Getting ready to leave

These have been very special days as I get ready to leave Nazareth and reflect on all that has happened in the last few months. I am busy enjoying wonderful ;last times with friends and making plans to visit everyone in the near future (I'll be a very busy woman if I can make it all the way across the U.S. and back to Nazareth, and then U.K.-  but I plan on making it happen!).

With the recent bomb in Jerusalem, security at the airport should be higher than usual and I'm making sure to prepare myself for the likeliness that I'll get special attention as I travel by myself. Apparently, young, single, American women get the most hassle from airport security when they leave Israel and spending the last three months in an all Arab town won't help my case any. Please pray for safe travels and I look forward to posting more reflections when I get back to the States!

As I was writing this brief post, my friend Philip (in the picture below) came into the back room at the Village and told me that a woman on his tour shared with him that the woman killed last week in the bomb was a friend of hers who was on her way to pick her (the woman on the tour) up from the airport. The story was very incredible to hear as she explained more about the heart of the woman and the impact her life and faith had on so many. At her memorial, apparently not a single person spoke of "getting revenge" or anger towards any specific group or person responsible for the bombing. This is a huge testimony to the power of forgiveness and the peace that results from it. Just thought I would pass the story on!

See many of you soon! =)