Note to grooms…

Don’t tell a foreigner that your wedding is at 2:00 when in reality it is at 3:00 thinking that said foreigner is as tardy as your family members. Chances are, a
foreigner who has never been to a wedding in your country before assumes that weddings start when said to be started, and will arrive at the appointed time, if not a few minutes early in order to attain a seat with a good view of the event. Result: Foreigner waits with husband for what seems an eternity, wondering why nobody seems to be arriving and why a girl who looks like she could be part of the wedding party still has her wet hair wrapped in a towel, and why a woman who looks to be the mother of the groom is just now peeling the bark off of the yucca that will be part of the reception meal. In the meantime, foreigner makes bets with husband concerning what time the wedding will really start, the conditions being that whoever guesses closest to the actual starting time gets to pick which restaurant will be enjoyed for date night. Foreigner wins bet, of course, by guessing within fours minutes of actual starting time…which was 3:34.
All this to say that Jason and I went to a wedding on Saturday, our first since moving here, and enjoyed a really sweet, if not tardy event. It was fun to see how different weddings can be in different cultures. The food was delicious by the way. Among the many different items on the plate, we were served pork, which we have not eaten in a long, long time, and even though I “hate” the stuff, it sure tasted yummy. A nice break form chicken, I have to say.

Latin Americans will use any excuse to form a holiday, especially holidays that include gift giving. God bless them. One such holiday is Children’s Day, much like Mother’s or Father’s Day, except it’s for kids. The point is to celebrate the beauty of childhood and allow a time for kids to know they are special and loved.
Having five kids, that was about the only time of the year my parents would all of the sudden decide that we were Americans, and didn’t have to follow Latin American tradition. Haha. But to pacify our outrage, they would sometimes give us a WHOLE box of our favorite cereal each, which if you are from a big family, you understand what a monumental gift that is. Anyways, we celebrated Children’s Day yesterday at
our little church and had a really fun time with a lot of kids from the community. Our good friends, the Webers, sent a suitcase full of toys, crayons, stickers, water balloons, and coloring books, which we were able to give out to the kids. It was so cute to watch them shuffling home with their arms full of colorful knick-knacks, trying not to drop a single thing. My favorite part is that the message they took home in their hearts was that they have a Creator and Savior who loves them dearly and holds them in high esteem in His kingdom. My prayer is that God would nourish that seed of truth in their tender little hearts so that one day the seed grows and bears beautiful fruit for his kingdom. I hope your day is blessed and filled with understanding of God’s presence in your life.



Jason and I waiting out eternity for the wedding