Easter.

Due to the difference in calendar used by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, we in Romania just celebrated Easter this past Sunday instead of way back in March, with most of the rest of you. We began lent with you, though, so that made for a long time of fasting and waiting for the resurrection. A large part of our Lenten fast was that we were away from Lupeni and the work and community that has eagerly accepted us here. Once we got to Lupeni, we joined the Orthodox fast schedule that's supposed to be kept throughout the whole year. On Wednesday and Friday, we fasted from animal products to remember Judas betraying Jesus and Jesus' crucifixion. A small jolt to our lives as usual to remember events that shook our whole world.

As you can probably imagine, after so long a lent, Easter was a very welcome celebration.

It began last Wednesday. May 1 is Labor Day in Romania, so we had the day off work and decided to take a trip with our friends to Horezu, the town known for making traditional Romanian ceramics. On the way back, we stopped in a steep gorge that holds a monastery, a cave, and plenty of other beautiful adventures. On the way back into the Jiu Valley, it was dark, and we saw many huge bonfires scattered around the hills and in the towns. Folks were already getting together to celebrate and feast with joy on Labor Day. There was also lightning off over the mountains, flashing through the clouds. A night of spectacularly joyful light displays.

On Thursday, we had a Passover Seder meal with the expats in the valley. Kelly put together the Liturgy, and we spent the whole day buying food and cooking. It was a wonderful evening, full of good food, reunion, good conversation, eager hope for Jesus' coming and redemption, sadness at the hardness of man's heart, and joy at the possibilities that salvation contains. There was special joy over Kelly's unleavened bread; many requests to take the leftovers.

On Good Friday, the Orthodox congregations put on a joint liturgy between the two main buildings, preparing us for the Drumul Crucii, the Way of the Cross. Performers sing about the heavy cross that Jesus bore for us, and the priests give messages and lead in liturgy asking for mercy on our sinful hearts. At about noon, twenty people pick up a large, wooden cross that belongs in the little chapel on top of Straja mountain, and we begin to follow them and the priest up the road that leads to the top. The road winds its way slowly up the slope, and every kilometer or so, there is a marble relief carving of a different Station of the Cross, where we all stop and participate in a short liturgy.

There are 10 stations before we reach the little ski village where the chapel is perched. It's a long way up. There were a number of teenagers from IMPACT clubs there with large water bottles to share with thirsty pilgrims, sponsored and encouraged to do so by a wealthy, Orthodox philanthropist. A number of people, however, choose to fast from food and drink on the walk up the mountain, just like Jesus. It's Orthodox tradition to fast from Thursday night until Sunday morning, though plenty of people don't do it that long. Walking up a mountain for a few hours on Friday really makes one connect viscerally with Jesus' suffering; I really felt more connected to the story than from hearing a sermon while sitting in a slightly uncomfortable pew. We engaged in the Good Friday suffering together, and began to hope more fully for the joy of Easter.

Kelly and I decided to fast only until Friday night, since we went camping with our friends. We decided to celebrate with them while we were together, so we made hobo pies (potatoes, carrots, onions, chicken, corn, beans and butter all wrapped in tinfoil, thrown on the fire, and spiced to taste--I dearly hope that hobos can eat this well) and weird s'mores with twisty marshmallows. We played a small amount of rugby, went into a little cave by the campsite, and sang worship songs together.

The next morning, we had eggs and bacon for breakfast, packed up most of our things, and went into a cave. Supposedly, there was a lake somewhere in this cave that we were trying to find, but never did. We did climb up many a muddy, slippery slope, lower ourselves through holes, and say, "Whoa!" a lot. God must have quite a good time making all this landscape, above, below, underwater...all of it. When we came out, it was another wonderfully visceral Easter experience. I had never thought about the joy of emerging from a cave from Jesus' perspective before. Every smell was a gift, and the sunlight was beautiful, even after only five hours.

We came home and I fell asleep immediately. I woke up to talk with some dear friends in the States, and to take a shower before we went back to the Orthodox church. Their Easter service began at 10pm on Saturday night, with them walking around the building, pausing now and then to do prayers and liturgy. At midnight, they approached the entrance, and the priest pounded on the door and requested it to be opened so we can celebrate. The doors opened and the people flooded into the sanctuary. For the next hour or so, we repeated the same 7-minute liturgy of various songs and prayers celebrating the resurrection. We left at about 1 because we were so tired and didn't know if the liturgy would ever change (it's perfectly acceptable to go in and out of Orthodox services like that). The service usually goes until about 3. And then they start again next morning.

We concluded that it would take a long time for us to feel natural celebrating Easter like that. It was very strange to celebrate the resurrection and then go to sleep, and we decided to just let our bodies rest, so we attended no service that morning. We woke up late, cooked some more food, and went for a big, joyous Easter lunch/dinner with our friends at the Bates' house. And there was much rejoicing!

It's different. It's wonderful that so many of us celebrate the resurrection. We enjoy that Easter is as big of a deal here as Christmas. We hope that we can feel at home in a congregation next Easter, and still celebrate as much as we did with our other friends.

Cristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat!