Dear Everyone, thank you for patience with us and our poor letter writing. We appreciate all of your letters and are thankful that you are willing to write us even when we do not write back.
After serving for nearly a year, I have a tiny piece of advice for couple missionaries. Whatever small hobby or interest or sort-of area of expertise you have gained in this life, the Lord will use. So, yes, bring your favorite recipes and your rotary cutter and your knitting needles and crochet hooks and favorite family games (Rook qualifies) and whatever else that will fit in a suitcase and can be transported legally past customs. And if you are serving within your own country, then YES take the bread-maker and the sewing machine and the wood-working tools and anything else that strikes you as probably necessary. We have learned that when we thought we were doing something just for fun, we were actually in preparation for this mission.
As an example of sort-of expertise: this week I made pies from a locally grown squash called Kabocha, with home-made pie crust from a recipe I got from the web. I also made turkey dressing—recipe ditto, and rolls—recipe again from the web. I did not really believe all of the stories that sisters have shared over the years about pie crust that you really couldn't cut, but had to actually break. I thought it was an excuse to get out of making pie. I now have 5 (five) pies to my credit with amazingly strong crusts. Handy for eating without a plate, however. Having not made pie crust in years (I buy the ready made ones), I really researched the process, but to no avail. I think it takes a lot more practice. No one complained, though, and they all want 'pumpkin' pie again.
Many years ago my mother taught me how to make pie. I am so thankful that she spent the time. I used many of her hints. I'm still working on the 'less handling' part. Apparently more handling makes for a stronger (AMEN) crust. My main concern here—will our beloved YSA think that pie is supposed to have powerful, strong crusts that hardly break when you bite them with your teeth? Will they think that soft, flaky crusts are not correct? Hopefully I can get the process right and the pie knowledge here can increase.
Besides feeding over 50 people with a ten pound turkey, we also made four quilts, housed over-night guests, had zone conference, taught English to a lot of two-year-olds and battled the tail end of a cold—all in one week! Usually I would be in bed today, recovering, but I have only needed two naps so far and have gone to all of my meetings.
How is all this possible, you say? Not through my skill, I assure you. The most amazing thing has happened. The Lord really does support His servants. After my YSA crew and I baked late into the night on Friday night, I was exhausted on the day of the big Thanksgiving dinner. (We had ours on Saturday so more could attend. Thanksgiving Day is not a holiday here.) We also had our young English class to teach—it is supposed to be made up of 3 to 5year olds but it has become mostly two year olds. As I was walking to the church on Saturday morning, so exhausted and wondering from where the energy would come to smile happily at mothers and two year olds and also make the rest of the food, plus the quilts and be friendly and caring and all in another language, I prayed, "Heavenly Father, I'm going to have to give this day to you. I need to float somehow on your strength and power, because mine has gone. I know that you are in charge of all this and that you love all of these people, little and big, and that I can count on you to pull this one through. If you can feed 5 thousand on just loaves and fishes, then surely we can feed 50 on turkey (and chicken and pies and rolls and stuffing and corn salad and cranberry sauce and chirashi zushi and mashed potatoes and gravy). Even though there is not much of any one thing, there is a lot altogether."
When the day was done and the compliments wouldn't stop coming and the turkey was entirely gone, even the bones were requested by one of our YSA who loves to cook soup, I remembered that prayer and knew that it had been thoroughly answered, with overflowing kindness.
The two year olds were darling. The mothers loved our lesson---about families and we sang the song—"Families can be together for-ever". One of the mothers told us that she studied at UVSC for two years. We feel that she is just waiting on her husband to start the gospel lessons and that she wants her family to be an eternal one. Her husband comes to the children's English class also, with their absolutely adorable almost two year-old.
We were able to borrow a sewing machine and did not have to go buy one. The quilt frame wood was at only one store---the first one we went to—and the Healeys (visiting from the Nagasaki Outreach center) were able to make three quilt frames and to almost complete four quilts (in the interest of accuracy, I will have to admit here that the quilts were lap-size, just over 3 feet by 3 feet. Some of you will probably recognize that that is a square meter.) They taught many YSA how to use power-tools, how to keep the area clean while working, and also how to sew together simple quilts and how to tie them.
The food just kept growing. The Kumamoto relief society had an enrichment luncheon that Saturday also. They had left-over soup which they donated to the dinner. The turkey cooked up brown and beautiful looking and was tender and moist and wonderful. Besides crediting the Lord, I attribute the moistness to a digital meat thermometer we bought the last week-end before boarding the plane in Utah and the church's small but amazingly powerful convection oven. The turkey was done in 90 minutes—cooked to a food-safe 170 degrees. Although turkey stuffing was not on the YSA requested menu, my personal favorite, I made it anyway. No poultry seasoning, but by chance(?), I had purchased a huge bottle of Mixed Herbs at Costco on our last trip. Even though mixed herbs do not contain sage, they have all of the other necessary flavorings to make the stuffing zing. There were no leftovers. In fact there were very few leftovers of anything.
So how do you feed 50 on 10 pounds of turkey? Ask the Lord and then work hard. And serve chirashi zushi—a filling rice dish with vegetables and a special seasoning. And make all of the other foods that He inspires you to do.
Several mothers asked me today (Sunday) if I would teach them how to cook turkey. Their YSA children raved so about how delicious it was that they also want to try it. One member of our YSA council asked if next time we have turkey (now that is a compliment), could we just serve it to the dozen or so who are on the council? No extra adults and missionaries? Well, maybe they would be okay with some extra.
We started the planning for this event with the concern that turkey would taste about as good to these very civilized and careful eaters of extremely tasty food (have I talked about the vegetables? How even the lettuce has a wonderful flavor?) as badly cooked deer meat tastes to the rest of us. (Apologies to the hunters, but even you don't like badly cooked venison, right?) And once again we have been blessed to overflowing and are so grateful to be in the middle of a miracle.
By the way, I still have orange frosting from the Halloween party. Maybe I could frost Ritz crackers? Toast? Rice? Any ideas?
Someone asked exactly when pumpkin pie was eaten—with the meal, later at night as a snack, for dinner? I answered that pumpkin pie is considered a dessert and is served after the meal, but usually everyone was so full that they ate the pie later in the day. However, if your mother wasn't looking, then you ate pumpkin pie whenever you could. I say all of this with a straight face. I'm not sure how it all translates.
We love all of you and wish for you a most happy and joyous holiday season. Next Saturday we teach the primary how to use compasses. We get to go to a park called "Bugs in the Country' (mushi no hiroba). All of the play equipment is built around the theme of insects. Despite the name, it is beautiful and up in the mountains. Our two year olds and their parents might also come. (all non-members)
For more adventures, and pictures, please check our blog
http://prisbreyfamily.blogspot.com/
And if you can get hold of the December Japanese Liahona, there is a 6 page black and white article on our mission's Outreach Centers with several pictures that contain us somewhere in the background. Sorry, we couldn't get the pictures to come up on the church web-site--just the article. In Japanese.
Love, Kandie and Keith, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa or whatever name you associate with us as long as it is complimentary
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