Taiboco Project

After a very simple supper the conversation stretched a bit and the children, very tired, were almost asleep. I asked Juliano why they didn't want to go to sleep and he replied that, at their house, had established a habit, that after supper was over no one could get up from the table until he had said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His care throughout the day, for food and His providence for them! It was something that really impressed us.! I've been meditating for myself; how many times, in the developed world, the vast majority of wealthy families, despite so many blessings received, doesn't even say a simple thank you to your Giver!

finished the prayer, the children instantly retired to their quarters..

Juliano's parents showed some concern and asked us where we were thinking of sleeping; if in the car or if we had brought a tent. I replied that our idea was to sleep at their house, if they had a corner for us. We soon understood that the problem was not space, but rather a certain shyness in inviting us to sleep in more “modest” conditions, but after assuring them that we easily got used to any situation, Juliano showed us our “royal suite”, where for four nights we had the privilege of being hosted…

After installing our bed, we went to bed very early, around the 21 h, but sleep took a while to appear, because every time I change my bed I have a certain difficulty in adapting to another one, but this time, Even more, was enjoying a totally different experience, because the mattress was the same “especial”!

In the silence and darkness of the night, an authentic orchestra of crickets could be heard singing and to complete our admiration we were literally ecstatic with the dance of dozens of fireflies that seemed to be perfectly synchronized with their song.! It was really funny our reaction when we saw those little lights turn on and then, almost immediately, to go out! we asked ourselves, intrigued, what would be the cause of this and finally my memory flashed me with moments from my childhood when, on certain nights of the year, ran ecstatic, together with other children, behind hundreds of fireflies and after catching them we took the “flashlights” from them and glued them to the forehead with saliva, so that later we could scare other children and even adults, in the dark of night...

We realized that if Juliano's house had a roof maybe we wouldn't benefit from this beautiful show, because it only had a sheet metal roof that easily allowed the animals to enter and exit.

For a long time we enjoyed these unique moments, because in the following nights we no longer had this privilege, though we were so looking forward to the night coming…

Even after Radu started to snore, I was still ecstatic with all that environment surrounded by a surreal and mystical air! Finally, fatigue won and I let myself sleep.

the Timorese, in general, are very early risers and we, obviously, we lined up without much enthusiasm initially, however very motivated to start implementing our feat. After the animal kill (breakfast) we presented our plan to Juliano and his family, who were very grateful and delighted with the idea.

on this first day, we started by getting the coconuts that Juliano had cut from some coconut trees he had, same, in your backyard.

The funniest part was when we peeled them off., because both Radu and I tried to imitate Juliano, however without much success… When it was my turn, after a few failed attempts, Radu told me to observe how quickly and easily Juliano was working and I argued that it was due to the quality of the machete he used, because I thought mine didn't cut so well. Juliano started to smile, he handed me his machete and I gave him mine., but even so, to my “desperation” the famous machete continued to cut “badly”!!! we laughed!

After removing the coconut nut, we taught them how to grate it in our machine and, so much Julian, like your wife and sister, experienced, each in turn, how should they do this work.

After this task we mixed it well, the grated coconut, sugar to taste, a handful of flour and a cup of water, until everything is homogenized so you can make the dumplings. After molding some balls, we put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the oven until golden..

Well you can take the tip and try it: well worth the effort, because, about me, these cookies are really delicious!

we taught them, also, to make bread that could be sold as well as for the family's own consumption.

A few minutes after the oven starts to heat up, the cookies and the bread started to release a very pleasant smell… you should see the little faces of the kids and Juliano himself when we took the first mold, with the cookies and bread ready to be…!

we baked, also, peanuts and sweet potatoes that were, Likewise, much appreciated and savored during our supper, for no member of the family had ever had the opportunity to prove, until the date, roasted sweet potato!

supper over, we had our usual moment of gratitude to our heavenly Father, thanking Him for His paternal care for us, in that day, through the prayer of the family priest: the julian.

to follow, Radu set up a hammock and invited Juliano to try it. He loved swinging, in the same, together with Radu and when I found out that he wanted to give it to her, she looked like a child who has just received her favorite toy.!!! Just look at his face, because it says it all!

through these people, with such a simple and unpretentious life, once again, God wanted to convey to us a great and important life lesson: it takes so little to be happy!