Part 2: A Mom’s Thanksgiving

 Part 2: A Mom’s Thanksgiving 2020 

Our son, David, now 18, is working at Entegra in Indiana. My brothers family has opened their home to him and been so kind! Then, shortly after his arrival, dear friends of ours moved there and have been a huge blessing too. But what I want to do is share an obscure connection to show how God brings together the body of Christ. 

Many of you know that we have been in this community a loooong time. In fact, my parents have been in it even longer. 70 years roughly. Many of our friends and church family go way back with us, and when our son, David Clayton, started telling us about someone he met at Entegra that was a Christian and so on, I explained why I knew who he was talking about. 

Again, back up with me now at least 40 years. Growing up in Manchester and attending Manchester Community Church and Manchester Christian Academy, meant my world was pretty small for a long time. My dad taught math at South Kitsap High School, and several of his teacher friends and their families attended Manchester. There was also a family there whose dad was connected to the SK high school community via the Skill Center. They had 4 kids, and lived just a few blocks away from us in Manchester. When we moved to the farm, they also bought property connecting ours, and, in fact, the parents still live next door to us! Well, my older brother, Mark, was good friends with their son, Mark, who we called Corny because we could not use their middle names to distinguish since they were the same also. They are both Mark Edwards. Lol

So, growing up, our 2 families spent a lot of time together. Traveling with old car business stuff, gardening together, youth group. They have 2 daughters that were my age and another son who was the oldest of us all. I remember a couple bike rides to Beaver Creek and past Dead Man’s Corner (we named that location ourselves). 

We all grew up, of course, and moved away from each other, but Mark and Mark kept in touch, both marrying and having kids. They both remained faithful Christians, and the other Mark became a pastor while my brother became an engineer and has had opportunities there. 

So, when David excitedly told be about Alex Walker, who was also working for my brother’s company, Entegra, I knew just who he was. He is the husband of Mark Kerman’s oldest daughter! In fact, when they were newly weds, they’d come down from Kodiak, Alaska and visited our church one Sunday. David and I were able to take them out for dinner, and soon they were renting an apartment from my in-laws for awhile. They relocated a couple times and a couple years ago, Alex was hired on at Entegra. When Alex met David, he recalled other Eddy’s he’d met in Washington and our church and everything. Our son was so encouraged to meet this man, and it thrilled my heart to see how his face lit up about him! What a testimony for this other guy! It has been quite a change for David to be so far away, but he is doing well and has Christians around him to help him grow. What a blessing in these times when so many things are shut down. 

I am so thankful for my small world. It really isn’t small after all, is it? God has enlarged our family so much over the years and woven contacts/friends we’ve made over the the years into our kid’s lives. I’m so thankful every time someone encourages my kids! I believe it makes a huge difference in the lives of our children whenever someone gives them a chance. Invests in them and holds them to their beliefs. 

Because my parents were friends through “thick and thin” with another family, their grandson has a  Christian friend, born and raised in Alaska, relocated to Indiana, working in the same company. Thank you to my parents. Thankyou to our neighbors, Bruce and Lynne Kernan, for raising your kids in our church who went on to live in Alaska and pastor there where their oldest daughter met and married a man who loves God and now lives in Indiana and is pleased to reach out to our son, David. 

When I quit the Ministry

When I quit the Ministry

(Updated: Please note that I wrote this about 3 years ago and do not feel this way at present. What happened is... I chickened out from posting it. Haha

So, here goes... now that I’ve had some distance from the situation and can further attest to the truth that our emotions need not rule us. Keep walking...)

About a month ago I quit. I was out walking with my pastor husband and we were both discouraged over many things. Not just things related to the ministry but that was certainly part of it.

 I was really struggling with feelings of inadequacy (a week later at a pastor/wife retreat I heard the statistic that 84% of pastor’s wives feel inadequate), I wasn't sleeping due to anxiety over these things and really allowing fears and worry to settle in at night when my mind could get carried away. Inadequate as a mother, friend, pastor's wife. So, I quit. For about 40 minutes, while walking with my husband, I was free from the life I had always known. 

Then, he sent me to my room because I had to prepare a baby shower. 

I was so tired. Tired of the rigorous schedule of Cantata, Easter, Missions conference, and more all piled into one month. I have a lot of kids left that I'm trying to home educate, and I have grown kids that I miss so much and then there is the truth: I'm not equip to even be a pastor’s wife! I have not gone to Bible school. I was working while David was in seminary, and we had three babies during that time. I can't quote verses easily to others after every paragraph they speak. I forget to pray every time someone talks to me. I get my theological terms mixed up. My older kids are  beyond me in doctrinal conversation by the time they are 12. Seriously, they get to talking with David in the living room and someone has to go get dinner started. I tend to run on practicalities. Hey, it’s what gets us to church multiple times a week. 

Lack of sleep does mess with you, but I needed the time in the Word preparing for that shower. I needed to study and bring it to some sort of conclusion even though my feelings were  DRY and NUMB at present. I felt guilty presenting the message because I was so discouraged as a Christian right then.  But in the back of my head, I knew I needed to keep walking. 

While being a pastor's wife isn't an elevated position by any means, there are some things about it that some may not realize. With my family in church, I have to have some focus on “sermon outcome” and it is difficult to make friends because they might leave you. Now, a true friend will say they are still your friend and that is very true! However, it still leaves you with no one you can talk to because they might only be at your church for a little while.

I am afraid it was bad enough to be noticed. I've said some snarky things in the last 8 weeks. (Only in the last 8weeks?;) I did unload on my mom a bit and sent a few panicked private messages to a friend. Several older ladies came and talked to me after church and lovingly encouraged me to keep on- and they didn't pry. Just encouraged. We are in a very forgiving and loving church body. I know that most of the discouragement I felt was from the enemy and Each day tried to put one foot in front of the other. 

I am going to keep walking. Just one foot in front of the other. I didn't feel like going to church and facing those people. They are going through hard times right now too. Worse than my feelings of inadequacy and dullness. Cancer, loss, pain. How can I even feel this way when others have so much going on. Who can even relate? My friends who are pastor's wives are too busy. I don't even know who my friends are. Actually David and I both have trouble making friends. I know that God is enough.

So, I kept walking. Kept doing the next thing- usually getting ready for church. After a few weeks, God gave me some sleep. We did try to continue eating right and doing the next thing that was right and then I began to feel a little better. I saw God’s faithfulness. The things I taught at the shower were coming true. And I feel closer to God again. 

1 Thes. 5:8-11But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

A Mom’s Thanksgiving: Part 1

I want to share some things unfolding in our family over the last year. I’ve just really been moved by God’s hand in things.

Recently, Max (now 20 and 6’4” tall) moved into an apartment connected to his grandparents house because Grandpa Eddy is having health difficulty after a stroke and needs lifting etc. (When we were newly weds, we lived in the one above it.) 

First we must back up 18 months from now. Max was really hoping to play football for South Kitsap High School. He had dreamed of playing football all his growing up years. We have not done much in the way of organized sports because of several reasons. One was definitely financial and another was concern about conflicting schedules with church which, as you know, we have to be totally committed to. But Max was simply a born athlete, and I mean born. He rolled over on his first hour after birth! He always managed to learn sports, play sports, love sports and after 18 years of diligently doing the other things we wanted him skilled at, and showing himself to be a committed Christian, David and I both felt the Lord lay it on our hearts to look into him playing at South. He would be able to play one season (which meant 1 year for him since he dove right in and started working out with the team etc). What good was one year going to do? He was pursuing a BA in Mathematics and not intending to play in college, though hoping to help coach in the community. But he was excited and down at the weight room whenever he could. He had a great friend there that had been in foot ball some time and, in fact, was our other pastor’s son! His family was very helpful getting Max involved and set up. Manchester had 2 pk’s (pastor’s kids) on the high school team that year. We enjoyed going to most of the games and the camaraderie of it all. And then the season was over. Max continued to work out with the guys until Covid shut everything down. If we had waited a year, he would have been too old and there was no season this year due to the lockdown.

Fast forward to the here and now. Grandpa Eddy had a stroke in August and it took a couple months before he could get back home. Once home, however, unless they hired an extra person pretty much full time, which would be very costly, Grandma couldn’t help him on her own, and while we are willingly to come whenever needed, it made sense to have Max move over there so he could help at all hours of the night etc. While it was in our thoughts only, Max offered. He has learned to use the lift which takes  time and lots of scooching ( that’s the only word I can think of) so he asked if he could just carry Grandpa from point A to point B. Last week when the Physical Therapist was there, he watched Max do it and said that his lifting posture was correct and that he was certainly strong enough.

 Immediately things became clear to me. We don’t always see why God is directing a certain way, but sometimes we do. All that weight lifting with coaches etc. allowed Max to be able to serve his grandparents. He is continuing online school full time and is in his senior year of his bachelors of Mathematics. (Thrilling to the other grandpa who taught high school math as a career! ) 

I am so thankful that God has things figured out ahead of time. We really can trust Him to lead us. He has our very best interests in mind! This year has thrown some very hard things our way, too, but He has been faithful and will be faithful. We have also had many opportunities to extend grace and receive grace from the Lord and each other (our family and church family). I hope to add several more parts to this Thanksgiving post and pray that it is a blessing to you and helps you to make connections of God working.

The Black Napkin

The Black Napkin

We’d been to this restaurant once before, but tonight it was different. When we were seated, the waitress removed my lovely white napkin and handed me a black napkin. I assumed that, like the chargers she was going to remove to leave room for the bread and appetizer plates,  the others at the table would also be getting a new napkin like me, but no! Instead, the waitress made the motions of placing their white napkins in their laps and then moved on to handing us our menus. I felt bewildered and, silly I know, singled out as the odd one. 

When we’d come before, both David and I where made to feel equally special (it was for our 25th Anniversary and this is in Georgia). There were tastefully placed notices letting us know to leave our cell phones in our pockets. So, tonight we were loathe to google about this black napkin and instead joked about why I was different. Was I singled out as a potential trouble-maker? Did they think I was the one paying? Funny speculations went on, but all the time, my mind was truly burning to know- WHY. 

 Now, forgive our ignorance please, but remember that I am a pastor’s wife and not a lawyer’s or doctor’s wife, and though my sweet hubby treats me to nice restaurants, we also don’t live near any terribly nice ones, so the opportunity is even more rare. But, as you can guess, David finally, discreetly googled and found that because I was wearing a black dress, the black napkin was given to me to protect my clothes from potentially getting white lint on them from a white napkin. Whoa! 

Suddenly, I felt very special and cared for instead of “marked” for some negative reason. It changed my whole dining experience. 

It got me thinking- unfortunately in the middle of the night- about life. Sometimes we are handed something very different than those around us and it may feel like we are the odd-one-out or that we are inferior or less blessed or that we can’t relate to others because it feels like they can't relate to us. But what if that odd thing, was actually a gift to protect us? 

I’ve often felt out of sorts being the pastors wife. I didn’t go to school for it, I’m not a strong spiritual leader type and when I tried I just got called legalistic. It’s hard for me to relate to other women because I “have” to be at all services (I do also want to be there, but there is the element of having to be on death’s door to miss or perhaps in labor, but even then you can still attend while in labor. Lol) I’ve been at this church for 45 years+ now and so I don’t know a lot of what’s going on elsewhere and I don’t meet a lot of people outside of our church body. I can’t keep up with friends made who then leave or move away. This leaves me with a bit of an attachment disorder probably but I’ll never know. Thinking of that particular part of me as a protection, though, changes my perspective. I believe God has my good in mind. I didn’t earn or deserve this role which I’m still figuring out and we have had many, many years of blessings in our church body for which we are very grateful. 

But, what odd circumstances have been thrown your way that God may have used to protect you rather than Him just testing or trying you? I wonder. 

2 Sam.22:31

“As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

Ps.84:11-12 (our verse for this school year)

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

The Lord will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Christmas Letter 2016

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Well actually, just over in Tacoma, WA, but over 20 years ago, David attended seminary. For those three years, another Christian Pastor also attended. They became friends and we got to know the family a little bit. His wife spoke at one of our women's events.
Years passed and while the other Pastor had moved his family back to Bangalore, India, where they started a Bible school and seminary, we stayed in our home town and served at the church we grew up in. Their only son returned to the US when he was 17 to attend a Christian college, we reconnected with them and our church became one of their supporters. Meanwhile, their son, Jesse, finished his bachelors and continued in the US while pursuing a Doctorate. We enjoyed having the Divakar family in our lives and always wanted to spend more time with them when they came to visit. WELL! Long story short, Jesse (25) married our daughter, Sarah (21), on Sept. 10 of this year.

So, we have more family and are very happy! They live in Georgia now and we are very thankful for FaceTime etc.

Andrew (23) is on the home stretch of his Master's degree! He has been away this last year finishing seminary in Wisconsin. He will graduate in May of 2017 and we hope to attend the ceremony. It is very special to us that he is following in his father's footsteps and have joked too, that he should try to keep in touch with his seminary buddies. ;) But, in all seriousness, he is following God's call in his life and that is the greatest blessing of all.

Margaret (20) will receive her bachelor's of music from Thomas Edison University in the next few weeks! She has worked very hard and deserves her 4.0. She has a piano studio in our home and loves not only teaching, but the students too. It is fun to hear her delight at their accomplishments. She also does a lot at church, taking over Sarah's deaconess responsibilities, accompanying the choir, and finding music that we can sing as a family.

Rebekah (18) graduated from our home education high school in June. She is helping me with school, taking college classes, and filling in, in many other areas. She really enjoys writing and has made some wonderful friends that share her love. She is driving and helps at her grandma's houses often too. It is very handy having another driver in the house.

 
Maxwell (16) has completed most of his high school courses and has added college level courses. There are many prerequisite courses and tests that we have learned you can take for a very small fee compared to enrolling in college. Some of these are called CLEP, DSST, and Aleks. The other four kids have gone this route, for the basics, saving a lot of time and money and we are pretty savvy about it now. These courses transfer to many colleges, Thomas Edison University, for one. So, that is what he will probably do. Then, he works at Olson's Gaskets one day a week to cover these expenses.

 
David Clayton (14) is in the 9th grade. His highlight of the year was probably going with David, Sarah, and I to Macon, GA in August. The purpose of the trip was to see where Jesse lived, celebrate our 25th wedding Anniversary and take David somewhere on a plane. He enjoys playing football in our field with Max and the cousins, as well as helping with projects. We have torn out more carpet upstairs, painted 2 rooms, and renovated the upstairs bathroom.

Tabitha (13) had her special birthday party this year, inviting people that she is particularly close to and looks up to. They didn't fail her, and we had a wonderful time listening to godly advise, opening gifts and eating. She had to take over Sarah's cleaning jobs at the grandma's houses, but seems to be thankful for the opportunity to earn some cash. Her academics are going well. When she observed David working on his research paper about germs and the people that discovered them, she asked if she could do a research paper. I about fell off my chair! Or I don't remember. Must have blacked out. Anyway, that was a first! So, she is researching the life of J. R. R. Tolkien and it was cool for her to learn that he became a Christian on the date of her birthday!

Marta (11) was surprised this year with...a cat...! I may have been imbalanced mid September when I convinced David we should get one for the basement. Sarah had just left home and I saw this kitty, and well, now we have one. His name is Mouser, so you get the idea. Marta takes care of him and just loves, loves, LOVES Mouser! She is also doing great with school, has become a regular bookworm, and loves us all.

William (9) was misnamed. Calvin would have been more appropriate. He is very happy and active and excels in math. After he finished reading The Great Escapes, I found quite a length of fabric strips tied together in a rope. Along with the cousins, he has become extremely interested in birds. This turned into quite a study. He wrote the Audubon society asking for free materials and perhaps- binoculars?? It was a great day when a package came with about 6 bird books to add to their library and even a slight hope of binoculars if some are donated.

Samuel (7) also enjoys the Cousin County Bird Society. He is progressing in reading, has very nice hand writing, and loves fish. And Penguins. In fact, a few days after the kitty arrived, we picked up a fish tank and the boys have really enjoyed this addition. They even help clean it and blood worm Tuesday and brine shrimp Friday are very exciting. Don't ask.

Highlights of the year:
-Maxwell, Sarah, and I visiting Andrew in Wisconsin. I fell and broke my arm there, not a highlight, but Jesse saved the weekend by driving us all around.
-Margaret and Sarah visiting a dear friend in Ohio for a week. And visiting Jesse too. ;)
-Rebekah having a senior recital with her good friend Kathryn and graduating from high school in June. Four down, six to go. :)
-David and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this summer. We enjoyed the party that our children put on for us and a trip to Macon, GA, with Sarah and David Clayton to see Jesse's home and church.
-Jesse and Sarah's courtship, engagement and marriage.
-Having Jesse and his parents come in May for the engagement in Cannon Beach, Or. and then again in September for the wedding.
-The wedding, of course!
-David and I met Andrew in NC for a conference in October.
-Ministry at MCC continues and keeps us busy.

We are very thankful for this past year and God's mercies.

Merry Christmas to you all. Remember, we are here and we love you. Please, contact us for prayer anytime and may you find Jesus to be your ALL this coming year.
David and Carol Eddy

Websites and blogs in our family:
http://manchesterministries.org/site/ (the church)
http://thehopeofthegospel.blogspot.com (Carol's blog)
http://morethanascent.younglivingworld.com/ (Carol's essential oils website)
http://1ajeddy.blogspot.com (Andrew's blog)
https://awellcultivatedmind.wordpress.com ( Sarah's blog)
http://preparingfortheultimatecareer.blogspot.com (Sarah and Margaret's blog)
http://4rmeddy.blogspot.com (Rebekah's blog)
https://sites.google.com/site/raincloudpianostudio/ (Margaret's studio)

Not Your Common Love Story

The Love Story of Sean and Patricia

I have permission to share a very special, true story with you. It is very close to my heart and my husband's family's hearts. It's not what you think. It is a heart breaking, heart healing, God is faithful, love endures, love never fails story between mother and son.

It all started back in 1966. Patricia was in an unhappy marriage to Jack, which then ended in divorce. In those days, divorce was still very much looked down on and this one seemed almost a family secret. There were not a lot of support systems available in those days for people in troubled relationships. But that wasn't all...

The cousins knew, of course, Margaret, Norman, Bradford, Carol, DiAnne, and when a new family member married in, it was tactfully, quietly shared, to me, for instance, that Cousin Tricky (Patricia) had a child that was kidnapped and never seen again. When I came on the scene, it had all happened 20 years before. So still very fresh, wouldn't you say?

One day, Jack, Patricia's ex- husband, picked their only child up, Sean, for a scheduled visit and never came back. Patricia had custody of Sean, but that was the last time she ever saw her child. He was just three years old when he was abducted. Patricia was devastated, of course. She had lost her marriage and her only child. The other relatives were heart broken, as well. His grandparents, everybody. Where was he? How is he? Did he grow up and marry? Would we recognize him on the street? Oh, to just hold him and read him that favorite story of his. In many ways, he was frozen in their minds as that little boy, but 46 years went by.

In the years following, Patricia married Bob and they had two children and a granddaughter, Naomi. Life went on. Many happy things happened and because of her love for God and the family closeness, Patricia was able to move on. For the most part.

This is what Patricia writes:
"There's a part of this story that I think might be important to you readers.
From very early in the whole story I have felt forgiveness for Jack. It just came easily for me. It just seemed that God reached down into my heart and took out all the hatred and bitterness and replaced it with peace. Many people have wondered how that could be. They have told me I'm very strong or a saint or whatever. But, of course, I'm neither very strong nor very good. It just took a willingness to be led by God."

Then, it happened. On May 21, 2016, she got the call. Her son had found her. Rather, her ex-husband died in 2015, and her son's wife, a genealogist, proceeded in earnest to locate his mom. Patricia became a grandma that day, (She is a grandma already to sweet Naomi) and even a great-grandma! All on that day. Sean went from 3 years old to 48 during that call. He called her "mom". They set up a meeting. Patricia came down with shingles. Waves of emotion came sweeping over her. Yes, it was stressful and many memories flooded in that had been suppressed for a long, long time.

Patricia adds a highlight of their reunion in early August of 2016:
"Interestingly, Sean and I went to visit Jack's mother last week. She said she had been praying from the start that I would forgive Jack. I told her that her prayers had been answered decades ago. It seems to me, that my forgiveness of Jack wasn't my gift to him, but God's gift to me."

Their first reunion went so well that Sean flew down from Alaska to Tacoma, Wa., in early September. During this time, our first daughter, Sarah, got married and Sean came to the wedding! We were very excited to meet him and were blessed by his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild coming as well. Sean grew up not knowing if he had any family to speak of. Boy was he in for a surprise!

This summer has certainly been epic. Sean's wife, Trysha, has since been diagnosed with cancer. I asked Patricia about her relationship with Sean's wife. They are able to talk about spiritual things:
"Here's another miracle! My friends and I have been praying (in a pentacostal, charismatic way!) for Trysha since her diagnosis. At her last check the tumor was 100% gone! She's still doing another round of chemo.
Trysha and I discuss spiritual things a lot. Really, I think my faith has grown as much as hers through our discussions. We pour our hearts out to one another via our phones!"

Do you see? Patricia is just a regular person, however, she responded to the Lord's gift of forgiveness offered to her. She could have spent 46 years in bitterness and anger, not allowing God to grow her in her relationship with Him and others. What kind of person/mother would she be today if she had wallowed in self pity and hate. Can you imagine Sean's disappointment? And Trysha! She could have missed this new exposure to the things of God.

I think you can probably find it in your heart to forgive, too, knowing that Patricia did. She was open to God helping her with it and He was faithful to allow her to forgive. She has led a rich and fulfilling life in the 46 years between the loss of her first born son and the time they were reunited. She never knew if they would be reunited. She enjoyed fellowship with the Lord all that time, family, friendships and a meaningful career teaching children too. Our children have always loved spending time with cousin Tricky because she was fun to be around! She invested in our lives rather than curling up in self-pity. Yes, there have been other heartaches along the way. This isn't the only trial she has faced. And she admits to being as weak as the next person. Only willing. As a Christian myself, I am encouraged to stay the course and to trust in God's plan even more.

The process of closing the gap of all those years continues. This week, it is time to look through all of Sean's childhood pictures that he sent. Hard. Very hard. Bittersweet. Precious. Sean will likely be doing the same soon. He has two siblings that he didn't get to grow up with. How different were their experiences from his?
We, personally, are removed just enough to stand back and marvel at their strength and courage to work through this entire process, but there are other, closer, relatives that still feel the hurt of hearing that their favorite, little guy wouldn't be there at Christmas or be able to toss the ball around in the backyard because someone selfish snatched him out of their lives. I pray that they will find peace if they haven't already.

This love story continues to unfold.

Isaiah 61:1-3
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Indian Soup Recipe

I have some exciting news and it's not just the recipe I'm about to share with you!
Our oldest daughter, Sarah, is getting married! We love our son-in-law-to-be and his family. His parents are missionaries in India that we have known for over 20 years.
They plan to be married, here in Port Orchard, on September 10 and will then move to Macon, Georgia where he works as a physical therapist.

So, all that to say, I've been dabbling in some Indian cooking and have a recipe to share with you.

Indian Soup

1/2 stick butter or oil of choice
Green onions
Leeks
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
Stir fry in fry pan with:
several broken cinnamon sticks
a couple tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon masala
1 tablespoon cumin (may add more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon coriander
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/8-1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper

Meanwhile bring desired amount of broth to boil with:
 5-6 chopped potatoes
3 carrots
2 15 oz. cans black beans
1 yellow bell pepper
mushrooms
All these vegetable choices are optional and all amounts are only suggested. You may add cooked beef, pork or chicken and serve as a soup or topping for rice or potatoes or to wrap up in a tortilla or roti. Remove cinnamon sticks before consuming. Garnish with coconut milk or sour cream.