One year turned into three...but I tried a lot of recipes!...like this delicious Fruit Cream

 We stayed at the HCJB compound in Miami for a bit, where someone there offered us a car...for one dollar.  BUT the car wasn't running! However, Germán is, among other things, a trained auto mechanic, so he set to work on the car with borrowed tools, fixed it up, made it work again, and it served us well for the whole time we were in the U.S. trying to raise support.

It usually takes about one year, they told us, but I guess that's for those who have lots of contacts and know lots of people.  Since that wasn't the case with us, our year turned into three. (Besides, with our children in school, we couldn't just pick up anytime we wanted and head for another city for meetings.) They told us to settle in a place where we knew someone, so we went to Dallas, Texas, where my sister and her family lived.  We rented my parents' house (they were still in Ecuador) and enrolled our kids in a Christian school.  (We were reluctant to put them into public schools, as they had both been in the small Christian missionary school in Shell, and the atmosphere would be more what they were used to.)  Germán looked for a job, finding one after several frustrating weeks.  When his potential boss talked to him about his salary and mentioned an amount, Germán told him he really needed more than that...gave him a larger number...and the boss accepted it!  (Thanks, Lord!)
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One of the things I liked about living in the States was that I could expand my cooking experiences! There were many ingredients that were unavailable then in Ecuador, but now I could indulge my avid interest in trying new recipes (and sometimes coming up with my own variations). I enjoy checking out all kinds, including ones from different lands and cultures or time periods (like from ancient history or the Middle Ages). I have had hundreds and hundreds of cook books throughout my 40 years of marriage. (Not all at the same time and in the same place! The most I've had at the same time, in the same place is only about 240.) Of course, although many have been gifts, and a few I've bought,  I certainly couldn't afford to buy hundreds of cook books; however, we lived close to the headquarters for the mission my parents were affiliated with, and on the compound they had a "missionary barrel" that was a little building full of used stuff that had been donated.  We were allowed to "shop" there, too, and I was amazed at how many cook books showed up.  Just about all the categories one could think of!   See, God even supplied tons of free cook books for me! 

Here's the recipe for Fruit Cream a la Rhon.  Try it!  It's easy and really good, a great dessert when you want something light. (Or serve it as an accompaniment to angel food cake.)
       All you need is: 1 cup each - instant vanilla pudding (made according to directions)
                                                  - plain yogurt
                                                  - Cool Whip or sweetened whipped cream
       Mix them very gently together, add 1 - 1 1/2 t. vanilla and about 4 T. sugar (or its equivalent) or to taste.
       Now fold in 1 or 2 cups of fruit - or as much as you like!.  My favorite is crushed pineapple (drained).
       Keep refrigerated. (I like the fact that this is easy to make sugar-free.)
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When we had been in Dallas a year, our support level was still so low that we knew we couldn't return to Ecuador yet. It was discouraging, but then we discovered one of the reasons why God kept us in Dallas for longer than we wanted.  Germán was diagnosed with something fairly serious. I'll tell you about our next "adventure" (or "ordeal"!)  in the next post!