Day 92: Good Friday yo.

Good Friday. What does that mean, exactly? What does it represent? Have you ever asked these questions? I sure haven't, but I will say I appreciate this day more because of what took place.

The morning had an early wake up call for me; 6 a.m., precisely. I went with my always crazy roommate Tyson to meet up with the Venue Safety crew, headed by our good friend Will. Since the buses were taking a bit too long, we decided to travel there ourselves, so we got on a public transport and headed straight for the Sydney Entertainment Center. We got assigned to our gates, got our radios, and began overseeing the venue right away. It felt just like yesterday, being at those gates during the Colour Conference; only this time, there were much more men than women walking in. Before the first service began, I was relocated to the Cubbyhouse section, which is the 1-2 year old's section. I have to say that was an interesting experience, especially seeing the crying that followed the child's separation from his parents. Some got over it, a couple didn't; but the ladies playing with the kids did a good job at keeping it all together and not in a mess. I got to step in the service for about a minute, and I noticed there weren't many people; but then I remembered it was a Friday, not a Sunday. So I stayed at the Cubbyhouse entrance for both services, checking passes, opening the gate, and even blowing bubbles! When the second service finished it became mayhem as all these parents came to pick up their children. When all was clear, we debriefed, turned in our radios, and were free to go. I decided to go back to the flat to get some rest (standing in one spot for a long time can really hurt after a while), and I did some research on a band called Paper Tongues. So apparently, this band is reportedly Christian, but I haven't seen enough evidence to back that, so I dug through the internet trying to find answers. I found that some of the lyrics do have a spiritual feel, just like the whole album has a positive message throughout. Even though it was produced by Randy Jackson (the judge from American Idol, for those of you who may not know), it actually is a very good set of music; but I haven't gotten the response from one of the Christian music sites I asked about Paper Tongues. So we'll see.

The best part of the evening was when Anders invited me to join him and some other guys for a Passover meal hosted by one of the church families. We had a wonderful time meeting new people and sharing in some great food. Then it came time for the actual Passover meal; this you'll be very interested in, so keep reading. There was these 2 people, a guy and girl, who spoke in detail of every step the Israelites took in their Passover feasts, and we would have small portions of food that represented that very process. It started with some parsley, which was dipped in salt water that represented the crossing of the Red Sea, as well as the tears that were shed during Israel's captivity. It was followed by a sip of a drink we would partake in 3 more times, each time representing something like sanctification, redemption, and praise. We had unleavened bread, but the cool part was that it was used as an illustration: there were 3 pieces. the bottom one symbolizing us and the earth, the top symbolizing Heaven, and the middle one symbolizing the mediator. After this explanation, the middle piece was wrapped in a white cloth and hidden for a child to find later on. We then had this collection of bitter herbs, representing the hardship Israel had during this time in Scripture; probably one of THE most dissatisfying foods I've ever had, but it was supposed to be that way. It was followed by a sweet set of herbs which would counteract that bitterness, representing freedom. We also had a part of a soft egg shell dipped in salt water representing the destruction of the Temple, as well as a bone of a lamb representing the sacrifice itself (which we didn't eat because there was only one; it was mainly an example). Then we had one of the kids there find the middle unleavened bread and bring it to the table; he found it awfully fast (because he CHEATED!!!! But I would have done the same, so..) we then had a piece of this bread that represented Jesus, our mediator between Heaven and Earth. The host family also gave some great points, my favorite being that even with this Old Testament sacrifice process, God was painting a picture of what was to take place in the future. One awesome example: after taking the Jesus bread, the napkin it was covered with was folded and placed down on the table. One of the men then began to explain that whenever the man of the house folded the napkin and left the table, it meant that the Passover feast wasn't over until he returned. You see the comparison?? When the tomb was open, the original cloth covering Jesus' body was folded and left there, showing that He rose again AND was to return to finish the job!!! Come on, that's awesome!! Again, the fact that this Old Testament practice shows God's plan being set out from the beginnings of time shows us how truly great God is. We finished with some prayer and worship. After some excellent dinner and dessert, we tried to go visit a birthday celebration going on at the beach, but because the amazing Passover meal went WAY overtime, we ended up missing it. But that's not such a bad thing, because it became an excellent bonding time with Danny and David, 2 of our European students from the U.K. and Germany, as well as Kurt, our Australian chauffeur. I gotta say it: IT WAS A GOOD FRIDAY!!!

God bless,
Steven