hallelujah and a dance party

we went to church (me and three others) with andrea, a good friend of ours, and her mom.. it was really interesting! it ended up being a somewhat pentecostal church, with a lot of singing and dancing and hands waving.. the pastor was very expressive and passionate.. it was difficult to understand everything, but we could generally follow along and the teaching was pretty solid..

one really cool thing about this place is that they have such a strong sense of community.. at the end of the message, they invited people to come forward, and a ton of other people came around and among them, and laid hands on them and prayed.. it was just so cool, because there were old women laying their hands on the shoulders of young men, girls hugging their friends and praying over them, men praying for groups of younger boys.. it was just really cool, because i think it was kinda a picture of what God created the universal church to be.. it is inter-generational, and transcends gender, and is simply a group of people following Christ.. so yeah, it was really encouraging!

next sunday, we might try and check out a different one.. ill let you know when we finally land on one for good, if we do..

well after church, we celebrated jennas birthday, shes twenty two! our third birthday celebration so far.. and i am next in december (send me something)..

we went to dinner at benihana, where they cook all the food in front of you and do nifty little things with knives and shrimp and onions and stuff.. i have done that kinda thing before, but when you have twelve or thirteen people crowded around it definitely adds to the experience..




after dinner, we came back to the house and had a piñata party (they are crazy with piñatas here) followed by a dance party until about one in the morning.. i learned a little bit how to salsa!




our birthdays are one of those days that we hold sacred around here, because it is a chance to feel like we are at home, with family.. and to take a break from the chaos and really enjoy each other.. so, thanks jenna for being born!