Enchiladas + Salsa + Karaoke + PlayStation = Fiesta!

We hosted an outreach at our house this last Thursday to try to get to know some of the students in the Spanish class a little better. It was a "Girls ONLY" event, and was announced only to the girls who had been coming to both Summer and Fall Spanish classes. Out of the 20 or so girls who had been coming to class, we were expecting 8 at the most, but we weren't sure because we hadn't done anything like this before.

I prepared some enchiladas, hot and mild salsa, rice and beans, as well as some Crystal Light Lemonade. The tortilla chips came from a local grocery store which imports them from Spain; so, we just waited on the 7pm hour to roll around.
It turned out we had 14 guests and we were so excited to be able to have more than what we initially thought. We started the evening off with a round of Crystal Light Lemonade (who would have known Crystal Light could be such a ministry) and EVERYONE wanted to try the lemonade from America.

Next was the unveiling of the enchiladas and tortillas, hot and mild salsa as well as the rice and bean mix. Then the explanations began of what was in what and how to make it and so on...It was the first time for most of these girls to try Mexican style food. One of the girls remarked, "I'm in love with enchiladas!" It made me laugh!

The HOT salsa was more popular than the mild, the enchiladas, tortillas, and chips were gone before the night was over.

Cue dessert, a spread of NO-Bake Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. The NO-Bakes went in a flash...as we all enjoyed the company and sheer silliness of watching friends Karaoke to English songs as if there wasn't a care in the world.

Everyone has asked for the recipes, so I look forward to sharing those in the near future. It was suggested to have another party but next time to invite people over before the cooking starts so they can learn the art of Mexican food too. Others suggested a "Girls ONLY" movie night...so I look forward to future events as I get to know this group of girls even better.

The Great American Pastime in...Macedonia?

YUP.
That's right. The Great American Sport has been transplanted to the soccer fields of Prilep, Macedonia where it was welcomed warmly.

Participants of all ages gathered to learn the basics of this "new" game and actually got the hang of it pretty quickly!

There was basic discussion about how to hold a bat, where the strike zone is, what a foul ball, ball and strike look like...

what happens when there is a pop fly and when it is caught in the air...

what it means when there is a full count, and what it means to be "out"...

and occasional reminders to RUN, RUN, RUN when the batter hits the ball.

Over all, it was a great first time trial, and here's hoping that the people who came will bring a friend to the next "game". Right now American football is taught on Fridays and baseball on Sundays in accordance with the time the field was available for renting. The end goal is to be able to gather enough people to be able to conduct a game or even a tournament, while providing the rules of the game, applications to life, all the while developing relationships and friendships. Please remember the people who attend and will attend, even if it is just to watch.

Once more, we'd like to thank Tree of Life Church in New Braunfels, Tx who provided us the equipment to be able to conduct events like this!