Can I have a Veintidosenera?

I went to my first Quincenera ever last night! Those of you who know me well, or probably those of you who don't, know that I LOVE birthdays. They are my favorite! I get so excited about everybody's birthday (especially my own) and I love to throw big parties for birthdays! This culture is where I belong. The 15th birthday is the BIG deal. You invite hundreds of guets to the event, you get to wear a wedding dress, you make a grand entrance, you dance with every male in the room, and you eat your weight in food and cake! Let's face it...this is my birthday dream in a nutshell. So, I've decided that since I missed out on the whole Quincenera thing, I'm going to have Veintidosenera next year. =) Better get to work planning that, folks!

One of the activities at the Quincenera was a fireworks show. Since the missionary family is from the United States and the party was on the 4th of July, Debbie decided she wanted to have some fireworks. Needless to say, Valerie and I were excited since we knew we'd be mission our traditional fireworks shows. After we had shot off all the fireworks, three police cars pulled up to the building. Someone from the neighborhood had called the police about some "gunshots" they heard. The police were NOT happy about our fireworks display. They were probably even less happy about the fact that I was snapping pictures of them! =)

On a more serious note, I got to witness a baptism yesterday. A member of the church and good friend of mine, Andres, was baptized yesterday. I knew he had been studying a lot and considering this decision, but I did not realize that I was going to get to share in this special day with him and the other church members. It was such an incredible moment and one of the best things I will remember about this summer! When he came back up out of the water, Andres just sat there for a few moments, unable to move. It was so obvious that he was in awe of God's amazing power and work in his life and I was moved to tears. I met Andres four and a half weeks ago and immediately considered him a friend. It was such a blessing to be invited to share in this special part of his life and to join him on his journey of faith. I am blessed to call him a friend and blessed to call him a brother! Praise God for his decision to walk with Christ and please keep him in your prayers!

Well, that's all for now. More to come soon.