A Night In Jerusalem

 

The Stake combined forces and created a
Walk Through Holy Week experience. 

This type of activity was starting to "trend".

In fact, Marcies stake did it last year and that was the first I had ever heard of it.
Soon after did I learn that just about every other stake jumped on the same bandwagon!

At first I was thinking this would be much easier than creating our own wards
Easter event. But after attending my first meeting to coordinate details, I was semi
dreading it!!

I think the problem was that there was not really a leader. 
Nobody had direct details of what needed to be displayed, or how it should function.

It was all given to us to "figure out".

So many different opinions.
Some not wanting to put lots of effort into it.
Some wanting to go big or go home.

I was in the- if you are going to do, it needs to be done right, category.

Nobody wants to waste their time to look at a picture frame sitting on a table. 

Ultimately we were able to come together with a game plan.

And it ended up being AMAZING!!
SO much work, lol!

Our ward took The Triumphal Entry!
We were hanging from ladders until midnight the night before.

So much stuff we hauled in.

But I must say, I was most proud of our room:)

To top off the experience, I needed some animals.
LIVE animals.

Side note, I don't love animals. At all. 

Driving with chickens IN MY CAR is a direct 
"fulfilling my calling to the fullest" type of act.

The whole drive I was praying the cage door stayed shut!!!

I found chickens on loan to help create noise as people walked in to the church
to start their journey through Holy Week.

I made it to the church, sweating buckets that I now had to CARRY THEM OVER

and TAKE THEM OUT to put in the bigger cages by the entrance.

I couldn't touch them, so I made Jenny do it. 
Who used to have chickens at her house.

Only somehow in the process of moving one, a side door fell down

and the other chicken escaped and was hauling booty TOWARDS THE STREET!!!

UGHHHH!!

I was dying.

I couldn't lose a dang chicken that I was borrowing!!!

We had 3 people trying to corner it, but man those suckers are fast!

By my many silent prayers, Jenny was able to scoop it up and safely put it back.

However, the chicken pen wasn't high enough and they were trying to fly out.

Put a fork in me.

I had to sit and babysit these dang chickens the WHOLE night!

I did love our entrance.

The hanging ribbons were the perfect touch to lead them to the Triumphal Entry!

I created a bread and honey table for a little taste of Jerusalem. 

One of the other night we were able to secure some baby donkeys!!

They were a hit!

I about had a heart attack when they hopped up on the edge of the fence to roost.

But luckily they did not want to leave their spot once the sun went down.

In fact we basically had to rip them off the fence to get them back in their cages!!

Strangest animals, I swear.

I need to hunt down pictures for the other room, because they were done so well!

All in all, it was a success!