i had a rather extraordinary experience this weekend.

i've been to washington dc more times than i can remember. i've been to the monuments, visited the museums, played in the parks, walked the streets. i've seen dc. but i've never really seen it. this weekend, for the very first time, i was made aware of the stark contrasts within the city; a wealthy city with desperate poverty, a bed of crime in the capital of justice, successful businessmen next to unemployed homeless men.

last saturday, one of my best friends and myself took a very brief trip down to the nation's capital to interview for an internship. we sat in on meetings, ate ethiopian food, meet a whole slew of people, went on a prayer tour of the city, and managed to exhaust ourselves to the point of near collapsion. these were all fantastic experiences (ok, i could have done without the exhaustion), but the thing that will stand out as the most memorable experience of the trip involved no people, no food, no sound. at the end of the prayer tour, we went to a spot that overlooked the city. you could distinctly see a thousand quietly twinkling lights and the less subtle washington monument and capitol building. as beautiful as this picture was on its own, it paled in comparison to what i saw.

there was a lightning storm that was ongoing throughout the tour and when we got to the lookout, you could clearly see every magnificent streak.



when i was in the domincan republic, there were times that you could plainly feel that there was a spiritual battle going on. as i saw the lightning streaking down towards the capitol building, it was like i was actually watching a spiritual attack on the city. it was one of the most awe-inspiring things i have ever witnessed.