Saying Yes to the Dress!

Blog post written by Kate Rodebaugh, Lake Forest, CA

This week our team has been traveling throughout the country, meeting girls in orphanages to prepare for a huge quinceanera (a traditional fifteenth birthday celebration for Latin American girls), which will take place at a fancy hotel in the city tomorrow night. We have had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with the girls and praying over them at each home. After praying, we’ve helped each girl to pick their dress and shoes. Then they have their nails painted and eyebrows waxed and shaped. One of my favorite aspects about helping with the quinceanera is the moment when the girls first try on their dress. This moment is so special because they begin to gain confidence and see themselves as the beautiful woman that they are.

There was one special moment that I will never forget. My particular girl had been very specific about what she wanted, and my friend and I had been looking for a dress for her for what seemed like forever. We wanted her to have everything that she wanted. However, her options were limited. We had given her multiple dresses and every time that she put one on, she either didn’t like the look of the dress or it didn’t fit her correctly. During the whole process I had been holding a dress that I really wanted her to try on. She had said no to me previously when I asked her if she wanted to try it on. However, I had an odd feeling that it was the dress that was meant for her, so I held onto it. We continued to look for dresses but soon there were no more options to try on, and she began to cry from frustration. I realized that the only dress she hadn’t tried was the one in my hands that she didn’t like, so I decided to pray over the dress as I handed it to her. She was very against wearing it because she didn’t think it would fit, however, I assured her that it would and begged her to try it on. She agreed and proceeded to put on the dress. She slipped into it easily and after zipping up the dress, we pulled her into the bathroom to see how it looked. Her tears had now changed from frustration to tears of joy and she told us that she wanted to show her friends her new outfit. After thanking us multiple times for helping her, she left the room and joyfully paraded around the center in her perfect dress. She said yes to the dress!

It is such a joy to be able to see these girls’ dreams come true, right before our eyes! Latin American girls dream about their quinceanera parties from the time that they are little girls. I have loved being part of the team this week and can’t wait to see each girl transform into the beautiful princess that God has made them to be at the party tomorrow.