"Girls, I am here to tell you...He is alive!!"

Easter morning at El Refugio in Calacali, Ecuador -- picture taken by Sonnet Medrano

Last Friday's theme for our outreach at the safe house was the joyful news that Jesus is alive.  We decided to act out sharing a meal with the girls as though we were living in the days after Christ’s resurrection.  I was assigned to be Mary, the mother of Jesus…because I am the only one of our group old enough to actually have a son of 30 plus years.  J  Kristin would be Mary Magdalena and Desi would be Peter.  We brought a large loaf of bread, cookies, grape pop, smaller breads, a small wooden cross, large tablecloth, pens, tacks, Bible, scarves to cover our heads for the drama, and plastic, disposable glasses.  Bringing so many things is not necessarily a simple task since all of us travel from different parts of the city on trolleys and buses.  I smiled at the cross sticking out of Desi’s backpack as we hiked the final part of our destination on foot. 

We prayed outside the safe house.  Oh, Jesus, would you come and reveal Yourself through us?!

Many of the girls greeted us with huge smiles and hugs.  Several of the new girls hung back, observant and silent.  I was blessed to see “M’s” face light up.  (She is in process to come to Casa Adalia.  It has been a slow and often discouraging process due to a delay in obtaining the judge’s order.)  Rebeca (Casa Adalia's house mom) led us in a fun “driving” game where “the cop” chased “the offending driver” through “the avenues and streets” made by the rest of us standing in lines.  The sun was beating down with intensity, so after the game we moved to the entrance that was shaded.  I spread out the tablecloth on the pavement and placed the scarf over my head.  Kristin did the same.  Desi disappeared and returned displaying a beard and men’s clothing.  We all laughed.

And then the celebration began.  We invited the girls to the “table” and served “wine” and laid out bread. I blessed our time and "meal" in prayer.  We passed the large loaf of bread, each breaking off a piece.  The girls joked and laughed.  It indeed felt like a party.  Then Kristin began to share her story about Jesus and how impacted she was by His tender love, acceptance and forgiveness.  Desi then shared her story as Peter.  They were both very dramatic and animated.  I felt myself entering into the story, and I prayed silently for the girls to hear and receive the message of hope and truth.  Then I began to share my story as Mary.  Even when I made a number of errors in Spanish, the girls listened intently.  I felt my eyes sting with tears as I tried to demonstrate the depths of grief and then joy that Mary must have felt.  At the end, I said, “Girls, I am here to tell you that Jesus is alive.  He is alive!”

Rebeca led us in reading and talking about Luke 24:1-12.  I so love hearing these precious girls read aloud from their Bibles! (We give every girl a personal Bible if she would like one.) We then passed out pens and paper and Desi talked about how Jesus came to die on the cross so that He might carry our burdens and take away our sins.  She encouraged us to write down a weight or a sin we are carrying and to tack it to the cross.  They would not be read or shared; they were for God’s eyes alone.  The cross was soon covered with our burdens.  As I prayed to end our time, Kris and Desi removed all the papers.  When the girls opened their eyes the cross was empty, symbolically demonstrating the incredible power of the cross. 

We finished with a simple song, “Jesus is not dead.”  Two of the new girls then quietly pulled me to the side and asked, “Could you bring us our own Bibles next week?”  What a beautiful question…of course!

YES! Jesus is alive!