Birthday Surprises!

I got kicked out of my own kitchen the day before my birthday!  When I peeked around the corner, this is what I saw...

 

Matt and the girls were concocting something....which I found out later was.... 

A gingerbread lady and some gingerbread cookies!  They were so yummy!

For my birthday on Friday, we went to the zoo and had a great time.  The restaurant we wanted to eat at is all closed up, so we had to eat at a different place, but it was still yummy!  We had "Pollo a la Brasa" (Rotisserie Chicken) which is a favorite of mine!  Matt even ordered some "cuy" (guinea pig).  It was good!

"Cuy" (Guinea Pig) Anyone?

After we had been home a little while, I asked Matt, "What are we going to do for supper?"  He just smiled at me mysteriously.  I stopped asking questions.  A little while later, Abraham (one of the young men in the church) showed up at our door with a bowl of onion and tomato salad.  For a moment it was awkward - I think I wasn't supposed to be sitting in the living room when he came in, but I was.....anyways a few minutes after that all the ladies that live here in Efata showed up to have dinner with me! 

We had the onion and tomato salad with my favorite...Papas Rellenas (Meat filling with mashed potatoes all around the outside and deep fried)!  Am I making you hungry?  Then we went downstairs and had cake with everyone!

When the ladies came, they brought me something very special....two plants - a Cyclamen and an African Violet!  The African Violet was extra special, because it reminds me of my Grandma Knapp - she always had African Violets on her window sills!

One of my last gifts of the day, was a gift from the two young Deaf men that go to Callao with us - Frank and Hugo.  They bought me this beautiful picture!  I couldn't help but have tears in my eyes when I saw what was in the package!  I can hardly wait to get it hung on my living room wall!

God gave me one of the best birthdays I have ever had, and I am thankful for another year to be able to serve Him!