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In The Little Lutheran

Lindsay Mack's story about Herrara's granddaughter, Griselda, appears in the October 2008 issue of The Little Lutheran, a magazine for children 6 and younger.

In Honduras, Lutheran grandmas raise grandchildren

Legs braced in kickboxing position, arms trembling, I stood watching Leticia Herrara unbutton her cuff and roll up her sleeve. I braced an enormous 8-gallon tub of warm milk on a table with my arms. I was about to take over a cheese-making operation. I stared in awe as Herrara, a 5-foot-2-inch athletic grandma, plunged her entire arm into the bucket and churned the milk.

Leticia Herrara (above), a Honduran Lutheran, sorts beans, one of many tasks she does while raising four grandchildren, including Griselda (below).

“You have to loosen the milk so the cheese can form,” she said, gripping the side of the bucket.

I breathed heavily and said the steps aloud: “Loosen milk. Free cheese. Don’t stop moving my arm.” When I agreed to spend a day at Herrara’s farm last January, I had no idea making cheese was on the list of tasks.

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