Last day in Jerusalem

As we get ready to leave Jerusalem, the weather is still warm. Quite a change from the weather we are going into in Louisville, I understand! We've enjoyed good weather throughout our trip but that hasn't been good for the places we have been. Every place desparately needs rain. Our speakers have commented not only on the need for rain, but also for a better water policy throughout the area so that people on both sides of the Separation Wall have equal access to water. Being in this land reminded me of how much we take water for granted, yet even in the United States, there are issues with who gets water. We believe in Emmanuael, God with us, who came to bring us living water. Throughout our journey, we have been reminded that living water is important not only for our spiritual well-being, but also for our physical well-being.

We have all been transformed by this trip - by the places we've seen, by the people we've met, by the worship we have experienced. Many of us came with questions, and we leave not with answers but with more questions. Some of us may have come with the belief that the problems in this region can be solved with a simple solution. There is no simple solution here, yet I leave with hope - hope because I have met people who still have hope when it seems hopeless, hope because there are people nourishing dialogue and discussions on all sides of the political spectrum here, hope because I worship a God who is ever present even in the most hopeless times.

Blessings to all of you who have supported us throughout our journey.

Diana Moore