How did we celebrate Easter this year? I did not see a single Easter bunny, plastic egg, marshmallow peep, or cadbury egg commercial (assuming that they still play them).
Dakota just said, "And football, we didn't see any football this year!" Really??
We did go to a Good Friday service that was wonderful! We worshiped with people who do not look like us or talk like us, but we all sang praises to the same God and it was beautiful.
This morning we put on nice clothes (because that is what you do on Easter) and we went early to church for an International breakfast. What is that you ask? Well, it is when people from literally all over the world bring food to share. For breakfast this morning our family ate kim-pab (Korean food - like california roll), quiche, cinnamon rolls, marbled brownies, watermelon, banana bread, crepes, naan, mo-mos (fried dumpling), Honeycombs and other unidentifiable foods.
We then went to a great service celebrating our risen Lord. We came home in an auto, our favored mode of transportation, while experiencing all the sights, smells, and sweat (99 F. today) of our city. The chicken (which is more the size of a cornish hen) was already in the crock-pot I found in the market that obviously had been imported from China (the crock pot, not the chicken), as evidenced by the different outlet and chinese writing on the side. I formed the rolls and set them in the pan for the second rising. I finished up the mashed potatoes, green beans and the icing for the carrot cake.
Our neighbors from upstairs came down for lunch. We were very excited that they accepted our invitation to come for lunch. They had been asking some questions about Easter and what it meant. It was a good time. It is a very interesting thing to try and explain why we do what we do on this day. They had questions about the food we eat, the Easter bunny, why we dye Easter eggs, how we prepared all the food, and whether or not we always drink water or tea while we eat, instead of after. All of the sudden, I felt completely incompetent as a good American and myself wondered why I missed seeing all of that plastic green grass that I banned from the house when the kids were little, as I talked about Easter baskets and egg hunts.
A favorite moment was when the eldest man (the owner of our building, around 70) was asked if he wanted a second helping of carrot cake. His answer was that he did not want more cake, but he did want more of the cream on top (cream cheese icing). Thankfully, I had some left over and was able to grant his request.
The best part of all was being able to talk to them about why Jesus died on the cross and what it means to us that He did not stay in the grave. We prayed before we ate lunch and they asked, "Do you always pray like that before a meal?" I wasn't expecting this question and it made me realize how far a Hindu has to come to find the Savior.
We finished the night with our family watching Courageous, laughing together, and being thankful (in the midst of the ever-crazy routine of the children getting more and more wound up the closer it gets to bed time).
Bonus: My $2 top and $1 scarf I found in the market last night! And just the right color for Easter.
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