Jerusalem Market

It was a beautiful Saturday and we were looking for something special to do. We knew that there were a number of Easter egg hunts around town and we were trying to stay away from them - right now, at the ages our kids are, they are often divided out among three different groups. You do the math - three groups, two adults, tons of kids running crazy for melted chocolate. Not a good combination. So, we were on the hunt for something else.

Over the years, we have a passed a nearby church, Roswell Assembly of God, that publicized a "Jerusalem Market" about twice a year. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to attend, but we've been interested. This Saturday, the market was happening, so we decided to visit. What a great idea.

The church was set up as if we have travelled back in time to Jerusalem when Jesus was alive. There were tons of little shops, each one providing an opportunity to make something, eat something or learn something. We weren't able to visit everyone, but we hit as many as we could. Some of the shops we missed included a jewlery making shop, a game spot to play children's games, an armory where Xander got to decorate his own paper shield and a fruit store where we could sample yummy goodies.

There was a schoolhouse - the kids were each given their own yarmulke and learned how to write their names in Hebrew.

We visited a stone carving shop. Here, we got to "carve" (gray Styrofoam blocks) Hebrew words (such as God, allelujah, praise, glory and many others) with cute wooden sticks. A bit messy, but loads of fun!

The girls got to make musical bracelets with bells.

Xander enjoyed making a candle, actually due to time constraints, the helpers made one for him and sent a couple of extra components for the girls to make their own candles.

My personal favorite item was the empty tomb where Jesus was buried. You could have your picture taken with an angel outside the tomb - how could we pass that up?

At noon, all the shops shut down and everyone came together for a wonderful story of Easter and gospel presentation. It was a great mixture of music, a felt-board story and a little reenactment. The kids had a great time!!

Following all that, the kids were let loose for a little egg hunt. They had a few different sections, but there were a lot less kids in a much small location, so we didn't have the same concerns as we had with other hunts. There were even special eggs which meant special big prizes. Xander found one of the prized golden eggs from his age group and the girls had a great time in their hunt.

After the egg hunt, the church served grilled burgers and hot dogs, chips, drinks and cookies - a perfect lunch for a beautiful day!

The experience was great and we are already looking forward to the next Jerusalem Market so we can visit all of the shops. It was also a good reminder of how it felt to be a church visitor and how important it is to welcome those who visit our church. That night, Xander headed to bed with his golden egg prize - a white stuffed animal sheep, who is now affectionately called "Cuddle".