Heavenly Commission

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"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor,

how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"

-- David Livingstone

"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Mark 16:15

Epazote

I had no idea what epazote was until about a year ago. I had been researching Mexico and Mexican cuisine last April when I stumbled on this interesting herb.

Epazote is an culinary and medicinal herb native to Mexico and Central America originally cultivated and used by the Aztecs and Mayans. It's name comes from the nahuatl (Aztec) 'epazotl' meaning skunk weed. It is well known for it's distinct taste and smell which you will either love or hate. It cannot be replaced by anything in recipes as there is just nothing like it. I put it in a Oaxacan bean recipe, in quesadillas, in tacos, whatever I like. It is usually added fresh and at the last few minutes of cooking.

 

Medicinally it is used as:

amebicide, 

antibacterial, 

anticancerous, 

antimalarial,  

hepatoprotective (liver protector)  

liver detoxifier

antiparasitic, 

antitumorous, 

ascaricide (kills Ascaris parasitic worms),

insecticidal,

diaphoretic (promotes sweating),

menstrual stimulant, 

nervine (balances/calms nerves), 

sedative, (just smelling this herb makes you feel relaxed)

asthma
and more..

I grow epazote in our garden and cut it often adding it to whatever Mexican recipe I am making. I also make a decoction from it and drink that.  It is extremely easy to grow and will flourish in just about any soil. It can become an invasive weed seeding and spreading itself everywhere. Currently I have about 4 miniature epazote plants besides the main one. Be sure to cut your epazote often to keep it from seeding. Like basil, once it seeds that is all it wants to do and you will end up with woody seedy bushes rather than lush leafy ones.

I make a decoction of this herb by adding about an half a cup of epazote leaves and stems to about 4 cups of water and boil this for about ten minutes on the stove top. Be sure your cuttings aren't too 'seedy' as you want to get mainly leaves.

CAUTION:

Whil having all of these great properties, this herb is toxic at highly concentrated levels because of the principle oil in it: ascaridole. Ascaridole is mostly concentrated in the seeds of the plant. 

As a result unusually large quantities of this should be avoided and the essential oil should not be used as it is toxic.

Not to be taken while pregnant or breast-feeding.

 

 "He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him..." Isa. 53:9-10


" Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.


What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep who love to wander;
The Master pays the debt his servants owe him,
Who would not know him?


The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted,-
God is committed."

-Johann Heerman,1630
Tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1863

Whole Wheat Tortillas/Chapatis

When it comes to making tortillas I far prefer white flour over whole wheat. Whole wheat many times turns out too thick, too wheaty, and entirely lacking in the traditional soft, white flour tortilla texture and taste.

This recipe, though, is a little bit of an exception. I found that if done right this yields a pretty good whole wheat tortilla or chapati.

Since this recipe calls for a small amount of oil it is technically a chapati; tortillas usually have quite a bit more lard/shortening added to them. I use this recipe all the time for tortillas and it is about everything I could want despite being unauthentic.

(Also, I use this recipe all the time with regular white flour too and it gives consistently good results.)



Ingredients:

• 3 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water

1. In a large bowl mix the flour and salt.
2. Add the oil and rub in the oil with your hands as you would for a pie crust. 
3. Add boiling water and stir together with a wooden spoon. 
4. When the dough begins to form together into a ball transfer to a work surface and begin kneading (if it is too hot to handle then let it sit a couple minutes to cool). 
5. Knead dough for about 3-5 minutes. 
6. Let dough rest for about 10-15 minutes.
7. Pull off a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a ball.
8. Dust your work surface with flour and begin rolling out your tortilla being sure to keep pressure light and even. (To make an even circle roll a little and turn to "1:00" then "2:00" then "3:00" etc until you have a cirlce about 6-7" in diameter.-hope that makes sense)
9. Place tortilla onto a hot pan (about medium high heat).
10. Cook for about 20-30 seconds and flip over.
11. Cook on second side for about 1-1.5 minutes and flip over.
12. Cook for about 15 seconds on the third and final side- your tortilla should puff up and begin to bubble.
13. Remove from pan and keep warm in a towel.

The Datooga of Tanzania

(It looks like To Every Tribe Tuesday switched to Wednesday -just for this week! Next week it will be back to normal. :) )

 

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The Datooga people live in the midst of a volcanic mountain region in northern Tanzania near Lake Eyasi.

grey highlights the Datooga areas

Throughout history they have resisted change and have kept themselves together living as nomads. They moved with the cattle they raised and lived off of.

Much of their traditional lifestyle has remained to this day yet many have now become farmers planting corn, millet, beans and the like.

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They are known to be a proud people, resistant to change, isolated and fierce (they still carry spears!).

Approximately 1% of the population is literate making Bible translation a difficult and slow process. Only the Gospel of Mark has been translated into the Datooga language. The Datooga language is a Southern Nilote language which has roots in Kenya. Only about 5% speak Swahili, the national language of Tanzania.

They live in low huts held together by a combination of sticks, grass and mud.

 

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 The Datooga are animists and rely on divination, prayers to ancestors, witchcraft and sorcery while at the same time they believe in one supreme creator they call Aseeta. Mt. Hanang, the most significant of the local mountains, is enveloped in their tribal myths, legends and superstition.

Throughout the years the light of the Gospel has rarely shown through to these poor people and they are left unreached with a small percentage of Christians near 1-2% .

Mt. Hanang below

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They need schools, hospitals, clean water, clothes and food, but far surpassing these temporal things they must be made right with God.

Please pray for missionaries to be sent to tell them the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ who alone can free them.

Couscous

I made an alteration of this recipe...it is best with the raisins but I had none on hand. This couscous has become one of my favorite side dishes. We like it even for lunch...provided we have enough pitas to go with it!

Here's the recipe

Spring Gardening

 

We have been growing a garden in our backyard for about two years. After much trial and error we feel like we have finally begun to understand how to garden in Texas.

Here are a few things about gardening in Texas that we have learned:

• Water every other to every two days when there is no rain.
• Plant in an area where there is partial sun...preferably morning sun -even if your plants need full sun they don't usually need full Texas sun.
• Plant garden in an area where the grass grows really lush and green -even in late summer.
• Mix in garden soil. This will help counteract the clay in the natural soil causing it to absorb water more readily.
• Cedar mulch around the base of the plants seems to keep in moisture and keep bugs away.

A few things still baffle me though, and it is a constant learning and relearning to get what works.
This year also we expanded our garden adding a whole new "plot". It was quite a bit of work getting the sod off and digging up the rocks but the soil was surprisingly good in the area we chose-hardly any clay to be seen.

 

 

6 cherry tomato plants

 

Two sparrows have been happily stuffing this nest of theirs for the past two weeks. They have lined the entire inside of this birdhouse, including the roof, with nesting material, very cute.

 

some of our roses

 

Serrano

 Last year our Serrano produced so many peppers we could not possibly eat them all ourselves(and we love peppers!) We had a plant covered with peppers all the way up to the frost in December.

the new garden

peppers

 

grapes-to-be

...and our poor epazote can't grow as fast as we eat it.

To Every Tribe Tuesday -Aimaq Taimani of Afghanistan

 

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Among the wild mountainous terrain of Afghanistan there lies thousands of hidden tribes linked together by religion, tribal customs and a long history of nomadic culture.  Often cut off from the western world and living amongst themselves they make up some of the least reached people of the world.

Out of these nomadic tribes the Aimaq Taimani  are the most unreached. They do not even have a portion of the Bible and are 100% Muslim. Residing in the western part of Afghanistan in the mountainous Ghor Province they are often cut off by heavy snowfall during the winter months and in the summer months plagued with droughts making survival difficult.

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The Aimaq speak a variety of different dialects containing elements of Dari, Farsi, and Turkic languages while speaking Dari formally and in the schools. 

The word Aimaq is of Mongolian origin meaning "tribe" or "grazing territory" inferring the semi-nomadic life of the people that bear its name. The Aimaq follow Islamic and tribal laws, yet many times cultural practice supersedes Islamic tradition. Such is the case with women and marriage, providing far more respect than what is commonly seen in rural tribes of Afghanistan. It is not uncommon for women to voice their opinions even in the presence of strangers. Marriages are arranged by the father yet the daughter is given the opportunity to decline. As Jacob served Laban, so also, some men serve the father of their bride-to-be until the time agreed upon where his service is done and the marriage takes place (the grandest celebration of Aimaq culture).

 

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Please pray for the Aimaq people and especially for the Taimani tribes that Christ might shine His truth into their hearts and into the black darkness of Afghanistan.

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How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness,"

Isaiah:52:7

Bouquet of roses