Back To School!

Just like everyone around the world, this fall brought up the question "how is this school year going to look?" We typically deal with this question during September as we wait for each orphanage to figure out their schedules, which then has a domino effect on our schedules. Septmeber is actually one of my least favorite months of the year because there tends to be a whole list of questions that people need answered, but I can't answer them until other people make decisions! Because of that we plan what we can and have a general stucture in place and then have to adapt based on what curve balls the orphanages or schools throw our way. This year, with the added chaos that is everywhere our flexibility has had to be particularly adept! The good news is that the majority of our ministry locations have reopened enough to let us back in with our programming. There are a few special needs locations that are still closed to us. But over all we are up and running! The new director of one of our orphanages invited us to a back to school party with the kids. It was unique to be invited to an event like this that we didn't plan. It was a really nice evening. We were able to spend some good quality time with the kids there. I had a small group of the teen age boys that wanted to hang out. All of these are boys that I've known since they were small. It is a special honor to still be picked to hang out as they get older. The director had asked us to bring pictures of the kids from various stages of their lives. It was fun to look at these pictures and reminince. He also challenged them to write down a dream or wish for this school year. We lit up laterns and let them go as a symbol of those dreams and wishes. I really enjoyed the whole experience!

Our grandkids continue to grow up as well. Ruthie began 4th grade, Karla her last year of pre-school and Daria another year of pre-school.

Another fall activity for us is canning zacusca. This is a kind of spread made from eggplant, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Corni and I got about 20 jars canned for this next year, plus put roasted eggplant in the freezer that we can pull out to make salata de vinete. If you don't know what that is, you'll have to come for a visit and try it out!