Buried in the middle of nowhere Arkansas is a hidden gem that has captured the hearts of the D-Team, and where God gave us an opportunity to give back to His Kingdom in a small way as we near the end of our grand adventure. The Great Passion Play, in Eureka Springs, is home to the Christ of the Ozarks statue, the Holy Land tour, and, of course...the Great Passion Play (more on that in a separate, upcoming post.)
We pulled in the day before Easter, thinking we would visit the statue, maybe take the Holy Land Tour, consider staying for The Great Passion play's evening performance, and then find a church nearby to park for the night...little did we imagine what God had planned for us. (And, to be completely honest, I wasn't even that interested in going, and really only wanted to chill in the RV... let's just say I experienced a complete mindset change very quickly).
Long story short, we found out there were a few full-hookup sites on the grounds and after talking to the gentleman in charge of them, we decided to spend Easter there and maybe stay a few days so Mom could catch up on some computer business things she needed to do. Over the course of the conversation, we discovered we could work as volunteers if we wanted to...and of course we did! Thus began some of the best 10 days of our trip. As I texted a friend, I've loved traveling and seeing my Father's world, but there's something deeply fulfilling about serving God through the use of the hands He's given me. While we were originally going to stay only a couple of days and then continue to Missouri, big kids requested a longer stay and Mom willingly adjusted the schedule so we could.
It felt so good to be outside doing manual labor after 8 months of fun...especially knowing that we were working for a good cause. We worked alongside and became friends with a couple of delightful dudes, having many memorable conversations...from deep debates about faith, UFO's, and relationships, to laughter-filled arguments about fried chicken vs. chicken-fried-chicken.
No matter the job, whether weeding (and we did more weeding in just a few days than I've done over an entire summer of gardening, LOL), painting, sodding, hauling enormous railroad ties (around 56 of them in teams of four, both up and down hills...talk about achy muscles the next day), wiring low-voltage landscaping lights, or walking the amphitheater rows cleaning up garbage and/or searching for memory nameplates... the working hours passed too quickly for our liking.
Random Sidenote: My brothers and I hadn't driven since late July, so it was nice to get behind the wheel (even for me, who hates driving) of the work trucks and refresh our memories on that helpful skill. I did get a lot of joshing from CJ for my cautious driving and frequent 'brake checks' (which were actually just sudden stops because of touchy brakes), but at least I didn't drop him into too many potholes when he was riding in the truck bed...well, minus the few I purposefully hit in revenge for his screaming to make me think he had fallen out, but I have no regrets about those. :)
But anyway...The Great Passion Play crew took such good care of us during our entire time with them, especially CJ. From unlocking showers for us every night, to offering us rides whenever necessary, to bringing us ice cream, we were blessed to get to know this gentleman. Spending time with these people was so much fun for everybody, especially us young adults who have barely gotten to socialize with folks our age during our trip.
Dominic used his GoPro to get some footage during some of the work we did, so check out his video: A Brief Glimpse into Life as a Volunteer at the Great Passion Play
At the end of our time, we were invited to leave our mark on the wall honoring groups who have done a significant amount of work around the place. Dominic was the family artist for this invitation.
As volunteers, we were able to take both the Holy Land tour and Backstage tours free of charge, both of which were very interesting. Personally, my theater self loved the backstage tour more than the Holy Land tour, but both were wonderful experiences. The guides for both tours were phenomenally nice and knowledgeable.
Levi was especially excited to feed the camel a few treats(I think his name was Jorge...maybe?) during the backstage tour.
Along the road to the statue through The Great Passion Play's grounds dwells the adorable white 'Church in the Grove' built right around the turn of the century. It was originally located about 2.5 miles east of where it now resides and served as a church, meeting place and school until 1915 when it was designated a full-time church. It was moved to it's current site in 1986 where it was refurbished and opened to the public. The flooring, wainscot, and ceiling are all original, and the windows are 100+ years old.
Dad and I visited the church for a few minutes on Easter Sunday, after attending the sunrise service in front of the Christ statue (no one else wanted to get out of bed that early, LOL) and it was very peaceful inside. Over the 10 days we worked as volunteers, we helped with some repairs, painting, and landscaping around this quaint piece of history.
Right beside the church, stands an authentic 10' by 10' segment of the Berlin Wall with Psalm 23:4a painted on it by an East Berliner...probably under cover of night.
While the Christ of the Ozarks statue and surrounding area is wonderful at any time, I personally loved visiting it at night. The lights, trees, night sounds and absence of people made it especially tranquil and beautiful. The statue itself was neat, but the lovely prayer garden ....delightful!
This quiet little prayer garden was my absolute favorite place on the entire grounds...especially at night. I have fond memories of sitting there alone with my Jesus while Dominic was up by the statue taking nighttime drone footage. Something about being in nature with gentle lighting, in front of a simple cross, makes conversation with God sweet and precious.
The Christ of the Ozarks statue stands 7 stories tall overlooking the pleasant town of Eureka Springs. The face itself is 15 feet tall and the arm spread from fingertip to fingertip is 65 feet long. Dominic took some neat drone footage throughout our time there, so check out the video below.
Also on the premises are a sacred art museum, Bible museum, and history museum. While we didn't make it to the history museum, both of the others were well done and worth a visit. I'm not much of an 'art' person, but the unique paintings by Jack Dawson with all their special symbolisms were fascinating to see. The Bible Museum was special, with more than 6,000 Bibles in 625 languages.
Even more special was that they were selling pages from a 1576 Geneva Bible that had fallen apart. We bought quite a few of these and are so excited to be able to own a small piece of such an ancient part of Christian history.
All too soon, our time at the Great Passion Play and Christ of the Ozarks came to an end and we bid sad farewells to our new friends as we left middle-of-nowhere Arkansas for middle-of-nowhere Missouri where a reunion with some old friends awaited. While we may have said goodbye for now, at least some of us are already talking about returning more often...after all it's only 8 1/2 hours from our house:) Whether that is in God's plan for us is yet to be seen, but it's definitely something I'm praying for.
If you are ever in the Eureka Springs area or feel like taking a little (or big...I won't judge) detour on any travels you may have down in that lovely state, please visit this incredible gem hidden in the midst of the Ozark Mountains. (And stay tuned for an upcoming post on the Great Passion Play performance itself...there might be a few surprises in store). Whether or not you make a trip to this incredible place, please pray that God would bless the ministry and the people involved in it.
Until next time, God bless
I did not realize there was another Outdoor passion play! Might be something for us to check out sometime. We attended the Black Hills Passion Play in SD when I was a kid on vacation. I was so bummed when I learned we had “just missed “- the last one. It was August 2008 - the girls and I moved to MN in September of that same year.