Last weekend there was a special celebration in the Los Guido church. It was called a Quincinera and it is the celebration of when a girl turns 15. The celebration is HUGE in Latin America- almost like a wedding. The girl wears a beautiful dress (that is sometimes rented or even made by someone in the family) and it usually is a huge party.
Alejandra is on the Los Guido leadership team and is the first girl in the church to celebrate her 15th birthday. The adult ministry team decided to celebrate this special day with her and her family. The families in the church cannot even afford presents on their birthdays (some don't even know when there birthday is) and a celebration like this is totally out of the question because of the cost that is usually involved. So this was very special for her and her family.
The celebration was a little different than the normal quincinera in that it was thrown by the church and held at the church so the very nature of the celebration was to give thanks to the Lord for this young girl's life and for her love for the Lord.
There were many girls from the leadership team that read special scriptures to Alejandra and there was a special time for her mother to pray for her and give thanks to God. Alejandra also had a special time of sharing her thanks and prayers and praises with the Lord.
It was emotional for her and her family and I found myself shedding tears, even though I couldn't understand alot of what was being said. It was emotional for me simply because what I could not understand through words I could feel through the emotion in Alejandra's mother's voice and her own voice. I was looking ahead at the day when my own daughter's will be 10...15...25...and I cried with the mom and gave thanks to God that He has given Matt and I three beautiful children to love and cherish.
Alejandra looked beautiful and I thank the Lord we could be a part of it. Here are a few pictures of the day.
Thank you Father for the chance to invest in the lives of these youth that live broken unfair painful lives. Thank you Father for your Spirit that lives inside of them and that brings smiles to their faces. Thank you for Alejandra and her life and her witness. Thank you for this special day in her life and for allowing us the privilege to be here to witness it. I thank you for the plans you have for her life and so many others in Los Guido and Tejarcillos. I pray God that you deliver these precious youth from the evil and the darkness that surrounds their lives. I praise you for your power and your Spirit and your goodness that shines through even the darkest areas of Costa Rica. Thank you Father for your son Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment