Isaiah 55:9
Mt. of Olives: We started our day here and I (Becky) finally rode a camel!! His name was Kojak and I have pictures to prove it. This is just east of the Temple Mount and is the place where Jesus went with his disciples to pray. There is a Jewish cemetery on the side of the hill going down. Then we visited the Church of Nations which was built by the nations of the world. I took a picture of an eagle that is on the ceiling. We bought bags from vendors on the street here. It is a very busy tourist spot now.
City of DAvid: After we left the Mount of Olives, we went back across the Kidron Valley (which looks like a big gulch) and went to the City of David, which is south of the Temple Mount. There we climbed way down into tunnnels below the city. They were used by King David and later Hezekiah to provide water for the city. The tunnel had two routes, a wet route (Hezekiah's Tunnel) and a dry route. Jane and I chose the dry route. It was very narrow but the walls were high and the temperature was cool. It is amazing to know these people carved all of this out of stone.
Bethlehem: To enter and leave Bethlehem we had to go through Israeli security. As we left Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem and passed through the wall being erected by Israel to reduce terrorist activity, gun-toting soldiers walked through the bus looking at all our passports. That's an odd sensation. In Bethlehem we saw the Church of the Nativity. Our tour guide, Paul, has a good friend (George) who has a restaurant AND a store in Bethlehem so we ate at George's then shopped in his store. Many of us purchased olive wood nativity sets in Bethlehem. Very special!
Golgotha and Garden Tomb: Another extremely moving time on this trip to the Holy Land. Evidence is very convincing that this, indeed, could be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Our guide, Ivan, told us that they probably did not crucify Jesus up on a hill, but down at street level because the sign they put at the top of the cross would have been so passersby could read it. We took pictures of the rocks which look like a skull, hence the name Golgatha which means "place of the skull". Jason quoted from the Gospel of John 19:17-20:20. I'll never forget this stop on the trip.
We "grabbed a bite" in Jerusalem, returned to Yad Hashmona to change into more comfortable travel clothes, loaded the luggage onto the bus, then bused to the airport.We all got through security, customs, and passport control without a hitch though our bus was searched again by armed security personnel before we got off. Thanks to Gary for guiding us through the process. As I write this entry, we are flying over the Mediterranean, 5058 miles (9 1/2 hours) from Newark.
13 hours later: Now sitting in Newark airport. Scott and Tim are here with Becky and me. Eastern time it's 7:30 a.m. Tim has already had a steak omelet, is now enjoying a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin, and Scott is eating a big pepperoni pretzel! These poor boys have missed the fine U.S. cuisine. We are to board our flight to St. Louis in an hour or so.
This has been a trip of a lifetime for me. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment