Several weeks ago Kakasii told me that our neighbor Isaka (where we used to get our eggs before we created our own egg-producing empire) asked him to help with the planning and hosting of a confirmation party for his son, Amos. Kakasii came back from the first planning meeting and told me it was going to be a small party. Yeah, right.

The day before the party the decorating began. A cow and goat were slaughtered.

The morning of the party a bus pulled up to the house full of guests who had traveled from a distance to attend. By late morning the music started as the DJs and emcee got the sound system set up. There was clanking of plates and chafing dishes as the caterers set up the buffet.

The party was set to start about 2 pm. At nearly 4 pm the family arrived from the church–the service had run long and then there was a photo session. We could hear horns honking in the distance as the confirmation caravan made its way to our neighbor’s home. Amos led the parade of cars–standing up through the sun roof of another neighbor’s contributed vehicle. Kakasii followed in our car with Amos’ parents (we didn’t get any flowers on our car, just ribbon). When they passed by our gate Max jumped in to help park the car.

Inside Isaka’s compound, the guests awaited, sitting in the shade of a tent and a few tarps strung between the house and the compound wall. (Look closely at the front of the tent to see the five-tiered cake–it’s draped with netting to keep the flies away.)

Before the confirmation festivities started the pastor led a ribbon-cutting and prayer of blessing for the home.

Then it was time to get the party started. First, two choirs sang.

Then there were introductions of special guests and the toasts.

Elly entertained herself through most of the formalities. Here she’s singing “Fly Birdy Fly” from her favorite DVD, Disney’s Choo Choo Soul:

“Little birdy, come on, come on and flap your wings.
Little birdy, come on, come on and flap your wings like this.”

(Her hair isn’t really pink, it was just a strange glow cast from the tarp hanging above us.)

Eventually, it was time to eat. All the usual foods were served (from left to right): chicken, roasted bananas, banana stew, beef, pilau and rice.

With the late start to the party it was soon past Max and Elly’s bedtime and Elly was well on her way to a meltdown. (And, honestly, I was too. These “small” parties exhaust me.) We held on long enough for the time all the guests went forward to congratulate Amos and his parents.

Of course, the moment we stepped inside our house Max and Elly caught a second wind and refused to go to sleep. They stayed awake until Kakasii got home and then all three of them crashed together.