Day 4- From DC to Paris

After the late night last night with worship and prayer, we had to get up and be out of the hotel at 8:30. Apprently though, they wanted us downstairs at 8. So at 8:25, I went to head downstairs when I heard the phone ring. Thinking they were calling to see where I was, I hurridly rushed down the stairs to the lobby to wait for the 2nd bus to take us to the Israeli Embassy. In actuality, it was my parents calling to see how I was. So - sorry that I didn't answer. Anyway, we took 2 buses to the Embassy. Donier, Esther, "Little John", Shawna, Hope, Lydia, Esohe, and Hannah were all in the bus with me. It really was on the other side of town, and the ride was about 30 minutes in length. When we got there, we had to go thru security and then went into the hall of Jerusalem. In there, after about a 20 minute wait, and bad experiences with getting the water fountain to work, we sat down to a lecture with one of the staff at the Embassy. He has served in several capacities over the years; his current position now I cannot remember. IT was a good speech, but with the 4 hours of sleep that I had, it was difficult to pay attention. The room was spinning at times, and I felt nauseus. However, it was good. He told us a lot about the economy in Israel and the education system. Israel started out 60 years ago with a population of 600,000 and has increased to 7 million. They also invented Instant Message, and their medical developments, ,especially in treating MS, are remarkable. They have had 6 Nobel Prize winners out of their population thus far. Ben was laughing at me as apparently it was amusing to see me try to stay awake. After the staff member spoke, Michael Onifer, the director of the Israel Experience, and Joel James, executive officer of Eagles Wings, both shared things. When asked the question, "Why Israel?" we were given 3 reasons. First, we owe a debt of gratitude to Israel and the Jewish people (as our "older brothers" in the faith). Secondly, we owe a debt of repentance for the treatment of Jews throughout the centuries while Christians stood idly by. Third, we share common challenges (Radical Jihadism as it seeks to persecute Christians and Jews, and wants to see Israel and the USA wiped off the map). This experience will change our thinking and our worldview.

After the meeting, we did a couple of publicity photos and took the Metro back to the hotel. I am becoming an expert in DC public transportation, and could show you a thing or two on the Metro. Nice fact: you can get lost and take a train back and eventually find your way without getting lost. Heck, you could spend all day on the Metro and only pay $2…for all you VFCC-ers who were looking for a ministry team photo shoot on the subway :-)

At the hotel, we received our last minute instructions, course book, and a few other things (the T-shirt we received the night before at the meet and greet). We then had to go pack. I packed so fast I was sure I would forget something. But I scanned the room like 50 times before I left. We HAD to check out by 1:30, but then we just stayed in the hotel for a while and hung out until we had to go to the airport. Christina from the day before was there, and we talked with her and her grandma, and Esther and I talked a little as we updated our blogs on the internet.

We eventually left for the airport, with Donier and I sitting in the back of the shuttle and talking about the movies she's been in (THE BREAK UP - she actually bumps into Jennifer Aniston!) and stuff. We also discussed politics, Barack Obama, Oprah, Condaleeza Rice, abortion, death penalty, Welfare, Universal Healthcare…and this took us to about the time that we got to the airport. The line to get our tickets was forever long, and here I met J'Naie. She's from Philly. Anyway, after our ridiculous line, we went to an even longer line to get thru security. Eventually, I was by myself and got to the gate, again by myself. So weird. I waited there and then Josh, Esohe, Donier, Shawna, Lydia, Rafael, Jordan and myself all went to Max & Erma's in the airport to eat. SOOO GOOD! We heard a great story about how Lydia's dad came to be saved. After this, we went back and borded the flight to Paris. Shawna, Lydia, Donier, and I are all in the middle section of the plain; but at least I got the aisle seat. We had a great talk and discussion on the plan…talking about God's plans for our lives, spiritual gifts in the church, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and being in God's will. A couple prophesies were given and it was a very powerful time being in the Lord's presence and exhorting one another. After this we feel asleep for like 2 hours…and woke up in Paris.