EASTER SUNDAY IN AUSTRALIA, April 8, 2012

A sunrise service was held at 5:15 a.m. We had a ride to it but decided not to go because of the very long series of flights we have Tuesday. Later at church with in Meadowlands, I hear we missed a great service. We did attend an excellent one though, at 9:30 a.m. Bob stayed home but is better. Val took us. 

The Principal led worship and communion. The pastor, Rev. Robert Greggery, answered the question, What does the Resurrection mean to us today?” by walking us through I Cor. 15, in which Paul does answer the question. We sang several good hymns and choruses, but we didn’t sing, “Christ the Lord is risen today!” I missed it. The Pastor brought in two new members.

After church, there were two times of fellowship – in the church fellowship hall, then with Val, Ann and Vern Scott, a Gideon, at lunch at a new section of a near-by mall.

Jon and I both ordered lambburgers as we remember and describe to others what Easter is like in Romania and what great foods are typical of the Easter celebration there. We heard the story of the conversion of a young man from Argentina in church this morning, then we prayed for his visa problems.

Val is collecting items to give as little gifts to the Work & Witness team with is arriving Friday.  Her friends are helping her to find little things, and one friend gave her a package of stickers with the “Aussie Alphabet”. On these stickers, there is a tiny image of the word for each letter:

A= Australia

B= barbeque

C= crocodile

D= dingo

E= emu

F= football

G= gum fruit, gum tree

H= hump back

I = island

J = jackaroo (or jillaroo)

K= kangaroo

L= lizard

M=magpie 

N= Ned Somebody

O= opera

P= platypus

Q= quokka (animal)

R= red-backed spider

S= surfing

T= Tansmanian devil

U= Uluru (in mid continent)    

V = vegemite

W= wambat

X = x-ray

Y = yabbi (crayfish)

Z = zinc oxide

It was a very low key day – writing, reading, napping, packing, searching for and seeing wallabies four times (!), planning a trip for tomorrow.

Surely, the top truth of the day is John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

In Sarah Young’s booklet, Jesus says, “Because I never change, your relationship with Me provides a rock-solid foundation for your life…”

I loved the close of Robbinette Craker's Lenten Devotionals:

We live this side of Easter.  We know He is risen!  We know that hope comes with the morning.  We know that the Spirit has been given.

We take the journey of Lent to keep us focused on what Jesus has accomplished for us.  It isn’t about giving up television or dessert—it’s about making room for Him.  It isn’t about giving up games or soda — it’s about making room for Him.  We might give something up—but more importantly we should receive more and more of Him.  We must decrease as He increases.