Good to the last what?

I taught Sunday School this morning on Psalm 23. All went well except that the breaker had somehow been flipped and I couldn't get the lights or A/C on when I first arrived. We had a new student who has lived in Africa and the Philippines. I love people with cute accents on their English.

One of my kids in Sunday School could not stop talking about video games any time I asked a question, but he's still getting it, I can tell. This was the kid who a while back I asked you to pray for because his dad had lost his job. Good news--they're still here and the dad got a job...and the kid totally gave God the glory for it when I asked a question about Psalm 23 and being guided by the Shepherd. Kids are listening and watching--so make wise decisions.

I've become a fruit and veggie markdown junkie and thus have an excess of produce. This was my creation for lunch to finish off my markdown tomatoes today. Mmm. I call them sunshine tomatoes. You cut the top off the tomato, scoop out and eat the inside of the tomato, line with slices of cheddar cheese, fill with Tuna, and swirl the top with mustard. Healthy and delicious sandwich alternative--done.

Angie and I met up after lunch and caught up on the last 2 weeks in which she's been busy with grading. She is leaving Macau in 2 weeks. Wow. Time flies.

Athena and I grabbed an early dinner at Cafe E.S. Kimo because I was craving both rice and milk tea. (Yay for carbs!) I ordered a Szechuan style Eggplant dish with rice and Milk Tea with Coconut Flesh. Sorry, I didn't have my camera for a picture.

The book I'm reading about the history of coffee had a few interesting blips in it today. One part was about how Indian coffee is not very coffee-y, but rather very milky. According to the author, this milkiness is in relation to the Hindu's belief that the cow is sacred--this the more milk, the better in their eyes. This reminded me of my Ma making what she called "grandmaw coffee" for me when I was younger. The funny story is that I used to not be able to stand coffee. This grandma coffee of hers was mostly milk with just a touch of coffee (in other words, since I wouldn't drink coffee, she'd covered most of the flavor up). I remember disliking it and think I was even a little rude about it (sorry Ma!). Who'd have known that the same kid now wants to own her own coffee shop (and I like coffee in any form--milky, sweet, or black)

The other interesting coffee fact I learned today was a bit more disgusting, so if you're eating, you might want to stop reading now.  Monkey coffee is the title of the next disgusting bit. Perhaps you've heard of it? It was a first for me, but this 'delicacy' is coffee made from monkey droppings. You didn't read that wrong. Now, apparently the kind that's sold on the market most commonly is actually from a breed of wild cat that eats the ripest of coffee berries as part of its diet. Naturally (?) people go behind and poop scoop, "clean" the droppings, and make an expensive cup of brew. A company named Raven's sells  quarter pound of the stuff in the U.S. for $75 and has a slogan "good to the last dropping." Clever.

After all this cool information, I met Cristiana at CuppaCoffee. We chatted until going to meet up with 2 friends of hers for the Portuguese church service. I went for the first time to the night service a few weeks ago, as did her friend Oscar. Last week I was unable to join, but our friend has now become a brother in Christ. What a neat transformation that just started with an invitation. This week, Cristiana invited a Korean friend of hers. The girl has got a gift for meshing with people and being very open to introducing people to our Savior. Cool stuff.

The service was really neat--we sang songs in both English and Chinese (they had the translation and pronunciation on the screen) and then the service was simultaneously translated from Portuguese to English.What a neat community to be part of.

This week is getting off to a good start. Please remember Athena in your prayers--her grandmother passed away this past week and she'll be ducking out to be with family for a bit. Tough stuff.

Have some love to start your week off!