It’s called an escalator
Last Christmas I was looking for a slice of Americana to share with our Burmese family when I heard the ad for the Christmas Village display by Habitat for Humanity. It was free, seasonal, and simple, which were the criteria for our next group outing. We reserved the church bus and the volunteer driver who is always ready for an outing that involves the smiling faces of our Burmese friends. We purchased bottled water and juice boxes along with grapes and crackers as a snack in case anyone got hungry on the trip. We arrived at East Pointe apartments where our family lives and barely get out of our cars before squeals of laughter were heard from the windows and children came running. We reminded them that it was the day for our surprise outing and they are elated. Coats seemed to be optional despite our warnings of the cold. Inviting additional family members and friends was not optional. Before we knew it our little outing for 12 had grown to 20+. The drive was full of chatter, pointing fingers at the marvels of Christmas lights, tall buildings, trains, bridges and fire trucks! The mood was festive as we arrived at the front of the Grand Wayne where we attempted to corral all the moms and children. The walk through the hotel was total awe as they absorbed the elegance, the elaborate flower arrangements, and the beautiful lights. Skipping and laughing stopped abruptly however as we approached a barrier I had not thought of. You might remember this scene from the movie Elf, but if not, let me describe it for you.
It’s called an escalator. The fear on everyone’s faces was something like that of a person who has just come face to face with a grizzly bear. First the mom’s began to cry and then the kids. They had never seen such a thing and were completely terrified by it. After a total clutch at the top and several minutes of reassurance I took the hands of two of the kids who knew me most, put a big smile on my face and said, come on, let’s go! They each gripped my legs so hard I was ready to start crying too. We got them down and everyone applauded. So, back up and I went for the next brave souls. At one point a mother handed me her baby as if to say, save her for me! I thought the event of the evening was going to be the Christmas village but it ended up being the escalator as we went up and down, up and down so many times you would have imagined it to be an amusement park ride!
We did finally go on to see the Christmas village which paled in interest compared to the escalator! It certainly wasn’t our plan to teach them to ride an escalator that night but that is the beauty of unexpected surprises with our Burmese friends.
Kathy Bruce, TRP volunteer from Emmanuel Community Church
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