Valerie – Page 65 – Valerie's Voice

Feed My Starving Children

I helped make a meal for 37,000 children yesterday.

I volunteered at Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit Christian organization that packages nutritious meals to be sent to hungry children around the world. Over 37,000 meals were assembled in our two hour shift.

Four of us from my church drove up to Eagan to the FMSC facility to help pack food packages. We were among one hundred volunteers working during our time slot. The system is a streamlined assembly-line process that allows for a team of six to eight people working together at one of several stations to get a lot of meals packed in a short amount of time.

The packaged meal consists of rice, soy, freeze-dried vegetables and vitamins. By adding water to the contents, a nutritional meal is ready to eat. They say that 99% of their meal packets make it successfully to their destinations. They believe prayer plays a big part in that success since they pray over every box that is shipped out of the warehouses.

FMSC: work stations filled with volunteers.

I like to support this organization both financially and by volunteering at one of the three packing centers here in the metro area. If we are looking for a unique gift, or are at a lost for a gift idea, donating money to this cause in someone’s honor, is a great solution.

It’s a successful program and the need is great. I feel time spent helping this organization is worth it. I believe they are making a difference in the lives of thousands, if not millions, of children around the world and I hope to volunteer more often now that I’m retired.

Memorable Hikes – Glacier National Park, Montana 1989

Continuing my series on memorable hikes…

Our boys were ages 7 and 5 at the time we took two weeks and drove to and from Glacier National Park in our mini-van, and camped for six nights in the park. Our guys were troopers – we took several hikes during our stay and overall we all hiked a total of 23 miles. We made the boys certificates at the end of the week (I can still picture us around the picnic table creating them) certifying their accomplishment and they were pleased.

A favorite picture of my two boys, 1989.

The most memorable part of the hikes was the boys carrying the hiking sticks we bought them early on. The wooden sticks had the name Glacier National Park burned into them and they had a leather loop handle with bells on them. The bells served a purpose. The bells made noise to scare off grizzly bears – to let the bears know we were on the trail. The park is home to many Grizzly bears – in this beautiful place they tolerate humans – sometimes. The first day we arrived we overheard the ranger telling of a grizzly bear mauling some hikers on a back-country trail as they neared the mama’s cubs. One needs to take the bears seriously! Fortunately we did not run into any grizzly bears on the trails.

The miles we accumulated that week were from hiking to or around Hidden Lake, Avalanche Lake, St. Mary’s Lake, Twin Falls via Trick falls and a boat ride, Ptagrin Falls, Swift Current Lake, and Grinnell Lake

Glacier is a beautiful place. It’s one of my favorite national parks and I have wonderful memories of it.

Moon Shine

The skies are clear and there is plenty of moon shine these nights. The moon was full on January 1, 2018. It is not only a full moon but also a supermoon. A supermoon happens when the full moon coincides with the moon’s closest distance to earth in its orbit. Supermoons make the moon appear a little brighter and closer than normal.

There will be a full moon on January 31, 2018 too. And because it will be the second full moon in the same month it is called a blue Moon. This will also be a supermoon. This time it will also involve a total lunar eclipse, which is when the earth passes directly between the sun and the moon and casts a shadow on the moon.

I can sometimes see the moon outside my bedroom window while lying in bed. It is a beautiful sight. I find the moon very interesting. When I was much younger I wrote a letter to Pan Am Airways (an airline now defunct) and I asked to be put added to their waiting list of passengers interested in flying to the moon. They actually wrote back and said their list was full! Bummer! I believe I still have that letter in a memory box somewhere.

Enjoy the full, blue and super moons, no matter where you live.

Happy New Year

Here’s to 2018!

Memorable Hikes – Ulongué, Mozambique 2009

Continuing my series on memorable hikes…

My husband and I and our oldest son took a trip to visit our youngest son living in Mozambique Africa. This was our first trip to Africa and we were very excited to see where our son, Tim, lived, to wander around in his current surroundings, and meet the people in his life. Also, all four of us went on a safari in South Africa. We had a great experience and created many memories. This is one of the memorable hikes we took in Africa: a hike in Ulongué, Mozambique.

Ulongué is the village where my son lived. We were eager to see Tim’s small, four-room house, with an outhouse in the back and a water well, and banana tree in the front. When we arrived, near dark, Tim’s friend had made sure the dirt in his front yard had been swept so Tim’s house would look welcoming for us when we arrived (which I found endearing).

One day we decided to hike to the market on the other side of the village of Ulongué, about an hour walk from his house. We walked on dirt paths through neighborhoods filled with children. We took pictures of the children playing and they excitedly ran up to us to see their pictures on our digital cameras. As we walked through streets people watched us curiously.

The curious children looking at their pictures.

We were hiking to the permanent, outdoor market with multiple stands selling a variety of wares along with many produce stands. I bought several colorful fabric pieces. My husband was intrigued by the bicycle shop.

When we finished shopping Tim led us on a longer trek outside of town, on a footpath behind the village, to return to his house. The terrain was picturesque: beautiful, open countryside. As we walked back into town we passed several folks drying maize in the hot sun on blankets.

Photo of a photo on the trail back to Tim’s house in Ulongué.

We enjoyed walking two different routes to and from the market, and managed to take a family photo along the footpath behind the village.

Photo of the family photo on trail outside of Ulongué.

A Good Laugh

Part of our Christmas celebrations this year was the traditional gathering at my cousin’s house, with my only living uncle, who turned 90 this past year and his wife, some cousins and other family members. This is a tradition from my side of the family and we always enjoy our time together when we are around and able to participate. The gathering starts in the afternoon so people can leave in time to attend Christmas Eve services. The following day we spent with our son and his wife and their beautiful eight month-old daughter.

Christmas Eve service at Valley Grove Church, complete with snow coming down.

Gary and I like to attend a candlelight service at a country church in Nerstrand, Minnesota. Valley Grove Church is a historic church built in 1894. The church is inactive except for special events. Every year they open the doors for a late Christmas Eve service. Attenders hear good music, sing Christmas carols, hear the gospel message and at the end of the service sing Silent Night as each person holds a lit candle and the lights dim. It’s delightful and nostalgic time. This year there was an perfectly shaped, especially large Christmas tree up front.

A beautiful Christmas tree filling the front of the church.

Sometimes we see people we know. This year as we were leaving the service I told my husband to go ahead to warm up the car while I took a few photos on this cold Christmas Eve. Soon I headed for the car and when I got in and looked over to the driver’s side there was a strange guy sitting in the driver’s seat. It took a few minutes to register that I had gotten into the wrong car! Fortunately I knew the stranger (he was a friend’s husband) and we started to laugh…it was funny. I got out of his car and went two parking spaces down to my own car which is the same make, model and year of my friend’s car. I got in and there was my husband…wondering what was going on.

Soon I got a text from my friend, the wife of the “stranger”, telling me she was “laughing so hard right now!” after being told what had happened.

It was quite comical. Laughter is good medicine.

Merry Christmas!

Memorable Hikes – Lisbon, Portugal 2016

Continuing my series on memorable hikes…

This is one of my favorite photos of me and my granddaughter taken in Portugal, at Christmastime a year ago. And although we didn’t go on any official hikes the two weeks we were there, we did do a lot of walking around Lisbon and I consider this one of my memorable hikes – on Christmas Day 2016.

Créches

When I learned out about a Crèche Exhibition from Audrey Helbling’s Minnesota Prairie Roots blog I knew I wanted to go see it this Christmas season. The exhibit features several of Kathleen Putrah’s Crèches she has collected from around the world. The exhibit is in the Carlander Family Gallery at the Paradise Theater in Faribault, Minnesota.

Porcelain, through glass…tough to get a good photo.

One of my favorites…this included many African wild animals coming to the stable.

Each crèche was distinctive. They were made from all kinds of materials: wood, porcelain, glass, there were icons and paintings and a quilt. There was a large Christmas tree in the corner and it was loaded with all manner of manger scene ornaments.

A Christmas tree in the corner was full of manger scene decorations.

The display in the Gallery was fun to look at however the crèches were not identified as to where they came from. That would have added a lot of interest to the collection. I always like to hear the stories. Apparently the display is a partial collection from the many crèches Kathleen has in her home. She started collecting in 1974.

A sweet picture of Joseph with Mary kissing her baby.

I have my own mini-crèche collection. I never intended to collect them. I have six and I display them every Christmas.

It started with a gift from my mother. She purchased a manger scene, carved from olive wood, when she was on a trip to Israel many years ago. It is special and beautiful.

My own clay interpretation of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus that I made when I was a child.

I wish I remembered what year I made this clay sculpture of the nativity scene.

My sons brought this for me from their travels in South America.

I inherited the embroidered picture of the manger scene from my mom.

My mother framed this card she received from her grandson who brought it from Africa.

In 2014 our family spent Christmas in Africa and I brought this home with me.

In 2016 our family spent Christmas in Portugal and I bought this home with me.

The créche exhibition at the Paradise Theater closes Friday, December 22.

A Children’s Christmas Program

Children’s Program Bulletin for 12/17/17

Our church’s children’s program was performed last Sunday: O Come, Let Us Adore Him. One of my favorite Sundays in the church year is the day the children put on a Christmas program. I love to see the children all dressed up, some in shepherd’s clothing, some with angel wings, all cute. It’s fun to hear them sing, read their lines and perform solos, all the while other kids are fidgeting and waving to the their mom or dad, and adjusting their halos. It’s pure and innocent. I know I’m not alone in finding joy watching the children tell the story of Jesus and his birth each year at Christmastime.

The children of Emmaus Church in the Christmas Program, December 2017

After the program the kids all received a treat bag with candy and popcorn balls. It brought back memories of receiving my own treat bag at the church I grew up in after participating in our Christmas Pageant. Our bags were filled with ribbon candy, and an orange, and some walnuts in the shell, if I remember correctly.

The beauty of this pageant tradition is they are telling the same wonderful story every year but we are seeing it with fresh eyes by watching our children act and sing it out once again.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14