When we first arrived here, we were staying at a hotel. The first thing I did when I walked in the room was turn on the tv. (Of course!) A commercial was on and it was of a little girl with tears running down her face saying that she loved  Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. She said that when people say mean things about any of them, it hurts her. I appreciated being in a country that loved Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as I do and talk openly about them. I also knew that they believed in the virgin Mary and their call to prayers in essence just say that God is the greatest and only He should be worshiped. Most Muslim children are named after them. Ibrahim-Abraham, Museh- Moses, Esa- Jesus, Usef- Joseph. After some time I discovered that they also believe in a lot of the teachings of the Old and New Testament. My favorite old testament story is the one about Abraham sending Hagar away with Ishmael. I imagine Hagar in the desert crying and praying for water for her son because she's afraid he will die of thirst. Her great love for her son causes an angel to appear and he causes a spring of water to appear in the middle of the desert. Mecca is built around this well. However, I can't visit there because non-Muslims are not permitted to go into Mecca.

     Muslims believe that Jesus did not die on the cross. They believe that when Jesus was arrested, his soul went to heaven and Judas' took his place and he is the one that suffered and died on the cross. They believe he was a man and it is not possible for a man to rise from the dead. We know that this is not the truth. But, it explains why no crosses in Saudi.

    Making plans for Easter actually filled my heart with dread. I was actually thinking that we would just leave a candy trail and some candy from the Easter bunny and leave it at that. At Valentine's, the country had a ban on anything red. I can only imagine what they're banning at Easter. Bunnies? Baskets? Chocolate? Jelly beans? Crosses and ham are already banned. Anyway, yesterday I decided that I was going to have to change my attitude. I started to think about what I could do, not what I can't. So, we can't have ham, so what? We can have turkey. In the states, the Easter bunny always left a trail of jelly beans. This year, he can leave m&ms or something. My plan now is to invite people from the compound over for Easter dinner on Friday. (Everyone has to work on Sunday.) It won't be perfect and it will be nothing like the Easters I had growing up, but the most important lesson will be taught. Jesus died and rose from the dead for us and no one can stop us from sharing with others and celebrating. Also, it will bring joy to my heart to be able to help others remember and rejoice the real reason for the day. 

    What are your plans for Easter? What's on the menu?