The Best Refrigerator Bread Dough

1 Package Active Dry Yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 1/2 Cups warm water (105 - 115 degrees)

2/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 cup lukewarm mashed potatoes (or mashed sweet potatoes)

7 - 7 1/2 cups flour, or enough to make a smooth dough

Knead 5 minutes, refrigerate 8 hours, use within 10 days. To use - take out of refrigerator and shape into whatever you're wanting to make. Let rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled. Bake. Enjoy!

One recipe worth of dough can be used to make any of the following:

• 3 batches of crescent rolls (400 degrees for 10-12 minutes)
• 2 loaves of bread (375 degrees for 25-30 minutes)
• 2-3 dozen dinner rolls (375 degrees for 15 minutes)
• 2 - 9x13 pans of monkey bread (350 degrees for 25 minutes)
• 3 pizza crusts (400 degrees for 12-15 minutes)
• or whatever else you desire!

snapshots of my (new) life

I no longer find it strange or unusual to...

• see warthogs or baboons alongside the road on the way to the store
• live without a hot water heater, microwave, or coffee-maker
• sleep under a mosquito net
• have the electricity go out at least once a day
• pray with my eyes open
• drink shelf-safe milk from a box
• answer to "Auntie Bethany," "Bethany Auntie," "Sister B," or "Miss B"
• worship God in another language
• always carry my own toilet paper with me
• be the only white face in the group
• eat with my hands. or a spoon. but almost never a fork and knife.
• have every meal end with toothpicks
• have someone walk right into my house after knocking once
• take my shoes off before going into the house (makes it easy to figure out which apartment fellowship is at each night, though! ;))
• drink chai 3-5 times a day
• spend most of the day without using my voice, yet still having many good, deep conversations

I'm still getting used to...

• shaking hands with my friends in greeting, rather than hugging them
• every trip anywhere feeling like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland
• ugali & instant Nescafe coffee
• plugging something into the electrical socket and then remembering to turn the socket on
• preparing for "the holidays" when there's nothing around me signifying it and the weather is more like summer
• roads being "tarmacked," wearing "trousers," using "serviettes," and "topping up" my cell phone
• not having the freedom to go anywhere, anytime, by myself
• seeing another white person and thinking they are either a European, Aussie, or Kiwi, and not automatically assuming they're American
• being asked, "Do you know _____?" Saying I don't. And then getting, "But s/he lives in America!?!"
• constantly having absolute strangers vie for my attention and a greeting
• having an audience gather whenever I want to cook something, because everyone wants to watch and learn

I love...

• seeing Jesus in men and women from completely different backgrounds and places, and finding the fruit of the Spirit in their lives
• that worship automatically means drums (and, often, dancing)
• being surrounded with family in every shade of brown and tan
• eating Kenyan and Indian food
• watching my Deaf brothers and sisters pour out their hearts in prayer and praise to the Lord
• seeing the sincerity in their faces when they share their burden for the Deaf who don't know Christ
• being invited and welcomed into their lives
• being absolutely confident and peacefully content, knowing I'm exactly where He wants me
• that He allows us to join Him in His eternal purposes

And I love that I could take this picture on my way home from a Masai Church a few weeks ago

bread-making

Baking here in Nairobi, which is over a mile in altitude, is quite the adventure for this American girl. Last week, I made my first batch of "cake mix cookies" (which went over well!!) in my propane, timer-controlled (energy-saving?), Celcius oven. 204 degrees anyone? It really doesn't matter that everything is on the metric system here, as I don't own any measuring cups/spoons anyways. ;)

But what's even more of an adventure? Combining all the above factors in a yeast-bread-making lesson for a small group of Deaf people in a sign language you're still learning!! ;) But, what fun and laughter! =) Some days I can't believe I get to live the life I do. Thank you, Jesus!!

24 x 7 = 2025

I may not be good at math, but this is an equation that makes sense to me.

Pray24x7.Vision2025

  

Taxes in October...

Our little Grants Pass Deaf Church made history, of sorts, on Saturday night. :) As a two-year-old Church, they held their first ever commissioning service. My Deaf pastor shared his excitement before we began... in 30 years of ministry (as a pastor and a missionary himself), he'd never seen a Deaf church perform a commissioning service. It's just very rare. :) Such a special evening and a privilege to be sent out as one of their own! Beautiful people. Family. I will miss them greatly.

The hours flee and my departure date nears... Oct. 8, 2010. Two years ago "Fall of 2010" felt forever away--an arbitrary time frame pulled out of the sky. I had plenty of time, and much to learn/do. Now... it's here. With a ticket in my hand. And suitcases to pack. The phone rings from time to time - another familiar voice, another goodbye. Goodbye comfortable, familiar normalcy. Hello Africa and the unfamiliar, new, and different.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.   Psalm 139:1-10, NASB

It's moments like these I hear His reminders... in any unknown and all uncertainty... it is the known I can cling to and be absolutely certain of--HIS PERFECT LOVE. HIS provision. HIS grace. HIS strength and peace. HIS unchanging faithfulness and sovereignty. This story isn't mine... it's that of a King, a Kingdom, and a Love I have yet to fully grasp.

So, I sit here, preparing my tax deductions and paperwork for next spring... because that's what's in front of me this afternoon. What's in front of you?

SeedLinks Article & Pictures

Check out the May 2010 SeedLinks online magazine articles about Kenyan & Indian Sign Language Translation work here: http://www.theseedcompany.org/files/media/seedlinks/may-10/default.html
Also, pictures here: http://www.theseedcompany.org/cocosphotos
Enjoy!