Hope Spot 46 – What’s on the menu?

I don’t know how something so simple can taste so good.

The Chow Mein I cooked last night.

Such humble ingredients. Cabbage. Mince meat. Rice. A pack of no-name Chicken Noodle Soup. Some curry.

As a kid, growing up, Chow Mein (or Chop Suey) was a once-a-week electric-frypan-full staple. I guess because we liked it … and because mum and dad had no money, and this was cheap and filling for a family of six.

I love the ‘Method’ too.

Fry. Add. Cook.

None of that fancy cheffy blah blah here. Just get on with it. (So you have time to get on with all the other things that need doing.)

It got me thinking about what you do for people in need through ALWS.

The help you provide is often quite humble. Teaching people how to make animal manure fertiliser. Using compost. Planting in rows. Building toilets. Raising rabbits.

Using what’s cheap and available.

Stretching limited resources to make a big impact.

Making people happy with what is achieved. Just like Pascasie in Burundi with her new fuel-efficient stove:

I reckon your 2024 ALWS Gifts of Grace catalogue could just about provide the ingredients for a Chow Mein too. Take a look:

Ingredients

• Mince – Bunny – $23 (or Chickens – $81 or even Goat – $175)

• Cabbage, Onion, Celery – Grow a Garden – $5 or Tip a Tool – $5)

• Rice – Fortify a Farmer – $46

Method: Stoke a Stove – $7

The real Chow Mein recipe I’ve shared with you comes from my favourite recipe book:  

My Lutheran Church at Lilydale put this together 40 years ago to raise money to pay for the log cabin church we built.

There are lots of recipes as simple as the Chow Mein, but also fancy stuff like a Berry Torte and best-ever Chocolate Cheesecake.

Yes, I know the Recipe Book looks a bit battered and worn …

… but that just shows how practical and hard-working this humble expression of faith and hope and love has been.

To me, those are the ingredients for true success, and that’s exactly what I see in you (minus the battered and worn!) in your kindness through ALWS.

Thank you for all the goodness you cook up. You’re a blessing ALWayS!