We had a warm Easter by Minnesota standards. No snow o n the ground, sunny skies, and a hint of green in the grass. Somehow we managed to get everyone up and dressed in their Easter clothes and to church in time for the 8:00 a.m. service. Believe me, that is a first for us. Tyler wore shorts and Mackenzie wore a sleeveless dress in our balmy 58 degree weather. After the service, the youth group hosted a breakfast down in the fellowship hall. Back home, we changed into our farm clothes and presented the younger kids with Easter baskets, while Joe hid the eggs around the farm for an Easter egg hunt. How fun to actually be able to run around collecting eggs on a warm, dry, sunny day. That just doesn't' happen here very often.
After a lunch of candy and hard boiled eggs, we all went outside. I tilled the garden and planted those fruit trees I wrote about. In the midst of planting a car pulled up in the driveway. It wasn't a car I recognized and I couldn't imagine who it could be on an Easter Sunday. Two men visiting from Kuwait were driving around the countryside looking for a lamb to butcher and they wondered if we had any available. Our new friend and neighbor, Willis, had sent them to us and they probably saw the sheep in the pasture. We don't have any lambs available. And we tried to explain that we raise sheep for wool and because it is so cold here in Minnesota, we don't lamb early enough in the year to supply the Easter lamb market.
I ran inside and got on the computer, trying to find names, addresses, and phone numbers of local farmers who I thought might have a market lamb ready to butcher. While I was searching for information, Dennis and the kids had a nice chat with our visitors. It turns out they had just arrived in Minnesota and were here seeking medical care at the Mayo clinic in Rochester. even though they had only been here a short while, they had already observed that the people in Rochester weren't as open and friendly as the people out in the country. So they liked getting out of town and driving around the countryside. They teased us about being outside and working on a Christian holiday. We responded that the weather was just too nice and we all wanted to be outside enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. We talked about Halal markets and Muslim butchering practices. How important it is to kill an animal quickly so that it doesn't experience fear and pain, and to thank God for the sacrifice. We offered them some chickens we had in the freezer, but they declined. We said our good byes and they were on their way. What an unexpected gift of friendship and conversation.
Later that afternoon, we packed an Easter plate for our 89 year-old neighbor, Laurel. We included two different kinds of bread, Easter cookies, and some candy. Vincent, Tyler, and I drove down to her house to wish her a happy Easter. While we were visiting, Vincent invited Laurel to dinner at our house. I really respect his kindness and generosity. After taking a quick peak at her dairy goats and laying chickens, we returned home to get dinner ready. Laurel needed to eat by 5:30 so that she could get back home to milk the goats. We cooked a 22 lb. turkey that we'd gotten last fall from another farm, made mashed Yukon gold potatoes and gravy, steamed fresh asparagus, and fresh fruit salad. Pretty simple really. It was fun sharing a meal with Laurel. She's great company and we are all enjoying getting to know her. So this year three unexpected guests shared Easter with us and I have to believe they're our Easter angels.
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