A Positive Break

I know that I have been posting a lot of negative writings, but the situation we're in is not a happy one. I would like to post a few things that have happened to me the past couple days...

1.) The Eagles Nest- I was born to live in the Alps. Our trip to the Eagles Nest was not the highest on my list, but it turned out being my favorite moment of finding beauty amongst sorrow. The eagles nest is located about 6,000 ft up and is nestled RIGHT in the Alps. The views were a little cloudy at first, but God showed his grace and lit up the sky for us. Ryan Meeks, a buddy of mine, and I had a great time running up the mountain, taking pictures along the way. Again, the views were absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

2.) A New Friend- So this was super random, but a few people in our hotel in Linz, Austria and I were talking and they spotted my name tag. One of the men ask me what we are doing with the Holocaust, so I proceeded to tell him what we are doing and all the places we are visiting. He then told me that he was a Holocaust survivor himself and that he is from Israel.
     When he was three years old, his parents actually hid him underground in Slovakia to avoid being captured by the Nazis. His wife was with him, along with a couple friends, and we were lost in conversation in the hallway of the Marriott Courtyard hotel. haha. Before we parted ways, I told him a dream of mine is to be baptized in the Jordan River. He got really excited and said "Ahhh, so you're a religious man yourself?" to which I replied "Yes sir." He said before they left the hotel that he would find me and give me his information and when I come to Israel, he wanted to meet me and be there for the baptism.
     Tonight at dinner, he found me. Right in the middle of dessert he walked into our private dining room, and turned every head in the room. haha. Nobody knew who he was but me, so I waved him over to my table and welcomed him. He got out his wallet and handed me a piece of paper and said "You come to see us... I will be there."
    Thank God for sending kind people to his children. I'm definitely going to make contact with "Itzik." :)

3.) New Friends- When we set out on this amazing journey, I didn't really know about half of the students going on the trip. After spending so much time with them though, I feel like we've known each other for a long time. All of the students are so comforting and warm to the Veterans and survivors and I am so thankful that this group "clicked" right off the bat. I'm excited to spend five more days getting to know them... I know these will be strong relationships that will last a while.


As always, thank you for your prayers! This trip couldn't get any better. So many things have been shared with us, and the knowledge is not something we can contain. I feel like I'm in a dream to be here and be a part of this life changing experience. Love is coming to you from Austria, and soon Slovakia and Poland.