Miles -what it means

.

Hand of GOD
"Hand of GOD"                                                                                                                                                  

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

April 30, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Bye, Bye, Pollen, Bye, Bye

Every Spring, along with the critters, there is another tormenter which descends on the areas we have been in Georgia, Arkansas and Texas the past five years. It looks like a fine yellow or greenish powder and it is called pollen. I have never had problems with allergies or hay fever, but the pollen from a wide variety of trees seem to now cause me problems. Virtually every tree, plant, shrub, flower and crop produces pollen. Wikipedia lists 65 sources of pollen in the Spring, 61 sources in the Summer and an additional 9 sources in the Fall.
Everything is coated with the powder and it is almost impossible to keep anything clean. Rain is the best antidote to the multi-colored residue and we just had two downpours which lasted only a matter of minutes, but may have knocked the pollen out. The birds, not chirping before the rain, are chirping now, so maybe they have stopped sneezing, rubbing watery eyes and being beset by runny beaks and cold-like symptoms.
Whether it's the effects of antihistamines, extra Vitamin C (Amalaki) , or the cleansing rain and return of sunshine, I feel better, too. Back to work.

Sent from my iPad

Saturday, April 27, 2019

April 27, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. You Can't Tell the Players Without a Program

Over the past few months there has been a steady parade of volunteers coming to and going from the Passion Play. The Campers on Mission from Illinois and Missouri have come for a week or two, others have drifted in and now they are all gone on to other projects. A group from Oklahoma came and did some welding projects and a few volunteer couples from our early years here have returned with the intent to stay the whole season. There are a few groups expected over the next month and then in June the Youth Mission Groups start arriving for week-long stays.
For those of us who come and stay, it's nice to have the additional help, but it's hard to keep names and faces connected and also keep track of who is working on what. There are so many projects in varied states of completion, and often the project which was at the lowest priority becomes the one most needing to be completed. The grass we planted has filled in the Garden of Gethsemane, the area in front of the Tomb has been freshly sodded and the rains due this week will bring most of our trees, plants and flowers into full bloom. Hopefully the pollen will be washed away, as well. And the staff for the buffet, snack shops, gift shops, museums, Holy Land, Play cast and crew, ticketing, facilities, maintenance and animals will settle in as we get into our regular schedule this coming Friday and Saturday. New and old faces, names to learn and remember and the volunteers in and out of the RV spaces and dormitory facilities.
Our sixth season here. God has it all figured out and we just need to be ready, willing and able to do whatever it takes to implement His vision and plan for TGPP, now in its 51st season. Pray for us. Come and see us. Add your name to the long list of those who have worked here, been ministered to here and want to see it continue impacting people for many, many more years. Thank You, Lord for being our EVERYTHING. Yes............. Thank You, Lord.

Sent from my iPad

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Loving People We Don't Like

Jesus asks us to love one another, to love people we don't like, people we don't care to have anything to do with. While it is relatively simple to become a Christian, this love thing makes it anything but easy to become a "good" Christian. Monday, after a full weekend of Passion Play, sunrise service, church and a fellowship meal thereafter, it felt pretty easy to love those I was with. Peace and joy and love were in abundant evidence.
And then came Monday and my contact with someone who I would not have willingly chosen to be with for more than a cursory interval, but was compelled to spend a minimum of two hours with. I have no idea who this person was, where she came from, what her life was like, or why she was so reluctant to accept the things I was saying to her, but it was a difficult two hours. I'm sure I said something, or did something, or was someone she disliked, and as much as I tried to convey Christian love to her, she was just as determined to not show Christian love to me. It was an uncomfortable situation for me and I'm sure it was the same for her.
I don't know if I will ever encounter her again, and I don't feel that I have been "damaged" by the experience, but it gave me pause to think about how we interact with others, how we get along with some and have difficulty with others, but must, somehow, "be Jesus" and see each of them "as Jesus" and find a way to love them, when we don't like them. Jesus never promised us an easy path through life, but rather a path with twists and turns, obstacles, trials and sorrows. One day it will not be so. Peace and joy and love will be in abundant evidence..........Come, Lord Jesus, Come.............Come Soon.
Sent from my iPad

Sunday, April 21, 2019

April 21, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. He Is Risen........

For the first time in it's 51 year history, the Passion Play was presented on Easter weekend and most feel it was a successful endeavor. The weather was good on Friday, better on Saturday and ideal for the Sunrise Service this morning. Attendance was over 1600 for the two evening performances and considering that we didn't have very many 800+ audiences all of last year, we are off to a super start. The Holy Land was well attended and with some new presenters and others in new roles, it seemed to go smoothly.
There was a Jesus Parade in downtown Eureka Springs on Saturday, and the crowds were enthusiastic. It was fun to see the various churches, social groups, Christian Motorcycle Association and our Passion Play people praising Jesus in a town which doesn't always see eye to eye with the "Christian worldview". One of the local churches did sponsor an Easter Egg Eggstravaganza on the Passion Play grounds after the parade and there were hundreds of kids joyfully collecting eggs dropped at regular intervals from a Eureka Springs Fire Department hook and ladder. It sure looked like fun. Church this morning was uplifting and the Easter lunch afterwards was the only meal we needed for the day. Mountain bikers are coming every day to enjoy the 20 miles of back country trails which were build over the past year on TGPP grounds.
We now wait for the first weekend of May to resume the performance schedule for 2019 and we will be welcoming volunteer groups, youth mission trips and others coming to help with various projects and, of course, those who will be coming to enjoy the Play, Holy Land, Museums, Christ of the Ozarks statue, buffet, gift shops and Marketplace and Petting Zoo offerings. We trust God for what is going to take place here this season and the lives which will be impacted by it.
Yes...........He Is Risen.............He Is Risen Indeed.


Sent from my iPad

Thursday, April 18, 2019

April 18, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. ......Go......

In about 16 hours, the 51st season of The Great Passion Play will kick off with a full schedule of activities. The In Depth Tabernacle Teaching will not have Dick Ludig as the Tabernacle Priest for the first time since it began in 1995, Dick having passed away a month ago at the age of 91 1/2. It will be different without him, but his presence will surely be felt. The 3 museums, the Holy Land Tour, Backstage Tour, Gift Shops, Snack Shacks, Buffet, pre-show presentations in the Marketplace and Play itself will all be ready for a first weekend crowd expected to be good sized.
The dress rehearsal on Tuesday went well with a cast numbering close to 200, many of who, are in the Play for the first time. Rich, one of our cast members will be in his 50th season, missing only the 1968 season which went from July thru October of that year. I believe, he is the only person, cast or staff, who can go back that far and have no gaps in participation in this ministry.
There are a number of new features on the grounds of TGPP this year and we hope they will impress first time attendees as well as those who have been here before. We tell an age old story, praying it will have an impact on everyone, regardless of age, believer or non-believer, whatever your occupation, financial status or family background. We want to plant seeds, water already planted seeds and leave the rest to The Holy Spirit to change hearts and make God's Kingdom and everlasting life a clearer vision for each of our guests.
Karen and I have been deeply affected by our five years of ministry here and look forward to what God has in store for us as we enter into our sixth year as volunteers at TGPP. The winter went quickly, we have enjoyed some mild Spring weather, seen the Dogwood white and the Red Bud purple, and now it's time to..........GO.......... Let the fun begin..........

Sent from my iPad

Monday, April 15, 2019

April 15, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Weeds, Plan B

The vinegar plan for weed control in the amphitheater, didn't work. So, I put Plan B into effect, and after three days of weed whacking, blower blowing and then spraying a mixture of white vinegar, coarse kosher salt and dish washing liquid on the weed stubble, I have completed about 3500 seats of the 4000, or so, in the amphitheater. The remainder will be tackled ....later.
Saturday I worked in cloudy, cold weather until it started to rain. Sunday I worked in windy mild weather and today I worked in warm, windy, bright sunshine conditions. The project consumed about 15 hours and from the noise of the tools and the back-pack blower, I had two days of stuff flying all over the place and today I was feeling like the Hunchback of Notre Dame bent over because of the small capacity pump sprayer I was using. I did a lot of walking back and forth on each row and up and down the stairs. It was a lot of work, but hopefully the weeds will stay away for a while and won't have to be revisited until we have our summer youth groups here in June and July. It's a lot easier to assign 10 young folks to weed patrol than for me to take on the task by myself. It's good to be sitting down, done for the day, with $.12 "found" money for TGPP donation box. Tomorrow..............Dress Rehearsal

Sent from my iPad

Friday, April 12, 2019

Running the Sheep

First appearance of ewes and lambs on the set earlier today.  Have 14 rookies.  Sure are cute.  Next rehearsal on Monday, then Tuesday Dress and Opening on Friday.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

April 9, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Weeds

I have asked to be relieved of my amphitheater clean-up duty the morning after our Passion Play performances. I have really enjoyed the early morning exercise of walking up and down the 40 rows, 4 times, picking up the "left behind" mess, finding lost or forgotten items and trying to reconnect them with their rightful owner. But I have other early morning duties, and would like to have someone else take over the duty I have handled the past five years.
The other task I would like to find someone else for, is the weeding of the 4000 seat amphitheater. I have pulled them by hand, sprayed them with weed killer or the spray which destroys the root system for good, and most recently have tried to spray them with white vinegar.
I will need to wait a few more days to see if the vinegar works. Then I can spray the remaining 3500 seats or, ideally, find someone else to vinegarize them. I can't believe how big some of the weeds are already and our trees, bushes, flowers and plants have barely begun to blossom out.
Between the leaves, weeds and spraying for insects there is plenty to keep a small army of people busy for the entire season and well into the off season. If you want to join us for a week, a month, or even longer, we would be glad to share the fun. I remember our plan to just spend a short time here in Arkansas.........and six years later.......we're still at it.
The best laid plans............

Sent from my iPad

Saturday, April 6, 2019

April 6, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. Doing the Wash

One of the perks of being at the Passion Play is being able to use the cast laundry facility to do our personal laundry. One of the drawbacks of being at the Passion Play is that during the winter, the water on the set is turned off and the cast laundry facility isn't operational. Thus, from November to late March I had to drive about 10 miles to Berryville to do laundry and do our weekly WalMart run on the same trip. But as of this week the PP laundry is back up and running and I can do the wash about 200 yards from our motor home.
Tomorrow I will have the laundry rooms to myself, and not have to do any cast laundry from the previous night's performance. But that too will change when we get into our regular play schedule. Over the winter, wash day varied because of weather and projects being worked on. So wash day could have been Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Now it will most likely be Sunday afternoon, and made part of my regular routine.
Yes, we are getting close to opening for 2019. Much still to be done and willing hands needed to get them done. God has always provided, and we have every confidence that He is getting things in order for His vision for TGPP to be implemented and become reality. More than conquerors.........Praise The Lord.

Sent from my iPad

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

April 3, 2019. Eureka Springs, AR. A Beehive

With our first volunteers here, there is a beehive of activity on the property. Over the winter the list of projects was pretty long, but the number of workers was not large enough to do more than a few tasks and didn't make a big dent in the list. But now it is small groups working on each project and seeing it to completion.
Leaves are being raked and burned; props are being repaired or additional ones made; garden areas are being cleaned and mulched; water has been turned on in The Holy Land and on the set with leaks located and repaired; the washers and dryers for cast laundry have been hooked up and checked; merchandise for the gift shops is arriving daily, being checked in, entered in the computer and put out on display; play animals are coming back from their winter quarters; trees are going to be planted; painting is being done; the Sea of Galilee is being dredged; grass is being grown where there has not been any before; the main entrance to the Play amphitheater has been "beautified" with a large decorative planter; vehicles are being brought up to speed; the buffet is serving lunch to staff and volunteers and is ready for the beginning of the season; costumes have been repaired and new ones made; a retaining wall has been built at our set's Eastern Gate to keep some trees from possibly falling.
Most of the volunteers from Campers on Mission (Illinois and Missouri) will be leaving over the weekend so it shouldn't be as hectic next week. But it's been good to have them here, helping in so many areas and getting us "ready-er" for the new season. Other groups will come......and go. The youth mission groups and other church groups will come......and go.......as will some of our regulars from Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and other states. Thank You , Lord, for bringing willing hands and hearts, for watching over us as labor for Your Kingdom and seek to honor and glorify You with our efforts. All Praise to You.



Sent from my iPad