Happy EasterS

Sorry, I know it’s been more than a week since Easter but I had trouble uploading the pictures and the pictures tell the story.  Here they call Easter, Easters, because most churches began celebrating on Wednesday or Thursday with night services and continue until Sunday evening.  Good Friday is a public holiday as well as Monday.  Therefore it’s not called Easter here (like one day in the States) but Easters.  Here’s what I was up to…

THURSDAY: There is a Children’s home about 15 minutes from my house that has about 45 children living there.  The director of the home put on the Passover Feast for all the children and I was invited. 

Left – That’s little Jadida, the cutest thing ever, holding one of the four cups at Passover – I believe this is the cup of joy.  Everyone takes a sip of the grape juice and we pass it around the table.  The first person prays over the cup and Jadida volunteered – it was precious!  When we first sat down at the table, she said “(Gasp) The blood of Jesus” pointing to the cup.  They take communion every Friday so this precious 3 year old already knew what the juice represented.  You can also see my plate there with an egg, parsley, lamb, and unleavened bread.  Each representing part of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt.  RIGHT:  Zipporah and I taking a bite of the lamb when we were taught about the lamb representing the Lamb of God.  The lamb in Passover was killed and the blood on the doorposts so the angel of death would pass over that household and Christ is our Passover Lamb – mmm…that Lamb was good.

FRIDAY – RIGHT – Good Friday is a holiday here so two of the coolest girls in Swaziland, Kate and Cassie, hung out with me up in the northern part of Swaziland.  First we drove up to the mountain and on the way up there are these cute kids that always dance on the side of the road to get tourists to stop and give them money and buy their crafts.  Kate and i decided it was a perfect time to get out of the car and sharpen our dancing skills .

 BELOW – Quick snapshot of our adventure, isn’t Swaziland beautiful?

 

SATURDAY:  I went to Manzini to buy a new outfit for Easter (Thanks mom!) and then hung out at my friends’ house from church.  This is my friends’ daughter and one of the neighbor kids.

Sunday:  I invited Swazie and her family to church with me for Easter and then we treated ourselves to KFC – A Swazi favorite 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will never forget Easter Sunday 2008.  I say the following only to give God glory and to plead with you to pray for my protection here.  I picked up Swazie and her family and were heading to the church that Adventures in Missions just opened located about 1 1/2 hours from my house.  It was pouring down rain and I was driving slowly on the 2 lane highway when suddenly my car lost control and we spun 4 times in the middle of the road.  By the grace of God the cars on both sides stopped and did not hit us and we stayed on the road somehow.  It was a strange experience because I was at peace the whole time and remained calm and I just felt the presence of the Lord so thick in that car.  I pulled to the side of the road and asked if everyone was okay.  We spent some time in prayer thanking the Lord for preserving us.  I decided to return back to my church instead of continuing to the AIM church and the whole way back Swazie and her family kept saying “If it wasn’t for Christ, we would be dead”  “Thank you God for saving our lives” etc. and while I didnt enjoy the spinning I thought “How appropriate, Lord, that we are realizing that if it wasn’t for you, we would be dead.  That’s how I should think on Easter every year.  That if it wasn’t for your Christ Jesus, I would be spiritually dead” and I knew God was glorified through the utterances of that precious family. 

You will not believe this, after church I went home and was invited up to a friend’s house and i refused at first because I really didn’t want to be in a car.  Another friend, offered to drive so I agreed, and on the way to the house we were sitting at a stop light and a drunk driver rear-ended the truck behind us that ran into us.  Thankfully again no one was hurt but I was like “you have got to be kidding me, twice in one day”.  Like I said, I will not soon forget Easter 2008.