Easter 2023

Life Chapel International celebrated Easter together this year for the first time in four years. So let’s party! Many church members get lunch at 711 at eat together on Sundays, but Easter Sunday the church hosted. How could we help? Bring dessert!

Eloise volunteered to make cupcakes. For hours Friday evening, we refilled our nine-cupcake-pan for another (small) round of baking. First thing Saturday morning Isaac and Eloise spread sprinkles and sugar carrots across the table in preparation for icing and decorating.

Sunday morning we assembled the tiered tea tray for a joyful cupcake display.

More Than Conquerors

Pastor Paul taught a children’s sermon before the adult sermon about how we are “more than conquerors” in Jesus.

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

He shared part of his extremely interesting and compelling history, that his uncle got a kitchen knife and threatened him for becoming a Christian. His parents turned him, the oldest son, out of the house. “Two times I thought this is too hard. I can’t stay Christian. But I couldn’t turn back, because I thought about how Chris loved me on the cross. I couldn’t turn back.”

Christ interceding for us—what does that mean? Pastor Paul said Christ prays for our faith to know and not doubt Christ’s love for us, the love that led him to die for us. The love that kept Paul from turning away.

Just before we started lunch Pastor Paul asked, “Does anyone know who made all these cupcakes?” Eloise blissfully raised her hand. Several people kindly took photos of her next to her tower of cupcakes.

“That was SO FUN,” Eloise said for days afterwards. “I’m sad Easter is over!”

Last Year in Brussels

Last year at Easter we had just gotten penciled in for Japan and started looking forward to seeing our church friends again. In Brussels, our small group was one of the hardest things to leave behind. We celebrated Easter together at our house last year with Mel and Wesley and their kids, Monica and Dan and their boys, and our new friend Rae, who was actually attending church for the first time after moving from Samoa to Brussels and getting covid. I noticed the South Pacific-style earrings she was wearing, started a chat, and ended up inviting her to drive home with us for lunch. “This is crazy. She will think I’m a psycho,” I thought, but it was meant to be, an answer to her prayers to find a church family. I do miss our Brussels friends so.

Maborikaigan Egg Hunt

Here’s something else that was super fun about this year: My neighbors Kelli and Josh organized the neighborhood Easter egg hunt Saturday. They had 30 minutes of games organized for the kids so the adults could hide eggs all over the park. The kids lost their minds it was so fun, but no one forgot Kelli’s exhortations: “There is NO GLORY in knocking over a three year old for eggs! NO GLORY!”

When complimented or thanked, they graciously dodged, saying it was an easy thing to organize since the adults all brought eggs for the kids. But this type of foresight, planning and—most importantly—skillful, timely execution of the idea, really goes a long way toward taking a neighborhood one step further and making it into a community. Well done, neighbor! Thanks for bringing everyone together.