Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Substitutions



My Homemade Flour Tortillas

You don't have to be on the mission field very long until you figure out there are some things you just can't find where you are located. Items you used to keep stocked in your pantry and could pick up at any grocery store back home. I'll give you some examples: jello, french vanilla coffee creamer, non-stick pan spray, pancake syrup, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin, PECANS, karo syrup, flour tortillas and cranberry sauce just to mention a few! Desperation causes a person to take serious action. I have learned to make a substitute pancake syrup that is very tasty. My husband continually looks for frozen burritos each time we go grocery shopping, he's always disappointed; they are never there! I decided to make my own flour tortillas and do my best to recreate the bean and cheese burrito in Romania to quench my husband's craving. Viewing his reactions as he consumed the made-from-scratch burritos, I'd say I scored high. By-the-way, there are no re-fried beans available..my substitution, I cooked a pot of lentils; they worked great!
I can't buy Crisco here either, but I have found a substitute called Lando, which appears to be lard and works very well in biscuits and pie crust. As a missionary you learn many lessons of survival on the field, one of them is the art of substitutions.

HOWEVER, there are somethings for which there is no substitution. Try as hard as you might, there just isn't any other way to make it work! Let me give you an example:
some people think you can get to heaven by being a "good person". I know some really good people, but they'll never be good enough to make it to heaven. Other folks think they can work their way to heaven. That's impossible, God's word tells us it won't happen. My advice to you is to open the Bible and read for yourself, the instructions are clear.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.