“Wow, everything looks so clean,” my Grandfather said on the way to the airport, “it’s as if the rain washed the dirt all away.” This morning was a very beautiful one. It was cool last night in Cincinnati and now, at ten-thirty in the morning is just barely eighty nine degrees. Today is an important day for me. Today I will begin my trip to Israel. I will travel with Christians United for Israel for the March of Remembrance. This is a new program for Christian students to learn about Judaism and Israel. With the other students from the group, I will visit Poland and then Israel to learn the history of the Jewish People in Europe and across the world. I’ve been so excited about this trip! I’ve actually lost quite a lot sleep to sheer enthusiasm. Imagining the Temple Mount, the Dead Sea and the Church of the Holy Seplicure has occupied much of my time. What I’ve looked forward to less is Poland, the first leg of the trip. I imagine Poland will be an emotional and difficult week. Much of our itinerary for the week is devoted to the study of the Holocaust. I’ve not spent much time thinking about it or imagining it because I can’t imagine what it will be like. That said, I plan to leave Poland in the knowledge that even when things seemed darkest, Good still found a way to prevail. In the end the good always prevails, somehow it finds a way. When ever I leave Cincinnati, I realize how wonderful a place to live it is. I’ve grown up here. I feel comfortable here. I am happy here, but there is a whole world to see and learn about. So, this morning as we drove through the city and crossed the bridge to Kentucky on the way to the Airport I felt thankful for home, friends and family. Right now the Delta Airlines agents are calling for passengers to check in. The airport is nearly empty today, people are coming and going slowly. New York will be a different story. So, now as it’s almost time to embark on the next leg of this journey. In a few moments I will fly from Cincinnati to New York. I am praying that everything will go well, that my bags wont be lost and that I’ll have a great two weeks. “With service to New York-JFK we’d like to welcome passengers to board the plane through the breeze way, zones one and two...” That’s my call. I must board the airplane.