Aside from VBS planning, I had volunteered to be one of the "school's cooks" and I have been approved. So beginning on Monday, I will be teaching a Home Ec. class three days next week. And I have learned that my job entails much more than simply explaining the process of cooking one's chicken before mixing it in a sauce or measuring the ingredients before adding them to a casserole. I was to come up with several different, "easy" recipes and buy the specific ingredients required. I soon realized that "teaching Home Ec." was not quite as simple as it had sounded. First of all, I had to organize everything and make a list of each item needed--such as, for two separate recipes, I needed sour cream. How much did I need for each? Could I only buy one or did I need two? Would it be cheaper to buy one large one or two smaller ones? I made similar decisions with each ingredient--not to mention I am planning to cook for sixteen people everyday; so the recipes must be doubled or tripled. I had to determine how many pounds of chicken would feed sixteen people for three meals, all depending upon what we made. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike math?! But only for the students and because Betsy asked, do I subject myself to such things. But little did I know, that the planning and list-making was just the beginning.
You see, after lunch, I was to meet Tess at the car with a well-written list of supplies and a check. No problem. And this time, I arrived on time. We first stopped at the bank to cash our check for the necessary school supplies. And already feeling exhausted since we did not get much sleep the night prior, we decided to stop along the way for some much-needed caffeine. We each asked for a large Pepsi, not realizing that the cup they gave us was nearly a half gallon. (But later we would be very grateful for this new development as we were up long past mid-night, driving to San Juan to pick-up a new staff member.) Then we drove on into town to the store. We compared lists and agreed to begin with dorm and VBS supplies: craft items, indoor decorations for VBS, sheets for the students' beds, etc. It was a disastrous three hours that we wandered through the store in search of adhesive foam letters and bed-sheets. At one point, we were searching through a shelf, haphazardly stacked with things, only to have everything come crashing down. Honestly, only us, right? It was a struggle as we shoved things back on the shelf, other objects would fall. It was utterly futile. Finally, after our third and final attempt, Tess whispered, "Okay, on the count of three, we're going to flee the scene. Go!" Laughing like a couple of goofballs, we high-tailed it out of there. (And note also that we were pumped on caffeine, so everything appeared exceptionally hilarious.) Although we soon found bed-sheets and added them to our full shopping-cart. At one point, we were forced to abandon our cart along a dark aisle and investigate a shelf full of craft supplies...only to return and discover our cart missing! Tess and I simply stood there in stunned silence. For real?! We had spent three hours searching for that stuff and had gone to great lengths to get it. I was genuinely surprised at the amount of panic one over-stuffed cart could evoke. But after running around like a pair of lost little kids in search of their mother, we finally found it neglected at the back of the store, our merchandise apparently rendered boring and useless. I am not sure if I have ever laughed so hard.
When we had the last item crossed off our VBS/dorm list, we joined the others already waiting in the long line to check-out. Becoming bored, we decided to have a conversation only in Sign. I wished myself luck. We chatted, told amusing stories and discussed different sign variations until it was finally our turn. We unloaded the cart and while the cashier slowly rung things up, we continued our conversation in Sign. When we were finished, we decided against purchasing one of the VBS supplies and when Tess motioned that she didn't want it, the cashier responded in Sign! Who knew?! We simply stood there in stunned silence, staring at her and trying frantically to recollect what we had been discussing for the past half hour, fearing she had understood something personal. But oh well, it is what it is. That will teach me to be more discrete. But it's not everyday you meet someone who randomly knows Sign.
Half an hour later, this time in Sam's Club, Tess dared me to go the entire way through the store without talking, communicating only via Sign. Okay, I could do this. But I was not completely prepared for ordering my food without talking. She texted and showed the lady what she wanted and she got by swimmingly....And then, there was me. I pointed to the pizza and she said they were not done so I must wait. And although I didn't completely understand her Spanish, I got the general idea. She must have realized I did not know much Spanish because she quickly switched to English. Then, to Tess and I's surprise, the lady's coworker stopped mid-motion and asked, "Wait, you know English?" That as absolutely hilarious and made me wonder how long they had been working together and never knew that.
Tess and I estimated the approximate cost of our purchases, fearing we had exceeded Betsy's pre-determined budget. But soon realized to our great delight, that after splurging on dorm and VBS things, and buying a ton of food, we had only used about half the money she had given us! Score! God is so good! Now we can use the remaining money to purchase school lunches for next week.
But, needless to say, I endured the remainder of our silent shopping trip and greatly enjoyed it. After signing for five hours, I returned feeling more confident in my Signing abilities and more sure of myself. Tess is a wonderful teacher and answered so many of the questions that had been swirling around in my head. (What a relief!) For months, I have been praying for boldness. And God has been showing me lately that as I step out of my comfort-zone, He is always there, giving me the courage to press on. When I agree to step out of the boat, He is right there to catch me. I have begun to see that I have done and said things here, that I would not have normally said; but because He is there with me, encouraging me and giving me the strength to do it, I have been stepping out! So cool.
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