Quinceñera

Finally a post from Dave!!!  Today's post will be about the quinceñera.

What is a quinceñera?  It is the birthday celebration for many girls that have a Latin American background.  It is to celebrate their fifteenth (quince) birthday, as the U.S. has their “sweet sixteen” birthdays.  Here in Guatemala it may look a bit different as we have crossed paths with many different fifteen year girls; they have been on a variety of life paths by the time we’ve met them.  There are some that have already experienced child prostitution; some are already a mom; some have made the choice of marriage; some are seeking fervently after the Lord; some have either only the mom or only the dad; some are orphaned; some are working; some are washing clothes, cleaning houses, making tortillas, or working in the fields for some extra money; some are in school; some are playing in the streets.  Wherever life has taken them, their fifteenth birthday comes around and culture tells them that it is time to celebrate the girl becoming a woman.

Here in Guatemala, people give any reason to celebrate, the quinceñera not weighing in cheaply.  I’ve seen pictures of some quinceñeras where it looks fancier than a wedding.  And living here at Lake Atitlán, some people have money, some don’t.  In turn, this celebration can cause people to take out loans, which they pay back slowly with an outrageous interest rate.  It is a day that girls dream about and talk about growing up, with their friends.  They may forget the rest of their birthday celebrations, if they’ve even had any, but they’ll remember their quinceñera.  They have now become grown-up.

Why all this quinceñera talk?  We partook in learning more than ever about the quinceñera these days.  There is a girl, from Puerta Abajo (Chimaltenango), who we have known for almost two years now, who turned fifteen.  Her dad left when she was an infant; her mom got together with another man, whom she is currently with, and has had three more children.  The dad always seems to be working; in fact we’ve never actually met him, until the day of the quinceñera.  Yet the money never seems to make it home; it is little what he earns and he ends up spending it in different manners.  This fifteen year old wasn’t able to attend school in 2014 because she had to help her mom around the house and because the dad didn’t think too highly

of her education.  Thankfully, as we could convince them that education was a good idea and they didn’t have to be the ones paying for it, this past school-year January-October she was able to go; she came out as one of the top students in her class, with the majority of her grades falling between 90%-100%.  We pray that she’ll be allowed to continue pursuing a better life.  As she is not this man’s biological daughter, he doesn’t always treat her kindly and it has a negative effect on family life.  Every time we visit Puerta Abajo, we go with a Guatemalan missionary couple from the capital, and we find that there is always need with this family; the struggle with the dad/husband, finances, and food.

Right, her quinceñera.  I had the privilege of taking her out of the village and go shopping.  When dreaming of the quinceñera, the girls dream about their dress.  This girl, being of a poor family, she chose a simpler dress that she could use again, though it was still very elegant.  Next I got some of the necessities for a quinceñera: heeled-shoes to show that she is now a woman; a tiara to show that she is the Lord’s adopted princess and daughter; a ring to show that she is set apart for God and marriage; and makeup and hair products for the big day.  As we put on this special day with help from this missionary couple from Guatemala

City, they did a lot of the other logistics.  Of course, being a chef, I took care of the main dish: pepian.  I prepared, for fifty people, this Guatemalan dish which consists of a roasted tomato based sauce (that has pumpkin seeds, which gives it is name), and a meat (for the occasion and the sake of cost, I did chicken).  When the day came, word spread, and over a hundred people came; thankfully the Lord multiplied and everybody was able to eat.  There was rice, pepian, tortillas, cake, and a drink.  There was eating, fellowship, tears, laughter, and even singing of “happy birthday” in English.

During the special day she was filled with emotion and excitement.  We were able to tell that she was deeply touched and appreciated all that was done for her.  We were able to share some passages from the Bible and a word about identity and how God sees her.  Following that we were each able to pray for her life and future.  We hope that by showing her God’s love on her special day; that her life will be impacted and restored; may God move in a supernatural way on her behalf.