T&T ~ Homemade Eye Cream ~ Whitney

Okay so if you're like me you may have some *laugh~happies (aka wrinkles) around your eyes.  You may also be like me if you absolutely HATE that word, hence the term "laugh~happies"  It helps me remember that I have those little lines because I laugh, a lot which means I have amazing people in my life (and that I'm so gosh darn funny!!)

With that being said, I also hate chemicals, meaning store bought eye serums & creams are out of the question.  My solution to this dilemma...homemade eye cream.  It is super easy, organic & completely chemical free! How can you not love it already?!

You only need 3 ingredients & 1 container!

The only items you need are organic coconut oil, vitamin E capsules, lavender oil and a container to keep it in.  You can use a baby food jar or a small jelly jar to keep at home.  I like using a contact lens case because it is small & easy to use/carry with you.

1. Scoop out a spoonful of coconut oil

2. Use a safety pin to poke a hold in 2 vitamin E capsules & squeeze contents into mixing bowl

 

3. Add one drop of lavender oil

4. Mix together thoroughly







5. Empty contents into your container
















Afterwards, I put mine in the refrigerator so it can set.  Once it has set up, it does not need to be kept in the fridge unless you use a lower temp coconut oil.  The one I use is medium/high heat so it doesn't liquefy at room temperature.

What eye creams do you use?  Let us know on our Facebook Page

T & T ~ Apple Custard Pie ~ Kara

 Apple Custard Pie

(adapted from this terrific recipe found at http://www.eatboutique.com/2013/02/04/rustic-apple-custard-pies/#.UhLD4z-M7pz )

 So my oldest needed to make an apple dessert for our county fair and his 4H clubs bake auction entry. Each club member was to make an apple dessert to be combined together in a cute little apple crate and auctioned off to raise money for their club

(I know cute, right ?!?).

 I decided we would do some type of mini pie in a mason jar so it would stay intact for the process. I found the above recipe that the author had already adapted herself. My family isn't really a fan of walnuts like the original called for... plus so many allergies and such recently so I just decided to nix the walnut crust. Whats the next best thing? Good, old, faithful graham cracker crust of course :) So I threw together a quick recipe for graham cracker crust simply using a manual food processor to grind up one package of graham crackers, almost an entire stick of butter melted (roughly 6-7 Tablespoons... just enough to moisten), a few shakes of cinnamon and about 1/3c of sugar. Mix it all together until its all moistened but not pic of crust in the bowl). 
                                                                      

                   

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust:                                                           Custard:

one package graham crackers run                                           2 cups sugar

through a food processor until smooth                                   1/4 c all-purpose flour

6-7 Tablespoons melted butter                                               6 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar                                                                          1 cup heavy cream

few shakes of cinnamon                                          4 cups diced apples

Then spoon a few spoonfuls into the bottom of 9-10 pint mason jars that should be placed without lids on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Then my son and I realized we needed a way to press the mix into the bottom of the jar tightly.... hmmmm.... I found an old souvenir shot glass so we used that to press all the crust down into the bottoms of the jars. 

    

Take those beautiful baking apples and core, slice, peal and dice them until you have 4 cups 

Next mix the egg yolks, sugar, flour and heavy cream until smooth.. .only a min or so... then add the diced apples and stir to moisten. Spoon mix into the prepared jars until half full. Place the cookie sheet carefully into a 450 oven and bake for 12 min. After 12 min lower the oven temp to 350 and bake another 20 minutes. The custard will be golden brown on its edges when you remove it. Let the entire cookie sheet with jars cool until completely cool before you put the lids on. Honestly I'm not sure how it would turn out if you went ahead and added the lids and let that heat "set" your jar lids.. .maybe you would be able to keep them for longer? .... maybe on my next blog post :) 

Send us your fundraising recipes!

T & T ~ Packing ~ Jennifer

God-willing, this year I will complete my fourth trip to Kakamega, Kenya and back again. There are lots and lots of packing tips and tricks out there, but I thought I’d share some of my favorites that I’ve learned over the years, especially for long international travel.

First, the clothes. I had read this tip myself online and just never believed it could be true until the time I had to pack my husband for a three week trip to India in one suitcase including nice business clothes and sightseeing clothes and all the shoes that go with them. Roll your clothes. You will not be sorry. They really do stay much neater this way. The only time this has not worked out as well was when I had a nearly empty suitcase. For best results, iron everything first. Take each outfit and fold the pants in half and place the shirt on top and fold to match the sizing. You can also keep them full length and lay the shirt face down and fold back the sleeves. Place undergarments and socks under the shirt and roll from the bottom. That’s it. When you get there your whole outfit is all together and pretty tidy too. Pack shoes in what would be the bottom of your suitcase when it’s standing so that your shoes are not on top of your clothes. Some people place shoes in shower caps and things like that to keep them off their clothes but that’s never been necessary for me.

iron & neatly arrange outfits

rolled outfit

This brings me to my next tip and one of my ultimate must haves for travel…..

Downy wrinkle spray. I absolutely love this stuff. You take out an outfit the night before you’re going to wear it (or you can do this to all outfits upfront if you’re that type of person and have room to hang a lot) spray it down and hang. Next morning, it looks fresh again and smells fresh too. It’s great for places that don’t have irons, or reliable electricity.  

Another product not many people seem to know about is spray for the toilet. I have used it by the name Poof and Poo-pourri. This stuff is great when you have to room with someone, no matter how close you are.

This product is great for when you have to go but don't want to leave offensive odors!

Also, when packing clothes, if you’re traveling with a friend it’s never a bad idea to swap a couple of outfits into each other’s suitcases so that if one gets lost you still have something to wear until your luggage can be found.  

And of course, it never hurts to be creative when choosing outfits. Picking a couple solid colored bottoms that can go with multiple tops will save you loads of room.

Know your airline’s baggage policy well. 

We had an issue last year when flying an airline we had never flown before. Each year we have been able to bring a carry-on sized bag as well as a personal item, which has always been a backpack. This has always helped us fit as much as possible into our checked bags where we often carry ministry supplies. This particular airline (I’ll be nice and not dish names as much as I want to) decided that our personal items were indeed not considered personal items, and those of us who did not make it on board before an ornery gate attendant stopped us, were charged $200 to check bags. It was an expensive mistake.

That incident caused a lot of unnecessary stress!

I’ll finish up with tips for the plane ride. If you have a long flight ahead of you, unless you have to be dressed up, wear something comfortable that stretches and has layers too. A light jacket and socks have been lifesavers more than once.

Stay hydrated, especially on long flights, and do those silly seat exercises too. Both can help you feel refreshed and help with leg swelling. Also, do your best to get on the same sleep schedule as your destination. You can use melatonin or another sleep aid to help you get there. Sometimes we’ve left at 5pm local time and had to try to sleep within a couple of hours. A good neck pillow, pair of headphones, and comfortable clothes are priceless.  

Of course good traveling companions are too.

My most important tip of all, always expect and do your best to prepare for, the unexpected. Happy are the adaptable.

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An Update from Victorious Children's Home

This is Vicki (and some of our amazing children here at 29:11 Inc.)

For those of you who don't know, Vicki is an amazing woman who runs Victorious Children's Home, an orphanage in Kakamega, Kenya. She is so much more than a "supervisor" to these children.  She is Mama.  The way the children say her name with such love and joy, it makes me wish my children said my name like that all the time!

Periodically, we get email updates form Vicki about the children, weather, political environment, thanks and prayer needs.  This morning we got an email update and we wanted to share it with you.

  

Here is her letter:

"Dear friends and family in CHRIST,
Its my prayer that this find you cradled in the loving arms of the Father.Here at VCH all is well with our souls as we continue to focus on the LORD.
     I first and foremost want to thank you all for standing with us at a time when we needed you most.Your love and prayers are priceless,we can't find enough siver and gold to pay for that,only eternity will tell how much we appreciated your support from the time when Simon got sick until the time he was promoted to glory.It was for sure a big challenge for me and the kids but your prayers navigated us through this stormy and raging sea.
Simon came my way at age six,he was hiv positive and all his siblings had passed on.A shy little boy that looked younger than his age had sores all over his body,a blotted stomach from mulnutrition and feeble had grown into a very strong teenager who was daring to face life with its cruelty.He enjoyed his family at Victorious children's home where he found peace,love and care not just from us but also from GOD.
      His testimony fro nine years never changed,he always thanked GOD for giving him life freely and evey time mentioned that if man was giving him such care he would not be able to pay back and ended up with a song that said GOD had given him a shot that had healed him completely and i believe this gave him strength for each day and courage for every battle.
After 12 days of hospitalization he came back home and told stories how in the hospital ward had had prayed with 7 dying patients leading them to CHRIST.He was very jovial when narrating this to the rest of the family at vch and it actually gave him great joy.
Simon was a delight to be with and GOD gave us 9 wonderful years to be a blessing in his life and him in ours.
We have gone through moaning and grieving,now we are ready to move on and wait for when we shall meet again.
Once again i want to thank you so much for being a family to us during this moment,we drew a lot of strength from you and no word can express our appreciation.
       Back to life again,thanks for praying for the teacher's strike in Kenya that took three precious learning weeks from our students,the stike is now over and teachers are workig out a formula to make up for the lost time meaning school has been extended for one ad a half weeks cutting down the August holiday to two weeks,so kids are coming home the end of this week and will be going back for the third semester in September.
Thank you so much for your support for food and school tuition,you have given the kids a lifeline and a bright future. We still desire your coveted prayers for the many challenges life brings as these kids grow up and also with economic crisis that the world is facing right now,natural disasters,terror threats and increased rate of death. Death has become very rampard amongst us and we don't really know why,HIV/AIDS is no longer a threat to us,but very managable diseases like malaria and sudden death are claiming many lives.
May GOD bless you i very aspect of your lives,
Your sister,
Vicki"

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Love & Prayers!

T & T ~ Keep Berries Fresh ~ Whitney

Hey Hey!!
If you're anything like me your house is stocked with fresh fruits and veggies all the time!  The problem is, in order to keep fruit fresh I have two options:
1. Buy a lot and pray it doesn't go bad before we have a chance to eat it
2. Buy small amounts - resulting in multiple trips to the store & spending money on things I didn't need but decided to *pick up because I was there or just in case...UGH!

So here is the tip:
When you bring home berries put them in a solution of 1 part vinegar (white or apple cider will both work) 10 parts water.  The amount you use depends on the amount of berries you have.  Drop them in, swirl them around for a minute then drain them.

    

  I only rinse raspberries because of their shape.  The rest don't need it.  I let them air dry and keep them in these containers in my refrigerator.  The vinegar kills mold and inhibits its growth so your berries stay fresh longer.    

I've been doing this for a while & it is super simple.  I can't give you a time frame for how long it works (because we love to eat!) but I can say I have noticed a big difference in the freshness of our berries.

International Day Center

Our goal at 29:11 Inc. is to help communities worldwide better meet the needs of their orphaned and homeless children.  We don't want to help once, we want to equip communities, churches and volunteers to better help those they are serving (or to help them serve those they currently aren't)

We are currently focused on a project in Kakamega, Kenya where we would like to start a Day Center where children can come to get food, love,  medical attention, encouragement...

In the past, we have worked together with Deliverance Church, providing VBS to children during their annual Woman's Conference.  This allowed some women to come who otherwise couldn't, as well as providing VBS truth & fun and a meal to other local children.  

Working with church members to feed children attending VBS.

Each day our numbers would multiply because word would spread that Americans had gifts (VBS craft) and food.  While we loved serving this community it hurt our hearts knowing that we would soon leave and the children would no longer have a place to go to receive the love, truth and encouragement we had been providing all week.   

Someone near and dear to our hearts, Pastor Wambua has always directed us to tell those asking for help to seek out the church.  Even when he is out in public and people ask him for assistance he tells them to meet him at church and that there they will help. He wants the people in his community to receive assistance and he wants the church to serve them just as Christ would.   This is kind of how we came up with the plan for our day center.  

Okay, so look past the beautiful picture of Jennifer and her amazing son Archadius and see the building in the background.  This is the current Sunday School building for Deliverance Church.  It is currently used on Sunday mornings to teach children.  

Inside of one of the rooms.

Our goal is to finish the building so it can be used to support orphans and street kids during the week.  It will also be more suitable for teaching classes on Sunday mornings.  We want to complete the building so it is suitable for large numbers of children, and able to operate in all types of weather.  We also want to employ a staff of locals (including church members) who can carry out daily operations.  We want the children in this community to have needs met by people who are also sharing the truth of the Gospel with them.  

We also pray that while children are having needs met at the Day Center, their parents and families will see Christ through the actions of those at the Day Center, recognize it's connection to the church and have their needs met at Deliverance Church.  

At 29:11 Inc. we see this as being a positive opportunity for all involved.  The church will have a Sunday School Building that is more complete and functional, the children in Kakamega will have a safe place to go for nutrition, medical needs and support and the people in the community will see Deliverance Church as a place to go for support, love and truth.  

We will keep you updated on progress, plans and needs.  

Please be praying for us as well as those who God would have be involved in this mission. 

Invite your friends to like our Our Facebook Page so they can get updates & be praying 

You can also like Deliverance Church's Facebook page