Pentecost Sunday

So, here are the pictures from Eli's first Communion, which we celebrated this Saturday.

There were a lot of people there, so he was a little nervous, but he got through the whole thing really well.

I actually got him into a button down shirt with little effort, but he got to spend Sunday up on the roof in traditional jungle-wear as trade off...

It was a long but very nice Mass. The bishop was there to celebrate the mass for the feast of the Blessed Virgin, since our church is named for Our Lady of Fatima.

The two girls sitting next to Eli were also receiving First Communion, and there were a number of Baptisms and Confirmations.



























































































































After the Mass, they shifted into KTV mode outside. Two big tents were set up for a catered party. These are the sorts of parties and tents that will be commonly set up in a street, sometimes taking up half of a rather busy street, for weddings and funerals. Especially in the summer, it's not unusual to be driving along and suddenly the road turns into an outdoor kitchen.

They're pretty cool parties, but we didn't stay because it was just too loud for Calvin.

























So, we ventured across the street to the junior high school where the car was parked. The junior high school let the church use it's parking lot for the day, so we hung out there for half an hour, eating the pesto we'd brought with us in a makeshift picnic.




















































In the junior high school's grounds, there was a resin replica of the Statue of Liberty, so I had to take a few pictures of that...



































Here's Eli telling his sister to be quiet during the Confirmations, because he's such a model of serenity....





Here are the kids at the junior high school, befriending one of the local wandering dogs... a lot of these dogs are surprisingly friendly, and I think that this one was being cared for by one of the school's caretakers. The kids gave it a bit of their food...



And here are the kids imploring us to let the dog come home with us. This is actually just the kind of animal the kids need-- something with strong bones...