NOTE: I'm writing these reflections on the lessens learned during my life as I face death due to ALS at the request of my children, but I thought there might be something for others to benefit from. My hope is that you will be blessed by the blessings of my life.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
When I’m being honest, I have to admit that I’m an envious person. It’s not for the wealth, status, or even the “stuff” of others; it’s for their ability to travel. I’d love to travel more, but I’ve only had two trips outside of North America, and it’s recently occurred to me that others may be just as envious of me for that.
My first international trip was to the Holy Land in 2006. On a Catholic teacher’s salary, and with Yolanda being a stay-at-home mom, it was something we couldn’t afford. However, in the Fall of that school year, I received a notice from the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles that they would take 10 Theology teachers on an all-expenses paid, two-week trip to Israel the following Spring. I applied, but thought my chances of going were slim. I received a call a few weeks later saying I was chosen!
The purpose of the trip was to promote their Holy Land Democracy Project, which required me to teach about modern Israel for the following three years. That was fine, because I was teaching Scripture anyway, and being there would enhance my understanding, and my student’s learning, of its history, geography, and culture. We had a series of meetings before the trip to prepare us for what we were going to see and do.
While there, we had opportunities that most tourists wouldn’t get, such as being on the roof of the Holy Sepulcher—the church built on the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and Resurrection—overlooking Jerusalem during the “moment of silence” on Holocaust Memorial Day, when the entire city stops, including drivers. However, we missed some popular pilgrimage sites like driving through Cana without stopping, and almost missing Bethlehem because our hosts couldn’t take us there since American Jews aren’t allowed in the West Bank.
We visited Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Caesarea, Haifa, Mount Carmel, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the Golan Heights, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Masada, and others, and spent the second week in Jerusalem. I’ll reflect on my inner journey next.

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