Easter roller coaster

Easter weekend was a bit of a roller coaster this year.

Everything started well on Saturday when all the kids from the base and various friends and visitors came to our house to decorate eggs...

Jimmy, Junior and Deborah get started

Noah designs with crayon before coloring

Aidan and Joanna dye their eggs AND their fingers

We colored about 150 eggs, then had fun playing the Wii and running around the house.



Mid-afternoon we realized we hadn't seen Noah for awhile, so we looked around and eventually found him in his bed, fast asleep but with a fever. So I gave him some Ibuprofen when he woke up and he seemed to perk up.

Sunday morning dawned a bit windy and cool, but we didn't think too much about it. Noah slept on John's lap throughout the whole church service, and then I realized he was burning up again, so we took him straight to a lab to get a malaria test. The results were '0 to 1', which we didn't really understand, but after talking to a doctor friend, we decided to go ahead and start Noah on the malaria treatment.

Back at home, John and I quickly hid the kids' Easter baskets, making Noah's really easy to find. I didn't get any photos of Noah because he was too sick to do much...John ended up carrying him to get his basket and then putting him back on the sofa to rest. Poor little guy!

Noah's easter basket

Kezi and Aidan had fun finding their baskets...

We hid Aidan's in the tree

and put Kezi's next to the water tank...

She had so much stuff it wouldn't fit into the basket...

...but she was determined to carry it all for the photo!

They enjoyed all the goodies inside, including Lego sets sent from Granny and Grandpa in England,



and adorable baby doll clothes made by Granny. They were a perfect fit for Kezi's dolls.



Meanwhile, the sky was darkening and just after lunch a serious tropical storm hit. The rain came fast and furious, and I thought, "Good, let it rain now and then dry up in time for our Easter program at the base." Sometimes these African showers are hard and heavy for 20-30 minutes, then they stop suddenly, the sun comes out, and everything starts up again from where it left off.

Not this one. The heavy storm passed eventually, but the rain continued slightly less ferociously, and by 2:30 we knew we'd have to cancel our egg hunt. I was seriously bummed, but there was no way we could scramble around on that muddy, sodden ground. Reluctantly we sent out the word that the programme was cancelled.

At the same time, I was thankful that we could stay home and concentrate on taking care of Noah who was alternately shivering..."I'm freezing, Mommy!"...and trying to take off all his clothes 'cause he was too hot. It was good for all of us that we could stay home and look after him.

Just after the rain, though, a large crowd turned up at the base, ready for the programme! Some of our staff told them to come back at 10 the next morning. So the programme was back on!

I believe God was at work with the rain storm, not only because of Noah's sickness, but also because several of my Hindu friends would not have been able to attend if it had been Sunday afternoon as planned. Since it was rescheduled for Monday morning, however, Laksmi and Meena, and Meena's kids were able to come, which was a big blessing for me.



We started the program with a couple visiting from England, Nick and Claire Bradshaw, who sang a lovely song about Jesus being alive.



Then we had the opportunity to explain the story of Easter with our friends and acquaintances from town, many of whom have never heard the story of why Jesus died and the hope we have since He rose again. We used the Resurrection eggs to tell the Gospel story to a crowd of about 50 visitors.



And then we had the big hunt!

We divided the group into 'littles'...

and 'bigs'



and off they went to find the eggs hidden around our base.






















Afterwards we shared snacks of popcorn, peanuts, chocolate eggs, and of course...the hard-boiled Easter eggs.
















Thankfully, Noah was doing much better by then, and although he didn't participate in the egg hunt, he did perk up enough to go swimming later in the afternoon with Nick and Claire's family.



The animal lover in him came to the fore when he realized many of the flying ants that come out after big rains were falling into the pool and drowning. So 'Ant-Saver Noah' spent the rest of the time rescuing the drowning ants.































































From rainstorms and cancellations, to reschedules and successful programmes; from being quite sick one day to saving ants the next, it has been a weekend of lo's and hi's.

Just like it was for the disciples, who watched their Saviour die one day, and three days later, to walk with Him and talk with Him and know that He was risen! What a miracle...what a promise! Things aren't always as gloomy as they seem, and we have hope because no matter what disappointment, what tragedy, what failure...Jesus already won the victory, and one day there will only be hi's, hi's and more hi's. Praise the Lord...He is alive!