Thida returned before six on Thursday to make breakfast for 50 kids, followed quickly by finishing up mohinga for 400. Did I mention she’s the best?
The bread ladies all came at 9am to make pumpkin bread as a special treat for our Flour & Flowers customers.
From the beginning I’ll say this was the BEST Christmas meal we’ve had yet. We are learning, and have learned this: Delegate. Let somebody else do it better!
So Thursday afternoon found us taking a nap.
By the afternoon, all the food was put into bags and ready to be served. We had some extra time to play games with the kids–repeats of the previous night (below, “Toss the Jingle Bell into the Jar”) and a few made-up-on-the-spot balloon games & races. Did I mention these kids are so easily impressed? We also did another practice of the kid’s songs, just in time for our church to arrive at 5:30pm.
First: singing the first verse of Joy to the World in both Burmese & English; then Hark The Herald Angels Sing in Burmese. This was followed by a dance a couple of the girls have learned at church.
Ah Tee then shared the story of Christmas and the gospel, and did a great little science experiment. We’ve now seen it three times this Christmas, and it’s still impressive! He has a bucket of clean water labeled “person” or “human.” He has lots of little bottles–I believe of iodine?–that are labeled with different sins. He talks about the time they were hungry, and stole something to eat; the time they slept with a prostitute; etc. Each time, he adds more iodine as the water gets darker.
He then adds a cross, which has a little notch in the bottom, and he has stuck a tablet of some sort. (My science friends tell me it’s starch?) As he stirs the water with the cross, the water clears and returns to the clean water. He continues to share about what happens when we sin after Christ–he adds more iodine, and then stirs again until it’s clear–we are purified again and again.
He finished with an invitation for those who want to know Christ, and he got an incredible response, which I wrote more on here. Ultimately, the church did an amazing job! We are so thankful they came to help, allowing us to share the Christmas story in a more relevant and cultural way without translation, and by helping us serve food–our first year without a stampede! Really, no fighting, which is a huge accomplishment.
I’m telling you: delegate. Let somebody else do it better!
