Who do I Serve?

“He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth? – Mic. 5:4

How does one describe standing at the Western (wailing) Wall to pray surrounded by Jews with men on the one side and women on the other?  Very powerful actually!

As we followed along the Western Wall, we entered the rabbinical tunnels about 30 feet down walking on paths where Jesus may have walked.  Below us we had sightings of excavations even much older than that!  The digging continues as always in Israel!

Yad Vashem left us speechless.  The part of our journey through the Holocaust Remembrance was the building where five candles were reflected in mirrors to represent/remember 1.5 million children who died in this terrible event.  It was so tragically moving.

We then headed down to another of Herod the Great’s buildings.  This was the Herodian in Bethlehem which again left us speechless as we looked at the rubble that used to be one of his magnificent palaces.  Herod had six beautiful palaces and this was one of them!  What really challenged me was Marty’s thought, “Who is my king?  Herod the Great or baby Jesus?  Who will I serve today?”

Excitingly for some, we could finally shop!  Johnny is a local Christian artisan that GTI likes to support because Johnny supports poor families in his community.  Well, his shop had more than we all needed and we were all blessed!

We finish the day with a great meal, having the chance to hold coins and potter dating back to the 1^st century and further, and then going for a lovely stroll throughout Jerusalem.  Another day of God’s gifts to us.  ~ Pearl Neibor

Pictures taken by Anita Mannes