Easter in a Foreign Place

99.9% of the people in Turkey are Muslim, therefore, Easter was not even on the radar of most people this past weekend. To the small percentage of believers in Turkey, however, "Paskalya" (a widely known Turkish word for Easter) or better yet "Diriliş Bayramı" ("Resurrection Holiday" - a term used only by believers) was in full swing. So how did we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord?

On Good Friday, we gathered in a house along with a handful of other believers to worship and to read the account of Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion.

On Saturday, we set up an egg hunt for Eli in the 10 foot by 5 foot strip of grass that is in front of our building. Luckily, the grass was a bit overgrown so it was actually challenging for him and took more than the 20 seconds that we anticipated it would. One neighbor did come out to see what we were doing, but I think it was less out of curiosity about the eggs and more that he was annoyed we were walking on the grass. 

On Sunday, before we headed out to a worship service, I tried to get a few nice pictures of the boys. No such luck.  

 This was the first Easter in the history of the Sommermeyer Family that we had to pre-register, go through security, and show passports just to get into a worship service. That's because we attended a special Easter cantada at the American Ambassador's residence (I know, fancy, right?) Here we are looking very non-Eastery (but quite Ambassador-ish if I do say so myself). 

 We got to bring some of our favorite Turkish friends along with us, too, and following the cantada there was a brunch at the residence. As soon as I saw what was being served I panicked and rejoiced at the same time. To me, the platters of bacon and sausage that sat in the middle of the tables were like a little slice of home. But, remember, Islam forbids it's followers to eat pork, and the chances of being served it in Turkey are slim to none. We apologized to our friends, but they were completely understanding and didn't feel offended.   

Eli also got to give his Turkish friend her very own Easter basket. It was actually like a mini Easter basket but when her mother saw it she said, "You're giving her ALL that candy?!?" 

Following the service, the boys and I went home for naps and Zach went and had Easter worship with a group of Iranians.

We ended Easter 2011 with a big, non-traditional meal: Szechuan Chicken from the Chinese restaurant in town.