NTP -- Day 2 Jesus Blesses the Children

(I saw this picture by Liz Swindle at Education Week and I just had to buy it because it reminds me of the day we filmed this scene with CR.  I like how Jesus is smiling and enjoying the children's company.)

Day 2 -- TUESDAY AUGUST 16, 2011

JESUS BLESSES THE CHILDREN (Mark 10:13-16)

CR and I left the house at 4:15am.  It was great to have someone else in the car with me for that long drive.  We got there and there were a few other children.  They scattered the times of arrival and I think we were some of the first to arrive.  CR and I went through the same process of dressing, makeup, hair, etc.  We had breakfast and then they took us to the set.  Close to the same location as the previous day so we had to ride the van. 

The placed us all on this narrow dirt pathway.  We were to play the parts of mothers with children waiting for this Jesus that we had heard about to come by.  We were hoping to have our children healed.  We were given a few props to use this time.  CR and I were placed towards the front.  The apostles Peter, James, and John came first, as we saw them coming we were to stand up and reach out to them, the apostles would push us out of the way as if saying that they had an important person coming through and he had no time for us.  Jesus was behind them but instead of pushing us out of the way he said "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.   Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."

Because we were towards the front of the crowd Jesus came straight to CR and touched him, CR being a good actor pretended to be sick and then to be healed.  We did this same scene a few times and then we filmed it from different angles. 

This was a different day than Monday because of the children.  We took a lot of breaks and we were all treated very nicely.  In between takes the actor Jesus would talk to the children and make them feel loved and cared for.  This was such a special scene for me because the actor Jesus portrayed the part very well. He treated everyone with such kindness which is the way that I imagine Jesus being.  He even had a mint brought to him so he could share with a little girl that was not having a good day.

We met a nice family from Washington State that drove down so that they could participate in the filming.  I loved meeting all these people from all over the country and even the world.  She made an impact on my life from the very beginning.  I could tell that she has a strong testimony of the gospel by the way that she talked to her children.  They made the trip so that she and her children could have this experience.  My travels at this point did not seem hard.

We completed the filming at about 1:00pm.  We changed and then they said we could have lunch before leaving so we did.  It was a short day and definitely one of my favorite.  I was very tired driving home but we made it home at about 4:30pm.

CR and I