Easter

Days like Easter are a cause for celebration, a call for an "occasion" Students and staff alike celebrated this glorious day in their own ways for the better part of the morning and the afternoon, until coming together at 4:30 for a memorable, and delightful remainder of the night.
Our dear gals Jessie and Julie orchestrated an outdoor evening meal, complete with dishes offered by many students, who cooked some things that represented some of their own home cooked Easter meal traditions. We ate among the breeze and the fading light together as we stuck blueberries in our upper lips for a delicious "blueberry delight" and said animal names to each other without showing our teeth. Try it, its tough to do without laughing yourself silly! Mark, (our beloved director) his wife Robin, nearly had an asthma attack because she was laughing so hard.
You might be asking yourself, "Hey now! Why aren't there any people sitting at the lovely Easter table?!"
Well, perhaps no one is there, because every person was off trying their darndest to find some of the 100 items hidden by Kevin and Matt for the 1st annual CCSP soPac mega Easter treasure/rubbish/trinket hunt!
Items were hidden all over our 13 h.acre campus and everyone was given 30 minutes to find those items, and proudly only two of them were not retrieved. Prizes were given, in exchange for the items, some good and some terrible - so it was a real surprise when Emma, proud of her retrieved item, found out that she would receive a "zerber" from Brett. She quickly declined that, not knowing what the heck it was.
Other, more "edifying" prizes included some little candy bits purchased from our dear friend Choi, who owns the superette at the end of our driveway. Pairs of pairs were given from our neighboring orchard, red peppers, favorite poems, ice creams, music compilations - and on the "lame prize side" some people took home envelopes of weeds, a bag with Kevin's underwear (sorry Nicole) and an old school paper jacket from an "iams dog show" (it is actually awesome).
The night eased on, and we closed together with a candlelit Community Worship time, curated by Nate where students and staff contemplated quietly for some time, journaling, and meditating. Soon, space was created for anyone to share worries or blessings or offerings or items of thanksgiving with the rest of the group - something that is quite necessary we think, for a group of people living as a community. A dessert smorgasboard rounded out the night, something that we also think is quite necessary from time to time, for a group of people living in a community!

Students look forward to their second "homestay" this week - this time, with a New Zealand family. Check the blog again soon to hear some primary accounts of their experiences! To our families, friends, and those we miss and to those who we don't know personally that read this blog- Happy Easter, blessings friends!