Holy Lands Trip; Jerusalem, Israel

Yes that's me on a camel, "Kojack"...terrified that he would get spooked and take off running! The Dome of the Rock is in the background.

We had a wonderful stay in Jerusalem at our boutique hotel (code for very small but charming). We spent 2 days with our guide Sam Salem, a Christian Bethlehemite who works for the UN. He took us on a magnificent tour of the Old City which included the "3 Mounts" as we have come to know them: Mt. of Olives, Mt. Zion and Mt. Moriah aka The Temple Mount.

Mt. of Olives is the place where Jesus ascended into Heaven, and at it's base, the Garden of Gethsemane. The best views of the city were from this point.

Mt. Zion is the site of the Upper Room and King David's tomb. At it's base is the city of David where we got to see the healing waters of the Pool of Siloam where Jesus healed the Blind Man, and Hezekiah's Tunnel.

Mt. Moriah is also called the Temple Mount. This is the site of Solomon's original Temple, which has been destroyed and rebuilt more times than I could count. Presently, it is a Mosque, and is characterized by it's gleaming gold dome. It is referred to as the Dome of the Rock and is an equally Holy place for Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Because of the unrest here, we did not go into the Mosque, but on Sam's suggestion took the Western Wall Tunnel Tours. This was BY FAR, the most interesting and fascinating thing we did while in Jerusalem. We learned so much and finally understand the timeline and the significant history behind this very important Mountain! We got to go underground beneath the mosque, in tunnels and caves and actually saw the place where the Romans stopped the destruction of the only existing wall left in the city, known as the Western Wall. Now we know exactly why this small fraction of the wall still exist. The tour allows you to see and touch the stone that stopped the Romans in their tracks. It was the most massive thing I have ever seen. Basically the Romans got tired, and if you saw this stone, you'd know why!

Today, the Jews worship at the Western Wall, which ironically is the closest wall to the Holy of Holies, where the Arc of the Covenant was kept in the original temple. It, of course, is no coincidence that this is the wall that is still standing, but it was very cool to learn about.

We also walked until our legs almost fell off all through the 4 quarters of the Old City, on the Via Delorosa, and ended the first day at Golgatha, the site of Calvary. On day 2 of our tour, because our Guide can move freely across the border, we were fortunate to get to visit Bethlehem, which is under Palestinian authority. We got to see the Manger and a very cool cave and tunnel in the Shepard's Fields. We had dinner in the Shepard's tent them made our way home to rest.

My favorite experience was praying at the Western Wall with all those Jewish women. It was a very moving. Shane was very touched by the Prison of Christ. It was hard to imagine the agony he suffered there all alone in solitude as he awaited his fate, in chains. This is a part of the story that is rarely emphasized, but became real to us as we stood in the cave where he was kept.

It was an amazing 2 days, and we are so fortunate to be in this place and learn about it's rich history. We are also very thankful that we were kept out of harms way during this difficult time in Israel. All is still peaceful and calm in the city, but our hearts hurt when we watch the news and realize what is going on just 2 hours away from us. Please pray for a lasting resolution for these people, and that God will reveal himself in a mighty way to all of them in the days ahead. One thing we have learned from this trip is that the Jewish nation is never truly at peace, even when they are not at war, they are in a constant mode of defense, and that is a sad reality.

To see pictures of our time in Jerusalem, click on the links below:

Mt. of Olives

Old City and Calvary

Old City and Bethlehem