There have been a few times in my life when I have heard from the Lord "out loud". But they were few and far between. One of those times was last October. In October 2009 I was studying the Bible, that is what I love to do even more than cooking and baking. I love to read the Bible. I was complaining to the Lord as I studied. I told Him that I felt like all I did was study and yet I didn't feel that I was able to teach as much as I wanted to.
It is true, I have a Bible Study in my house occasionally, I teach at several churches on a somewhat regular basis, I teach the Bible at the Cobra Police Camp sometimes, I teach in the prison when I am able to, but the truth is, I am a frustrated teacher. I study so much and I love to teach... but people are not really responsible about showing up to their Bible classes. I study about 10 hours for each 1 hour of teaching, so I put a lot of effort into each and every Bible study.
But if Tia (aunt) Suyapa gets a cold it is a reason to "no show" for the Bible study. If Tio Sergio is arriving from the USA to visit next week, it is a great reason skip Bible Study this week. I was convinced that I heard from Him (God). He said, "Quit complaining and keep studying. You will have a television program and a radio program soon and you need to get prepared." I was so startled that I was speechless. You can ask my husband, speechless is not an adjective to describe Teresa Searcy. I used to tease Mike a lot telling him that he had selective hearing, but he swore he didn't hear me. I finally had a hearing screening done on him and guess what, he hears just fine. So needless to say, speechless I am not.
Anyway this time, I was speechless because I had not thought about having a television program. I had not thought of having a radio program. I just love to teach. I occasionally teach at Palabra Revelada (Revealed Word) Church here in Tegucigalpa and all of their programs are taped and on television, but I never thought of having my own program. My Spanish is not perfect and I am a stickler about being understood, especially when the Bible is involved.
Since last October, I have been studying and researching and writing and pulling together enough for several months of teachings. I have pulled together a format for the program and I have continued to study. I stopped by the television station in San Lorenzo a small less expensive market, but had not heard back from them on pricing.
Last Friday I was in a planning meeting scheduling all of the eye exam outreach teams and eye surgery teams for this year and after the meeting I was asked by a friend what I had been doing. I explained that I had been delivering wheelchairs, baking, trying to lose weight and studying for my new television and radio program. She asked me what channel the program was on and I told her I didn't know. When I said, "I don't know." She just looked at me. We continued discussing other things and then she returned to the television and radio program subject.
Let me back up to December 31st when a ministry supporter sent me a HUGE monetary gift for the ministry. He told me he thought I should, "Buy a new computer." I knew that I also needed a movie camera in order to begin taping the television shows. So I went to the Office Depot, to Jet Stereo and to Sears looking for a computer and a video camera. I didn't buy anything, but I was shopping for prices and to see what was available.
Last week, my computer burned up, again. Yes, again. There were black ashes all over the floor again. I have 2 surge protectors, but somehow it was not protected enough. The fan burned up, the mother board fried and the hard drive was refusing to work most of the time. Meanwhile my MAXTOR external hard drive also seized, so all of my work was "maybe irretrievable," according to my computer guru.
So I had the money "in the bank" for the new computer and the camera before the need was there to get them. God had provided me what I needed. Then last week
BOTH batteries went dead on the Ford F-350. There went the camera. Then the computer fried, so I had to act quickly to buy the computer.
So back to my meeting. My computer was dead and I had to plan the eye team dates with a paper calender. I might or might not have my hundreds of hours of teachings and then SURPRISE! My friend Judith de Zelaya said, "I am going to call and schedule a meeting for you and I next week at
ENLACE the Christian Television station." "OK," I said, not really thinking much about it. It was nice of her, but I knew that I couldn't spend hundreds of dollars on television. I would meet with her friend on a "fact finding mission" I reasoned within myself.
So today was the meeting date! We talked, had lunch and.......
Aren't you waiting to hear what happened?????
God gave me for
FREE a
ONE HOUR PROGRAM EVERY WEEK. Next week I meet with the production team on sight and all of the production is FREE also. Oh and I almost forgot, they have a radio station and what is on the television goes by feed to the radio station also.
PICK ME UP OFF OF THE FLOOR!!!!! And pinch me to make sure I am not imagining this. I knew I heard from the Lord, I knew without a doubt it was God, I knew it would have to be a miracle, I knew I had to do my part and my part was to study, study, study!I did not know it at the time but
ENLACE is a television group that has channels in Spanish in Honduras, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela and the USA. Not to mention they are in Africa and other places also.
So now, on to Apple Pie. As I have been studying, I have also been praying and asking the Lord for details about the program He wants me to have. In the process, I have felt over and over that I need to teach baking and food prep as well as the Word of God. So the program format will go something like this:
1. Intro
2. Food Prep
3. While the food is baking: I teach the Bible study which will be dubbed into Spanish at NO CHARGE
4. Food presentation
So now, I will also have another BLOG every week with the recipes for the food I prepare for the program in SPANISH.
I don't have a name for the program yet! I need a revelation!
By the way, I stopped by a local VERY FANCY, UPSCALE decorating and home gift shop and they have committed to give me what I need for each table setting for the food part of the shows.
Can it get any better??? Yes, it can! But you have to wait to find out how much better!
Meanwhile here is a recipe for an incredible Apple Pie.
Meanwhile I borrowed this photo from
http://flickr.com/photos/carbonxiv/ since my photo is on the computer that "fried" and we are still not finished moving everything.
Flaky Pie Crust15 min
INGREDIENTS:
SINGLE CRUST PIE
1 1/2 cups White Lily® All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, or Butter Flavored Shortening, chilled in freezer
OR 1/2 stick Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening Sticks, or Butter Flavored Shortening Sticks, chilled in freezer
4 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water or milk
DOUBLE CRUST PIE
2 cups White Lily® All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, or Butter Flavored Shortening, chilled in freezer
OR 2/3 stick Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening Sticks, or Butter Flavored Shortening Sticks, chilled in freezer
5 to 10 tablespoons ice cold water or milk (sour cream makes it taste wonderful for Apple Pie)
PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:
COMBINE flour and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
SPRINKLE one tablespoon ice-cold water or milk over part of mixture. Toss gently with a fork; push to side of bowl. Repeat just until mixture is moistened and can be formed into a ball. (The dough should hold together when picked up and pressed, and should not crack).
FLATTEN ball of dough into disks (one for one crust, two for double-crust). Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.
REMOVE one disk of dough from refrigerator. Turn onto very lightly floured surface. (If the dough is too hard, allow it to sit for 5 minutes to soften.) Roll dough gently, use a back and forth motion from center. Do not roll over the edge or it will be thin. Turn dough 45 degrees between each roll to keep it round. If dough sticks to surface, dust lightly with flour. Roll to 12 inches in diameter for a 9 inch pie.
SPRAY PIE PAN WITH PAM
TRANSFER dough to 9-inch, 4 cup capacity pie plate, being careful to avoid stretching pastry. Trim edge of pastry 1/2 to 3/4 inch beyond edge of the pie plate.
APPLE PIE WITH CRISP TOPPINGServes 8–10
5 cups apples, peeled and sliced (such as Gala, Granny Smith, and Braeburn; about 2 1/2 pounds total)
1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander (GRIND IT YOURSELF IN YOUR COFFEE GRINDER)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup pecan pieces
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Whipped Topping (optional)
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon raspberry-flavored liqueur (such as Chambord), or other fruit-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1. Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, toss apples gently with lemon juice. Lightly coat a 9- or 10-inch, deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray then place pie crust in it and fill with apple slices.
2. In another bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, spices, and salt. Cut in butter. Toss in oats, pecans, and lemon zest. Spread topping over apples. Bake about 30 minutes.
3. If using whipped cream topping, whip cream with liqueur and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. After slicing the pie and placing on the plate, dollop over the pie.