Here is a summary of what happened with our Christmas play and other Christmas activities:

• The play that started with Genesis and ended with Revelation (everything in just half an hour) was rehearsed only once and not even very thoroughly. There were more than  40 people involved from 10 different churches  This is a perfect recipe for  a catastrophe

 

• 5 people had to carry two trees, sun, moon and star on to the stage during creation. 3 Others were to make two big fishes swim pass on a stick and one big bird had to fly pass, also on a long stick (all made of cloth and bamboo) Adam and Eve had to talk to the snake and ate the fruit and hid themselves behind fig leaves Everybody had to know exactly what to do when. The words on the CD did not wait for anybody. This all went amazingly well.

 

• 10 minutes before we had to appear on stage everybody jumped on me wanting to know where they should be and where their clothes were etc.etc. I had to scream at the top of my voice as a group was making very loud music before it was our turn.

 

• Just as we were about to start, one of the angels came to ask me where the shepherds were. I told her  ”over there” but as I looked “over there” there were no shepherds or sheep!! I had to leave the angel to find them herself because Creation started and I had to help the trees get on the stage. At this point I discovered that the shepherds were Burmese Christians who did not understand too much of my Thai instructions .!!  I was very glad to see that the angel did find the shepherds somewhere amongst the audience. The end of this part  was that the shepherds came to see the angels instead of the other way around.

 

• The angels wanted to stay on the stage longer than what they should have (it seems they felt so beautiful and the time allotted to them wasn’t enough for the audience to see them properly) I was running backwards and forward around the back of the stage to get those who should be on the stage, on, and to get those who were supposed to be off the stage, off.

 

• The back two meters of the stage where the orchestra and the cave in which Jesus was to be buried were, was a quarter meter  higher than the front two meters with a gap between the two, A person could stand up straight underneath the stage. You only needed to avoid the many electrical wires of all the stage lights and the orchestra wires

 

• When the angels did not want to come down I had no choice but to go in underneath the stage and pull the one angel by the ankle to get her attention. I was afraid she may get such a shock that she would fly off the stage, forgetting that her wings were not real but made out of cloth and bamboo!!..She only gave a little jump 

 

• Mary and Joseph did a very good job and so did the 3 wise men

 

• The adult “Jesus” had to appear from behind the stable just at the right moment in order to heal a blind person. He stepped on his long satin dress,as he was walking up the stairs, almost fell and did not make it on time for the blind person to be healed. He got healed together with the lame and the demon possessed person. After this Jesus was to stop at the Pharisees and then at the cross to be crucified. When I looked up I saw him walking right passed the cross and down at the other end of the stage. I ran with all my might to that side to send him back up again to be crucified and placed in the grave by the soldiers.

 

• As soon as Jesus was put in the grave he had to climb down the back of the stage so that the grave would be empty when the two Mary’s appeared and the angel rolled back the stone. I was afraid he might still be in the grave when the stone was rolled away, Great was my relief when I saw “Jesus” running around the back of the stage to come up the other side in time for his ascension

 

• This may all sound very irreverent and chaotic, but the voice and sounds on the CD was very good and people came afterwards saying how good it was and how clear the meaning of Gods plan of salvation came through. Hundreds of people sat and watched motionless right to the end.

 

• No one knows of anybody turning to the Lord that night, because the one who was supposed to be ready straight afterwards to direct those who wanted to know more, could not find his shirt because he played the part of Jesus and lost his shirt in the chaos back stage when he put on his white satin robe Someone else stood in for him.

 

• There was however a very clear explanation and an invitation for repentance and turning away from their old ways to the living God as part of the CD with the play on. Earlier the afternoon all the churches had booths where games were played and tracts were given out with the various church addresses on. So that if someone was spiritually hungry he could find his way to some church.

 

Thank you for praying. Without this there would have been no light at the end of this tunnel :-))