I went back to visit John and Tanza a couple more times over the month to bring seeds and visit. Tanza invited Ana and I to come over to share in a meal for an Orthodox Holy Day. If you know me then you know I love to learn and experience different religious ceremonies and rituals, so of course I jumped at the chance to be apart of their day.
It turns out that each of their Holy Days has a food associated with it, this one happened to be corn. When we came over that day Tanza had created several piles of food and each pile had a candle in it. After she lit the candles she made the sign of the cross over each one and said a prayer. Ana later explained to me that each pile was for a deceased family member and it was thought the food and blessing would help the family member reach heaven. After the prayers were said, the food was given to the neighbors.
(Tanza and the offerings)
I so enjoyed spending time with John and Tanza this month. I think that they taught me more than I taught them. Spending time with them also showed me that God does know my heart. He knows that I have a heart for the elderly and that I love just sitting and listening to their stories. He led me straight to John and Tanza. God also knows that I love learning about religion and that I desired to learn as much about the culture as I possibly could and so I was invited to see a glimpse into the Orthodox church.
Fundraising Update
I am currently at $9,266 of $15,500, my next deadline is $11,000 by October 1st. Only $1,734 left till the next deadline! Thank you so much for all of your support and donations thus far!
