LOURDES

Well we decided to head out for another exploration day. This time we headed south to the famous city of Lourdes France.Lourdes was originally a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees. At that time, the most prominent feature was the fortified castle that rises up from the center of the town. Following the claims that there were apparitions of The Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, Lourdes has developed into a major place of Christian pilgrimage. Today Lourdes has a population of around 15,000 inhabitants but is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season. With about 270 hotels, Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France after Paris.
It really is an amazing place, minus the tourist shopping traps and all the hotels. We were moved by so many that we saw there, praying with a very fervent faith. I wanted to run around saying," I know the truth, I can tell you all about the restoration of the church of God and the pure, amazing joy that comes from knowing the plan of salvation." Although I do know that Christ plays a very important roll in their faith ( hence the cross) it was hard trying to explain to Ryn that all of the amazing statues and sculptures were actually not of Christ but Peter, James,John the Baptist etc ....She kept saying, " is that one Jesus?"

I am thankful for the blessings of the gospel and the knowledge of the importance of authority in my dealings with the Lord.