Happy Easter!

I am still getting used to the huge difference in time between me and Seattle. I wanted to call and wish Charisa a Happy Easter, but you all were not even close to celebrating it yet.

I had a wonderful Easter. I went to a very fun Baptist church in my neighborhood. I was invited there by a fellow, Bruce, at a Christian bookstore. I met him there and then we went back to his home and just hung out all day. It was great. He had a friend of his and his wife and kids visiting for the weekend. His friend is a pastor of a little Assemblies of God church in a town of about 10,000 people on the North Island. We had a lot of fun chatting about all sort of subjects. Bruce was just thrilled that I am from Washington State because he had just purchased and watched a documentary on the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. So I was a bit of a novelty since I barely old enough to remember it. He was quite funny how excited he was about. His friends thought so as well.

This is Charisa's last Sunday at Living Way in Seattle. The little church we had been a part of for the past 7 years. We will miss that bunch of folks dearly. They have been a huge part of our lives and have had a lot to do with all the process to get us to New Zealand.

Have a great Easter,
mark

PS - Interesting factoid. Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday are state holidays down here. So businesses are required to close, unless they are essential or part of tourism. Easter Monday is not as strict on who closes though, but it is a holiday for the banks, schools and government offices. So for most people it was a four day weekend. It is the last long weekend before the start of winter. It is similar to the last hurrah of Labor Day in the US.