have a precise method to their madness, one that I didn’t pick up on. So, it’s back to school for me and sweet beer making. Jacob loves sweet beer and was intensely disappointed that my 2nd batch didn’t turn out. I can’t say the same for rest of the missionary crew, who pretty much looks at us like we’re crazy when we say that we enjoy it. We can’t help it, Zambia has gotten into our blood!
Onto other Food Network worthy cooking experiences…
When we stayed in Chabboboma last weekend, I was excited to finally get some real experience cooking Zambian style food out on the fire. Well, the church women had other ideas. They considered it a full and complete insult for us to cook for ourselves, so they took my chicken and cabbages and prepared it for us while we sat waiting. I did convince them that I was capable enough to cook breakfast on my own, and they reluctantly agreed. Little did I realize why…
I should have realized why. I mean, logically, the timing just doesn’t work out. Church starts at nine. I woke up at 6:30. At home, with my running water and stove and shower, I could easily cook a big breakfast, clean up, and shower and dress for church in that amount of time. It wasn’t that I hadn’t cooked on the fire before, it was just that I was never pressed for time before. So, I started the fire at the nearest fire spot (about 30 yards from the house we stayed in) with wet firewood, blowing desperately to get it going. I hauled water to wash out the pots and start the rice. Then, I started the rice while trying to cut onions in my hand (no cutting board). When the rice was finally finished, I set it aside and started to make the tomato/onion gravy to put over it (common Zambian breakfast, and really tasty!) I had brought canned tomatoes to avoid all the chopping. Smart, right? Yep, except for I didn’t bring a can opener. So, I tracked Jake down and had him perform surgery with his knife on our tomato cans. I fried the onions while stirring constantly, praying that they wouldn’t burn on the now blazing fire. Added the tomatoes and some salt, and with a few more minutes of boiling, my gravy was ready! Now all I needed to do was carry the scalding hot pots all the way back to the house. Shoot! I forgot to make tea! Okay, haul the water for tea, set the pot boiling. Carry the food back to the house and set the table. Make the tea, carry it back. Call the men for breakfast. They mosey into the house slowly, chatting about the service from the night before. It’s 8:30 am. I still have to eat, clean up, haul water for a bath, take a bucket bath, and walk to church before 9 o ‘clock. Man, that hauling water and cooking on the fire thing takes a lot of time! No wonder it seems like the Zambians are always running late!
So, after that, I served the food, swallowed some rice and tea, and took a (much needed) bath from a small bucket. I wasn’t on time for church, but no one seemed too concerned. I have a feeling they understood perfectly! So, now I know. Things take much longer out of your own environment and even longer when the firewood is wet. I’ll get up earlier next time. Or, we’ll eat bread. End of story.
Just in case you ever get a hankering for tomato/onion gravy, I’ll give you the recipe. I made it for lunch here at the guest house, and everyone loved it.
1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes finely chopped
2-3 Tbl. Cooking oil
1 tsp. flour
Salt
Fry onions in cooking oil until tender. Add tomatoes. If canned, they will need a short time to cook. If fresh, they’ll need a bit longer. Make a paste with the flour in a bit of water. Add to the gravy mixture and stir constantly until it boils. Boil for a minute so that you don’t a raw flour taste. Add salt (quite a bit). Serve over hot rice. Yum!
Okay, so now you know my struggling cooking experiences…would you like to hear about my one victory? A Zambian friend from the other orphanage on the hill taught me to make “fire bread.” Fire bread is a sweet bread that can be cooked in a pot, whether on a fire or on a brazier. A brazier is a tiny circular metal grill just big enough for one pot. You build a charcoal fire in the top of it and then set the pot on to cook. Most Zambians use braziers when it’s raining and the firewood is wet, or if they just need to cook a one-pot meal.
Here is the recipe for fire bread, which will come in handy for me in the bush when I don’t have an oven! I made it for dinner the other night, and the visitors couldn’t believe that it was cooked over the fire. It comes out beautifully moist and sweet.
Start a charcoal fire and let it get very hot and burn down.
5 heaping handfuls flour
1 heaping Tbl. Baking powder
1 tsp. salt
5 Tbl. Sugar
3 Tbl. Cooking oil
2 cups water or 2 eggs and 11/2 cups water
Mix the first 4 ingredients. Add oil. Mix well. Add water or eggs and water and mix again. Wipe a big pot with oil on the inside and a bit of dishsoap on the outside. Put the bread batter in the pot. Cover the pot with a large, flat lid. The lid must be able to hold coals on the top. Empty most of the hot coals from the brazier and put them on the lid. Place the pot on the hot brazier and make sure the coal-covered lid fits with no gaps. Let bake for 30-40 minutes. The bread is finished when it is golden brown on the tops and sides. (Carefully) take the lid off of the pot and remove the pot from the brazier to cool. After cooling 10 minutes remove the bread from the pot. Cut like a pie. There you go…fire bread!
So, I have had quite a time learning to cook like a Zambian. It’s really quite an art even though their “cuisine” isn’t very extensive. The trick is to learn from a Tonga woman, and then sneak away and do it by yourself. Because as long as there is a Tonga woman around, she will take the spoon right out of your hand and tell you, “No! Not like that!”
As all those Food Network stars say: “Happy cooking!” Let me know if you talk to Rachel Ray, I think I could really boost her ratings. Ha! ;)
Last week, I decided that the time had come for me to learn how to make the traditional beverage that is very popular in the Zambian village. Chibwantu,or sweet beer to your average mzungu (white person), is a non-alcoholic maize-based beverage that is especially drunk during rainy season. The men and women carry it with them to the fields to give them a pick me up in the middle of a hot morning. It’s very different from anything that you’ve probably ever tasted. And, as far as my own limited knowledge permits me to say, it doesn’t taste anything like beer.
The pastor’s wife and I embarked on making a huge batch (I mean, if you’re gonna make sweet beer, make sweet beer, right?) We built a big fire and began to cook a porridge of “maize rice” which is just maize pounded into smaller pieces (a bit smaller than rice). The porridge cooks quickly, expands, and binds together. When it finished boiling violently and popping all over the arms of anyone who dared get too close, we removed the huge iron pot from the fire to allow the porridge to cool.
While the porridge cooled, we soaked a root called munkoyo in cool water. The root is dug from the ground and is what gives sweet beer its distinctive flavor. When the porridge cooled, we added the munkoyo water and stirred. After multiple tastings to determine whether the munkoyo had “taken”(never did figure out how you can tell), we added brown sugar for sweetness. I have to say, it was some mighty fine sweet beer. The batch made enough to fit inside an (unused) garbage can and was then distributed among all of my helpers and their families. It was a good experience. And I thought that I had effectively learned how to reproduce the recipe. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I tried to make a smaller batch just this week (without any help) just to see if I could do it. I couldn’t. It tasted terrible. Like rice soaked in fish water. Blech. Janice informed me that I had soaked the munkoyo too long. When we made the sweet beer together, the women looked like they were doing everything so haphazardly. But no, they have a precise method to their madness, one that I didn’t pick up on. So, it’s back to school for me and sweet beer making. Jacob loves sweet beer and was intensely disappointed that my 2nd batch didn’t turn out. I can’t say the same for rest of the missionary crew, who pretty much looks at us like we’re crazy when we say that we enjoy it. We can’t help it, Zambia has gotten into our blood!
Onto other Food Network worthy cooking experiences…
When we stayed in Chabboboma last weekend, I was excited to finally get some real experience cooking Zambian style food out on the fire. Well, the church women had other ideas. They considered it a full and complete insult for us to cook for ourselves, so they took my chicken and cabbages and prepared it for us while we sat waiting. I did convince them that I was capable enough to cook breakfast on my own, and they reluctantly agreed. Little did I realize why…
I should have realized why. I mean, logically, the timing just doesn’t work out. Church starts at nine. I woke up at 6:30. At home, with my running water and stove and shower, I could easily cook a big breakfast, clean up, and shower and dress for church in that amount of time. It wasn’t that I hadn’t cooked on the fire before, it was just that I was never pressed for time before. So, I started the fire at the nearest fire spot (about 30 yards from the house we stayed in) with wet firewood, blowing desperately to get it going. I hauled water to wash out the pots and start the rice. Then, I started the rice while trying to cut onions in my hand (no cutting board). When the rice was finally finished, I set it aside and started to make the tomato/onion gravy to put over it (common Zambian breakfast, and really tasty!) I had brought canned tomatoes to avoid all the chopping. Smart, right? Yep, except for I didn’t bring a can opener. So, I tracked Jake down and had him perform surgery with his knife on our tomato cans. I fried the onions while stirring constantly, praying that they wouldn’t burn on the now blazing fire. Added the tomatoes and some salt, and with a few more minutes of boiling, my gravy was ready! Now all I needed to do was carry the scalding hot pots all the way back to the house. Shoot! I forgot to make tea! Okay, haul the water for tea, set the pot boiling. Carry the food back to the house and set the table. Make the tea, carry it back. Call the men for breakfast. They mosey into the house slowly, chatting about the service from the night before. It’s 8:30 am. I still have to eat, clean up, haul water for a bath, take a bucket bath, and walk to church before 9 o ‘clock. Man, that hauling water and cooking on the fire thing takes a lot of time! No wonder it seems like the Zambians are always running late!
So, after that, I served the food, swallowed some rice and tea, and took a (much needed) bath from a small bucket. I wasn’t on time for church, but no one seemed too concerned. I have a feeling they understood perfectly! So, now I know. Things take much longer out of your own environment and even longer when the firewood is wet. I’ll get up earlier next time. Or, we’ll eat bread. End of story.
Just in case you ever get a hankering for tomato/onion gravy, I’ll give you the recipe. I made it for lunch here at the guest house, and everyone loved it.
1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
1 can diced tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes finely chopped
2-3 Tbl. Cooking oil
1 tsp. flour
Salt
Fry onions in cooking oil until tender. Add tomatoes. If canned, they will need a short time to cook. If fresh, they’ll need a bit longer. Make a paste with the flour in a bit of water. Add to the gravy mixture and stir constantly until it boils. Boil for a minute so that you don’t a raw flour taste. Add salt (quite a bit). Serve over hot rice. Yum!
Okay, so now you know my struggling cooking experiences…would you like to hear about my one victory? A Zambian friend from the other orphanage on the hill taught me to make “fire bread.” Fire bread is a sweet bread that can be cooked in a pot, whether on a fire or on a brazier. A brazier is a tiny circular metal grill just big enough for one pot. You build a charcoal fire in the top of it and then set the pot on to cook. Most Zambians use braziers when it’s raining and the firewood is wet, or if they just need to cook a one-pot meal.
Here is the recipe for fire bread, which will come in handy for me in the bush when I don’t have an oven! I made it for dinner the other night, and the visitors couldn’t believe that it was cooked over the fire. It comes out beautifully moist and sweet.
Start a charcoal fire and let it get very hot and burn down.
5 heaping handfuls flour
1 heaping Tbl. Baking powder
1 tsp. salt
5 Tbl. Sugar
3 Tbl. Cooking oil
2 cups water or 2 eggs and 11/2 cups water
Mix the first 4 ingredients. Add oil. Mix well. Add water or eggs and water and mix again. Wipe a big pot with oil on the inside and a bit of dishsoap on the outside. Put the bread batter in the pot. Cover the pot with a large, flat lid. The lid must be able to hold coals on the top. Empty most of the hot coals from the brazier and put them on the lid. Place the pot on the hot brazier and make sure the coal-covered lid fits with no gaps. Let bake for 30-40 minutes. The bread is finished when it is golden brown on the tops and sides. (Carefully) take the lid off of the pot and remove the pot from the brazier to cool. After cooling 10 minutes remove the bread from the pot. Cut like a pie. There you go…fire bread!
So, I have had quite a time learning to cook like a Zambian. It’s really quite an art even though their “cuisine” isn’t very extensive. The trick is to learn from a Tonga woman, and then sneak away and do it by yourself. Because as long as there is a Tonga woman around, she will take the spoon right out of your hand and tell you, “No! Not like that!”
As all those Food Network stars say: “Happy cooking!” Let me know if you talk to Rachel Ray, I think I could really boost her ratings. Ha! ;)
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