Happy Easter!

Easter is representative of many different things to many different people.  For us Christians, it is a time to remember the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made so that we might all have eternal life.  For some it is Easter baskets & bunnies & for others it is mostly insignificant.  We have always tried to have a blend; always remembering Jesus & the resurrection but not leaving out a time of celebrating often involving eggs & bunnies.

Our time in Costa Rica was a little strange but we were able to have some stability since we were among other american missionaries.  We celebrated together with a servic

e, dinner, & party for the kids.  This year however, was quite different.  Each Latin country celebrates the week before Easter in a holiday known as "Semana Santa" or Holy Week as we would call it.  During that week many have time off, there is much travel to the beach, there are unique foods cooked only for this week, & there are celebrations & even rituals that are preformed that are quite strange to us & what we would be used to back home.  Chris witnessed a "Burning of Judas" ceremony in an intersection of town as did a friend in Costa Rica this year.  There are often marches & ceremonies in

 which people gather, like during a parade, to watch a replica of Jesus being carried down the road to the huge cemetery in town where they reenact his burial.  For many here, the death & crucifixion are what is remembered.  How sad that so many miss the importance of the resurrection!  But then again, that is part of the reason that God has sent our family here.

There was no bunnies or eggs since Venezuela doesn't share in this tradition.  We decided to do something different with the kids that would be fun.  Kite Flying is very popular here especially in one of the large city parks.  It is fairly inexpensive & since the winds are good here, you can fly kites daily, especially in the afternoons.  There were kites of all kinds from trash bags stretched over sticks to the fancy expensive type.  Ours were bought from the side of the street & were equivalent to the Dollar Tree kind! (ha) Our boys enjoyed this t

ime & it was good for them to interact with others.  It was a great family time.  Definitely not the normal "E

aster" but then again, "Normal" is such a deep word.  We have decided that "normal" is being where ever God has placed you & being content in that.  It is making memories with your family even if they don't fit the culture you are from or even the culture you presently find yourself in.  We hope you all had a wonderful and "normal" Easter with your family!