Today, we embarked on a tour of the 9/11 Memorial. It was unforgettable. Our tour guide spoke of the events surrounding that day and the murdered men, women, and children on Sept. 11, and it was undescribably heartbreaking to think about the horror that took place here in New York 10 years ago. We saw the efforts New York has made and is making to rebuild from the horrific event on Sept. 11, 2001. As I looked around at the buildings and people and as we walked the streets around where the WTC once stood, I couldn't help but try to imagine what that day must have been like. I thought about the documentaries I have watched about 9/11, and my heart was overcome with grief for the helpless people who suffered this tragic event. I can't begin to imagine what it was really like. I hate that things like this have happened throughout history. Hate can bring about such devestation... I almost felt guilty in taking pictures at the memorial. I felt like this was such a sacred place where so much was lost. I cried thinking about how many names on the wall represented family members and friends for so many people. I do not know any of them, but I can identify with the sudden loss. If anything, New York is showing the world that out of such a tragic event comes hope. This is a picture of Tower One, the Freedom Tower which should be completed in a couple of years.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum is not yet open, but we walked past it on our way to the place where the Twin Towers once stood.
And this is the Memorial.
The water flowing into a deeper void, a representation of the void felt by those who lost someone they loved that day and the lives lost by a nation.
This is the only picture I got of St. Paul's Chapel which is next to where the towers stood. I read the Little Chapel That Stood to my students the week of Sept. 11th, and it amazing how this church suffered no damage when the towers fell. Our guide said it has survived city-destroying fires and the attack on the twin towers leaving it to be the oldest building in New York City, and it is believed to be God-protected. (Amen to that!) We are going to try to make a trip back there to go inside. (Our tour didn't include going in!) And I would like to see the Bible George Washington read from. :)
After leaving the financial district, we walked through the South Seaport area (beautiful) and boarded another boat to get to New York Harbor. On the way, we saw the Brooklyn Bridge,
the Manhattan Bridge,
and then...the Statue of Liberty!
(This picture is for you, John Owen, because you told me to send you a picture of the Statue of Liberty.:) I love you and miss you!!)
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