This is Melissa's First Blog Posting. However, I never got around to posting it when I should have in March. Better Late than Never.
Friday night at our church service 2 girls I know very well came up and started to ask me a question. Then they pulled another girl, who I'd seen before but really don't know, into the conversation and asked if I could bring a cake to them the next day. We had just moved to a new home, and I had a lot of unpacking to do and John and Rhonda were coming in that next day. But how could I say "no" to a cake. I asked what time they needed it. 4pm. Ok, I could definitely do that! Then they told me that it needed to go to the house of the girl I didn't know that well. I figured it must be for her birthday. I was a little confused when they mentioned another child. For a second I thought that maybe they were telling me that it was his birthday but I knew we'd already celebrated his birthday a couple of months ago. Since the entire conversation was in Spanish I didn't ask any more questions...just brushed it off as a misunderstanding on my part! Well, the next day I made a cake and cupcakes, decorated them, and took them to the girls. Several girls met me at the truck. Their first question was "Y Kate?" (and Kate? Where is she?) She was playing with George and Jeanne's grandkids who are here for 5 months. Some of the girls ran off with the cake, but one stayed behind. I was about to get in the truck and head back home to do some more unpacking, but something made me ask, "So, who is this party for?" The girl said, "Kate" Huh? Kate? Are you kidding me?! I am soooo glad I asked. Imagine if I'd hopped in the truck and driven off!
Then the other girls came running back and asked me for help. I thought they were asking me to help blow up balloons but I quickly realized that they wanted to go shopping with me to buy balloons. So we got permission from the parents and headed off to the store, where we picked out balloons and headed to the checkout. But they said, "We need chips...and soda...and cheese." Whoa! Chips and soda will be enough. But as I was finishing paying one of the girls asked, "What does Kate like to eat, cheese or salami?" I said, "She likes both", so off they ran to get both. So, I checked out a second time, looked at my watch and realized that I had to get the girls back so I could get back home to pick Kate and John and go to the airport to get John and Rhonda. On the way I explained to them about Kate's grandparents coming in and that we would have to postpone the party until 6:00. Fast forward an hour or so, we told Kate that we were going out to dinner but had to make a quick stop first. When we drove up kids came running. I asked Kate, "Do you know what this is? It's a surprise party for you!" She was thrilled. A group of 5 or 6 girls ran the whole party. They brought out drinks and plates of food...chips, cheese and salami on toothpicks, crackers, popcorn. It was quite a feast. And quite a special party. When we got home Kate said, "I've always wanted a surprise party." What a memorable first birthday in the Dominican! And what a lesson--when asked to bake a cake, always ask who it's for!