04/09/2010: "See Mom! I told you it would work!"

It was the day before Easter Sunday and we had just attended the Community Bible Church Easter Eggstravaganza, our annual Easter egg hunt. Like most of the kids there, our eight year old son had grabbed every egg he could hold. With about 50,000 eggs on the field there was plenty for all.

Walking across the parking lot our son shared some of his eggs with children who did not have as many, but he was still left with a bunch of Easter eggs in his bags. Just a couple of days earlier he had visited Pastor Jody asking if he could start his own ministry doing things for children. (He wants to be a cowboy, wrestler, policeman and pastor.) Pastor Jody gladly agreed. Since his ministry would include making goodie bags for kids our son decided to call it "Bags of Love". One thing our son wanted to do was hold Easter egg hunts within some of the communities we serve, but it was too late to plan one this year.

On the way home we were discussing all of the Easter eggs and how we might share them with less fortunate children. Very quickly a devious plan developed. We knew of a small community made up of about 50 mobile homes and with a lot of children. It was decided by our son that he would donate his eggs and his mom would pick up some more from the store and that we would sneak in late at night and leave the eggs for the children to find.

Excited, we called the mom of one of his friends who had attended Eggstravaganza and who was also keeping a child of another friend. They each agreed to donate some of their eggs and to meet us at McDonalds later that night to stuff the new eggs and go scatter them all at the mobile home community. The plot had thickened into a conspiracy. We had become Ministers of Nocturnal Benevolence!

At McDonalds we put three candy filled plastic Easter eggs in a zip lock bag so bugs and such would stay out of them. Assuming young children cannot read we included a note to their parents in each bag, telling them the eggs were free gifts and tying it in with God's gift of salvation. We included a name and phone number should they wish to talk about it. It was our intent to place them in front of the doors or at the end of the mobile homes near the road.

I have to tell you, it is tough to go out and play Mr. Sneakattack Easter Bunny in the middle of the night with two ten-year olds and an eight-year old. They were loud, running everywhere (like trying to heard cats), tossing Easter eggs, pushing each other, fighting over the flashlight, and scared of the dogs and shadows. But it was wonderful! Occasionally a light would turn on and sometimes a person would step out their door, to whom we would explain we were playing Easter bunny.

To the kids and adults alike it was a really great time, one they will remember the rest of their lives. For the children it was fun and exciting and they were doing something to help others. For the adults, the pleasure of watching the kids have this much fun is difficult to describe. It is one of those things you will smile about every time you look back upon the night. The children in the community: they will have woken up to a wonderful surprise visit by the Easter Bunny, and their parents will have had the Gospel presented at a heartwarming moment.

During the wee hours of the morning upon returning home, the author was writing parts of this recount when he heard a teletype sound coming from his cell phone. Picking it up and glancing at it he saw the message displayed upon its screen. It was from a resident of the community and it said simply "Thank you for the Easter bag."

My wife went and woke our son to tell him of the message we had received. His face brightened with a huge smile and after a moment of thought he said “See Mom! I told you it would work!”