We are in Jerusalem on the Lord’s Day! What could be better, or more appropriate? We began our day with a period of worship in a special room at the hotel which Ferrell had reserved for that purpose. It is strange to think that in this city on that Pentecost so many years ago there were three thousand who were baptized and became Christians, and yet in the year 2008 there are no faithful Christians worshiping in this historical city! That is sad, but yet our group participated in a wonderful time of worship. Our speaker was Norm, and I always enjoy hearing my son-in-law present a lesson. The photo of the group was taken immediately following our worship time. 
After our period of worship, we boarded the bus and drove to the Mount of Olives for an overview of the Old City, and the traditional group photo Ferrell always takes. I imagine it will be on his blog soon! Our guide pointed out various places in the Old City as we stood on the Mount of Olives. We walked down from the top of the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, as Christ did on the night of His betrayal. There is not much left of the garden at this time…about a dozen very old olive trees. While we were walking out of the area we sighted a "Jerusalem cat" sound asleep under one of the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. Apparently it was not only the disciples of Christ who find it easy to fall asleep there!
We entered the Old City through the Zion gate and immediately took time to get a bite to eat. Although pizza is not a traditional food of Israel, several of us decided to try it, and found it to be excellent. So, "Sunday Dinner" in Jerusalem was pizza…at least for some of us! Lowell always seems to get in with a group that is eating, doesn’t he?
We saw several things of interest in Jerusalem, and stopped for a great view of the Western (Wailing) Wall. We walked through the Western Wall Tunnel, which stretches the length of the wall on that side. We saw a part of the "broad wall" from the time of Nehemiah, and went to the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
We drove the six miles or so to Bethlehem, which is in Palestinian territory. In Israel, Palestinian areas (like Bethlehem) are surrounded by huge concrete walls. These walls have been set up by the Israelis for security purposes and anyone entering a Palestinian area has to go through a security area. In Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site for the birth of Christ, although there is little evidence to support the fanfare surrounding this particular spot.
We are back at the hotel now. Dinner is over and we are ready for a rest. No one on this tour has any trouble sleeping at nights. Our "wake-up" calls come at 6 AM, we board the bus about 7:45, and we usually do not return to the hotel until 7 PM. That makes for long days, but very exciting ones. How blessed we are to be here and get to see all of these things that will make our Bible study and Bible teaching so much better in the future. Hopefully, each of you had a wonderful day of worship.
After our period of worship, we boarded the bus and drove to the Mount of Olives for an overview of the Old City, and the traditional group photo Ferrell always takes. I imagine it will be on his blog soon! Our guide pointed out various places in the Old City as we stood on the Mount of Olives. We walked down from the top of the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, as Christ did on the night of His betrayal. There is not much left of the garden at this time…about a dozen very old olive trees. While we were walking out of the area we sighted a "Jerusalem cat" sound asleep under one of the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. Apparently it was not only the disciples of Christ who find it easy to fall asleep there!
We entered the Old City through the Zion gate and immediately took time to get a bite to eat. Although pizza is not a traditional food of Israel, several of us decided to try it, and found it to be excellent. So, "Sunday Dinner" in Jerusalem was pizza…at least for some of us! Lowell always seems to get in with a group that is eating, doesn’t he?
We saw several things of interest in Jerusalem, and stopped for a great view of the Western (Wailing) Wall. We walked through the Western Wall Tunnel, which stretches the length of the wall on that side. We saw a part of the "broad wall" from the time of Nehemiah, and went to the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
We drove the six miles or so to Bethlehem, which is in Palestinian territory. In Israel, Palestinian areas (like Bethlehem) are surrounded by huge concrete walls. These walls have been set up by the Israelis for security purposes and anyone entering a Palestinian area has to go through a security area. In Bethlehem we visited the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site for the birth of Christ, although there is little evidence to support the fanfare surrounding this particular spot.
We are back at the hotel now. Dinner is over and we are ready for a rest. No one on this tour has any trouble sleeping at nights. Our "wake-up" calls come at 6 AM, we board the bus about 7:45, and we usually do not return to the hotel until 7 PM. That makes for long days, but very exciting ones. How blessed we are to be here and get to see all of these things that will make our Bible study and Bible teaching so much better in the future. Hopefully, each of you had a wonderful day of worship.
Again, we are unable to publish photos today. We have no idea why, but you can figure out what we PLANNED to send...Lowell eating...cat sleeping...etc.
Jane,
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! You are really making it come alive for us. Abbi saw the picture of the tomb and wanted to read about Jesus dying and being raised from the dead. Abbi has also remembered you all in her prayers - that you all stay safe!
See you soon!
-Mia
I'm enjoying your blog from Nairobi.
ReplyDelete"in the year 2008 there are no faithful Christians worshiping in this historical city!"
I presume you mean the old city itself, because there are several faithful messianic communities in Jerusalem. I've been to a couple.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.