A Journey to Bethlehem

On Sunday, December 18, my sister called and told me that the "Journey to Bethlehem" that Woodcrest campground was putting on was a neat experience. Originally, Woodcrest was only offering it that weekend on Friday & Saturday but because of the high turnout, it was going to happen again that evening (the original rain date). I asked Shawn about taking the boys, and we looked up the info on it online. We debated and debated - was it worth the $5 a person? Was it a smart idea to go out on our ONLY night we hadn't had any plans and the only free night we were going to have for well over a week? We eventually decided to go for it. We bundled up the kids as much as we could and put long underwear on, etc. Then we dashed out of the house.

When we got there, a man was at the bottom of the hill taking a 'census.' He counted how many were in our party and told us where to park. Then we went into the building to pay our 'tax.' It was $5 per person over the age of four. Then we discovered there was an hour wait until we even got to go on the ride. Again we debated - was it worth waiting with a baby? I had to all-but strip him down as the kids also took off layers since we waited inside a building. They had some horrible video on in the background and no sound - ugh! I would have paid double at that point just to get on immediately. But, such is life. Eventually, it was our turn. We had silver coins (they called each group by the coins that we had - instead of tickets), and we paid our tax as we got on the wagon ride. There was a man on the wagon who gave us our instructions for the night and read the Bible story from Luke 2.

The wagon dropped us off in the middle of nowhere in the dark. Literally pitch black and walking in a camp ground with only candle light. I was TERRIFIED of falling while holding baby Ryan. Both Shawn & I were nervous the entire night. It was stinkin' dark (as Mamaw from Florida used to say). Our first little 'station' was a place where Mary was folding laundry and an angel appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a baby. After that portion of the Bible story, we were given walking sticks to head on the trail. Caleb didn't know how to hold a walking stick and was almost taking folks out. Daddy retrieved his walking stick, much to his dismay. He wasn't trying to be bad, but he was too young for such a big stick. As we walked in a large group, there were actors asking if we had come to town for the census. Joshua told them that he had never been to Bethlehem before. Then, he also mentioned that he knew there wouldn't be room for us in the inn. The gal asked him, "How do you know that we won't find a place to stay?" His response was "I just know." So cute!

We got to the inn, and the name on the door was "Joshua's Inn." But, indeed, our Joshua was right that there was no room, even for the very pregnant Mary who had ridden a donkey in our group as we walked, and her betrothed Joseph. There were live chickens that Caleb was extremely intrigued by, so Shawn had a close eye on him while I held the baby and watched Joshua - who was absolutely delighted to see the Christmas story come alive!

As Mary & Joseph left to find the stable where the innkeeper told them they could stay, we took a journey to the marketplace where we found shepherds looking for a lost lamb named "Ezekiel." They told the boys that they could help be shepherds and gave them each their own little shepherd hat. Caleb told us that he was done with his angel hat and didn't want it anymore. Then they handed out lanterns to the kids. I said no thanks, but Joshua really wanted one so we allowed him to carry one and I said I would help him if he needed it. He was extremely careful. We didn't let Caleb so much as touch one. :) :) :) It was SO dark on those trails. They were mud with leaves, and all I could think about was if there was one stray branch, not only would I die falling but so could the baby. Shawn & I took turns carrying him, and I prayed over and over again for God to keep us safe. As we walked, the shepherds asked us to call out "Ezekiel!" to see if we could find the lost lamb.

Our next stop was a bonfire in the middle of the field where the shepherds handed out cups of hot chocolate. The boys said no, but I took one. It was perfectly warm - not too hot and not too cold. Then angels appeared across the way (this part was actually really cool - they were up high on some sort of platform but you could only see them as they were lit up). They proclaimed the Messiah's birth. Joshua looked at me and said "Well, I wasn't scared!" Haaa!!! He knew that the shepherds were terrified, but he thought he did pretty good not to be concerned when they appeared. We left the bonfire and walked in the dark (I think they said the entire walk from start to end was somewhere around 1-2 miles, but it didn't feel all that much while we were walking it). We found the manger, where they pulled back the curtain and we worshiped baby Jesus (the doll version). I whispered to Shawn that Ryan Josiah would fit nicely in there, but he was already DONE with Bethlehem and ready to go home. Joshua was in awe, Caleb was trying to find out where the speakers were for the music. Shawn was given a run for his money with Caleb, and I was holding a heavy Schnook. BUT, the Bean was enjoying himself. And, we didn't pay for the two younger kids, so they obviously know what the right ages were. Our last stop was inside some sort of building or mess hall, where a preacher talked about accepting Jesus as Lord. Then, we got back on a bus that drove us back to the place where we started to get in our minivan and go home.

Within the next day or so, we heard a song on the radio that had the word Bethlehem in it, and Joshua said "You know, I was there!" He thinks that he saw the true Bethlehem. :) :) :) I'm glad he enjoyed it.