All my bags are packed...what am I taking?

It's an eleven-hour flight from Atlanta, GA to Frankfurt, Germany. Then it's another four hours on to Tel Aviv. That's a lot of time to think about why I am making this trip. What do I expect? What should I take with me, what should I leave behind? This is what I wrote in my travel journal: What are my expectations? I expect to be amazed by how small the area is - I've read it's about the size of New Jersey. I expect to be amazed at how close together some things are located. I expect to be amazed at the range of climates and topography. I expect to be overwhelmed as I walk in the footsteps of Jesus. I expect things beyond my imaginings. I expect to be changed in some way. What should I take, and what should I leave behind? I need to take my Bible, my curiosity, my good attitude, patience, understanding, trust in God, my camera, my intellect, and my sense of adventure. What can I do without? I need to leave behind my preconceived notions - Arab v. Israeli, cultural norms and expectations, food likes and dislikes, conclusions I have drawn about the political situation in Israel, and anything that will hold me back from the experience I long for. How did this work out? I was amazed on each day of the journey. Nothing I had read prepared me for the sense of being in "The Land" as our teacher, Willis Britt, called it. It is a feeling that defies description. I needed everything I had taken, and was happy with the things left behind. The only thing I missed was my winter coat - it was unseasonably cold in Jerusalem!