Youth Day

Today was Youth Day in Larissa's church. This is an annual event where the youth choirs preform and it is a celebration of the youth at the church and in the area. Heather, RJ and Andrew (her two youngest sons) and I joined Larissa for this celebration. We were able to help the women in the "kitchen" (large outside area designated for cooking). Here are some pictures from the day. 

 Larissa and I were helping to cut some of the meat until we were told that the work was too difficult, so they had us cut the meat that was already cooked :).

 Some of the women preparing the greens that are used in a local soup that is made.

 Larissa, Heather and I cutting the liver. They do not use cutting boards, so we were trying to perfect our cutting skills while slicing the meat in our hands. We all walked away un-injured! :)

 Right after the previous picture was taken, we were told that we were working too slowly and the food would not be ready in time, so they came to help us. Hehe. We will increase our cutting speed soon ;).

 A women cooking the greens from the second picture. They make it into a soup that has the consistency of slime (yes, that is as good as it sounds ;)). Aren't the pots they use gigantic!

 It takes a lot of people to make lenya (sp?). This is made of ground maize and a type of flour. It starts very liquidy, but they continue to add flour until it becomes like play dough.  Because they eat with their hands, this becomes the "spoon" for their meal.

This is the final product of all of the food (greens and fish not shown). Each plate will have lenya, meat and stew.

There were A LOT of people there, so as you can see, a lot of food was needed! This picture shows a portion of the people who couldn't fit inside the church. The church was packed inside as well. This youth event is a very big deal. It is not often that a church like this would serve meat. They do not even serve this much food for Christmas. It was quite a celebration! 

We had a great day learning more about the culture and helping the women cook. I'm really enjoying learning more about how things are done here in Mundri. Now I'm going to go rest after a long day in the heat! Have a great weekend :).