Family Night & Shining a Light

It's that time of year when school programs begin to roll around again in Chile. Last night, the girls had their "Dia de la Familia" activity which is an annual program presented to the parents. This year, it was Isabel's turn to wear the Charleston dress (which has a story of its own!) and she looked lovely.

doesn't she make a beautiful "flapper"

all decked out in her feathers and pearls

Once again, my cluelessness led me to having to make an emergency call to our seamstress friend for Eva's costume. I had no idea what a "falda plato" (literally translated, "a plate skirt") was, and I wrongly assumed it was something I could purchase at a local store. A few days before the program I asked my neighbor and she tsk, tsked and told me no, that I must hurry and have it made! It turns out that a falda plato is something like a poodle skirt, but in satin material. Thankfully, my friend Norma was willing to make a house call and by the next day had Eva's skirt and matching scarf ready. She looked adorable!

Eva showing a little "attitude" with a friend

Eva with her classmates

We got a kick out of Owen's enthusiasm for the girls' program! He started out sitting towards the back of the room with Pedro and me, but little by little inched his way forward until he was finally on the floor at the very front of the crowd. If you look closely at the second picture you will see his mouth hanging open as he watched the performance. He had a great time, too!

Owen at the front of the crowd

this was a jaw-dropping performance :)

We had the little boys with us, sitting next to Pedro in their double stroller. They were pretty intrigued by all the colors and music and people and activity taking place around them. Of course, their favorite part of the program was the food afterwards! Alec, Owen and I headed to Isabel's classroom first and he had a grin from ear to ear as his sister brought him snacks and treats to eat. Then we joined Pedro, Ian and Eva at her classroom and it was more food and fun. Eva's teacher even gave the boys a huge can full of little plastic toys that the kids in her class had outgrown. They received lots of hugs and kisses and were almost too excited by the time it was all done!

On a more serious note, one of the moms approached me after the program to share that she and her husband are having some struggles and to ask me to let her know when our church offered opportunities for families to attend. I shared that every Sunday is geared towards families with lessons for the adults and separate classes for the children, as well as monthly married couples' events. She was very interested and she is actually the second mom this week to privately ask me for information on our church! The other mom is concerned about some of her son's attitudes and choices and is planning to attend with him this Sunday.

There are times when Pedro and I shake our heads or chuckle at things we see in this secular school environment. For instance, last night's first performance was a Stone Age Flintstones act and the second performance was a Moses, Prince of Egypt number. Pedro leaned over and said how ironic it was to be moving from evolution to Exodus in a span of a few minutes!

Yet it is circumstances like those I've shared of the two moms that encourage and inspire us that our children and we are exactly where God wants us right now - shining our light for Him. We pray that we will always be a faithful beacon!