Nun Bread

Nun bread sounds pretty weird I am sure. It is a name that we gave to a special bread made by a nun in Mississippi, a sister of one of our neighbors. It is a type of a European bread, called potica. Made from many layers of thin dough and combined with dried fruits and nuts. It is heavenly, if you will excuse my pun. Our neighbor shared some with us which I squirreled away in the freezer. Sad to say we ate the last of it this week – as I was digging in the freezer as I thought we had more, but alas, no such luck. We will have to wait until next winter to taste this delicious treat again.

it looks weird, but is delicious

We have been watering and fertilizing (actually Betsy Bluebonnet has been doing all of the fertilizing) a volunteer squash plant of one of our neighbors. It is huge! We had to train it to grow out towards the road and back on his patio, otherwise it was taking over all of the yard between the trailers. So far, I do not see any squash but Miss Opal assures us that some will appear. Fred threatens that if it does not produce it will be gone!!!!

a squash plant gone rogue

We went to Mexico to pick up a few things yesterday leaving early in the morning as it was predicted to be hot and humid. We arrived about 9 AM and were gone by 11 – but I did not imagine that it would be so busy – the streets were crowded and the hawkers were out in full force. Because our insurance does not cover Fred’s inhalers (over $300 each here in the states) we picked up some there – over all we saved over $1000 – yep, I know it sounds ludicrous, but that seems the way the insane insurance system seems to work. The life sustaining medication costs a fortune, the common pills are only $3 or no cost – it sure to be backwards. Why does not the insurance pay for the high dollar life sustaining medication and let the people pay for the low dollar stuff?? Too easy I guess. Enough for now, I am off my soap box.

The lake here in the park is getting filled up with water now that the area around the lake has been cleaned up. It looks wonderful thanks to the hard work of the maintenance workers here in the park who worked in the sweltering 100-degree weather to get it done. Special thanks to Mary, Mary, Pablo, and Lester for a job well done.

the duck family enjoying the water

We have been blessed again this week as on Wednesday we received an additional contribution of produce which enabled us to distribute to the second colonial that the Lord has brought to us We were not sure if we could handle it sufficiently but because the additional contribution it seems to be a reality. We are hoping that it will continue as we can only serve this additional colonia as long as the additional produce comes in – not because there is an ample supple (God always provides) but because there is no way of keeping the produce fresh from a Friday to the following Wednesday. We are praying for additional help for Ida so she is handling this additional work herself. Pray that the Lord leads someone to volunteer – someone dedicated to helping those in need.

Today’s sermon was a continuation of “The Last Judge”, the story of Samuel and the difficulty of leadership. Society thinks that when people become older, they become less productive, less able to be in a leadership position. Right now, we are living in difficult times – the church becomes less productive as people become complacent about the growth and influence of the church. Samuel became old, his sons did not follow in his footsteps, so the church leaders went to him and asked for a king, rather than a judge. After Samuel talked to God who told him to let them appoint a king, Samuel cautioned the leaders on the disadvantage of having a king that would rule like a monarch – their land would belong to the king, their sons would be called into the king’s service, their daughters would be called to be servants of the king. The people refused to listen and continued to beg for a king so they would have someone to fight their battles – to judge them, to led them, and to fight for them. The people thought that other nations were better off with a king – the green grass syndrome. In difficult times, we want what others have. We also want what is easy. It is easier to listen to a physical being than the quiet voice of God (although sometimes Him needs to shout to get our attention). We tend to want a super hero in difficult times. We want someone to fix our problems, we pray and want an immediate answer. But that is not how God works.  As a side note, we were praying for specific result in our life, noting all the pros and cons, the what ifs and what nots of the situation. In other words, getting ahead of God. He went on ahead of us to solve the situation – can you not just see Him sitting there saying “OK this is what you want – just hang on and watch me do it My way”. What a great God we serve. Back to the sermon -  We need to pray in both difficult and prosperous times, not just when we are in need. How are we handling the movement of God in our country, our church, and in our lives?? Are we listening to God – or are we trying to “fix” it ourselves??

For those who remember Chaplain Dennis and Sally Maloney - here they are today! Doesn't Dennis look different in a beard and mustache??? Miss them so much.