Last week, My husband Steve, Chris and a friend Justin packed our things and made a roadtrip to Alexandria, Virginia. It was about 14 hours of drive, including stops/rest. And gotta let you know, i drove about a 100 miles from Brunswick, Georgia to i don't know where, ha! Steve let me drive the I-95 since it's just a long straight highway. And it's funny because I was the one who got the most difficult part of the journey. It was raining, the roads are under construction and so i had to stay on the lane all the way through until i got tired. Steve was so scared that he wants to cry while I'm driving. And I said, "yeah, I feel like I want to throw up!". Anyways, here's the mission of the trip...we are getting Steve's Honda Shadow Aero which he bought thru ebay. To my surprise, the owner of the bike is Asian. His name is Mike and he's chinese though he said he grew up in Mauritius. His family is nice and friendly and they got this overweight friendly maltese named Lucky. Anyways, let's go to the holocaust thing. Since Alexandria(pretty little town) is just 10 miles away from Washington DC, we thought that it's best that we go there and see the sights. We took the metro because they told us it's the best way to do it since the traffic is horrible there and it's hard to park. For me, i like it because that's what I am used to back in Manila. I actually missed riding the metro and buses, the jeepneys. All those public transportations and get to see and meet different kinds of people from all walks of life. And so i enjoyed it. We went to see the Capitol building, Obama's office. The Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial,Natural History Museum(which they said it was the one in the movie Night at the Museum)...Smithsonian Palace and of course, the United States Holocaust Museum. We only had two days there and it's not enough. The one day alone, we spent it just for the holocaust museum. Well, we all know what happened during the holocaust. That's when Hitler persecuted millions of Jews, Romas(gypsies) and of course, my fellow brothers and sisters, Jehovah's Witnesses. It's amazing how one man can do this evil thing? Well, it's not surprising but still, you cannot imagine how a man could be so angry with people who doesn't agree with his beliefs and ideals. He's got reasons of course, whether it's good or bad, but it just struck me big time to see how these people were tortured...just for being a Jew..just for standing firm for their faith(which the Witnesses are) and not joining the military. As`we were watching a couple of film showings they had, and looking at the pictures, things they recovered from the concentration camps, how they were being punished and tortured, how they were killed, I am holding my breath and just keep on sighing on things i see. But what really gets me and i can't help it anymore and tears roll down my eyes is when i see a "pool of shoes" from those who died during the holocaust. I can't help it....as if i can see them wearing those shoes! And what's more is their "hairlorns". Their hair was shaved or cut before they were either beheaded or put to firing squad or gas chamber. The Gestapos collected all these and some of them they even sell those hairs and made bags and accessories out of these victims hair. What a terrible thing and it really breaks my heart. It's like travelling back in time. But there's one thing that delights us. Out of all the things they recovered from the concentration camps, there's only one Bible they got. And it was owned by a Jehovah's Witness. It puts a smile on our face knowing that it really proves that Witnesses are spiritually-minded people. That even in times of persecution, the consciousness for spiritual need is always there. Because that's what Witnesses hoped for...the Kingdom of God that will soon rule the earth under Christ. That soon, all these human government will put to an end. All the sufferings, pain, prejudice, sickness, death will be no more. And how refreshing it is to know that soon, these faithful ones who died during the holocaust will be resurrected. And that's what matters most. The Witnesses died for standing up for their faith to Jehovah. The One who will give them the "real life"...an everlasting one in perfect condition. That no human government can give. Not even Hitler. Here's some photos of the Kusserow family, Helene Gotthold(witnesses persecuted and died during the holocaust). One photo is with the woman who survived the holocaust. And some of the sights in Washington DC...enjoy!
