Easter & Other Stuff

A sunrise in Thailand.

Christ is risen! On Easter morning, I awoke with a profound sense of joy.  I don’t ever remember feeling that deeply about Easter before.  Rather than glazing over the anniversary ofJesus’ resurrection – as if it were merely something that happened a long time ago that was somehow significant to our faith, but sort of irrelevant to us today – I placed myself in the story.  What would it have been like to be Mary as she walked to the tomb that morning, spices in hand, grieving the loss of her very best friend and the man whom she believed would save her land from oppression?  What would it have been like to see that stone rolled aside, the tomb empty?  To meet an angel whose news would have been shocking, to say the least?  And, finally, to hear your name spoken by someone who you were convinced would never speak again? What fear. What amazement. What joy. I’ll be spending this day on the other side of the globe this year, Lord willing.  Maybe I’ll even be able to produce a jumbled mess of words that sort of resemble, “He is risen, indeed!”  I’ll be living among a people who don’t know the meaning of the most important day in history.  Who don’t know the joy of having an Advocate who overcame death.   I grew up in the church (as the gone-to-church-my-whole-life Christians say), so I never experienced not knowing who Jesus was. But I imagine finding out would be similar to not finding His body in the tomb.  Putting to death your expectations from a religion meant to pave the road to peace.  Placing your doubts about whether you’ll ever arrive at perfection in the burial chamber.  Rolling the stone in front, sealing your own shame, guilt, and failure inside forever. And then waking up to find the tomb empty.  And something, Someone who is far greater than anything you had ever hoped or dreamed – the embodiment of peace, eternal life Himself – standing before you, saying your name. …………………………………… THE STUFF OF NEWS: I met (most) of my Thailand team last weekend!  We all met in Kansas City, MO for a few days to get to know each other; fly a kite; pick the brains of former missionaries to Thailand; consume lots of BBQ, stir fry, coffee, and Thai tea; talk about our expectations for the team (eek!); and pray over where God has us now and what He is preparing us to do.  (Pictured below:  women of Team Thailand:  Marnee, me, Heather, Liz)                    I had the blessing of seeing one of my World Race teammates get married andreconnecting with several of my friends from my WR squad.                    I pierced my nose… again.                                    THE STUFF OF PRAYER: April is already a difficult month for many in Oklahoma who lost loved ones in the OKC bombing 19 years ago, but poor health and death have become a more recent struggle for many others in my community and close social ties.  Please pray for those who are mourning the loss of Kaytie Joiner and for God’s comfort and healing in the lives of close friends and their relatives profoundly struggling with health issues. Pray for my team as we continue to raise financial and prayer support and that our growth and trust in Christ will continue to increase. Pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to move in the hearts and lives of the Thai people, preparing them to hear the Gospel.

Help Send Me to Thailand!

How was your Easter?  Did you have any awesome revelations?  What was the coolest thing you found in one of those plastic eggs?  Let me know!