It’s now permanently etched on our calendar. So long as we’re able, each spring Nancy and I will make the trip up the Shenandoah Valley and into the heart of Pennsylvania for an escape to the Land of the Amish. It’s a land of beauty, of hard-working farmers in straw hats and suspenders, and herds of Holstein cattle begging to be milked. It’s a place where massive fields of alfalfa cover the ground in green splendor. It’s a place where automobiles give right of way to horse drawn buggies and it’s easily a place where you gain 5 pounds in a very short period when you eat their food.
Last spring we drove to Lancaster County to see the play “Noah” and this year it was “Joshua”. Each year, biblical stories are recreated at the sprawling Sight and Sound Theater. It’s spectacular entertainment.
The 2,000-seat theater has a wrap-around stage of 300 feet. A cast of over 50 actors and dozens of live animals perform. The plays stretch over 2 hours and audiences become part of the bible story itself. The acting and choreography are top notch, and the stage props and scenery make a typical Broadway play looks like a kindergarten cut out. In the play, “Joshua”, the entire theater trembled when the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
The Joshua presentation is like a journey through the book of Exodus beginning with the Parting of the Red Sea and concluding with the arrival of the Israelites into the Promised Land. It is equally informative and entertaining.
Next spring we will again return to whatever play they present. If you can, make the trip to the land of the Amish this year and see Joshua. It’s well with the 5-hour drive through some of the most beautiful scenery in the US.
