In June, I came across a family carpentry company online that has made wooden vegetables, bread, and fruit displays for years.

The stands seemed to fit the Amish needs perfectly. I got a fruit stand with nine baskets for them; that was a big success. The real challenge for me is assembling these stands, this is new to me, and I usually screw up and redo it two or three times.

But I kept looking for a better-baked goods display – they sell pies, donuts, bread loaves, cookies, and zucchini and squash bread well into Fall.

I thought this could be very helpful to them. It’s the kind of thing they love but either build for themselves or don’t get at all.

As the farmstand season nears the end,  the company’s prices came down. I got this idea that this could be a Trifecta in the doing good department, which I intend to maintain right up to through and beyond my foot surgery. I don’t need to stand on both feet or walk to do my work.

There are three winners: the Millers, the refugees, the kids at BMHS. The Amish do the swap, and this is a good trade for them.

It’s interesting; both the Mansion resident and the refugee children are crazy about these bracelets. I’m not sure what these two cultures have in common, but both love colorful and straightforward (and free things.)

The Amish might be uneasy if I won’t take payment (assuming they want it at all), but they have no hesitation about bartering. They’ve agreed to have the refugee students come and visit; that is something I’d love to see happen.

And I had what I thought was a neat idea. I would buy the bread and baked goods wooden stand, and instead of taking money for it, I’d take 100 Amish necklaces and distribute one of them to every Mansion resident and  Bishop Maginn refugee child (or teacher) who wants on.

The stand came in two big boxes yesterday, and Maria showed me how to assemble it this morning. It took me about three hours to move the stand upside down and back using the Alan wrench.

I had to use the Alan wrench and get all the screws in the suitable holes. I’m not familiar with carpentry or putting things together, but I did it, leaving some sore muscles and feet behind. In my life up here, I am learning new things all the time and loving that.

I figured there was no point in keeping off my foot now; surgery is just six days away. It was sometimes tricky.

I hauled it outside to take this photo, and I am proud of it. I like the way it looks. The stand is steady, and the wooden baskets tilt forward for bread or pies, etc.

I want to surprise the Millers, so I think I’ll drop it off later tonight. I’ll have some fun torturing them about who did it (they will know), and then we’ll get down to bartering.

Yesterday, I offered to bring them some pizzas, which they love. For some reason, every family member hates broccoli, which was on the last pizza I got. And every person in the family told me so. I’m intrigued at how honest they are; Maria and I might not say anything in that circumstance.

But I was curious. How is it possible that every person in a family, young or old, male or female, parent and child, would all hate one kind of vegetable? When I asked, they all smiled—one of the not rare Amish secrets. The Bible had to have something to do with this.

They wouldn’t say how this dislike of broccoli came about. I made sure the pizzas I brought yesterday had no broccoli. When I dropped them off, I yelled, “pizza man, your broccoli pizzas are here,” I put them down by the door and then got into the car. The kids all came rushing out like a gang of hornets, each one saying they hated broccoli, they were sorry, but they thought they told me.

I shouted that God must have gotten sick eating broccoli, or maybe somebody threw some at Jesus; that was the only explanation I could think of for none of them like it. Most of them laughed; one or two didn’t.

But then I heard Barbara shouting to them (well, speaking loudly, they don’t ever call). She said I was kidding them, and everybody burst out laughing.

The children surprised me with their sharp sense of humor; they love to tease and tease back.  They laugh at me all the time and try to figure me out. I even joked about their shoes the other day.

They love fun making fun of my hobbling around sometimes on my wrong foot, and they love thumb wrestling. Tonight, I’ll sneak over there after dark and surprise them when they get up early in the morning.

I’ll play dumb for a while, then offer my deal. This feels great. I never imagined bringing joy to anybody with a bread stands. Nor did I ever imagine putting one of those together by myself.  Life is full of mystery if you let it in.