Well the Lenten season is upon us. As we delve into another season of Lent preparing ourselves for the resurrection of Christ, I wanted to share with you my upcoming Lenten journey. This past Sunday at Sunday school, we talked about Lent and what the Lenten season is really about. In England, Lent kicks off the day before Ash Wednesday with Shrove Tuesday. Some of you may be familiar with this holiday but for those who are not, it is traditionally the day people empty out their pantries and feast in preparation for the 40 day fast. In England, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated with making pancakes. In the States this day is also known as Fat Tuesday. In my Sunday school class, we continued talking about Lent by discussing what we can give up for Lent, how hard different items would be to give up, and what young people had given up in the past. To my surprise, when I asked the question why do we give things up for Lent, no one knew. So I explained to the youth that when we give things up for Lent whether we fast, give up sweets or other items, we do so not to make ourselves miserable or to challenge ourselves. We do it because when we remove something from our daily lives, we replace it with time spent with God. We use that time to pray, to read the Bible, and reflect of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.

This is something I have really taken to heart this year. For me, this Lenten season will be different from years past. Besides the obvious reasons that I am in a different country working in a church of a different denomination, Lent is different for me now because of how my faith has grown and how I realize now just how important my faith is to my life. Lent will also be different for me this year because for two weeks in March, I will be traveling with my host church to Israel. This year has been an incredible journey in my faith development and I feel immensely transformed by it. Being able to go to Israel after everything I have learned so far and am still learning is an incredible blessing. When I came to England in August I was aware that my host church would be going to Israel during my year of service, but I didn't give it much thought other than that. After spending time in my year of service however, and growing in my knowledge and understanding of my faith, the chance to visit the Holy Land with my host church became an impossible opportunity to miss. I am so thankful and so appreciative of this opportunity. I am also so appreciative of those back home who are supporting me throughout this journey. It has been an amazing experience so far in the UK discovering where God is taking me this year. I hope this Lenten season will also be a growing time for you and a reflection time for your relationship with God. I look forward to sharing my pilgrimage to Israel with you all when I return home and through upcoming blog posts and a feature in an upcoming newsletter. God Bless you all and Happy Lent.