April 2006

Our family lives in the inner city of Minneapolis, and at times it feels difficult to reach out to our community with the message of Christ. Then, last spring I received an e-mail from FamilyLife telling about the World's Largest Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt, in which people use Resurrection Eggs to create a local outreach for children.

I decided to take a "leap of faith" and organize my own egg hunt, and I asked my children, Spencer, 8, and Skyler 5, to invite friends in the neighborhood who may not know the true Easter story. In addition, my good friend Deana was hosting an exchange student from Thailand, Jeripat. When she heard about our outreach, she asked him if he could help with the egg hunt. She had been sharing her faith with Jeripat and thought this would be a great way for him to hear about Jesus in a fun and different way.

As the event approached, I gathered treats and visited our local Christian bookstore for special Easter surprises. Invitations were printed from the FamilyLife website, so the process was painless. Doubts, however, filled my head. I feared that I couldn't pull this off, but then reassured myself that perfection was not what I was after.


The Day of the Egg Hunt

On the day of the Easter egg hunt, my girlfriend, Deana, arrived early to help hide eggs. As the kids arrived, we talked and then handed each of them a basket for the big hunt. We explained that there were 12 "special" eggs with numbers on them; these were the Resurrection Eggs, which are designed to tell the story of Easter.

Laughter filled our backyard as the children ran out the backdoor. They chased after each other, helped one another find eggs that were hidden up high, and screamed with delight. Even Jeripat got excited about finding eggs.

Once all of the eggs were found, we headed back indoors. I asked the kids to go through their baskets, find the special numbered eggs, and hold them aside. While reading the book Benjamin's Box (a book that provides a narrative for Resurrection Eggs), I called out for a numbered egg. We all looked at the treasure inside and passed it around. When I completed reading Benjamin's Box, I explained that the true story of Easter is found in the Bible. Then I offered Bibles to those who didn't have one.


Looking Back

In looking back, I felt very inadequate as God prompted me to share His story with others. I'm not a Bible scholar or well versed in my Bible, but I followed His gentle nudge. Seeds were definitely planted. Jeripat and two other children went home with their very first Bibles.

Jeripat did accept Christ during his stay with Deana last year. Although he has since returned home to Thailand, he continues to be drawn to his host family. Deana feels that it is God's love that draws him back. While I was having dinner at Deana's the other day, Jeripat called. He mentioned that he still has the Bible, and she reminded him that soon we'd be having another Easter egg hunt.

What an honor to be used by God to reach out to others. We are commanded to go into all the nations to share the gospel; little did I realize that my World's Largest Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt would reach Thailand! Who knows what God has in store for us this year?