THE LETTER

CHARACTERS	RELATION	TIME PERIOD
William Hargraves (World War I Soldier)	Great Great Grandfather	1910
Jessie (Williams Wife)	Great Great Grandmother	1925-30
Olive (Williams Daughter)	Great Grandmother	1925-30
Larry (Olives Son)	Grandfather	1960
Jan as a child	Mother	1960
Jan as an adult (Brody & James mother)	Mother	1995
Brody (Modern day Boy)	Child	1995
James (Modern day Boy)	Child	1995
Lieutenant Walker (World War I Soldier)		1910
Father Macintyre (World War I Chaplain)		1910

This drama will take about fifteen minutes to perform. The play begins with a letter being written during world war one. It is being written on Christmas Day. This is probably best performed on three mini stages or focus points. The purpose of the stages is to be able to make scene changes as the letter is written and then read through various points in time up to the present. Through the reading of the letter the gospel will be presented.
(The house lights go down and we hear the voice of William Hargraves)

Will: I believe in my heart I am changed. I now know all there is to know about Christmas. With much love, on this my first Christmas, your Loving Husband Will.
(Scene opens with two children snooping in the attic, trying to find where mom has hidden their presents, the stage and house lights will be off to start)

Brody: James, where are you? (Brody could walk down front aisle with a flashlight, at this time James can make his way on stage from stage right)
James: Brody, I'm over by this crate thing.
(Stage lighting will come up now)
Brody: Do you think mom would've hidden our Christmas presents in there?
James: Not likely the things nailed shut.
Brody: Let's smash it open!
James: Yeah let's smash it open! With what? (The two of them look around and maybe pick up the odd useless item that would do them no good)
Brody: I don't know. Let's look in this trunk, maybe there's something in here we can use.
James: You don't suppose she could have hidden them in there?
(The two look at each other with that “boy are we stupid look”, then after a moment or two)
Brody: Nah, too obvious.
(Regardless they both hurry to open the trunk and after a minute of searching)
James: Darn it, we'll never find them.
Brody: Not in here but there's some cool stuff here. (Shining his flashlight in the box)
James: Like what?
Brody: I don't know, looks like a war medal maybe two. Some old letters and clothes
James: War medals, cool
Brody: Yeah let's see, they're in a box. No it's a picture frame.
James: Whose are they?
Brody: Mine I found them
James: No I don't mean that, who's the guy in the picture?
Brody: I don't know, maybe it says in one of the letters.
James: Yeah read some of one.
Brody: My Dearest Jessie, it's…
James: Gross
Brody: Ssh! My Dearest Jessie, it's so quiet now. (Lights go down on Brody and James, the next line is read in unison with Will) It seems that I must be dreaming, yet I am not. In my heart my only wish is that I am dreaming. (Lights come up on Will)
William: Oh to wake up next to you. To wake and see young Douglas running about, tormenting Olive and Isabel. He's such a young rascal. I don't know how his sisters put up with him. Alas though I am most awake, but feeling a sense of peace. It's quiet now as both sides have agreed to a Christmas Truce. I'm not sure of the reason for my peace, it may be that there are no screaming shells overhead or screaming mates at my side. It may be the overall Joy I feel as I reflect on Christmas itself. I had hoped and truly thought I would be there with all of you. I so much wanted to share this story with you, face to face. After all they told us when we signed up that we would be home for Christmas. Bob and Chris were all too eager to see good old England again. I looked at it as a chance to see England for the first time, maybe Paris too. All of my travel, at the expense of the Dominion. Here I was a prairie farm boy seeing no glory at the back end of a plow. It was foolish now I know. I should never have gone and left you with the three young ones. They said we'd be home for Christmas, but here I am. (Fade out the light) I'm starting to get used to this wet weather, but the mud is something else though. I hope I am not coming across as being too out of sorts as I not only feel well but I do feel a special Joy as I think of Christmas this year. This only makes the memories of last Christmas and prior Christmas' exceptional.
James: So whose medals are they? (Light comes upon Brody and James)
Brody: I don't know I haven't got to the end yet, but it sounds like his wife's name was Jessie, and he had some kids
James: Hey one of them was named Olive, wasn't that Great Grandmas name?
Brody: I don't remember, maybe if I read some more, we'll know. “I have to tell you what happened the other day.
(At this point the lights will go down on Brody and James and the voice of Jessie will come on and a few lines would be read together)
How the wind blew across my arm. The hairs moved back and forth, and suddenly I could smell your mother's house.
(Lights come up on Jessie)
Jessie reading: It's as though all my senses were heightened. Memories flooded my mind painting perfect images. Here was young Douglas and I sitting on your mother's porch. Douglas leaning against me, my arm wrapped over his shoulder as I held him. He placed his hand on my arm and stroked it ever so slowly, back and forth. Looking at my great big man arm and then at his hairless fragile little arm. Douglas felt safe in my arms he could feel my strength and yet he knew the tenderness of Daddy, like the tender hairs on my arm. The wind blew and I could suddenly feel his hand on my arm. It was a strange comforting feeling. (Olive should walk on here) It was almost as if I was there with him (Jessie stops reading and pauses, she begins to break down and cry, looking up from the letter she says something like)

Oh Will. (Olive comes over to console her)
Olive: Mom why do you always read that letter, it always makes you so sad and everything.
Jessie: Olive, I know I cry every time, but it's not always what you think, it's just that it tells the story so well. You have to read some. (Passes the letter to Olive)
Olive: Where were you? (Jessie leans over and points)Ok, let's see….
I must say I know the feeling that Douglas felt that day. I feel now that I am wrapped in the strong yet tender arms of my father, not Robert but my heavenly father. (William begins reading at this time in unison with Olive.)This must sound strange to you as we seldom went to church and when I did it was for a wedding or prior to a wake.
(The lights go down on Olive and Jessie. William is doing the reading at this point but at the same time lines are read by Walker who is hidden off stage.) .
William Hargraves: I must tell you that the peace I now feel was no where to be found the other day. (Some battle sounds could start)
Lieutenant Walker: Hargraves, you're first on the ladder. Wait for the whistle.
(The lights come up on William)
William Hargraves: The Lieutenant kept walking down the trench. Every ten feet or so he would tap another chap on the shoulder.
Walker: Simpson, you're first on the ladder. Wait for the whistle.
Hargraves: It's not like I was a green recruit. I had been here for weeks. I mean Lieutenant Walker knew my name. I started to sweat, I mean really sweat. Chris looked at me and smiled. He could see my fear. I mean we were all scared, Chris too, but he smiled and took my place in line.
(All stage lights go out, the whistle is blown and then it is dead silent, then after a pause the next line is said)
I couldn't move fear froze me. Chris went over the top, and died as soon as he put both feet on the ground. I followed and lived. He took my place.
The Company Chaplain a Father Macintyre talked to me later. He had seen me that night as he walked through the trenches. I was sitting in the mud sobbing. (Lights come up slowly with Will now sitting as if in the mud) I wanted to die; I felt I should have been dead already. Chris should have been alive, not me.
Father Mac: William, you knew Chris for some time right?
(There is a murmured reply with a nodding of the head)
Father Mac: So you must have known he was a Christian?
William: He went to Church back home.
Father Mac: Chris told me that. We actually had talked quite a bit since he came over. Did you know he believed in Jesus?
William: Well everyone here believes in God, there's no such thing as an atheist in the trenches
Mac: Believing in God is easy, but Chris believed in Jesus.
Will: The Baby born in a stable?
Mac: That's right
Will: It's a nice tale. Born in a stable, wise men bring gifts, shepherds come to visit. All too cute and predictable, it's a nice tale.
Mac: That's the beginning of the story. A baby born to a Virgin in the town of Bethlehem, thus fulfilling many prophesies. “But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel”
Will: Chris is dead and you talk to me about a baby born centuries ago, thus fulfilling a prophesy. Don't you have last rights or something to do elsewhere?
Mac: Look you don't get it. Chris believed that Jesus came to earth to die for him. Chris believed that at just the right time when man was powerless Jesus was born to die for the sins of mankind. Your sins, my sins and Chris's sins. The Baby born not centuries but almost two thousand years ago, was born for Chris. He believed it, lived it and though he's buried out in the mud somewhere, Chris still lives.
Will: I saw him die, how can he be alive?
(Lights slowly go down)
Mac: Eternal life, Chris knew that our life on this earth is but a blink of an eye. The rest of our life is spent after we die. Where we spend it is up to us.
Jan: (From the dark) Brody, James!
(The lights come up on Brody and James)
Brody: We're up here Mom!
Jan: What are you two doing up here?
(The next two lines are said in unison)
James: Cleaning         Brody: Putting things away
(The boys look at each other)
James: Putting things away         Brody: Yeah cleaning
Jan: All right you two, confess! What are you up too this time?
Brody: Well we found this trunk and…
Jan: You better not be playing with that sword!!
Brody: Sword, what sword?
Jan: Uh, never mind about that.
James: Brody was just reading a letter
Jan: Where's this letter you were reading
(Brody hands over the letter)
Jan: Oh, this is the letter! This letter is so important to our family. It tells how your Great Great Grandfather Will, became a Christian. I remember my Dad reading it too me. His mom was Olive and she had read it to him and told him the story. (Lights slowly go down then up as we switch to Larry reading, sitting in a chair with his 10 year old daughter listening to the story)
I remember sitting on the edge of my Dads big comfy chair as he told me the story
Larry: You see Jan this letter tells your Great Grandfather's story. It tells the story of how a man Chris died for him. In that death he became acquainted with a chaplain. That's like a pastor in our church. The chaplain told my Grandpa of how Christ also died for him. Then he became a Christian. As he grew in his faith he was able to lead others to Christ. He led my mother and then he led me to Christ. One day I hope that you will make the decision to follow Christ. Now where were we?
Jan: Jesus was going to be born.
Larry: That's right, (he passes Jan a page of the letter) Here you read to the end of this page.
Jan: Where were you Dad? (Larry points out the spot) OK, Chris knew that our life on this earth is but a blink of an eye. The rest of our life is spent after we die. Where we spend it is up to us. God gave us that choice when he sent his only son, Jesus, to be born oh so long ago on that first Christmas.
Larry: Good Job Jan. Then the pastor said to him that he would pray for him (Lights go down on Jan and Larry) and that he felt that the death of Chris was not a waste. It says here (In unison with Mac) “you see William Chris still lives” (Lights come up on Mac and Will)
Father Mac: He believed Jesus died for him so that he might have eternal life, and I believe that he died for you, and Chris believed that too.
Will: I hope your right. I hope Chris has eternal life, he deserves it.
Mac: He doesn't deserve it, none of us do. You said you believed in God. Well the way to be with God is through Jesus.
Will: But a good man, like Chris, who died for someone he'd deserve it.
Mac: Chris was a very good man, I spent a lot of time with him, but he was still a sinner.
Will: He was as pure as the driven snow.
Mac: He was pure as the driven snow with a few patches of mud. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 states, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
Will: Little blemishes.
Mac: Have you heard of making a mountain out of a mole hill? Look, our little sins seem like mole hills to us, but in Gods eyes they are mountains, that keep us separated from him. Those sins deserve punishment.
Will: So what, now you're telling me Chris is dead and He's to be punished for those sins.
Mac: What sins?
Will: Those little blemishes, the mud on his snow.
Mac: God has already forgotten about those.
Will: You just said…
Mac: He believed Jesus died for him. The Bible tells us that "The wages of sin is death..." Our little blemishes deserve death. Since we can never measure up to God's holiness Jesus became a bridge for us. John 3:16-17 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
Will: Chris died for me.
Mac: Jesus died for you.
Will: I knew Chris, but, well how do I get to know Jesus?
Mac: Is there any reason why you couldn't pray a prayer with me right now?
(After a pause)
Will: Well, no I suppose there isn't.
Mac: Will it's ok if you want to say this in the quiet of your heart, but pray along with me. Ok so just close your eyes, and follow along. Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe you died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I receive you as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen. (Lights go down, we go back to Brody and James and Jan and the next line is read in unison with the voice of Mac and Jan)
Jan and Mac: Will if you just prayed that prayer and really meant it, Jesus Christ has now taken residence in your heart! (Lights come up on Brody, James and Jan)
Brody: Wow that's cool!
Jan: It is! Let's finish reading.
James: There's more?
Jan: Not a lot but, well, I'll keep reading. Let's see I was right here…Jesus Christ has now taken residence in your heart! I didn't really feel any different, but I believed. I really meant it when I prayed that prayer. Father Mac told me that I needed to grow more spiritually to grow stronger. He told me to take some practical steps, read the Bible, pray, and go to church. I hope someday to make it home to share this with you personally but I urge you to make the most important decision of your life! Jessie please take the time to go and visit Pastor Jenkins. Talk to him about this letter (Lights fade to black) and I'll pray for you. Please pray for me.
Will: I believe in my heart I am changed. I now know all there is to know about Christmas. With much love, on this my first Christmas, your Loving Husband Will.
(The End, everyone exits the stage and the house lights come up)