Missing Mesa & The Easter Pageant

We've found ourselves missing Arizona this month. March and April were much-anticipated months for us when we lived in Mesa, mostly for two reasons: 1) The weather. Averaging temps near 80 degrees, you just can't beat it! It's truly ideal! and 2) The Easter Pageant. It was so fun to pick up dinner and take it with us, munching on it as we sat on the huge lawn of the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center, waiting for the pageant to begin when the sun went down. We usually went with friends, which made it even more fun! Then the pageant would begin and it was truly for the entire family. Even our 2-year old was engaged in the story of Christ's birth, His death, and His resurrection. It didn't matter how many times I'd seen it, I'd always get emotional during the final scene. A choir of "angels" in white sang gloriously as the resurrected Christ ascended into heaven. It was especially touching to hear comments our children would make. I remember the first year Halle saw it, she was so excited during the first scene when you see the adult Jesus Christ. She innocently and so believingly shouted, "Jesus! It's Jesus! Hi, Jesus!" To see her so readily express her love and joy at seeing "Him" humbled me and I felt gave me a peek as to how we will all feel when we see our Savior again.

If you are in the Phoenix area sometime between now and March 22, you simply cannot miss this experience. It's free to everyone and a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the life, and sacrifice, of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Here's a link if you'd like more info: http://www.easterpageant.org/.
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P.S. Funny story...last year we went with our good friends the Farnsworths and Dahlkes. Dave Farnsworth was on his cell phone as we waited for the program to begin. Actors mingle with the crowd during that time, and it's a lot of fun for the kids to have photo ops with them. 2007 was the first year that we'd seen the actor portraying Jesus walking amongst the crowd. When he reached our area, we could not pass up the opportunity to get a picture with him, especially since he so resembled paintings we'd seen done of Christ. I asked Kristin if she wanted me to get a picture of her family with the actor. She said, "Sure!" Then she motioned to Dave hang up and come pose. It was the most surreal experience to hear him say to the person on the other end of the line, "Hey, I need to go now. We're getting our picture taken with Jesus."
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Guess you had to be there...but it really did sound funny! We all had a good laugh.