It’s been a productive and smooth transition into full time deputation. Traveling on weekends has been a great way to ease into things and to “work out the kinks,” if I can call it that. Mostly kinks with toddlers. *smile* We covet your prayers as we venture into full-time travel starting in the beginning of 2018. We plan to be away for four months! (Tips for packing light? hehe) The main reason we must return is a small reason. Well…small in size anyway. I’m projecting approximately 7 1/2 lbs. since that’s what my other babies were. Yes! We will be welcoming Baby Hall #3 at the end of May. We are so excited!
It’s been five months since we returned from our long trip to Thailand. It’s funny, while we were there I endlessly craved a juicy beef burger. You know…the kind that you want to eat in the privacy of your home because it’s so messy – the kind of burger that you might need a knife and fork to eat. This might have had something to do with the serious lack of good beef in Thailand.
I also discovered that I really loved marshmallows. Because I couldn’t have them. (I have plans to learn to make them myself.) I found a bag of mini marshmallows one time in Chiang Mei (four hours away) and savored that bag till the last little morsel. Who knew?! And you would never guess this but Thai food was in abundance *wink* and it was inexpensive. And delicious! And sometimes that made it really hard to be motivated to figure out the learning curve of cooking in a new environment. We loved it! But it never satisfied that craving for American food, of course.
Fast forward to a short time after returning to America. Yes…I consumed that delicious beef burger. I have a healthy supply of marshmallows on hand (drinking hot chocolate as we “speak”). But you know what I miss now? You guessed it. Thai food. Why is it that we crave what we can’t easily have? Human nature is what it is. I know the thought of craving certain foods can seem a little comical, but how many other areas of life does this spill over into? How dissatisfied do we become when we feel that we “deserve” something and we can’t be happy without it? We seek to fulfill it in any way we can and still come away dissatisfied.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned,
in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say,
Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain?”Philippians 4:11 & Proverbs 30:8-9
God desires nothing but good for us. Sometimes what we experience may not seem “good” in our eyes. Just as it doesn’t appear “good” to my toddler that she eat her carrots before she can have ice cream. But realizing the almighty Father’s intentions toward us and His mighty power to give “good and perfect gifts” can greatly affect our attitude in every area of life.
While we were in Thailand, a good friend taught me how to make my favorite dish from the restaurant where he was a chef. So now I would like to share it with you so that you can have a little taste of Thailand. Enjoy!
Cashew Nut Chicken
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Med. yellow Onion
1 Garlic clove, minced
1/2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp oyster sauce (found in the Asian section at the store)
3/4 cup cashews (roasted, salted or unsalted)
3 green onions, cut into one inch pieces
1 Chicken Breast, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pan and saute chicken until mostly cooked. While the chicken is cooking, prepare your vegetables. Dice the peppers & yellow onions. Once the chicken is mostly cooked, add the vegetables (minus the green onions) and garlic. Saute until slightly tender. You want a slight crunch but not raw. Once the vegetables are cooked add the sugar, oyster sauce, and salt. Do a taste test to adjust sauce to taste. Remove from heat and add the cashews and green onions. Serve immediately over rice.
Serving the Lord in the country of Thailand, Alyssa is the wife of missionary Benjamin Hall and mom to five young kids. Each day seems to bring new adventures as she studies the Thai language, homeschools, and ministers to the many little hands that reach for hers. Of course, music is almost always part of the day, whether by listening, singing, or playing and it now echoes through the voices of little ones. Read Alyssa’s salvation testimony here.