From Ashley - Friday, July 01, 2011 We have arrived at Charlotte. We are about an hour away from home and have had a wonderful pilgrimage. It has been an uplifting spiritual journey. We are looking forward to seeing family again and we will see y'all soon!

From Amanda! - Thursday, June 30, 2011 It is 3 am. We are on the bus headed to Rome for breakfast and then our flight. It has been an amazing trip. The Holy Spirit has moved in us and among us in ways I have never experienced. We've been washed by tears of laughter, joy, and forgiveness. We have blown to and fro with God's wind of gentleness and powerful gust of life changing wind. Our hearts are returning anew and on fire with God's love. Last night, we had a 2 hour Italian dinner, followed by compline in an amazingly beautiful chapel at our guest house. The entire sanctuary was mosaic ties that sparkle in the candle light. We gave thanks for one another, our experiences of God, our trip, and those we left at home. We give thanks for our parish, hold you in prayer and will be home soon!

Waiting for the bus - Thursday, June 30, 2011 Seeing how many people you can get in a human chair sit is always a great way to wait on a bus at 3 am. Tired and weary we still made it up to 12! I think it is a new world record!

From Madi - Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Yesterday I saw God in the church that Saint Francis and Saint Clare were baptized in. In the chaos of the enormous space there was a small chapel set aside for praying only. All of the girls and I went in and sat quietly. After a couple of minutes I began to feel the presence of God in the room. Praying in that chapel was where I found God yesterday.

From Sarah - Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Yesterday, we visited St. Francis' tomb. There was a small chapel across from the tomb, set aside for silent prayer. After seeing the coffin of St Francis, I felt as though there was something missing. I proceeded to the silent chapel to pray. After entering, I notice the life sized cross, with a model of Jesus nailed to it. The entire time I prayed, I stared at the wonder of this cross, and felt as though it was listening to my prayers,breasting my beliefs, and responding to my questions. I was moved by this, and felt as though god was with me for the rest of the day.

From Gates - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Yesterday we rode the bus to our last destination in Assisi. When we got here we didn't have anything planned and a few hours to kill at the guest house. So, we trekked up to the main town for something to do. The hike there is completely up hill and the sun was blazing down. When we got there me and I'm sure a few Others were  worn out so the whole group sat down for some gelato and coke. I saw god in these things because they refreshed me and made me extremely happy, and realized that I was finding joy in the small things in life which is a part of our journey we are on.

From Ross - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 This trip is so fun!! I repeat. This trip is so fun!! Today we walked around Assisi. This small hillside town looks as if it could be a movie scene. First when we woke up this morning we had an elegant breakfast with croissants and some fabulous hot chocolate. Then we trekked up the hill and arrived at the church of Saint Clare. After that we walked to the church where Francis and Clare were baptized. After that we had free time to explore and go eat some lunch. LEGO! Shoutout to my fans back in Lexington. Don't worry too much though, I'll be home soon. Also, bring your cameras to the airport if you want any pics with me. Don't be shy I'm chill with mingling with my followers. You all are the best fans ever and I hope you know that. Sincerely, Your one and only ROSS Well, see you in a few days

From Mary Rollins & Allyson - Monday, June 27, 2011 Currently we are all on a bus traveling from amazing Florence( Firenze, as the Italian call it) to Assisi. The past few days have been wonderful, but there is something about the beautiful city of Florence we are all not likely to forget. One of those things would be the breath taking cathedral we went to last night for Vespers, which was all in Italian. Although we could not understand most of what was being said, we could all feel God there with us and the tranquility of the service and songs. This morning at breakfast we ate in silence, causing us all to listen instead of glaze over noises  such as the lovely nuns preparing out breakfast. These kind woman were very warm as we left, one sweetheart even posed with us in a picture. Goodbye Florence, Assisi here we come!

From Graff - Sunday, June 26, 2011 Since about 10:00 last night till about 8:30 this morning our group has been in silent meditation. As you know for anybody this can be difficult. Especially for a group of teens excited for the trip of a lifetime! I never knew just how much you could learn from silence. It's not the typical teaching technique but in silence you come to learn about yourself and your connection with god. That is something that cannot be taught in the typical classroom setting. So as hard as silence can be you may learn more from just a moment alone then you can from a lifetime of classroom education. At least from a spiritual standpoint silence is one of the best ways to learn about ones relationship with god.

From Hannah - Sunday, June 26, 2011 On Friday we went to the Scala Santa or in English The holy steps. These steps are known to be the steps Jesus climbed to meet Pontius Pilate. Jesus climbed all twenty six steps to shortly find out that he would die. Jesus did this for people he may never meet. How many people would do something like this for someone they would never meet? Maybe this person would have a disability or could be "weird". Would you do it without thinking? Jesus did. As a group I believe we learned a great lesson from this, to do things for people without thinking. (Hannah)

From Hannah, Graff & Gates - Saturday, June 25, 2011 Today we went to Orvieto, a small town on a hillside. The streets were more intimate in this quaint town. We were given time to explore. Before that though we climbed to the tallest tower in the city. Where we could view the tuscan landscape and have noon day prayer. At lunch we divided and regrouped to get to know the Tulsa group better. It was a nice hot dog town full of beauty and wonder. It was a valuable experience and added to our religious being.

From Benji - Friday, June 24, 2011 THIS TRIP IS SO FUN, I REPEAT THIS TRIP IS SO FUN, today we went to a holy staircase and went up it on our knees. We went on our knees to be reverent and it hurt a lot. Then we went to st. Peters basilica and had fun there, we looked at everything and it was cool and then we went to a restaurant and had a whole bunch of exotic weird seafoods but they were good, it has been a solid second day in Rome. (Grand master Benji)

From Virginia! - Thursday, June 23, 2011 Ciao! So far we are having a lovely time in Italy!  We are all suffering from slight cases of jet lag, but we just had a great lunch at Coliseum Bar. We are now headed to the forum and drinking water from the aquaduct after a nice morning at the Coliseum!  Hope all is well at home!

From Sarah - Thursday, June 23, 2011 Ciao from Italy! Today was our first day, and while it was tiring, it was also jam packed with some awesome roman history! Did you know that the colosseum seats 50,000 people, as compared to the 62,000 that can be seated at commonwealth stadium?! Whilst being enriched in facts from our amazing tour guide, we were provided us the opportunity to dip our toes in a new world of culture, history,  and food! Arrivederci! Sarah

Leaving for Italy! - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 We are on our way. After an exciting departure at Lexington, we are on the plane headed to Rome. Our flight is 9 hours. Thanks to our families who saw us off this afternoon. Everyone is well and your prayers must have been heard. Even our kids that were slightly (or not so slightly) afraid of flying are doing great! Everyone is happy and excited!

We are almost off! Bon Voyage! - Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Welcome to the J2A Pilgrim Blog! We would like to thank Christ Church for your amazing support. We look forward to a great and wonderful trip.We fly out tomorrow, Wednesday, at 4:00 pm. We’ll be in Rome by Thursday morning at 9:30. You can also track us by Facebook. Search for Wonder Voyage, then "LIKE" and our updates will show up on your newsfeed. Thank you for your prayers, we look forward to sharing our stories with you. PRAYERS FOR TRAVELERS O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel (Blanton, Robert, Trisha, Amanda, Sarah, Caroline, Madison, Virginia, Allyson, Ashley, Hannah, Ross, Benji, Gates, Henry, Graff, and Mary Rollins) surround them with your loving care; protect them from Every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Book of Common Prayer, 831 O God, our beginning and our end, you kept Abraham and Sarah in safety throughout the days of their pilgrimage, you led the children of Israel through the midst of the sea, and by a star you let the magi to the infant Jesus. Protect and guide us now as we set out to travel. Make our ways safe and our homecomings joyful, and bring us at last to our heavenly home, where you dwell in glory with our Lord Jesus Christ and the life-giving Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen. Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 331