El Padrino (Godfather)

Last week, Erin and I were invited to be “padrinos” for Luis. Padrinos are Godparents for his graduation from secondary school. The wife of our pastor told us that we were requested by Luis. He plays drums for the church services on Thursday nights.

He comes from a great family. His parents work at the orphanage. They have four kids of their own and also take care of a dorm.

Erin and I were told that the graduation was at 4pm on Saturday night. In Mexico, things don’t really happen at the time that they say, but Erin and I didn’t want to miss our first opportunity. So we got to the school at 4pm. (how naive)

There was no one there. Not one person. Just some chairs. So we thought it was at another place. We called people and found out that it was at the right place, but that we were ridiculously early.  As in, it was common knowledge that getting there at 5:30 was really early. So we went home. Waited, and then finally went to the same place, where we found tons of people there.

It was a big deal. Folk dancing, speeches, and the graduates were all dressed in tuxedos and custom made dresses.

 

 

 

Erin and I were responsible to walk Luis to the table where he received his certificate. It was quite an honor!

Afterwards, we took a bunch of pictures and talked to many, many people that we knew. Ruby, who brought her three kids with her, threw her middle son, Fred (pictured below) at me and told us to take him to the next part of the celebration.

So we did.

Everyone got in their cars and drove across the valley to the dinner. We were given tickets that Luis’ family provided and sat at our reserved table with their family. They had brought centerpieces and appetizers for us.

We enjoyed a typical party meal with the family and Erin and I were able to find out about their histories. The mom and dad, met each other in Veracruz, which is where they were from. They got married before they became Christians. They moved up here to the Ensenada area because there was more work.

It was so fun to be able to communicate in Spanish with them and show them that we can understand more than one might think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The graduates ended the night by performing a special dance and allowing photos to be taken of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t get home until after 11pm. It was such an honor and a joy to be a part of the celebration. Especially since we knew so many people who were a part of the entire night.

Sunday: El Dia del Padre!

So we had a nice Father’s Day. But an even better Sunday. Chad is getting sick but we still made the best of it. Started out with church service. Pastora asked Chad to pray for the offering and he also played as usual in the worship band. After service we joined our friends and church community downstairs for a lunch of burritos. There was a large group from Iowa (they are staying at the orphanage), so got the chance to meet and talk with some members of their group.

Chad and I then rested a bit in our casa. We talked to our dads, wishing them both a Happy Father’s Day.  Around 3pm the Pastor’s family and friends started a game of volleyball. We decided to join them a few hours later, until the game ended and then transitioned into soccer. 

 

After the soccer game ended around 7pm, we joined everybody inside for a little bit of food.

Chad capturing the essence of the chicken burrito…

  

Chad also tried to annoy Junior, successfully, while he was watching a dancing show on TV.

 

There was also a special father’s day cake, but we didn’t have any of that.  I got to hold Isaac Nathanael; Fred and Ruby’s newborn.  He was dedicated in the church early today during service.  He was so little.

 

THE RODEO

 

Every year, there is a big celebration in our small town to remember the founding of the mission. There is folk dancing, food, carnival rides, and a big rodeo.

Lots of people from all over the area come together to celebrate and enjoy the weekend.

This year, it was fun for Erin and me to go because we knew so many people. People from the church, the town, and my barber.

Erin and I went to the rodeo and walked around. We visited our friends Fred and Helio who were selling food at one of the booths. It was strange because it was common for a cowboy on a horse to walk right by you (or into you) while walking in the crowd.