A Belated Birthday Story

Preparation:

“A cake?  Sure, I can do a cake!” was the thought running through my mind as I was thinking of what I could do for Noah’s birthday.  First problem . . . I’m not in the US!  So, I went to a local friend and told her what I was hoping to do.  No problem!  She gave me one of her favorite Suisse recipes for a carrot cake.  I briefly glanced over and recognized all the ingredients and thought it seemed fairly simple.    Second problem . . . when I got home, I realized that the amounts of all the ingredients were listed in grams!  How do you measure 250 grams of flour?!  I found the measuring cup that someone had loaned me and saw that it measured out deciliters and ounces.  Ok, I really liked math in high school, but this I do not remember!  And we don’t have internet at home, so what to do next?  I went to the local small grocery store with my measuring cup and recipe in hand, hoping this and my little bit of French would be enough to help me.  Thankfully there were no other customers.  So through my broken French and a lot of pointing I was able to communicate my story, and what she communicated back was she didn’t know either!  However, she told me that I could come in with all the ingredients and weigh all of them on the scale there!  Problem solved!  After weighing out the ingredients, I went home and started to mix them all together.  In a separate bowl I was to beat 6 egg whites until they were stiff.  In the US, this wouldn’t have been a problem, pull out the mixer, turn it on, and go around the bowl a few times and after a minute or two, viola!  Third problem: I don’t have a mixer!  Solution: a willing husband!!  After 2 very tired arms the egg whites were beaten and stiff!  And thankfully there were no more problems!!

 Where and Who:

One of the church’s outreaches here is a soup kitchen that provides a lunch every Wednesday.  During that time, they also have a short devotional that shares an encouraging message from the Bible.  As the visiting missionaries, we were invited to attend these lunches, to help practice our French and also as a way of ministry and getting to know others.  It has been very interesting getting to know the people who come to these lunches.  Many who have come to live in Switzerland from as close as Italy to as far away as Mexico and Africa, and some have been through tough times.  Noah has become one of the highlights for people there at the lunch.  He already has a few “adopted grandparents” there.  So we thought the Wednesday Soup Lunch the perfect place to celebrate Noah’s first birthday!  You should have seen his look of surprise and awe when they brought out the cake and as everyone was focused on him and singing “Bon Anniversaire!” He wasn’t quite sure what to do with the candle, but he had no hesitation of what to do when it came to the cake!  We were also really blessed as almost everyone came up to him afterwards and wished him a happy birthday! –in French of course!

 Why:

It’s been amazing to see the changes that have taken place in Noah over just one year!  I think of when he was first born and needed to be fed and taken care of every 2-4 hours to now when he is starting to feed himself with a spoon and it won’t be too much longer before he walks on his own!  I feel very blessed to have been given charge of Noah and a great awe for God’s creation.  Isn’t it amazing to think that God created our inmost being and that he knows when we sit and rise, he knows our thoughts, and is familiar with all of our ways!  And that He has written down our days before even one of them has come to be! (Psalm 139) That is how precious we are to him, down to even the smallest detail of how many hairs we have on our head!  I thank God for the gift of Noah and pray that we may be parents that honor God in the way that we raise him!

Bon Anniversaire Noah!  And Thank you Lord!