Our fun mystery supper

For three weeks, the school children were hard and heavy into hunting and trapping pests. The teachers in our little country school divided the children into two groups to see who could acquire the most points based on the amount of pests they got. The children had many good times and some intense moments.

Thanks to Uncle Jeriah for helping our children on two raccoon hunts. Memories of a lifetime were made as they worked together long into the night. With numerous families on farms, mice were on the radar, plus, it was a good way of involving the younger children. An astounding amount of 244 mice were caught by the end of three weeks, most of which were caught with little mouse traps in barns and outdoor buildings.

After the contest was passed, a mystery supper was planned for both the winning and losing teams. On top of that, the board volunteered to serve the school parents along with the children. Our children were excited, with the younger ones a bit apprehensive as they didn’t really know what to expect, especially with stories they had heard of actual raccoon meat having been on the menu some years ago (it wasn't as bad tasting as they thought of it).

On Friday evening, when we arrived at the school house, we were ushered upstairs into what we call the big room. Tables had been set up with a decor, uniquely its own. Fox, coyote, and mink hides, which had been cured and tanned, were placed over the tables with empty .22 cartridges strewn through the center. Papers with each guest's name and a ‘menu’ were at each place setting.

My first graders listened with wide eyes as I explained, “These menu items, which all represented wildlife in one way or another, are replacement names for a fork, spoon, napkin, and dishes that will be served for supper: Starling’s attraction, Whitetail haven, Fox’s dream..." The list went on, they had no idea what these foreign terms could mean. "We’ll jot down what we choose to have on our first, second, and third servings. Everyone will get the same dish, but just not all in the same order,” I explained.

I thought of Daniel who would surely enjoy helping figure it out. On a night as this his absence was keenly felt, still, there was no doubt that God does all things well. When the gaping emptiness taunts me, I started something new, I just quietly tell Jesus, “More of you, more of you.” It happens many times each day, and I am comforted that every silent petition does make a difference in some way.

Our menu forms were all submitted. When the first plate was served to an eighth-grade boy, there were bursts of laughter. Since I was at the other end of the table I did not see it myself, though I heard exclamations about a chocolate mouse.

My first grader, who sat next to me, smiled at his bowl of ice cream the first time around.

When my plate was handed to me I was pleased with the selection- all except for one missing item that is really quite essential. There were seasoned potato cubes (which thankfully were not too mushy), a piece of grilled chicken, veggies, and no spoon or fork! I had guessed the wildlife’s tongue to be a spoon, and it ended up a napkin instead. Okay, it looked good, but no fork or spoon? I’ve always been the ‘fingers before forks’ type, but this was stretching it.

Laughing, I told the ones across the table to just not look as I gingerly picked on my plate with the utensil God made thirty- some years ago. Mmm, it was really so good. My neighbors across the table had thought of translating one item, ‘Crooked Bear’ into German. A direct translation is the word we use for potatoes. The Fox’s Dream proved to be chicken (chicken farmers can tell you how foxes enjoy feasting on chickens if they have the slightest opportunity to do so), and Food Plot was the replacement title for mixed vegetables.

And then came my mouse with a cube of cheese sitting in front of it. It consisted of a Lindor chocolate, with a Hershey kiss head and nose with beady red dot eyes, almond sliver ears, a twister tail, and some brown sprinkles behind it on the plate. It looked too real; there was nothing in me that wanted to eat those bits that looked like bits I clean when there's a mouse in the house.

Salad and ice cream also came with my second course. I hung onto the ice cream to be eaten with the third course, which consisted of brownies, which were called a Mink Slide, and strawberries, which bore the title Whitetail Haven (strawberries are a favorite to deer). The mouse was still in safekeeping. What is a better way to finish off a meal than with a Lindor chocolate? That is, as long as you don’t think too much about the rodent side of this one.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the children lined up and sang two songs for us. I savored every moment. What is more precious than to watch your little children, whom you have seen go through much deep water, now stand with their friends and sing of God’s provision?! Life is not perfect, yet it has so much good.

There were two more songs sung everybody before we were dismissed. Our two oldest children eagerly joined their friends and some of the parents on the ice of a neighbor’s pond, while the rest of us stayed with the younger children and helped with clean-up.

It was a good evening, and given a chance, even the children who had been skeptic, would be ready for another mystery dinner any day.

Homemade Fudge Brownies

1 1/2 cup butter, melted

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cocoa

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Whip together first four ingredients, add dry ingredients. Bake in a greased 12 by 7 inch pan at 350, for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup powdered sugar while warm.

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