Cookies and Banana Bread

October 22, 2021

Today, 3 members of the Women's Office at the Municipality came over to our home to have me show them how to make Banana Bread.  I took some banana bread over to the Mayor's office to watch the big soccer game (the Mayor's office overlooks the soccer field), and they wanted to learn how to make it.  Gady translated the recipe into Spanish, and they each brought some of the ingredients.  They had a hard time getting "butter" and nuts, so I told them margarine was OK, and I furnished the walnuts I brought from Utah.  Gady said there is a place to buy walnuts in Coban, but I haven't seen it yet.  Up to now I have only been able to buy peanuts here.  

We had some fun discussions, waiting for the oven to heat up (I thought I had turned it on, but I forgot to get the gas started), waiting for the small bread loaves to cook, and then cool.  Gady was interpreting for me.  (We made four small loaves of banana bread, one for each of them and Gady.)

 

I asked them what they needed me to help them with (I thought about some big humanitarian needs), and they said, "how to make cookies!"  Then, when we were waiting for the loaves to cool I realized that I had a full pizza that I made for yesterday that had not been eaten (ham and pineapple).  So I brought it out, and warmed it up.  Now they want me to teach them how to make pizza.  They said, "We should have a bakery and name it Susan."  Several people have suggested that I should have a pizza store (every time I make pizza), but I told them that is not what I am here for.   But, as I think about it, maybe it would be a good way to build "relationships of trust."  ???