Easter in Ambohibao

Easter is a really, really big deal here. Holy Week starts on Monday and continues every day leading up to Easter Sunday. Many schools have 2+ week vacations while students, teachers, and families spend time together and prepare for the holiday. My Easter Sunday started by riding with Pastor  Haja and Ramatoa to a small start-up church in the countryside, about 30 minutes from where we live. It was a beautiful, sunny day - and I loved getting away from the city for a bit and seeing the mountains. There were only about 50 people there, so the service was simple and intimate. And then out of nowhere in the middle of it, there was a live auction. Rice, avocados, bananas, lettuce, bread, cake, carrots, beans, embroidered bags, live chickens (!) - you name it, they were selling it. It was so much fun to witness and be a part of, and I walked away with a coconut, an avocado, and a bunch of bananas. After the service, Ramatoa and I picked flowers outside of the church and then headed back home for a quick lunch. Next, we walked to our church in Ambohibao for an Easter choir concert. The choir at our church performed, as well as several other visiting choirs from surrounding churches. The long day ended gathered around the table with Pastor Haja, Ramatoa, Diamondra (their daughter), and Hery (her husband). We ate  a huge, delicious meal; played guitar; listened to music; and shared stories about Easter in America, resurrection, and our hopes for Madagascar and the church. It was a day that I’ll definitely remember when I look back on my time here because it was spent laughing and blindly following the family I have grown to love here. I never really know what’s going on or what’s in store for me every day, but that’s what makes this experience so fun and hard and different and refreshing. When you start a day with no expectations, ending it around a crowded table with a family that loves you like their own, fresh flowers, and a coconut isn’t half bad.