Coffeehouse(s)

One of my favorite things that Tim & I have been able to do together as missionaries so far is host a couple of "Coffeehouse" events in our apartment. When we first walked into our apartment, we envisioned & hoped for hosting groups of students here. The open layout is just perfect, and it's more space than just the two of us need, so we wanted to make good use of it.

The Coffeehouse events are essentially a partially pre-planned open-mic night, hosted by Tim and accompanied by an assortment of warm beverages and yummy snacks. It suits both of our strengths & preferences. Tim can be up front with his musical equipment, orchestrating, playing, and leading; meanwhile,  I can be way in the back in the kitchen, hostessing, baking, and chatting. Perfect. We've had two now, and both were great successes! There were about 35 or 40 people at each, and most excitingly, we had a mix of both students we know --with whom it's a great opportunity to share holy leisure, grow in friendship, and share our home & lives-- and new students, whom we and the student leaders had a chance to meet and with whom we could begin building relationships.

Besides the many good conversations that have come from the kitchen during Coffeehouses, I've also learned to make Wassail, biscotti, and maple bacon popcorn. And become semi-famous for my Mint Hot Cocoa. I'm feeling generous, so I'll share the top-secret recipe:

1. Heat water and fill a mug about 2/3rds full.
2. Brew a mint tea bag for 2-3 minutes.
3. Remove the tea bag and add a good (read: large) amount of cocoa powder to the mug.
4. Stir until well-dissolved, and top off with a bit more hot water.
5. If the person you're serving the mug to can handle dairy & wonderfulness, try adding a bit of coffee creamer. Delicious!

Serve, and become well-liked.

One last Coffeehouse fun fact: During the first one, I was pregnant and ridiculously tired, but we hadn't told the students yet, so my teammate Gina offered to cover for me, and I snuck off to go to sleep while the event was still going on. Yes, one 6-inch-thick wall away. I was that tired. Fortunately, we moved the time up a little for the second-go-round, and I managed to last. The final car-load of students even helped me clean the entire kitchen while they were waiting to be carted back to campus. Bless their souls.

Thee End.