Amid disturbing world news that highlights the never-ending hostilities targeting Israel, one would think that it would be complete madness, if not suicidal, to travel to such a volatile place. And yet, I found myself in Milan International Airport, staring at an electronic sign with its colorful pixels glaring back at me, spelling out the Air Alitalia Flight departing for Tel Aviv. Along with my wife, I would soon board the aircraft, together with the other pilgrims from St. Thomas More Church. We were to fly to The Holy Land.
Three weeks earlier, there was a great battle going on in my head. As much as I wanted to visit The Holy Land, I was also dreadfully aware of the potential danger that could ignite at any time along the way. My wife had to persuade me to join the pilgrimage. Her persistence and the irresistible opportunity to photograph the biblical and historical places were instrumental in somewhat overpowering my reservations about the trip.
As we waited for the shuttle bus that would take us to the tarmac, the fear once again managed to creep into my veins. It was corroding my nervous system. The “what If?” revived the old nagging thoughts. Maybe there is a terrorist on board? A suicide bomber perhaps? What about being blown up in the sky? Whoa!! The self-induced paranoia was choking me. I needed something to divert my thoughts. I took some candid shots of our group who seemed undeterred by what was happening in the Middle East. Thanks to my camera, it calmed me down. Before I knew it, we were airborne and there was no turning back. I heard myself praying, “Dear God, I know that The Holy Land has been photographed countless times by many talented photographers. What I will be shooting are just repetitions of their work, but if there is something you want me to shoot, lead me to it and please deliver me back home safely so I can share it too. Amen.”
As I looked out the plane’s window, the clouds below were like huge formations of fluffy cotton. I was marvelling at their beauty when suddenly something strange caught my eye. Out of nowhere, a glint of c

“Blessed are those who come.” That was the heading of the brochure that was provided by the travel agency. It does feel that way when one’s foot touches the Holy Ground. Walking along the path of our Lord’s footsteps was spiritually uplifting. Any Christian would feel the presence of Jesus in every step of the way. The journey to The Holy Land was like a homecoming. I grew up knowing about Nazareth as if it was my hometown. The city did not appear exactly the way Hollywood portrayed it in movies, but just like other biblical places in the region, it made me feel welcome. From Bethlehem where Jesus was born to the hilltop of Golgotha where He was crucified, the pilgrimage re-defined my Christian faith. I gained a deeper understanding of Jesus. And for the first time, I felt the pain of Mary, the mother who witnessed the rejection, humiliation and torture of her Son, who died for our sins.
The first five days of the Seven-Day tour of Israel earned me hundreds of beautiful images of The Holy Land. From those shots, I could easily merge photojournalism and travel photography to create a good slide show presentation of the pilgrimage. But, I still felt empty. Something was missing in the shots.
On the sixth day, towards the evening, God filled the void. Before me was the most compelling picture of all.

In the afternoon of the final day, the tour guide took our group back to Jerusalem for personal free time. The majority of the group took my wife to explore the souvenir shops, while I wandered around on my own, taking more photos. And just when I thought I had shot enough, I saw two cute little Jewish schoolgirls walking together from a distance. In a game of catch-me-if-you-can, the bubbly one in the red dress sprinted ahead of the other girl. At this point, my reflex took charge and nailed the flow of her motion in three digital shots. It was the second frame that best captured the expression and running action of the little girl. Her happy innocent face was a mirrored contrast to the hostilities between her peopl

By the time we left Israel, I had more than three thousand digital images to take home, but only three of them can sum up the spiritual maturity that I gained from the pilgrimage. The photos of the plane's shadow in the rainbow, the pilgrims, and the little girl are the key images that unlocked the door to the wonderful gift of seeing. The images widened the perspective of the way I see things around me. While my art in photography found a new angle to focus on, I discovered a new color of the rainbow. And that is the color of God’s unconditional love for me and the rest of the world.
Now, 6 years later, I produced God's Word, a 5-minute video presentation summarizing my spiritual journey in finding God's purpose for me - spreading the Word through the art of photography.