Giving away fruits and vegetables has become an interesting way to spend time with my children and to meet people passing by and neighbors...
Each week we receive donations at the Casa de Apoio and when there are "left overs" we find ourselves with the challenge of finding who to give these perishables to before they go bad. When I was with Shalom I thought it would be fun to give the food away at the door. Popular opinion declared... "people wont take even free stuff because of their pride". Well everything is so expensive now its not hard for folks to lose their pride to get a bit of free food!
Theo began to Yell... "Free Bananas, tomatos and xu xu!!!" Over and over. In Portuguese Xu xu is a vegetable but is pronounced (shu shu) and he would get xu xu mixed up with "xi xi" which in Portuguese is (Pee Pee)! Then he would giggle only as a 4 year old can, knowing that all bodily functions are the funniest thing in the world to make mention of.
My daughter screams out "Hey you boy! Hey you woman! Free food!" She will even grab a complete stranger by the hand and offer them something thats not on the list to give away! Next thing you see is someone walking past you being led by usually two or three fingers and hearing Shalom offer everything that is in the kitchen!
The point is that it was a very good experience for us to have together. I'm sure they will remember these memories. It was a busy Saturday, but we had a good time together.
Some years back we received an offering from a German friend and missionary to "do good to the community with". Together with another friend and Welsh missionary friend of mine, we had the idea of buying a "PoP corn machine" to use in many different ways. It would be a way of investing in something that would continually bless.
Over the years it has been used to help generate income for those who are unemployed, or for parties for children and for other creative ministry ideas. Richard the Welsh missionary has had it in his care since it was made but recently called me to let me know that it was available to be taken in a new direction.
So tonight we went to pick it up from the church where it was stored and we will take it in a new direction for a period of two years or so to see what will happen. I have offered it to the church where I have attended for the last several years to use it to raise money for missions. The church also has the idea of taking it to city squares and simply giving away pop corn as a way to evangelize people! I hope to have some cool things to share with you in the future!
My dads ship: U.S.S. William H. Butner
