My bedsheet had been draped over my head, but it had sunk to only fold over the belt that held it up. Joseph/Haden, his head covered in a towel, took a break to play the role of a sheep. The angel of the Lord's words were translated roughly into Thai and when it came time for the birth of our Saivor, I couldn't get the bible that was under my shirt out so I dropped it, it fell between my legs and the four of us roared with laughter. We didn't reherse, props were limited to a mop for a donkey and paper angel wings and I couldn't make a serious face, but it might have been the best Christmas pagaent ever. Every minute or so we stopped and put a word on the board for them to copy down: "Angel, Stable, Shepard," and in all caps, "JESUS CHRIST."
Before us sat 30 Buhhdist-raised eight year olds, most who had NEVER heard the true meaning of Christmas. They looked at us confused at the final act of our skit, their faces asking if this was real...
"This is a true story," I told them expressively even though my expressions came well before the Thai translation. "Jesus grew up to become a very important man. He could heal people from diseases and make dead people alive. He loved everyone and was perfect unlike anyone had ever been perfect before. He was truely God's son. While he was still young, people became mad at Him because he told them not to do bad things and they killed Him in an awful way. They put His dead body into a cave that nobody could get into. After He had been dead for three days He came back to life and many people saw Him. Then He flew into heaven to be with God, His father. He could have stopped the people who wanted to kill Him, because He could do anything, but He didn't because He died so that all of us could know God too... You can talk to Jesus. He hears you even if you are quiet or talk in your head. And the best part is that He loves you a lot and He will always be with you if you want Him to be in your heart, even when you are afraid or sad..."
So basically, I know that none of the little kids are going to radically change their lives to seek out Jesus in that moment. But now seeds of truth have been planted into their minds and perhaps one day when they feel empty or one day when they want to understand life, they will remember that there was some guys named Jesus that hears their prayers. And maybe they will pray, "Jesus, please show yourself to me," and Jesus will impress things upon their hearts and move in their minds. Maybe they will find Him and He will love them and one more little tidbit of darkness will be gone and one more little shining light will glow.
