Friends and Fiesta!

Infinity Bay. This is where we typically spend our Sunday afternoons. We meet up with friends, sometimes eat lunch here, generally go for a snorkel, a swim or a walk on the white sand beach, and we visit. Don took this photo with his new camera of our usual Sunday group: Susan and Larry, Bob and Debi and Dee. We see lots of other friends coming and going while there, may watch the younger folks in a volleyball game or the wee ones digging in the sand. It's a very relaxing, enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Greicy, Hilda, Victor, Oscar

These four kids just graduated from the 6th grade. That's a big deal in Honduras where so many children never make it that far, or if they do, that's the end of their education. These are all sponsored kids who also attend our church. The school had a graduation ceremony for them on Saturday and unfortunately, Don and I somehow failed to fix the date and time in our brains and missed it. Susan, one of the sponsors, told us not to feel bad about it. It was supposed to start at 2 p.m., but true to Honduran ways, actually began at 4 p.m. and was a very short little ceremony. The boys had to have new long pants and long-sleeved shirts and the girls wore graduation gowns.

On Monday afternoon, our church sponsored a fiesta to celebrate the graduates. Everyone came dressed in their finest, the girls had curled their hair, and they all wore big smiles. Lots of little gifts arrived, even from the poorest families. A meal was served by the mothers of the graduates, adults first, then children, including the graduates! Our pastor's wife was afraid that the food would run out before everyone had been fed, but that didn't happen. There was even some Arroz con Pollo (rice with chicken) and slaw left over. The graduates were each allowed to invite 25 people, family and friends. We saw quite a few new faces and met another darling girl named Julette (Jew-layta). I'll tell you more about her another time.

Here's our girl, Leidi, looking mighty cute, and her grandmother, Concepción. Leidi proudly told us that she had passed 4th grade and would be moving up to 5th grade in February when classes resume after the winter break. Concepción looks so pleased, doesn't she?! Leidi is holding her report card, and she had pretty good grades, even in math. She's continuing to take ESL (English as a Second Language) lessons up in the colonia which are free. Concepción often cleans the school and earns credits which she can use to "purchase" donated clothing. That's a terrific program and much needed.

I'll have more to say later.

Photo credits to Don.