Hi everyone! I hope March has signaled the end of an icky winter. Apparently the states have had quite a bit of snow this year so I hope everyone has been safe and warm. Though there hasn't been hardly any snow here in London this winter, it has been overcast and cold (a bit of a downer on my mood). I am definitely looking forward to some sunshine.

I am writing to you on the other side of an amazing pilgrimage to Israel. I feel so revived and refreshed from the journey. I have been awakened to the amazing land of Jesus Christ and his ministry. Israel has a gorgeous landscape and the country is both tragic and inspiring. This trip to Israel has opened my eyes both to the biblical and political history of this land. I will post some pictures soon of my trip. However, there are just far too many to put in a blog so I will try to stick to my biggest highlights. If you have a Facebook I have posted more there.

It has been a bit of a struggle to condense my experience of Israel into words, much like it has been this entire experience serving in England. Though recently, someone asked me what stood out to me most during my trip so I think that works as a good starting point.

#1. One of the things that stood out to me most when I was in Israel was the conflict. It wasn't as noticeable in Jerusalem and Nazareth because those areas are occupied by Israelis. In Bethlehem however, which is located inside Palestinian territory, you really get a sense of where you are and what the Palestinians are going through. The tension is palpable in the air. You can see in clear expression from the graffiti-ed walls surrounding Palestine, the desperation and desire for peace. There is no easy answer for this peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Each group with its own reasons for hating the other. Before I go too big into a rant here, I will sum up by saying the conflict in the Holy Land is much worse than I thought and the Palestinians face an almost certain extinction in this land if something isn't done. It seems that this would be good news to a lot of people but I tell you no act of hatred should ever be condoned as a good thing. No matter where you sit in the conflict the Palestinian people are being treated like dirt. What stood out to me most about the conflict was how much it has made its way into heart and increased my desire to help.

#2. As this was a pilgrimage after all, what also stood out to me most was being in the land of the Bible. The amazing holy sites we visited during our ten day trip brought life back to the Bible for me. It revived me in how I hear passages in the Bible. Being able to see the places and put names to them, to understand how it all makes sense geographically, and being able to understand more about the culture and time period that shaped the Bible, made it become less like a story and more of a living breathing documentation of the most important events in human history. Hearing about the same events over and over your whole life can cause you to become somewhat jaded to them and being able to see first hand where these events took place breathed new understanding and belief into my faith. I am so glad I have had this experience because it has served as an amazing jumping off point for my future exploration of my faith and the Bible. I highly recommend visiting the Holy Land to anyone who can go during their lifetime. It really does change you.