The Temple Mount

Shalom y’all! Kaitlyn here. It’s been another busy day here in Israel. Our first full day in Jerusalem began at the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is under Palestinian control, so getting there ended up being a longer process than we expected. We had to pass through a security check point, and after disarming our weapons (pocket knives) we were ready to go, or so we thought. Our Bibles had to stay with security, our Christian symbols and jewelry were covered, and long skirts and pants were required. It was not very fun at all having to give them our Bibles, but I guess rules are rules.  After all this we thought surely we could go see the site, but we were sadly mistaken. The women had to cover their arms and shoulders, so we were escorted to the side to buy shawls. At least now the ladies of our group have a souvenir to remember this whole experience. Finally we were free to explore the Temple Mount. We went to the Eastern Gate and quietly recited Bible verses. It felt strange to not be able to freely take out a Bible and read, but sharing every verse that popped into our heads with each other was a powerful and exciting moment.

We then traded our skirts, pants, and hiking shoes for shorts and water shoes and headed to Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This tunnel was dug as a passage to get water from one place to another. It’s small, dark, and tight, so the claustrophobic people (me being one of them) were not entirely excited to go through it. While it was frightening for some of us, it was an amazing experience. I still can’t figure out how they were able to dig this massive tunnel. It’s very impressive. Aside from the fact that it was rather terrifying for a few of us, Hezekiah’s tunnel was unbelievable. After this we went up another small, scary tunnel. This tunnel would have been used by the priests to get to the temple. Again, tiny and frightening, but really cool.

After lunch in a park we went to the southern stairs and learned about Jewish holidays and how Jesus fulfilled them in order and is going to fulfill more in the future. I would explain it, but it’s extremely mind blowing and there’s no way I could explain it as well as Pastor Scott. Nevertheless, we learned all about Jewish holidays and talked about how we could start celebrating them in our lives.

The Western Wall came next and it was a truly incredible experience. This wall is also called the Wailing Wall because people come to pray here daily. The tradition is to write names or prayers on a piece of paper and leave it in the wall and pray. It is split down the middle, one side for men, one for women, and you just go to the wall and pray. It really is an incredible experience and it’s interesting to see so many people lining the walls and praying.

We wrapped up our day at church called David’s Tomb where we just took a few minutes to sit down and talk to each other. We reflected on our feelings and thoughts from the day as a community and shared our own personal experiences. It was nice to just relax, talk to each other, and hear what everyone was thinking throughout the day. This community is full of amazing people and it has been so great to get to know everyone and hang out these past few weeks.