Luke 24:2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
He has risen! Happy Easter to all of you (or as we say here "Feliz Dia de la Pascua!") Bolivians celebrate Easter a little different than Americans, but nonetheless celebrate. Charles, Rocio and I along with thousands of others in Santa Cruz woke up in the wee hours of the morning to go to "the stadium" for the infamous Easter Service. Bolivians don't do the Easter Service half-way at all. The service starts at 10:30pm and goes until sunrise. Having come in town yesterday, we decided not to make it an all-nighter. We went arrived around 4am to find a packed stadium and dancers occupying most of the field. We observed the near-zombie crowd and sang along with the last few Easter songs. Most people were under blankets trying to stay warm, sipping on coffee and eating the typical saltena breakfast.
It was fun to see entire families - adults and children alike celeb
rating the occasion. The service included dramas, sermons, dances, songs, etc. It was quite a site to experience firsthand. We even saw a few of the Ayore there which Rocio said was not uncommon. The service was for ALL Bolivians, not just the church goers or the Christians but for everyone who wanted to go. Charles and I sat there thinking "I wonder how this would work in the States."
The happy but tired crowd dispursed around 6:30am just in time for us to teach Su
nday School in the village. It's ironic that here Easter Sunday is one of the least-attended Sundays at most churches (because everyone goes home and sleeps after the all night service).
Although we will miss the special Easter dinner with our fri
ends in DC, tonight we had all of the Ayore over to celebrate Easter. It was crazy having so many people and kids but fun all the same. I asked them which food they liked the best
and they all answered "rice" so I guess here it's best to stick to the basics. It was fun to share this day with them as well. To read more about how we spent the week leading up to Easter see the blog entry entitled "Our Blessed Holy Week."
He has risen! Happy Easter to all of you (or as we say here "Feliz Dia de la Pascua!") Bolivians celebrate Easter a little different than Americans, but nonetheless celebrate. Charles, Rocio and I along with thousands of others in Santa Cruz woke up in the wee hours of the morning to go to "the stadium" for the infamous Easter Service. Bolivians don't do the Easter Service half-way at all. The service starts at 10:30pm and goes until sunrise. Having come in town yesterday, we decided not to make it an all-nighter. We went arrived around 4am to find a packed stadium and dancers occupying most of the field. We observed the near-zombie crowd and sang along with the last few Easter songs. Most people were under blankets trying to stay warm, sipping on coffee and eating the typical saltena breakfast.It was fun to see entire families - adults and children alike celeb
rating the occasion. The service included dramas, sermons, dances, songs, etc. It was quite a site to experience firsthand. We even saw a few of the Ayore there which Rocio said was not uncommon. The service was for ALL Bolivians, not just the church goers or the Christians but for everyone who wanted to go. Charles and I sat there thinking "I wonder how this would work in the States."The happy but tired crowd dispursed around 6:30am just in time for us to teach Su
nday School in the village. It's ironic that here Easter Sunday is one of the least-attended Sundays at most churches (because everyone goes home and sleeps after the all night service).Although we will miss the special Easter dinner with our fri
ends in DC, tonight we had all of the Ayore over to celebrate Easter. It was crazy having so many people and kids but fun all the same. I asked them which food they liked the best
and they all answered "rice" so I guess here it's best to stick to the basics. It was fun to share this day with them as well. To read more about how we spent the week leading up to Easter see the blog entry entitled "Our Blessed Holy Week."
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