Flame Fired Stew

7 Minute Read

October 2022 proved to be hectic and challenging month for Rose and I, nonetheless, there was so much to be thankful for. I have been trying to be more intentional about being PRESENT at all times. The mission field can be draining at times, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. It can be easy to fall victim to only seeing the “need” around you and thinking that everyone you come into contact with is looking to get something out of you. I’m sure all of us have experienced this feeling at some point in time and so even when you are somewhere, physically, your mind is elsewhere, mentally, preoccupied with other things that require your time and attention. At any given moment, it feels like you are being pulled in 12 different directions.

Unfortunately, when I allow this to happen, I am not being the husband or father that I have been called to be, or want to be for that matter. I want Rose and Romeo to experience the very best of me, the very best I have to offer, thus my focus on trying to be more PRESENT at all times, especially when I am with them. So, in addition to the normal, daily stressors of cross-culturally living we experienced quite a strain financially with some unexpected and unforeseen expenses. We were forced to be quite flexible and adapt.

One evening in particular, all things came down on us at once. Our propane tank for the kitchen ran out and we did not have the funds to refill it. To cook, we used a portable, camping stovetop with a small butane tank attached to the side. Sure enough, that only lasted a day or two before that too ran out. At the same time, the ceramic insert to our crockpot had cracked. We were left with virtually no other options to cook and didn’t have the money to eat out either. As the provider of our family (and the primary cook), I felt it was my duty to find a way to feed my little family. Praise God, we had plenty of the food in the house, just no way of cooking it.

Rose laid down for a nap and Romeo and I put our minds together and came up with a solution. The solution probably seems all too obvious, considering it was something we see on a regular basis, but for our family it was certainly out of the ordinary. I filled a nice big pot with water, added some chicken stock to it and cut up some chicken and a healthy bunch of vegetables we had bought in the market a few days back, and added those next. Romeo held the oven mitt and wooden spatula in his little hands and we made our way down to the lower portion of our property. On our way, we stopped at our fresh herb box to snip off a few fresh sprigs of oregano and added them to the pot also.

Situated by the towering pines, behind a bamboo tunnel is a dilapidated horse stable that has recently been used to store our firewood. Just in front of it is a beautiful horseshoe-shaped, half stonewall for sitting. In the middle of it lies, a great pig in-ground fire pit. Romeo helped me build a fire and laid a big iron grate halfway over the pit, so I could still access the base of the fire. As the fire consumed the logs and the flame died down a bit, I placed the pot on top of the grate. Romeo helped me by gathering twigs and smaller fallen branches he collected from the ground around us, so I could keep feeding the fire as our stew began to bubble. As the smoke rose from the flame, a delicious aroma filled the air. Romeo knelt down beside me as he watched me stir our stew.

I remember feeling so grateful for the opportunity to be with just my son. Being able to teach him and give him direction and watching him fulfill my wishes with a joyful obedience because he had a role to play. At one moment, I looked up from the stew and found a few of the village children propped in one of our trees peering over our property’s wall to see what we were up to. Children by nature are curious and inquisitive, the same nature my son possessed which drove his desire to want to stick his hand close the fire just as “papa” was doing, not knowing that I was purposefully tending to the fire, not just doing it for fun.

I was not only grateful for the time with my son but also to take part in something that, as I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, happens everyday just a stone throw from us in any direction. The majority of the homes in our village do not have a propane-fueled or electric stove. Many of our neighbors will cook over an open fire or have a wood-burning stove. So this moment with Romeo made me feel more connected to my neighbors and the people I sworn to serve. I was able to really be in the moment, taking in all that was around me and I believe part of it was because I had one goal in my mind and that was to feed my family. The responsibility and focus of the task in front of me, truly outweighed the other responsibilities in my life and it kept me more focused on my family.

Sometimes I believe that we are so busy and worried and unable to stay in the moment because we have access to so many other distractions that end up just making life more complicated. Life may be “easier” with a crockpot but there is so much beauty in the simplicity that surrounds us here in the village of Nisnic. I love the cliché saying “LESS IS MORE,” because I’m seeing that truth behind that the longer I live here.

At some point Rose finally woke up and made her way down the lower property and found Romeo and I hard at work over the fire, making dinner. Rose, having grown up as a missionary kid in this same village was no stranger to this way of life. She remembers catching fish in the lake with her brothers before running back to build a fire in the same pit to roast them. They would smother their fish with lemon and salt and enjoy their hard earned catch. I told Rose that as Romeo grows and our family expands, I want to make our flame fired stew once a week. Getting each member of the family involved in the process of coming together to feed one another while also using the process to really slow down and focus on what’s important in life.

I’ll be honest, we haven’t cooked over an open flame since that evening. Most times when I try something new or something new peaks my interest, I am all in, to the point where I told Rose, regarding our flame fired stew, that I was ready to cook everything over an open fire. “Why do we have to use the stove and oven anyways?” “We could save so much money on propane?” “We need to scale back.” “Let’s move further out.” “I could build us a nice, little cottage.” It’s how I’ve always been from the time I was a child. Rose smiles and says, “I’ll follow you anywhere” and “that would be nice.” She knows most times it is short-lived. But what I love about her spirit is that, I know she actually means it.

You’re probably wondering how the stew actually turned out. It was amazing and honestly, one of our favorite meals to date. It had a mouth-watering, smokey flavor to it that you just can’t achieve with a crockpot. I look forward to the next time we slow down long enough and venture outside to cook again. Nonetheless, when I look back on that moment, it reminds me the importance to be fully PRESENT.