Sacred Trust, Safety, and Students

Sacred Trust: As some of you know, before I went on the trip, I had a little green box with little pieces of handmade paper in it. At church and at school, I invited people to write down prayers they would like me to carry throughout the trip to all the holy sites we visit, with the intention of leaving the prayers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Last night, as I was settling down to go to bed, I took the prayers out and read them all for the first time. Wow. I was moved by the number of people who entrusted me with their prayers and I was moved by the prayers themselves. Some were for specific people, some for specific situations, and some were broader...As I read I just kept thinking what an honor it is to be carrying these with me. I consider it a great responsibility, a sacred trust, to do with these prayers as I said I would. They will be with me everywhere I go. Today they went to Jaffa, Caesarea, and Haifa. I will read them, as I did last night, before I go to bed each night, to pray for all of those people...what a privilege... I have more paper. I cannot imagine using it for anything but prayers, so if you would like me to write a prayer down for you and carry it with me, just let me know. It would be an honor.

Safety: There have been so many people concerned about our safety before the trip and I'm sure there are people worried about us now. I was so busy before the trip that I didn't have time to be worried. I'm still not worried. Last night we arrived in Bat Yam and our guide, Claudia, told us we could go out for a walk that evening or in the morning; it was very safe, she said. The last few trips I have been on (in Central and South America), I have been told not to go out without first checking with a group leader, not to go out without a buddy, not to go out at night without more than one buddy, etc. Tonight again Claudia told us we could walk this evening or in the morning; we are safe. It is SO NICE to not have to worry about safety, to know that (at least where we've been so far) I can go out by myself and I will be OK. Trisha said that was one of the liberating things when she lived here for a few months. It IS liberating. I am looking forward to going on a nice walk tomorrow morning at my own pace, on my own path. It will be a good time to get some time away from the group (wonderful as I think everyone is) that I need as an introvert.

Students: Since this afternoon (morning for you folks in the States), I have been thinking about what is going on in my classroom. These thoughts started around the time I thought Sara, the wonderful woman substituting for me, would be getting up. Since then, I've been keeping track of what class is going on in my classroom. For example, right now, my morality students are in the room. I thought about my Spanish students, my resource guys, and the Catholic Social teaching guys who have already been in class, and who will be a little later. I am so glad to be here, but I realize how much I love teaching when I have had these thoughts all day. This evening we did a reflection and were asked to think of our favorite place. I don't have a favorite place, but one of the places that came to mind as I was thinking was my classroom. Then the prayer we used was a Merton prayer that I used just last week with one of my classes and the image of my classroom and students again entered my mind. I am so excited to be here, but part of the excitement is certainly that I will be able to go back home and share this experience with my students.

I've written a lot and others are waiting to use the computer. I am thankful for their patience! Thank to you for reading this.

Peace,
Cory