{"id":60444,"date":"2019-12-16T10:51:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?p=60444"},"modified":"2020-06-04T16:46:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T23:46:47","slug":"cooking-for-bruno-holiday-recipe-boy-who-chose-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/blog\/cooking-for-bruno-holiday-recipe-boy-who-chose-me","title":{"rendered":"Cooking for Bruno: A holiday recipe for the boy who chose me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What holiday traditions does your family have around a meal? Consider adding a recipe that gives back this year! <\/em><\/p>\n

Check out a recipe suggestion that was inspired by a boy in Ecuador who chose his sponsor this fall. <\/em><\/p>\n

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\"What
Bruno chose Matthew as his sponsor this fall in Ecuador. (©2019 World Vision\/photo courtesy of Matthew Brennan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I met Bruno in Ecuador<\/a> this past September. He’s 7, the middle child of three with an older brother and a younger sister. They and their single mom live with her parents, and she doesn’t work because she takes care of them full-time.<\/p>\n

He loves soccer and doing homework, and he has a dog named Rambo.<\/p>\n

On the day I met him, Bruno chose me to be his sponsor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was in the room when he went up to choose the photo of the sponsor he wanted, but when he walked toward my photo, I quickly ducked outside. He didn’t know I was there, and I didn’t want to influence his choice if he recognized me from the picture. After he went through the next few rooms — getting his photo taken, writing a letter to me, etc. — I had a chance to sit down with him and his mom, Maribel.<\/p>\n

We connected first about our dogs. My wife and I have a Husky–Great Pyrenees mix, and I had brought Bruno a stuffed animal that looks like our dog. Bruno had been surprised that I was there and a little unsure about this unexpected visit, but the stuffed animal was a game-changer. His face brightened — his uncertainty melting away — and he took the stuffed animal while I showed him pictures of our dog on my phone. Then Bruno told me about his dog, and we were fast friends.<\/p>\n

\"What
©2019 photo courtesy of Matthew Paul Turner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bruno’s mom had plenty to tell me, too.<\/p>\n

Maribel wanted me to know more about Bruno — that he does well in school, that he’s thoughtful and caring. She told me about their family situation and Bruno’s siblings. And then she told me about his health.<\/p>\n

Bruno is 7, but very small for his age. He looks maybe 5. Maribel explained that he has a severe calcium deficiency, which sometimes causes seizures, and he is seeing doctors to help treat it. This detail is why he’s small for his age, and why Maribel can’t work, because caring for Bruno takes so much of her time.<\/p>\n

I was nodding as she told me these details through a translator, but I was having a hard time picturing this thoughtful, happy boy in front of me having seizures. I didn’t want to imagine that; I didn’t want it to be true. Maybe the doctors’ treatment was already helping.<\/p>\n

But then I remembered that I was there because they needed support. Bruno had chosen me<\/a>. So I am going to write to him and pray for him and send special gifts<\/a>. And through that support and our incredible staff in Ecuador, I have hope that Bruno will get the help he needs.<\/p>\n

Throughout my weeks in Ecuador visiting World Vision’s programs, I saw again and again that access to the right nutrition is a common challenge for kids. They might be able to get enough quantity of food, but that doesn’t mean they’re getting the balance of nutrients they need to grow up healthy.<\/p>\n

World Vision is teaching parents about nutrition<\/a>, how to cook for their kids with ingredients that will give them the balance they need, and even how to plant gardens that will provide those foods.<\/p>\n

\"What
Diana tends a garden beside her home in Ecuador to grow nutritious foods for her daughter, like pumpkins. (©2019 World Vision\/photo by Matthew Brennan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I don’t know if Bruno’s calcium deficiency is a diet and nutrition problem or something else. But knowing that a lack of nutrition is a common challenge for kids in Ecuador, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were connected.<\/p>\n

In all likelihood, I will never have the opportunity to cook for Bruno. But on this trip, I was traveling with three food bloggers, so I started to wonder: If I did get the chance to cook for him one day, what would I make? I looked up foods that are naturally high in calcium<\/a> and came up with this baby kale salad!<\/p>\n

\"What
©2019 World Vision\/photo by Matthew Brennan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Baby kale salad<\/h2>\n