easter.

We double-dipped on church today and went to two Easter services.

While we love our little home church in Mae Sot, it’s a little less organized and significantly smaller than most churches. It’s also fairly homogenous: we’re between 25 and 45; we live oversees and we’re there for Jesus & Burma. There are very few exceptions to this.

There is something refreshing about being surrounded by people of all ages, singing together for Jesus. There is something nice about mood lighting, words on a screen, and a whole band singing.

There is something nice about singing with a guitar among forty people sitting on the floor in a house, too, so I’ll just leave it there. We are simply enjoying American church right now, so we went to three services last week and two this week, soaking up what we can.

It was really lovely to be here for Easter this year especially. I think I needed the reminder: I needed be refreshed of the power of the cross; the necessity and impact of the resurrection. The past couple weeks have been a reminder of the power of Easter in me, and thus created an ache for those that seem so un-impacted by this–those around us, and particularly the families living on our street in Mae Sot.

While we are less involved with our Mae Sot neighborhood while we’re here, my prayers for them have increased exponentially. They are on my heart constantly, and I am left with prayer alone. My favorite prayer for them is from Matt Maher’s song Christ is Risen:

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over debt by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

I practically shout “Come Awake!” when we are singing in the service. I just ache for them to know truth; for them to experience the power and hope of awaking. Come awake!