Party for Van

Monday was the Feast of the Birthday of St. John the Baptist, according to the Church calendar. The only person in all of the people who are at the cathedral who has St. John as his patron saint is Van. And that, of course, means that he gets a party.

Joseph Thien and I walked a few blocks to one of the few local bakeries. There is a young couple who make cakes and they have three boys. These boys are his and the girls are from the neighborhood. Talk about energy!

While his wife decorated the cake, the husband played with his youngest son. The little boy actually waved as us and smiled.

When the cake was ready, he showed it to us. Talk about an artistic job. Quite a sight.

The kids said goodbye to Joseph and I, literally jumping up and down. We walked a long way before they stopped following us.

When we got back, Quan called everyone to come to Van's room and surprise him, and surprised he was. This is Van proudly showed off his delicious double-layered cake for the camera.

Van and I. He is a student who works hard on his studies and in helping in the kitchen and on the grounds.

 They always make me mug for the camera. Honestly, it's not my fault.

 Quan and Joseph hanging out with the jug of rice wine, the tradition at parties.

It was late, but everyone still had energy for the party. Notice how quickly the cake is going.

 The entire cake, gone, in under six minutes. I think that's because Quyen was with us.

Someone sneaked off with the camera and took this picture of Pope Francis giving his regards to Van on this special day. Congratulations, Van.