Getting Ready to Leave

For any of you that are already checking this blog out, hear are some of my thoughts as I prepare to leave in 9 days.  Almost everybody I talk to these days and tell that I am going to go to Jerusalem for six months asks me about whether the current violence has changed my plans.  I am not deterred from the violence.  So far it seems fairly contained to the Gaza strip and has not reached Jerusalem.  I have checked travel advisories and they have been the same for the past several months.  To me, I do not see anything more to worry about than I was aware of as I began to plan the trip.  The situation in Gaza brings to light even more the sad situation in Israel-Palestine.  As I see the escalation of violence, it seems almost hopeless that peace will ever be reached.  I hope to learn a lot about the nuances of the situation that keep peace from coming.  I also pray that I will find hope in the midst of what most view as hopeless.