What Are You Good For?

Morning came a little earlier today than it usually does. Having to meet at the church at 5:45 AM meant that I had to get out of bed by 4:45 AM to do some last minute packing (Relax Grace), take a shower and eat some breakfast. I decided to make a bowl of oatmeal which is my usual routine. Everything was going according to plan until I added the last ingredient. The second I shook the container over my bowl I knew something was wrong! Who left the garlic powder on the table where the cinnamon usually sits??? In a flash I had memories of a famous cheesecake I made a few years ago where I mistakenly used salt instead of white sugar. Not willing to accept defeat I ran to the kitchen and, using the largest spoon I could find, proceeded to remove the mountain of garlic powder from my bowl of oatmeal. After removing as much as I could afford, what remained in my bowl was a little less than a serving. In spite of my removal efforts and plenty of brown sugar, my oatmeal had a distinct and unusual ¨garlic toast¨ flavour. You should try it in a pinch. You might like it. The experince reminded me of Jesus´teaching in Matthew 5 . ¨You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.¨ What I learned this morning is that a little garlic powder goes a long way when it is unexpected. Wearing our yellow T-shirts with El Salvdor 2011 on them gave several of us opportunities to share our faith and mission with airport workers and fellow passengers on our flight. One person even asked how they could get their hands on some Spanish bibles to start a bible study with other flight attendants. Tonight we went to the church for supper where some of us were able to see old friends. The rest of us were able to make new ones. Thanks for a great meal ladies of the church. On our way home we stopped for ice cream at the local Texico gas station. Tomorrow we are going to visit the people we are going to be building the houses for. I think we all agree that building the houses will be rewarding, but building relationships with people is more important and lasts longer. May we never lose our saltiness!!!