Summer in the Satates

Exploring the pyramids in Cairo

Jen and I at high school graduation



6th grade field trip to the Old City Jerusalem


My flight was to leave Tel Aviv on Wednesday at 5pm and then have a 20 hour layover in London so I could visit my cousins. Well..I found out a few weeks ago that my cousins are actually in France for a month. So on Monday I decided to change my ticked to get home early. It was a very minimal charge so I went for it. It was excited just to tell my mom that I was coming home a day earlier. I kept it a secret to surprise the rest of my family!

This has been one of the most difficult but joyous trips that I've ever taken. I left at 4:30 am to get to the airport. A volunteer at the school agreed to take me to the airport. We had not even got out of Jerusalem when the car stopped. Something was wrong with a water line...my plane leaves at 8:05am by this time it was 5 and it takes about 45-hour to get there. Need to get to the airport 230-3 hours before. So we flag down a taxi which is going to cost more than I would usually pay and it agreed to take me...i didn't have enough cash so the driver, Nadar, agreed to take me by an ATM to withdraw money. We stop at the ATM and the machine eats my card. Just takes it. Yeah...i freak out. I make an arrangement with the driver to get him the money...using a check. YES!! Two Battles Victory. Then we get to the airport around 6am...2 hours before should be good enough. Going through Ben Gurion airport is always a hassle. They check your bags and recheck your bags. So they take about about 1hour 1/2 going through all my luggage and then doing a body search! I kept asking..Am I going to make my flight? I finally get to the ticket desk to check in with 10 mins before the fight doors close. There I find out that all the changes weren't made to my flight. I still have the long layover in London that I resceduled and there was nothing I could do about it until London. I was very upset. They escorted me all the way to passport control so I dont have to wait. I get up to the desk and start to feel really nervous. Always a Ben Gurion they always grill you about why you are they and what you were doing there. When I get up to the window...SHE DOESN'T ASK ME A SINGLE QUESTION!!! It was a gift from God. Seriously...He knew how long it could take and sent me right through. Then I ran...yes...like in the movies to make it to the flight which I DID! God is good.

On the flight, I usually am very nervous, one of my prayers this year was to be free from this fear, which this is one of the easiest flights i've been on. Also on the flight I began to worry about what would happen in London. I didn't know if I would get my flight changed and then worried about what I would do if I didnt. B/c i changed my fight that meant I could be in the airport for over 24hrs. I began to wonder what I was going to do...my debit card was taken...so I didnt have any money except for a few american dollars. On the flight I ususally spend time reading my Bible especially one passage in Psalms. But I flipped over to Proverbs to read the Proverb of the day and the 3rd line said "The Lord will not let the godly go hungry," which doesn't refer to food, but when I read the passage I started weeping, b/c I knew it was for me. I felt God reassuring me that I had to trust in Him that all things were going to work out to His will. I knew everything would be taken care of.

When arriving in London I had to go to customs so I could to the ticket desk. I spent about 30mins there telling the teller my situation. She explained to me that i would have to pay..i hadn't even got to the part about asking if they happen to take personal check...when she talked to the manager...they put me on a flight waving any fee b/c it was their error for not changing the flight correctly. IT WAS AMAZING! GOD GETS ALL GLORY! HE IS SO GOOD AND FAITHFUL!! I got a little sick on the plane from London to Atlanta but maybe it was just nervous anxious waiting to get home and see my mom and brother. I was so excited when I landed. I couldnt hardly wait in the lines through customs. The day had been stressful but so amazing and this was the icing on the cake. It was a great reunion.

I learned another lesson about trusting in God and relying on Him to take care of all my needs! He does give good gifts to his children. Also reminded me to have a back-up card with me as well! HAHA

I'm actually still in Atlanta and will probably be home tonight. I hope to see all of you soon! Thank you for all your prayers and support!

P.S. I put a few pictures of the last month of school activities which i'll try to update later