Христос Воскрес!

Воистину воскрес!

I heard these Easter greetings approximately 193857 times today- which is fine by me! Translation: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! What better greeting to share?

I really love Easter; it's a holiday celebrating the most glorious gift ever given! Therefore, I REFUSED to let the nasty cold I've acquired to keep me from going to church today. I've spent the past 48 hours sniffing, coughing, sneezing, sleeping, and being generally grumpy and discontent. This morning, though, I took a billion mg of cold and cough medicine, packed my tissues, and trekked off to church.

I'm so glad I did. It was fantastic to celebrate Easter with my Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ. We sang special Easter songs, watched a children's performance, and listened to a poignant sermon on the resurrection of the body. It was a service full of hope and encouragement.

During the course of the service, we read about the curtain in the Temple- how it tore from top to bottom when Jesus died. Symbolically, this tore down the barrier between God and Man, abolishing the need for a human mediator. This brought to mind the beautiful Orthodox churches throughout Ukraine that each include an ornate iconostasis. These decorated walls separate the main part of the church (where worshipers gather) from the consecrated area where the priests alone are allowed. Every time I see one of these amazing structures, it makes me sad that so many people in our world don't realize that we can have a personal relationship with God- without needing a human mediator.

After the service, I promptly returned home to crash and load up on more medicine. I also sorted through my various Easter gifts: a bag of happies from my family, a beautiful Easter mug from Mrs. Linda (that she brought to me from Budapest!), jelly beans from the Kinards, and an Easter cake (paska) from Tanya and Ira. Thank you, everyone!

From the Brassarts. We (Amiee and I) get lambs every year. And, yes, that is a coloring book on the bottom. That's righ: I'm 24 and love coloring.

Hungarian mug from Mrs. Linda!

Jelly beans from the Kinards (right, Rach?)

Easter cake from Tanya and Ira. Best one I've had while in Ukraine.

Then, as a cap to my otherwise lovely day, the water in my apartment was shut off. What fun! If you know me at all, you know that camping- in any form- is not my thing.

Happy Easter!