A Sweet Easter Celebration

We were invited to join in an Easter celebration following the church service this morning. Dr. P, one of the New Testament and Greek professors at Southern, is an elder at the church where we have been visiting, and he also leads the small group we have attended twice now. His family invited tons of people over for lunch, and we ended up staying at the "Party Palace" until the early evening. This is a picture of Dr. P and his family (they also took a silly picture, but I wasn't able to get a shot fast enough).
There is apparently a tradition every Easter at the "Party Palace" that Dr. P requests butter in the shape of a lamb. Here is the lamb on its way to slaughter~


Never a dull moment at the "Party Palace"! This is S, the second to oldest, showing off his mad skills at the bow and arrow~


N approached me saying, "Do you know what happens when my light saber touches you??"


Swoosh! "It cuts you!" which is my cue to flail and fall to the ground~

M is the oldest, and she provided the nice background music as we anxiously waited for the lunch feast~

Boys talking about stuff (no idea, I was just snapping random shots) ~

Mrs. P was working hard in the kitchen. We were welcome to bring side dishes and desserts, but she provided the majority of the delicious food. This truly is a woman with the gift of hospitality!

This is only part of the gigantic table (actually three tables put together!) that we congregated around. Following dinner, we were each instructed to open up one of the plastic eggs that served as the centerpiece display. Each egg contained two questions that we went around the table and answered~

The kids constantly want to sit in Dr. P's lap! As we were going around answering the questions from our eggs, the kids one by one walked over and requested to sit with him~

As we waited for coffee and dessert, Dr. P read to us from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He read my favorite part of the book, when Susan and Lucy go to find Aslan after he has been killed. They discover that he is no longer there, and suddenly appears to them in glorious splendor. What an breathtaking illustration of Christ's resurrection and our new life which was only possible through Him.

Dr. P reading to us from Benjamin's Box, a wonderful children's story that comes with visual aids in order to tell the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Yes, this is the number of people who gathered together at the "Party Palace"! We have been extremely encouraged and welcomed thus far, not just at the church, but by this small group as well. Today was a sweet time of simply spending time with one another, and celebration Christ through our fellowship together. By His wounds we were healed, and by His blood we have fellowship with one another~