First Communion and Celebration

We had the joy of being part of a celebration for one of my students. She is a dear friend to Sweet Cheeks, and the entire family is special to us. C's father is the ambassador to Turkey from Ecuador, and they placed their girls in our school nearly 3 years ago when their term in Turkey began.

It was time for C to take her first Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. We were able to go to her church and watch her special ceremony. Then we were invited for a beautiful lunch afterwards. Her older sister D is a special friend to my older girls, pictured below.

Her mom, who is perhaps one of the classiest ladies I have ever known, rented a huge tent for her backyard and the luncheon.

There were several dignitaries there, the Ambassador from Columbia, a diplomat from Spain, and a few special family friends (us!).

My son made me laugh harder than I have in a long time. We got there and right away the kids enjoyed the trampoline and having fun. There are full time nannies living at this home, so I could sort of mentally check out for a little bit. They kept an eye on the kids and helped them get their food when it was time. When Big Ben saw the servers dressed in uniforms and the big tent, and then waited for his lunch while the trays of appetizers and drinks were served, he started to get a little hungry. He assumed we were at some kind of restaurant, so he made his way over to me and said, "Can you just order me a pide?" We laughed and laughed. Pide is pretty much the most common Turkish food you can buy, but he was hungry and ready to "order." Soon his food was served, and I am sure he liked it more than his weekly pide.

I wish I had a picture of our meal. It was the finest, best-tasting meal I have had in a very long time. The mushroom covered beef, the pineapple-baked ham, the scalloped potatoes. I can't even begin to tell you how good that food was.

And then they brought out this darling cake. C is in the center. It was covered with butterflies, her favorite.

Her mom bought Christian-themed ornaments and had the bakery here make these.

This is a South American dessert. It's made to look like fruit, but they are little sweets.

Here's my friend M and my sweet student C.

My children are blessed with good, good friends. And this friend of Sweet Cheeks truly has a heart for the Lord and loves to learn more about Him and participate in Bible classes at school. Just yesterday I watched her bow to thank God for her treats at International Day. It will be a hard goodbye come next Spring, but something tells me Sweet Cheeks will make her way down to Ecuador to see her one day.