Samuel and I weren’t preparing to have a get-together with friends on the 4th because everyone was gone or couldn’t come. On Friday, a missionary lady called me and asked if we were planning to have something for the 4th of July. Her call resulted in the planning of a fun Fourth!
The girls and I started our preparations on Sunday night. We worked to get some food and goody bags ready for the 4th. I also wanted to make a special dish for our daughter Brooklyn as I usually prepare their favorite dish on their birthdays.
Brooklyn (who turned 9 on the 4th) wanted mashed potatoes with cheese! I made a big pot using about four pounds of potatoes. She was so excited and took a couple of bites when the potatoes were ready. She sat on a rocking chair, and I even took a picture of her. About 5 seconds after the picture was taken, she accidentally dropped the glass casserole dish, and the whole thing shattered. It happened so fast that, before I could even react, Brooklyn just broke in tears. I felt so bad for her and assured her that it was an accident, but she cried and sobbed for a good 30 minutes. She felt really bad also because she knew that was my favorite casserole dish. What a way to start out the night before her birthday!
We were quite disappointed that most missionaries were either gone or they couldn’t make it to the get-together, but we did have the Rolstons and the Gutierrez family with us. Each couple has three kids, so at least we had a fun group of children.
It took us a while to get to the park. We had wanted to check out this particular park and thought it would be a great idea to go there for the 4th of July. It took us 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there from the edge of Tegucigalpa. It was HORRIBLE DELAY DUE to the construction.
When we finally arrived at the park, we were all ready to eat! We had beans, taco salad, broccoli salad, potato salad, hamburger casserole, banana/chocolate cake and cupcakes! We enjoyed the wonderful food and sweet fellowship. The kids played at the playground and enjoyed baseball and some volleyball. We stayed until the park people told us to leave (the park closes at 4:00 p.m.). Even though we weren’t able to stay longer and it was rainy, we really enjoyed the fellowship! It is great to linger with missionary friends during times like these. I know it meant a lot to my family and to the other missionaries as well. We thank God for His blessings on our 4th of July celebration and Brooklyn’s 9th birthday.
PRAYER REQUEST: Today is July 6. We headed out this morning for a meeting in Campamento where Samuel will be preaching in tonight’s service. Please pray for safety as we go there. We won’t return home until Friday. We are excited to go and visit the Jacobo family. Daniel and Abigail Jacobo just started this ministry and are doing an excellent job. We would like to be an encouragement to him. Please pray for us and for them.
Love,
Julie and the Gang!
"Happy Birthday America AND Brooklyn!"
Brooklyn sampling her birthday cheesy mashed potatoes!