Dinner Guests

For quite some time, Marc and I have talked about having our friends, the Estradas out for supper. Last week, I decided it was time to do just that. Last Saturday, Marc asked Timoteo for Saturday night, last night.

Timoteo works tirelessly at everything he does at Baxter, at the Los Pinos church and for Torch. Over the years, we have become good friends with his family. He and his sons work for Torch. One of his sons, Milton, is the one that helped me get my driver's license earlier this week.

I decided to make an American meal for them, one of our favorites: chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans and bacon. There is more than one reason while in Honduras we eat as the Hondurans do. Not only are American products hard to find, the ones that can be found have been imported and, therefore, costly.

As I began to prepare for and anticipate having guests, I felt light-hearted and almost giddy, just as I did as I anticipated having friends in my home when I lived in the states. I went to town on Thursday to buy the necessary groceries. It took many stops to find the things I needed. Bacon cost $8.45 a pound. Yes, for one pound. I eventually quit looking at the prices. This was special. I don't do it very often and I was not going to fret over the cost.

Yesterday, I had more fun as I began to prepare this meal, even with the challenges of cooking for that many people in such a small workspace. Normally, my coffee pot sits on the counter space. That fills the whole work space. I sat the coffee pot on top of the refrigerator and dealt with the challenges. Living here has taught me to deal with challenges such as this.

I fully intended to change clothes before my guests arrived, but didn't want to change while I was still slinging flour everywhere. In true Honduran fashion, I was not through cooking when the Estradas arrived, Timoteo, his wife, five kids, and Timoteo's parents. They were all dressed up and I still had not changed my clothes. I did not worry about it too long.

I finished cooking and Marc helped me get it all on the table. Marc explained this was one of our favorite meals from the states. Timoteo prayed and then all was silent as the eating began. There was no conversation except between Marc and I. I would say Timoteo and the boys loved the chicken fried steak. Not so sure about the wife and daughter. They all loved the gravy, even if it was too thick. There was not one drop of gravy left.

I made a simple cherry cheesecake for dessert. Everyone got huge laughs as they tried to teach me to say cherry in spanish. I could not say the word, or rather, I could not say it correctly.

We had a great evening of fellowship with our friends. I hope I do not wait so long to have dinner guests again.

Terri