Homemade Ranch Mix - With Video

Whenever people ask us if there is anything we want from America, there are always a few things we ask for. One of them are ranch packets. We can’t get ranch here, so it’s a precious commodity.  We recently ran out of ranch, and decided to take things into our own hands. We found a few recipes for homemade ranch mix. We tested, experimented, and have finally come up with our own ranch mix that we enjoy. It’s not the good old Valley ranch, but is still very good! 

What you’ll need 

1 teaspoon garlic powder/flakes 

2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dill

1/2 teaspoon basil 

1 teaspoon onion powder/flakes 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

1 teaspoon salt 

This makes one, two cup batch of ranch dressing. 

Mix this with one cup of mayonnaise and one cup of milk. Shake, mix, or stir until smooth. 

You can serve immediately, or you can chill and let it thicken. 

I like to make big batches of the mix and keep it in the spice rack. Two tablespoons of the ranch mix equal one packet. 

Let me know how you like this recipe, and if you make any adjustments to it! I would love to see how you all change this into your own family’s recipe. 

Amber Wells
Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 

A Stark Picture of Sin

     Recently, the owner of the property where we live contacted me about something she noticed the last time she was at the house. You see, we have several fruit trees on our property, including lemon, plum, and grapefruit, as well as, a grapevine and a sugar cane plant; but the most splendid of all the trees is a gorgeous orange tree with the best oranges that we have ever tasted. We have shared them with others and the consensus is that these are some of the most flavorful and juicy oranges. So it was easy to see why the owner messaged me when she noticed that another vine-like plant seemed to be overtaking the orange tree. She asked if I could pull the overgrown vine off the orange tree, in order to save the tree. I had noticed the vine, but it seemed also to be giving some type of fruit which made me think that it was supposed to be there. She decided to send a gardener out to have a look. Meanwhile, I decided to try to pull some of the vine out of the tree.

     As you can see from the picture, my feeble efforts could only remove a little of the vine from the front of the tree, because it was massive and had woven itself throughout the trees branches. A few days later, the gardener showed up and said that the vine was just a weed that needed to be removed to save the tree. He quoted some large figure to remove the vine, and later came and removed it.

     While watching this whole process, I was impacted with the stark comparison of this ugly monster of a vine and the grim results of sin left to fester in our lives. Like sin that spreads and can affect every area of our lives, this tree's very existence was threatened by what seemed, at first, to be a common useful fruit vine. Though the vine was there when we moved in, its growth went unnoticed as we had become accustomed to its presence; just like sin that is left unconfessed and allowed to have its reign, it subtly entrenches itself in every aspect of our lives. This vine had become so large that it had to be painfully removed. Its base had grown to the point that it was nearly the same size as the healthy plant and actually had to be cut down.

     What was left after the intrusive vine was cut down? Well, the effect of the weed on the orange tree was that the overall tree was affected. The vine was so invasive that many of the tree's leaves were being destroyed, because the sun could not get through to the tree; in much the same way we feel that separation from God when we sin.  Also, because it is a plant, and it depends on the sun to make its food, everything that the tree needed to do its job of bearing fruit, was put in jeopardy. 

     Now that the vine has been removed, the tree will take a season or two to heal and to produce in the same way that it has produced in the past. The foliage, which in the past was lush and full, is now scant; and the fruit, which was plentiful, is now sparse. The orange tree is truly "gutted" and the vine had started to latch onto the nearby grapevine that had to be cleansed of this unwanted growth—a lot could be said here about how our sin affects others, but you get the picture.

     Paul tells us in Romans 6:12, "Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should not obey the lusts thereof." If you do let sin "reign in your mortal body" you can expect the same results as this orange tree —a life being taken over by sin, a separation from God, a hinderance to fruit production, a painful repentance, a long road to healing (although His forgiveness is immediate and full, the effects of the sin will live on), and last, but not least, a possibility of affecting others with your sin. Paul sums it up well when he writes, "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."(Romans 6:22)

Scriptures From Around the World - Brazil

In the Eye of the Storm

We are currently in the rainy season in Costa Rica.  Pretty much every day, from 2pm-until, it rains....hard.  One afternoon, the storm was pretty nasty: loud, cracking thunder, terrible lightening, and quite the downpour.  As were were preparing to walk out the door for yet another doctor appointment, I caught my son standing in the garage, watching the storm and singing:

"In the eye of the storm, He remains in control.

In the middle of the war, He guards my soul.

You alone are the anchor when my sails are torn.

Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm."

Lately, I've felt like my sails are torn due to being tossed in every direction.  Just a glimpse into the waves tossing our family around the sea of life: My son is having academic testing which will take three hours a week over the course of three weeks; my daughter somehow in just a short time developed a cavity leading to a partial root canal and crown; my husband fell getting out of an Uber, stepping the wrong way and hurting his knee; and, I am having some tests run at the hospital for a problem that has shown itself just in the past three weeks....and, as I write this blog, instead of preparing to take my daughter to get that crown, she's sleeping because she's sick...again.  So, the crown will have to wait until another day.  All of this in the midst of language school.

You see, I'm one of those people who makes the big decisions in life pretty quickly with not much concern of the unknown; on the flip side, I'm also one of those people who can get down when the everyday small nuisances of life just.keep.coming.  Last week, I was in that place.  I was exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally.  You know...we've all been there.  And, it wasn't the "big things" weighing me down, it was the slap of one wave after another hitting me in the face every time I tried to get back up.   But, as I heard my son singing that song, God reminded me that He is my anchor; He does guard my soul; and His love surrounds me.

He surrounds me with His love through the love of His people:
My family and I are in language school right now, which means we have a couple of hours of homework each night that make navigating these obstacles difficult at times.  But it also means we have a community of missionaries and students willing to step in and help however they can.  There are other students here who are experiencing greater trials: bed rest due to difficult pregnancies; children having broken bones; moms/dads having unexpected surgeries; and battling the constant stomach problems that go along with living in another country.  And, yet, God is faithful through it all.  He has already created a way to help one another: the Body of Christ.  If none of us here went through difficulties, we wouldn't know what it means to carry one another's burdens.

He is my anchor because of His character
All of these things are happening our first year on the field--while we are in language school with this "soft landing."  When we go to Mexico, we will not have the same type of community that we have here. A fellow student was on bed rest for two months with her twins.  So many of us cooked meals, babysat her one-year-old, sat with her to keep her company, brought groceries, etc.  She told us during her baby shower: "I was so frustrated with God's timing with this.  Then, I realized had we still been in the states or already been in Uraguay, we wouldn't have had this support system that God has provided for us here.  God's timing is perfect."  We can hold onto Him as our anchor because we know He is working all things together for our good and His glory.

He guards my soul by sending encouragement through the unexpected
We have a doctor on our school campus who serves us missionaries with his time.  His parents were missionaries.  He loves us.  He gets us.  He's making sure we get well and tries to keep us well so we can serve well.

When Ethan had emergency root canal and reattachment of his tooth due to an accident two weeks after we arrived, the school found a dentist who spoke English.  Not only that, the dentist came in on her day off to do what she needed to do for Ethan.  She was wonderful.  The dentist Emily saw last week loves the Lord (and speaks English too!)  She said before we left: "I can't do her crown today because the infection is all the way down to her roots.  But, in the name of Jesus, I claim she will not have an infection next week so we can finish."  God puts strangers in our path to encourage us whom we would have never met without these trials.

Our teachers have a heart for the Lord, for us, and for our families.  Even though their goal is to teach us Spanish, their heart is to see us serve the Lord every day of our lives, in all of the little frustrations and big successes.  So, when these frustrations and difficulties arise in our lives, they pray for us.  They are praying for our families.  They push us to keep going while giving us the space we need to take care of ourselves and our families.  Our teachers encourage us to press on for His glory.

Does life always work out like this?  Do the waves always become calm?  Do the storms always cease?  Are there always people in our lives who drop everything to rescue us?  No, not always.  But, we have an Anchor far greater that can keep the boat steady as the waters move around us and can calm our soul when our sails are torn.

Scriptures From Around the World - Thailand

Help! I'm homeschooling! part one

Some Rosa art from third grade.

Homeschooling is a challenge.  We have our last child starting her senior year in the fall.  In the early years, I remember being terrified. Homeschooling three littles guys? In a foreign country? Thankfully, the shared wisdom of seasoned homeschool moms helped boost my confidence and make me a better teacher.  It is my sincere wish to be a similar blessing to others on the homeschool journey, to share tidbits that I have picked up on the way.

Here are three things that I think are foundational to a homeschool family.

Determine that you actually want to teach your children.

Homeschooling is not for everyone.  If you are going into it half-heartedly or because of peer pressure, don't.  Decide what is best for you, for your family, for your ministry.  Not everything has to be figured out before you start, but you need to be sure homeschooling is what God has for you and your family.  My advice is to ask, seek, and knock in God's Word to find His plan for your family. If you determine homeschooling is the right option for you, move forward with confidence.  

Do what is best for you as a teacher.

Some junior year Rosa art, a drawing of her horse

This may seem a little backwards.  We are, after all, supposed to put others first.  When you decide to be the teacher, though, you need to make it work for you. You have to make decisions about curriculum and teaching methods based on your own skills and preferences. 

Don't we do this in other areas? Take cooking, for example? Ask ten different women how to make fried chicken. There will be ten different recipes using all different kinds of tools and cooking methods. The results are generally the same, fried chicken.  

Just as we use our own skill set when we cook for our family, we do the same with teaching our children.  Consider your own strengths and weaknesses.  The more comfortable you are in your own skin as a teacher, the better your students will learn.  Don't try to be someone else or fit yourself into the "perfect teacher" role.

Decide who the teacher is.

Patrick and Vicki Weimer

Will you, the mom, be the single educator? Your husband might like to teach, too. Mine taught Bible, science through junior high, karate, wood shop, car mechanics, and other electives.  You could incorporate people in your area to help you teach certain things. Also, there are a variety of on-line options available now.  My personal opinion is that using a combination of all of these gives a student a well-rounded education.  I'll talk about that in a later post, though.  

These three things may help you establish the framework for your homeschool.  I hope there is something helpful there.  In future posts, I would like to share things I have learned about choosing curricula, taking standardized tests, having an umbrella school, making a school room, and other things that have been a help to me. 

Homemade Sausage Gravy

Gravy is so much easier to make than most people believe it to be. 

The hardest part is just waiting for all that deliciousness to be ready! 

We make this every Saturday morning for brunch! 

I love how easy it is to adjust this recipe for the amount of people eating. Also if you like thinner gravy just add more milk!

What you'll need

One ounce of fat (butter, margarine, bacon fat, oil....whatever fat you have) 

One ounce of flour

One cup of milk 

Sausage 

In a medium pot melt butter and add flour. Mix until you get a thick paste. 

Slowly add milk until you get the desired texture. 

Add cooked sausage and season gravy to taste.

If you don't have sausage then just season gravy with salt and pepper and sausage seasoning. 

If  the gravy is lumpy, whisk until smooth. 

If you like thinner gravy then add more milk. But, if you would like your gravy thicker then add less milk. 

Serve this gravy over warm biscuits, chicken fried steak, hash browns, or even waffles. 

Check out my YouTube channel for my biscuit recipe. 

Amber Wells
Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬