"One of the first parts of leaving on a trip is the goodbyes. On Sunday, Zion said a goodbye to me in the parish hall after the 10:30 service. The cake was great and our young people were energetic."

"I appreciate all of your good wishes, concerns and gifts. I plan to send pictures and diary every other day or so when I am in Israel. This should be easiest to do the first two weeks, for I will be in the area in and around Jerusalem. The second two weeks might be spottier, for I will be out of the country most of the time and am not sure what type of internet access I will have."

10-25-04

+Well folks, I arrived safely in Jerusalem!  Here are my first few pictures.  (003) This is a picture I took of the college.  I am staying on the third floor.  It's warm here and they don't have the airconditioning on.  They turned if off to save money.  Before the Intifada, they had about 550 students here each year.  Now they have about 55 students each year.  Money is tight, but they are committed to this ministry and it is a ministry. 
 
(006)  This is a picture of the exit from the college.  I included it so that you can see that I am somewhat safe.  A security person presses a button to open the gate for people to come in and again to leave. 
 
(017)  This is my room.  The bed is O.K. and I have a fan.  My window looks out to the bell tower of the Cathedral
 
I will be sending more pictures in the days ahead.  If you have questions, email me at rosbornejr@yahoo.com
 
Peace,
 
Fr. Ralph++

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