Today is the day…well sort of :-)

Shalom,

My bags are packed. I should say more accurately that my bags are busting at the seams and I had to lay on them to get them closed and I hope they pass check-in and… and… and…

My husband wanted me to take our camping water filter in case the plane crashed and we found ourselves without any clean water in the desert. Yes, my husband really said that!

The children are excited, but fearful that they will miss me so much they will cry. Especially the 7 year old. She remembers not too long ago when I went for a “routine” visit to the doctor one day and did not return for 5 weeks because I was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia and during that 5 weeks in the hospital, there were multiple times they thought I would not make it out alive.

Thanks be to G-d, He allowed me to come out alive and now to be in full remission! However, my little ones still get concerned when I leave, thinking I might not come back again. So, we are praying for comfort and peace while I’m gone.

My husband has some pretty neat activities planned for the children to keep their minds off the fact that Momma is not home!

So, here I sit, all ready to go and meet my ride down to Atlanta. It is about a 4 1/2 hour car ride from here to the hotel and where all 24 of us will eventually come this evening so we can be awake for the early morning airport call.

I don’t know exactly what I feel right now, many things are swimming around my head and spirit. I am excited beyond words. Going to Israel is a lifetime dream for me and my family because we are Jewish. I know this trip would have made my dad (who passed away last year) very happy. He wanted to go to Israel his whole life. I am a little fearful, not knowing what to expect or if I will react the way I hope I will. I know it is a life-changing experience and I want to be open to be changed! But, what if I don’t feel what others are feeling? Will I be able to see what’s truly there in the Holy Land and be changed by seeing the Bible come alive? I hope so.

Well, we are putting the suitcases in the car and getting the children ready to go.

Next stop – ATLANTA

~~In Messiah,

Vickilynn

Micah 6:8

About Vickilynn Parnes

A student of health and nutrition for 45+ years, Vickilynn Parnes has over 40 years of actual hands-on experience reviewing and personally using different tools of the homemaking vocation, focusing on the areas of health and nutrition, and currently retired. Vickilynn is a former magazine columnist, product reviewer, cookbook author and radio talk show host, as well as a mom to 5 children and 2 grandchildren.