Easter morning

This morning started at 5:45am for me with a trip out to feed the chickens by flashlight before the sunrise service. After that it was a blur of helping out with readings, processing out to the nearby hill where we met the women who told us about the empty tomb and then heading up to the top of the hill where a cross was set up. Five gallon buckets overflowed with flowers and as more and more people joined us from Jubilee

, the surrounding area and around the world, we all helped to stick flowers into the chicken wire mesh that surrounded the cross until the whole thing was covered in flowers. Then began one of the most meaningful sunrise services I have ever been a part of.

All sorts of people contributed special music and thoughts and thanksgivings. I even had the chance to teach one of the songs I learned during my time in Benin, West Africa at the hymn sing last night and then, this morning, to get to sing it together with folks from here and the lovely French-speaking family from Gabon. I also joined a group who offered a song created by two of the guys here (Zac and Brandon) which combined a recitation of the Beatitudes with the phrase “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” and was accompanied by several singers, a djembe, a bass guitar, a saxophone and an accordion. It gives me goosebumps every time I sing it and illustrated so well the tension of our lives here at Jubilee and the surrounding area.

The service was beautiful. And afterwards all of us joined together for a giant family brunch in the K-House that lasted for several hours as we sat and talked and laughed. Then it was nap time, salsa dancing time, call-family time, and now blogging time. Community is hard work, as it should be, I think, but today I am absolutely filled with gratitude to be able to be a part of such a great community of caring, loving, imperfect, creative, thoughtful people. Life is so good.