Friday, October 10, 2008

Quinceanera

It was a special honor for Steve to participate in the Quinceanera for Cyntia, our Pastor's daughter. A Quinceanera is a very important rite of passage for a young lady in this culture. It is held on the occasion of her 15th Birthday and signifies that she has left childhood behind and is now beginning her adult life. The ceremony and reception are very similar to our weddings in the United States.

These girls are cousins and celebrated their Quinceanera together. Cyntia is on the left.



Their friends come into the church in pairs and line the aisle to form a path for the honorees.


Flower petals are strewn in the aisle and the pews are decorated with tulle and ribbon. During the service the girls are presented with a doll, which signifies she is leaving childhood behind; a crown which represents the crown of righteousness she will recieve if she remains faithful to God; a bouquet of flowers which represent beauty; a kneeling pillow to signify the necessity of prayer; and a Bible on which to base her life.


Steve exhorts the girls to be Godly women. The Lord helped him to speak effectively in Spanish.

A group of Christian young men from Monterrey added beautiful music.


The girls and their escorts at prayer time.


Steve and the girls after the service.


In the car on the way to the reception.


These flowers are tied onto the hood of the car. Check back later for pictures of the beautiful reception.

11 comments:

Melanie C. said...

The girls look so pretty...thanks for sharing.

Ronda said...

Beautiful girls...I just love their dark hair and eyes!! Pretty pink dresses, too! What a special occasion...Maybe we should start that around here! :) It was nice to hear from you...hope that you all are doing well! The sunset pictures were breathtaking! Blessings!

sankey family said...

Thanks so much for sharing these pictures with us so we could see how the quinceaneara went - it looks wonderful!! That's great that the Lord helped Steve speak - we were praying for him. I know he did a great job.
Love you guys!

Leah said...

How interesting! The dresses are so neat!

Rob and Deanna said...

What a Beautiful Ceremony/custom! Sounds like something that might be a good custom for us to adopt. :-)

Tamra said...

Very interesting! I did not know this was part of their culture. Looking forward to seeing the reception photos.

Betty said...

Hi there,

Enjoyed the photos of the "special" time for the girls. It sounds so neat.

Also, I LOVED the sunset photos :) I will have to come see them some day!!

Take care and keep up the good work.

love ya

Vonnie said...

How neat! The girls are just beautiful!! Love all of the pretty dresses and decorations.

collette said...

That was one beautiful quinceaƱera...the fact that it was a Christian one made it even more so, I think. When the Masons told us Steve was to speak, we had no doubt he would do well!

Jody J said...

We've had several of those at our church for our Spanish girls. It's always such an exciting time. I really don't agree that we should start that tradition, though. It's like paying for a wedding! :)
These girls are beautiful. It's so neat that Steve got to speak. His Spanish must be really good!

Kim M. said...

Wow, thanks for sharing these pictures!!! What beautiful girls! The colors are so vibrant and their dresses are beautiful. :-)