Frank’s Fancy Birthday Party

When we got invited to one of Nate’s student’s ninth birthday party we had no idea how fancy it would be! We were given directions to third-grader Frank’s neighborhood, where we were to meet at the clubhouse. When I hear the word clubhouse I think of my dad’s country club. Well, this was not far off from that!

I didn’t know a place like this even existed in the city. I am becoming more accustomed to the simple living and unorganized neighborhoods with partially gravel roads. This neighborhood had mansions and gates with yards and decorations. As my jaw dropped at this small culture shock, I was reminded of the verse from Psalm 49: “Do not grow overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases, for he will take nothing with him when he dies…”

To sum it up, this little boy had all the friends in his class, plus other Filipino kids, plus all their siblings and parents, plus some extra adults like his teachers. There were at least three servers of a long buffet, two DJs, four entertainers (including a clown, dancers, game people and a magician), and probably more workers in the kitchen. There were numerous give-away prizes for the kids for every game, and the place was decorated like a wedding reception.

Little Frank was all dressed up in his spiffy suit, while some of the other kids were dressed ready to go swimming in the enormous pool afterwards. WHERE DID THEY GET THE MONEY FOR ALL THIS? “They must not be a mission family,” we thought.

Sure enough we found out that he is one of our “business kids” at the school. The sad part to all this wealth was that his dad actually lives and works in S. Korea while the rest of his family lives in the Philippines. Every month his dad comes down for a week or two to visit, but other than that he is doing business in another country. That explains the lavish birthday party, but that saddens me.

The last small detail I want to tell you is for any of the MOMS READING. See the photo with that streamer thing hanging from the ceiling? It is a very traditional party thing here and one that you should try (I forget what it is called)! There is a frame like lattice and then streamers hanging down. Inside the mess of streamers are several prizes for kids. Like a piñata, someone pulls the string up and down. When the lattice lowers, the kids reach in to try and grab a prize. They love it!