Easter starts early in the Miacatlan house. We were all up for mass and ready to go by 6:30am. It was a sunrise mass which I always enjoy. The correlation between the extreme darkness of night and the lightening into day with Christ's rise was especially powerful and started the day off right (even if a little sleepy ;-).
Mass was held outside of the chapel as all the Holy Week masses were. The benches above were placed facing the chapel on the large front lawn. This photo is of the mayhem after mass when we were fed a special treat to start the Easter celebration.
Wesleigh and a friend enjoying the homemade chocolate donuts and amazing Mexican hot chocolate. Delicious! And a nice sugar buzz...
One of my girls, and her little sister. They're holding the chocolate eggs (yes, more chocolate!) that Father gave everyone. And I mean everyone! Even the volunteers and directors were included.
The crowd of kids anxiously awaiting the start of the egg hunt. The gates were closed so no one could cheat and start the hunt early. As soon as they were opened, kids poured through and raced to every corner of the house.
The kids did a very thorough job of canvasing the place and so stone was left unturned. I was impressed by their doggedness.
Two types of eggs were hidden. One of the younger boys here shows off the first kind which I helped hide, the eggs the kids painted. These could be exchanged for sweets. They weren't as valued as the second type and broke easily so all over the house we were stepping in egg and the smell was everywhere.
The second type of egg was painted either bronze, silver, or gold and five of each color were hidden in very discreet locations known only to Chucho, one of the directors. These eggs were worth money and everyone was allowed to look for them, not just the kids. Eventually, Chucho started giving out hints to their locations until all were found. This crowd is looking for the egg hidden in the campo area.
My egg hunt buddy. He's the little brother of one of my favorite girls in my section. He didn't find a golden egg, but he did find this beanie baby tiger instead and they became fast friends. I think it was a good consolation prize.
The egg hunt is another example of how different an environment actually exists here at NPH. Our volunteer coordinator, who is Mexican, had never heard of such a thing before and was really confused by the tradition. We had to explain it to her from the American perspective. Egg hunts are not a part of the traditional Mexican Easter and the massive egg hunt at NPH is a direct result of its American influences. A lot of things here are like that; this place is not really Mexico and not really American, but a little bit of both with some other spice thrown in. It truly is its own little world here.
The rest of the day was pretty relaxed after the early morning mass, chocolate feast, and egg hunt madness. The kids were on a bit of sugar high for a while, but the low hit not long after the hunt ended. We had a sparse breakfast and then just hung out in the section until comida. After comida, a Swiss family of padrinos arrived who I was supposed to have given a tour to that morning. I therefore spent my afternoon showing them around and answering questions about the house to the best of my ability. They were the first Swiss people I had ever met and it was an interesting experience. After they left, I returned to my section before we headed back to the comedor for more food. (Yes, it was a day of feasting.)
After cena, our section spent a while playing soccer at the multicanchas. It was a really pretty time of day and a nice way to work off some of the calories we'd been consuming all day! Here's one of my girls posing while her team waits to play.
The girls in action! We play by creating three teams through the age old tradition of captains picking their players. Two teams play at a time to two or three goals. Usually loser then sits down and the third team steps up. Sometimes loser stays, but usually only when the girls aren't enthusiastic enough about playing to really be getting the full benefit of their activity period.
One of my girls posing with the ball. She's one of the best players in the section when she wants to be and one of the best students. She has a bright future ahead of her I think.
After soccer, we headed over to the patio for continued festivities. The traditional Mexican treat of chicharrones was served with all the toppings imaginable. Here's one of my girls posing with her masterpiece.
The big screen was set up for movie time.
I headed back to volunteer central not long after the patio. A special treat awaited us as apparently the Easter bunny had visited our kitchen as well as the house. Wesleigh had sweetly gifted each of us with a delicious Heath bar to bring our feasting to a close. We watched a movie together before finally calling it a day. Everyone had been us since 6am after all! Definitely another memorable Easter.
