Dear Friends,
This year I dyed no eggs for Easter. I ate a chocolate egg or two. And ravioli. But as a different direction this year, I kept closer to the church tradition of Lent–and of breaking it heartily on Easter with more ham than anyone should ever eat.
During Lent, I was more aware of depravation than I usually am. Aware of being deprived of things that I think I need, but don't. For example, Word Made Flesh lost our drop-in center, the Casa de Esperanza, on Wednesday of Holy Week. Our landlady sold it to another buyer as we were just starting to raise the funds to buy it. It was a hard hit in the stomach for all of us.
My immediate thought was, “How do we do ministry without the Casa?”
Which is ridiculous. Kind of like saying, “How can I have fun without X-Box?” or “How can I go on vacation without a camera?” or “How can I eat without silverware?” As anyone who has lived in Africa can tell you, those “tools” (X-Box, cameras, silverware) are sometimes the very things that prevent wonderful experience and adventure. What I'm trying to say is that maybe (just maybe) God allowed the Casa to be sold to that we can re-evaluate our ministry and get back to the basics of vision in Him. Maybe.
We're still raising money for a new building (see the summer issue of the Cry, back page), but I think that as a team we're going to take some serious time to make sure our foundations are firm before we do.
In The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey says that since Christ ascended we Christians have been tangibly living in the Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. We know that Death no longer reigns. But we're waiting on the Kingdom to come on, already. All we have to do is look around us to know that Christ left a lot broken, and our world has not resurrected yet. But we're waiting. Expectantly and hopefully.
Happy Easter, and here's to Hope!
Cara Strauss
Mailing Address: Casilla 25022
El Alto, Bolivia