What a wonderful Easter Weekend!
- Thursday: we did a church-wide fast, praying for reconciliation, that people would come to know Jesus & that we would know him more deeply. I loved how one of our friends here put it: “we don’t fast for God’s ear or for him to love us more; we already have his love & his ear.” Instead we fast for ourselves – to humble us & teach us to depend on God and not on ourselves. What a beautiful time to remember to feast on the scriptures whenever our tummy growls. We both experienced God’s love a little more deeply and we really enjoyed the focused time on God and prayer.
- Good Friday: We got up early and met at Rhodes Memorial to worship & break our fast with communion. It was cool to gather with believers in a public place. The church meeting, but not in a church building, you know? We worshipped & prayed for all of the churches in Cape Town with an incredible view of the city lit up by the sun. We then feasted for breakfast and frankly did not stop eating for the rest of the weekend. We had to make up for lost time, you know? We really enjoyed the affinity with everyone as we broke our fast together.
- Passover: As a team we celebrated Passover together – for most of our team it was their first Passover experience. It was so powerful to remember that God has freed us, removed us, redeemed us & taken us as his people. And then the JOY that comes from what God has done for us! By the end of the night we had broken out in spontaneous praise. So wonderful. One of the cooler passovers we have experienced – beautiful blend of fun & celebration but also an introspective time seeing the massive amounts of symbolism at Passover and how well it points to Christ.
- Easter Sunday: We got to church early to set up and, let me tell you, you could FEEL the joy in that place! Our God’s not dead, he is surely alive! Afterwards we had a picnic with everyone – such a perfect day, with perfect weather, delicious food & outdoor games. We even had an egg hunt with chocolate marshmallow eggs (they don’t use the plastic-kind here). Great time of community with a bunch of new friends. We love church picnics & it just reminds us of what church should be. It’s not about the church service, it’s about the community.
What a full-y fun weekend! And the highlight of the weekend? Sara has officially been funny (according to J.J.’s standards, which are pretty high…) SIXTY-ONE times since 2009! That’s right ladies and gents. When she reaches 100 she gets to go to a comedy club 😉
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