How It Began...

When my sister moved overseas nearly 2 years ago, Dillon and I determined it was a "must" to visit her and see the land. We asked for money for Christmas 2009 and began to save to visit her in the summer of 2010, all the while unaware of the different plans God had in store for all of us.

Katie ended up returning to America before the trip could happen- but only for a few months over spring and summer, and our plans came to a halt (not complaining at all- it was SO nice to have her home.) We questioned if we should really try to reschedule the trip and when we would be able to go, since the summer window to visit was gone.

Shortly after all of this occurred, Dillon was given a pamplet at his seminary regarding a study trip to Israel for students, at a discount rate for students and spouses. The dates and cost were both very accomodating to our needs and we felt like it was a great opportunity, and we would be able to see Katie. I quickly recieved permission from my job to take the leave of absence and we began getting excited again!

That's the short version of how and why this trip began.

Now that we are back I am so so thankful for this once in a lifetime experience. It was so much more than a vacation - it was a cultural, eye opening journey that has left marks in me that have yet to be uncovered. Every day was amazing. The things we saw were grand. The people were beautiful, and I am so grateful I got to enjoy the time with my sister.

Side story:

We left for our trip Dec 27th, the same day that a huge snow storm went through NYC (our city of departure). We were stranded in Baltimore for a night and once again, were unsure if our trip would really happen so when we finally made it to Israel it was that much sweeter!

As you can imagine, we took nearly 2000 pictures. But before I post them I want to share something that suprised me as one of my favorite things.

Before we left I knew little to nothing about the cause of tensions in the Middle East... I did not know either sides view point and really didn't care too much either way. But- on our first day in Israel we had a meeting with the Archbishop of Galilee, Elias Chacour (Author of Blood Brothers, and amazing true story). His story is a memoir of his childhood as a Palestinian Christian during the (violent and bloody) time that Palestine became the state of Israel. On our 2nd to last day, we met with a Lutheran Palestinian Pastor in Bethleham who shared of his dreams of one day living in a land with full rights. Did you know that there is a wall around Bethleham preventing any Palestinian from leaving? I didnt until now. We also met with a Jewish leader in a Jewish settlement and heard from his side on how they are trying to live in the land of their heritage but live in fear of terrorists (their reason for building the wall). I walked away from the trip feeling like at least now I am not ignorant. I don't have any answers but I can at least relate to both sides and have compassion for injustice. I urge you to investigate what is going on in Israel. There is so much gray area but I'm so glad that I was given a peak into this deep-rooted history of people.