A few weeks ago, I was shopping in one of my favorite stores, where I have gotten to know some of the workers well. It was the day of a festival to celebrate the god Shiva. He explained to me the reasons why Shiva was his favorite god and how he would be celebrating, then asked me about our Christian festivals. I remembered one was coming soon, and started to tell him about Easter and the reasons we celebrate on that day, with a promise to come share more.
This conversation got me thinking about how we could continue to share truth as we celebrated His resurrection, and we decided an Easter party for people in our neighborhood would be a great way to build relationships and tell about our Savior.
We began to tell the people in our building and our other neighbors. Especially kids. There are many that play cricket and cards on our street each afternoon, and we've been able to build relationships with several of them.
As we planned, we had to be careful as to what aspects of American Easter celebrations we shared here. Most of our friends are vegetarians, and do not eat eggs. Some will not even touch them, so many eggs activities were automatically out. Plastic eggs were doable, but finding those here is next to impossible. We did, however, have Resurrection Eggs. This set of twelve eggs contains small items that help tell the Easter story, such as nails, a stone, and a crown of thorns.
The egg thing also made cooking more of an adventure. We were having post-lunch desserts and sweets. Pulling that off without eggs was a challenge. But we did it thanks to some helpful internet sites. We ended up with sugar cookies for the kids to decorate, chocolate chip cookies, an orange cake, brownie pudding, fruit salad, and some local biscuits. Seeing the display on the table was a pretty proud moment for us :)
Armed with coloring sheets, Easter bingo, some relay games, sidewalk chalk, the Resurrection Eggs, and the food, we were ready for our friends to arrive. It was such a blessing to be able to share the reason that we celebrate with the people. Some had never heard, and to watch their faces change as they heard that He had died, but then came back to life was incredible! Because people arrived in shifts, we got to tell the story several times. One of these times, a young friend that we had shared with previously helped me tell the story. He did such a good job!
Please be lifting up these new friends. Ask that the Father give us more opportunities to share with these families and that He reveals Himself to each of them. How beautiful it would be for them to be believing as they celebrate this Truth next Easter!
The Easter Sunday celebration started at a local slum ministry, where I have been able to spend lots of time the last few months. Some friends and I were asked to help with their church service by coming up with some skits about His miracles. We had a great time and our rendition of these is pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, no one had a video camera to document it, but you can trust me on this. Worshipping on Easter with 200 beautiful children who have so few possessions, but so much joy in Dad was amazing! They praise passionately and give in such faith. I have learned so much from them.
After the service and lunch, we got to hide eggs for the kids' first hunt ever! So sweet to see their excitement! They were told to find one egg each, but a few of the smart ones got the candy out and left the eggs. I guess that's technically following the rules :)
This day was also special because my friends and I wore sarees for the first time. It was a bit of a struggle to walk around with that much fabric, but we had fun and I have even more respect for the beautiful ladies who wear them everyday.
Celebrating my first Easter on this side of the world was wonderful. I can't think of a better way to celebrate than sharing His love and victory with those around us. Thankful doesn't do it justice.
Very cool, friend! Love your green sari!
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