Whole chickens, bone soup, and muffins...oh my

My friend Sofia taught me how to cook chicken over an open fire.  But first, I had to learn to process a whole chicken. There were points of the process that I wished for a machete. Too much bone sawing just makes a stomach churn.  It's on my Christmas list!  Even the our local butcher is pleased as punch that this white lady buys whole chickens -- neck, feet, guts and all.  Keeping it real? I still have to pep-talk myself to process these deliciously fresh cluckers. But, I'm learning....

To the right you see a typical soup with bone and all.  The flavor is amazing but using fingers is a must!

On the left is Reese and her friend Amelie making something like blueberry muffins.  They don't grow blueberries here in Ecuador but we've found a small black-ish berry that works great!! Baking is a big part of each week because we have to make everything from scratch.  We love this because it's healthier and we are learning to organize our days to make time for this necessity.  In fact, the girls are becoming quite the little sous chefs!

Home...on the trail

A day at the river is just what the doctor ordered.  Shell is a small jungle town of about 3,000 people.  We could step out our door and walk about 10 minutes and be in the jungle.  But, this really wouldn't be wise as we are learning which plants are poisonous, which caterpillars will sting you and exactly where the hospital is located!!  So, you can imagine that this Colorado family was overjoyed when another missionary family invited us to hike down to the river with them and roast hot dogs.

The hike was beautiful and just long enough to make us sore the next day but not long enough to ensue groaning and moaning from the kiddos.  Glorious!

Then, we come upon the river and the other kids jumped in the river...like no big deal!  There are piranhas in Ecuador...but they quickly informed us that they live farther south of where we were. So, Georgia followed suit; without hesitation she jumped in the river and rode the current.  There were moments of stress -- flash to Tina screaming at Georgia to signal that she's okay as the river rushes over her head -- but we count it a win in our book.  That girl goes and gets it.

We are a family of hikers and having a trail like this near our house is a big life bonus.  We feel at home on the trail.  God's so faithful to give us pieces of home wherever we go.  What a  Mighty God we serve.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches and glory.  Philippians 4:19