QUINCEAÑERA NIGHT!

Saturday, July 24th, 2010 was a special night for Martha and Victoria, their quinceañera!

This is a type of "coming of age" fiesta, signifying that the girls are

 no longer "chicas," but "señoritas."  This marks a turning point where

 they will take on more responsibility, making more adult decisions.

The girls are shown here with their padrino and madrinas (sponsors):

Martha's were Sandy and Gloria Johnson,

long-term SAMS missionaries in Arequipa,

 and Victoria's was Kym McDaniel, 

short-term SAMS intern here for two months,

but previously on many Roof Dog visits to the casas.

First there was a church ceremony where the girls prayed the
following prayer:  "Thank You, Lord, for permitting me to complete
fifteen years of age.  Accept my youth that I offer with all of my
heart.  I promise to serve You all the days of my life.
Help me to complete Your will here on the earth, and one day,
in the company of my loved ones, to be able to enjoy the
 eternal pleasures that You have prepared for us.  Amen"

With Padre Juan Carlos, following the service.

Now on to the party!  Everything was decorated beautifully.

It was held at San Lucas Church.

The Director of the casa hogar, Sagrada Familia,

 Pedro Huamani,

escorts the girls into the hall as their "papá."

Victoria and Martha pass between rows of guests 

holding candles, blowing them out as they go.

After salutations and introductions, words of wisdom 

from the padrinos, and a response and welcome

from the girls themselves, it was time for the first dance!

Then everyone gets into the act!

Martha and Giovanna

Vicky and Juan Ayala

Margot

Susana and Victoria take a break.

Manuel was a wonderful waiter.

(when he wasn't dancing!)

And we had a fantastic crew of helpers...

pictured here are Ana Rosa and Naty.

Victoria greets a friend.

Doesn't Martha have a 

beautiful smile?

Now it's time for the cake!  (In some ways, this

was almost like a wedding celebration!)

A special guest for Martha, her sister Noemi.

Sandy and Pedro...without these two gentlemen,

(plus Gloria and Kym) this event would not have happened!

There was much behind-the-scenes coordination necessary, 

but what a privilege to bless these girls.

DESPEDIDA

THURSDAY, JULY 22nd WAS XAVIER, ANGELA, AND LIZET'S

 LAST DAY LIVING AT THE CASA HOGAR SAN JOSE

In true Peruvian custom, the children at the younger
 home gave them a "despedida,"or official farewell.
 It was a time of great emotion, for the Director, Maria Perez,

the children being adopted, the adoptive parents,
 and the rest of the youngsters, as well as those who came as guests.
 The casas here are truly like family, and this was very

 obvious as many gave a tearful good-bye to their beloved friends.

Maria Perez gives gracious words of parting.

All the children perform the song

 "Sing Hallelujah to the Lord" in English.

Wow!  What an awesome cake!

The three pose with Maria Perez,
and then with their new parents, David and Emily Nelson

The kids display a lot of mixed emotions naturally.

Angela with her special friends,
Rosa, Yasmin, and Daniela.
All these girls are in the 5th grade,
except for Daniela.

Daniela hates to say good-bye to Lizet.

Just when emotions were feeling very heavy,
Padre Juan Carlos helps liven things up
as the kids gather round the keyboard.

Yasmin, Lizet, and Rosa

Tio Alejandro and Pamela

Tia Gloria and Daniel

Tia Kym and Tamara

Wilber, Daniel, Juan Diego, and Diego Armando

Lizet snuggles in with her new mom, Emily.

The kids with Juan Ayala,
who has been given oversight of the casas.


Afterwards, the adults and the three adopted children
go out for dinner at Brunno's Pizzeria

Xavier and Angela think this is pretty cool.

Happy new parents!
May the Lord bless them abundantly...

Nelsons arrive for adoption

Monday, July 19 was a joyous day as 

 Emily and David Nelson 

arrived to adopt Lizet, Angela, and  Xavier.

As you can see everyone is very happy

about becoming a new family.

The kids of Casa Hogar San Jose

welcomed the Nelsons with some singing.

Then each of the kids read their new parents

a letter expressing their joy. 

Xavier promises to be a good son.

  Lizet says she was been waiting to be part of this family.

Then Angela expresses her joy of joining the family.

It was an emotional time for all, but very joyful.

Awhile later, Xavier plays his zampona

and Angela and Gloria play a duet.

Emily is glad the kids have had a good introduction to piano.

The new family looks very happy.

David and Emily were accompanied by Maria Elena and Raul 

who have 25 years of experience in facilitating adoptions. 

A local psychologist and social worker are also 

working with them to finalize all the paperwork.

They'll be in Arequipa into early August and

after a few days in Lima will be heading back to Texas and Oklahoma.

Starting July 22, the kids will be living with their new parents

at the former home of Fr. Ron and Vicki Robertson.

After meeting the kids on Monday evening, all the adults went

out for a special celebration dinner at La Italiana. 

Upcoming excitement for a quinceañera celebration

Victoria and Martha have recently turned 15 

at Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia.

Tias Kym and Gloria are sponsoring a big party for them on July 24.

This is a special event when a girl
is no longer a "chica" but becomes a "señorita".

There is a LOT to do in getting ready: renting dresses, 

making party favors, handing out invitations,
planning the party with food and music.

This weekend the girls will be coming over
to the Johnsons for a bead-making project
to hand out to all their friends.

It's not often that a young woman gets treated like a princess.  

Last week, we accompanied them to try on dresses.  WOW!

You can tell Martha is excited.  No wonder!

Victoria is all smiles about her special dress.

More to come after July 24!

Gloria gets back into piano teaching with the younger kids

Upon returning from the United States, Gloria attended 4 weeks

of a refresher in Spanish, but managed to teach some piano lessons

including some of the new students.

Shown here: (front) Pamela, Tamara, Isela, Lizet, Diego Armando, Daniella

and (back) Rosa, Estrella, Yasmin, Gloria, Angela, and Xavier.

Angela reviews a theory lesson with Gloria.

Xavier has picked out Fur Elise on the keyboard.

Saturday afternoon playtime and English lessons

Tia Kym McDaniel has been working at the casas teaching English

to the kids especially focusing on the three siblings 

soon to be adopted by a family from Oklahoma.

On Saturday afternoon, Kym, Gloria, and Sandy 

have gone to make learning fun with some games.

They are very enthusiastic practicing action verbs in English.

Here a team is assigned to act out the word "wash".

Lizet gets excited when she correctly names the verb.

On another Saturday, Tia Kym led some games with all the kids on the patio.

Pamela tries to throw a ball between the legs 

of the other kids as they try to block her shot.

After a busy time of play, it's good to wind down with some quieter activities

like reading.  Lizet and Tamara enjoy this special time with Kym.

Angela in 5th grade takes the time to read to

our darling new 1st grader Gimena.

Kym shown with Gloria in the

main plaza of Arequipa.

Siblings Lizet, Xavier, and Angela get some extra help with English

lessons from Tia Kym, Tia Gloria, and Fr. David Petrash 

from Dallas who is here for a few weeks of language school.

Angela and Lizet are working hard on building up English vocabulary.