Christ is Risen!

Happy Easter!! Something I LOVE about this holiday in Russia is that many people say (in Russian), "Christ is Risen"... on the street, in the stairwell, on public transportation.... and the reply is, "He is risen indeed!" It is so interesting to me because most people here don't have faith in Jesus. Many people don't even know what they are saying. But I love hearing those words all around me, and I pray that people will come to know this Christ that they speak of once a year.

We had a lovely Easter. Our church had a social after the service, where we drank tea, and ate different treats. We brought colored eggs to contribute (most people bring sweet things, and it's nice to add something not-sweet to the mix). The pastor held up the eggs and told everyone the Christian symbolism behind them. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the meaning. But apparently, a few years ago, there was great debate within the church of whether colored eggs should be allowed because they are associated with paganism. But they found some religious meanings, too, and it was all okay. Phew! I'm glad we didn't cause an uproar!

In the afternoon, Leif and I delivered cupcakes to different store workers in our neighborhood. The response was mostly positive, although one sweet lady felt badly that she didn't have anything to give us. I didn't realize this, but culturally people feel like they need to return a kind act. We need wisdom to know how to reach out to people without them feeling indebted.

In the evening, we had some of our teammates over for dinner. I had read online about "resurrection eggs", where you hide 12 eggs, and each has a symbol inside (along with a Bible verse) that shares the Easter story. Of course, they don't sell plastic colored eggs here, but we bought some chocolate "Kinder Surprises" that have a plastic egg inside and used those. Us girls hid the eggs in really hard places and the guys had to find them. It was fun to watch them search! Then it was neat to reflect upon all that our Saviour has done for us. It really is amazing that He would choose to suffer and die in our place. It really makes no sense... but I am so thankful!

We pray that your Easter is filled with God's goodness.