CNYB Extravaganza, Part Two

Hello, all!!
On to post two and...

INTRODUCTIONS

After everyone had arrived and gotten a little sustenance, (Everything was so delicious! Thanks so much, y'all, for all you brought! Wonderful treats!)
Daddy dear would call each family up one at a time, and the father would introduce each member of his family, and the character they might be portraying.

So sorry we were not able to get a good picture of each family while they were introducing themselves. But, wow, everybody's costumes were so great, and the stories they told were absolutely amazing and very, very inspiring. Praise God for our spiritual forefathers!! Incredible.

I'll share one or two stories that really spoke to me personally, on this blog, and then write out who everybody was, that I can remember-I know I won't be able to recall everyone's character, so, if you were there and I have not named your character, drop a line and share it with us!!

Enjoy, y'all!!

Martin Luther, after the Diet of Worms,( private joke - I guess you had to be there ) introduced his wife as The Essence of Proverbs 31, his son as a Godly Young Man and his lovely daughter as Eleanor De Conde of France.Ross D. came as "A younger and better looking version of Marc D." (his big brother that was there, LOL) and his sweet daughter came as Jane Austen. (We missed Mrs. D and the rest of the kids so much! Sorry y'all were sick...but great news on the new addition to the D. family!!!)
Here is our family :D-Left to right, Francis Marion, King Josiah, Col. Paul Longgrear, Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, Marquis De Lafayette, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Anne Hill Carter, Lee's mother, The Unheralded Heroine of History, Dolley Madison and Katerina Luther.Listening...The R. family: Mr and Mrs. R. came as their ancestors, (they did an awesome skit about their opposition to the new book that had just come out by Charles Darwin-so fabulous and creative!) To the right is Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Nan Harper. Also, on the left is a WWII veteran, and Sargent York as a young boy. Three cheers!!The Campana family arrived as, from L. to R., Martha Washington, Sargent York, George Washington, Daniel Boone, a medieval princess :), an evangelist and inventor Michael Faraday, A Lovely Lady :), Princess Adelina, and the evangelist's daughter.
We were so glad the A.'s were able to come! Here they are, looking wonderful as themselves in costume. :)Our Dearest Nana and the very handsome Major Anderson, Commander at Fort Sumter.
Alan and Katie and their little boys represented their ancestors. What an incredible family story of the Troxells...
The dear Sanders, looking wonderful as the pioneers who are building their house, :) plus a frontiersman who, at one point in his adventuresome life, actually had his ear chewed on by a grizzly bear. :) Amazing.
The W. family looks so authentic! Love that flag, dear boy. From R. to L.: Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Mr. and Mrs. W, four fine Confederate Soldiers, Annie Oakley, and then-oh, I can't recall L., N., and B.'s names. And then we were so honored to have Mr. W.'s sweet mother there with us. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, and...Teddy Roosevelt as a boy and PocahontasA portion of the audience...Here are the L.s! They came , as Mr. L. said. as three historicals and five hystericals. :D D. was a Confederate solider, M. was a martyr from the Reformation, (amazing story there!) and A. was a lovely southern girl... And the D.s!! What a joy and blessing this family is!! They came as themselves and introduced little C. as Daniel Boone. :) Love your hat, buddy! We enjoyed hearing (one of the many) stories of God's faithfulness to their family this past year.The R.s came as, from R. to L., Priscilla, from Romans 16, C. was the wife of a Chinese missionary, The younger Martin Luther, A Spanish Lady, Mr. Darcy, as he was dubbed upon arrival, D, behind Mr. F., was lovely in regency, R was from the 50's, G. was a cowboy, A. was King David as a shepherd, and H. was his great great grandfather in WWII, I believe. Mr. and Mrs. R. came as themselves, a very charming couple. :)
Wesley and Rachel and their boys!! Aren't they a handsome lot? They came in their wedding clothes - just beautiful.
The S.s came as Theodore Roosevelt and a little rough rider, :) and his lovely wife . And the S. family! First on the left is Dolly Madison, third is Thomas Edison, and the Roman Centurion stands with shield in hand. They were all representing amazing people... More watching and listening...
The Smith family!! Go here for a wonderful post on their story....
And, Michael Jr. and Kressant, with two of their three little boys...Kressant was Anna H. Judson-she aided her husband as they went to Burma in the early 1900's to share the Gospel with the people there.

Michael Jr. portrayed Jan Žižka, Czech general and Hussite leader.

Jan Žižka grew up at the court of King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia. He early lost an eye. After spending most of his life as a mercenary for the Poles and fighting with them at the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg; 1410), he returned to Bohemia and became a follower of the religious reformer Jan Hus. When Wenceslas died in 1419, his half-brother Sigismund attempted to ascend the Bohemian throne, but the Bohemians, aware that Sigismund would try to suppress Hussitism, organized a resistance. Žižka became a leader of the Taborites.

What was especially profound was their army's emblem, the chalice, (communion) (as seen on Michael's hat and shirt) which they partook of, at the risk of their lives. At that time, only priests were able to take the cup of communion, the chalice. We are so grateful for the incredible example of faithfullness and courage these people set for us.

...And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner, He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 1 Cor. 11: 23-26

Another of the stories that really blessed me was that of Helen Stirke, who was beautifully represented by Miss. K. (pictured with her family in part one) Below is a little of her story....

Helen Stirke the wife of James Ronaldson. Her great sin was to refuse to call upon the Virgin Mary during the pains of childbirth. Ignoring the pleas of neighbours, she had called upon God and Jesus Christ to help her and denied the Virgin. With an inevitability all its own, the five were found guilty as charged...

" ...were condemned and judged to death , and that by an assize , for violatyng ( as was alleged) the act of parlament, in reasoning and conferriong on scriptures, for eatyng flesh upon dayes forbidden, for interruptyng the holy fryer in the pulpit , for dishonouring images, and blasphemyng of the Virgin Mary." Surrounded by a heavily armed guard, the party roped and tied and taken to the gallows for execution amid the clamour of the townspeople for mercy. The Regent, the Earl of Arran, was seemingly minded to grant mercy but would have had to overrule the the Cardinal and bishops in attendance as well as the Provost. Even priests who had been guests in the prisoners` homes, having wined and dined with them, refused to seek clemency of the Cardinal, fearing for their own lives. Robert Lambe exhorted the people to fear God and prophesied the ruin of the Cardinal to come. Sympathising among themselves the prisoners assured one another they would dine together in the kingdom of Heaven that night. Helen Stirke pleaded to die with her husband but she was not granted her wish. She accompanied the men to the scaffold and was able to comfort her husband along the way, before she watched him hang.

Her parting words were: "be glad, husband; we have lived together many joyful days, and this day on which we must die we ought to esteem the most joyful of all, because now we shall have joy forever. Therefore I will nopt bid you goodnight, for in a little while we shall meet in the kingdom of heaven."

She was then taken away to be executed; she was thrust into a sack which was tied at the neck and thrown into a deep pool to drown. She left the child sucking at her breast to a nurse and her other children to the charity of neighbours.

The deed was done on St Pauls Day, 25 January 1543 (4).

Thanks be to God for such incredible examples of bold, joyful faithfulness to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the unique tour de force of this ball - the incredible stories of faithful Christians who have gone before us - real men, women, girls and boys who have stood for truth , and the wonderful efforts and authenticity of the people who come to the ball, dressing the part and researching the stories, shaving their hair, making costumes - so altering their appearance and looking so authentic that one gentleman's married daugfhter did not recognize her Dad on seeing him at the Ball!!