Long Journey

King Herod addresses us, and his guard is not happy with us. 

Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph - and some guy with a guitar.

Our tickets. We were in group 37. 

Last night Sean and I took a long journey. We drove to Auburn, which is quite a ways from where we live. I ordered tickets (or reserved our spot) for Journey to Bethlehem last week. It was the only such Christmas drama I could find. There are some drive-through and walk-through manger scenes, etc., but this one was different.

I didn't know what to expect, but I figured it was on the scale of an outdoor drama of the crucifixion I played Mary Magdelin in when I was in high school. The ticket confirmation suggested warm clothing and be ready to walk for about 30 minutes. Our reservations were for 8:30 p.m. That's a little late to be out walking around for us, but I thought it would be a nice way to prepare for Christmas.

So I drove, and Sean fell asleep on the way. I wondered if it was going to be a mistake to go, because sometimes he wakes up grumpy and if he falls asleep that early I worry he's getting sick. (It was only about 7 p.m.) It was really cold. We wore our flannel-lined jeans and heavy coats, etc.

Sean woke up before we got there. We were stuck in traffic for a while because of an accident on I-5. I started to worry we might be late because I had never been to this place.

It was a campus. I thought it was a church, but it was a church/campus at Auburn Academy Church. It was a Seventh Day Adventist Church.

When we finally found where we were supposed to be, and got our tickets, we had to walk across to the campus to wait inside the church for our number to be called. We were put into groups, and our group was 37. I didn't expect that, I thought we would just get our tickets and walk through.

Our number was flashed on the screen, and once we all made it out the door, we were taken into a different world. We were part of the family from Capernaum, commanded by King Herod to search for the new Messiah.

This was way more than I expected. The costumes were great, and the actors were too. Sean was offered fish in the market place; we were invited to be part of a wedding celebration; we met Zacharias and Elizabeth who told us about their baby John, and how Zacharias couldn't speak for nine months. We kept searching for the Messiah, and along the way we met the Magi. They showed us the gifts they were taking to the baby, and told us about the star they had seen and that we should also follow it. There were lots of real animals, donkeys and camels, etc. It was really a good time. I didn't mind the cold until the last part.

As we walked to our car one of the men directing traffic said the numbers were around 960 for that night. I didn't realize the scope of this event until I read the program while we waited inside the church. The program says more than 8,000 people are expected this year. Last year there were 5,000.

It is a free event, and donations benefit the Auburn Food Bank. Last year the event raised $5,000 for the food bank.

My only complaint, and I hate to even complain because it was such a nice ministry for the community, is that we were rushed through. I think the event has gotten so big that they have to do it that way.

I didn't say anything about that to Sean, I asked him what he thought of it and he said he didn't like being rushed. He also was a little afraid, I think. Everything looked very real. (Even the fish were real.) The Roman guards were really mean and had swords. Sean said they were real swords.

The first year there were 100 actors, this year there were 325, with 175 supporting roles behind the scenes, and more than 250 musicians who share music during the wait time.
As I said, it was more than I expected.