Our Final Day

Well friends, this is it. The official final day of our GBC Israel trip. And what a day it was!

We started today near the top of the Mount of Olives, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, with an incredible view of the city. Wes taught about the Jesus’ triumphal entry a few days before His arrest and crucifixion, as well as His final commission to His disciples. Their faithfulness to His call on their lives is the reason why we have heard and obeyed the Gospel thousands of miles away in Texas, and it's the same call that He’s put on our lives. We then spent a few minutes worshipping together in song, which was both moving, as we reflected on the Gospel, and a bit comedic, as it attracted the attention of at least one camera-happy tourist with little regard for personal space.

We had a good laugh (as we do) and then made our way down the hill, through a cemetery to Dominos Flevit, the traditional site of Jesus’ weeping over the city of Jerusalem. Our guide, Ronen, talked a bit about the burial traditions of the wealthy in the Ancient Near East, then we continued further down the hill.

Our next stop was at the Garden of Gethsemane. We went first to a privately owned, non-traditional site of the Garden and read through the story of Jesus praying for the will of God to be done before his arrest. We spent a little more time singing together, then spread out for 10-15 minutes of solitary prayer, reflection and Bible reading. It was a really beautiful moment.

Next, we went across the street to the more traditional site of the Garden, where the Church of All Nations is located. This church is absolutely beautiful, and is the traditional site for where Jesus sweat drops of blood on the night of His arrest. We lingered for a few minutes, then continued the rest of the way down the Mount of Olives and back up the hill to Jerusalem.

We entered the city at the Lion’s Gate, and made our way to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus performed one of His greatest miracles, healing a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. Wes taught, and we explored a bit, then headed into St. Anne’s Church, which stands next to the Pool. St. Anne’s is one of the most aurally-pleasing acoustic spaces I’ve ever experienced. Massive stone walls and the stone floor create a natural reverb that rings out for several seconds. Naturally, we took the opportunity to spend some more time singing together, this time with no accompaniment, however. We sang a few songs a cappella and marveled at the sound of the room.

Afterwards, we made our way further into the city to the Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family, a guest house of sorts that opened in 1863 to host people on religious pilgrimages. We went up on the roof, sang together yet again, then spent some time taking in the incredible view of the city. There also may have been a selfie or two taken.

Our final stop was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the heart of the Old City. This is the traditional site of the Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. It is quite a site to behold, and left us all with mixed feelings of reverence and joy at the truth of the Gospel, as well as sadness at the tension and conflict it creates among believers from various denominational backgrounds in Israel.

We left there and headed to the Cardo for lunch, then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring and shopping in the Old City.

This evening we headed out to a restaurant called Sea Dolphin for a farewell dinner together. Specifically, we were saying farewell to Ronen, our guide, and Egal, our driver for the week, each of whom we’ve grown pretty attached to. We were also bidding one another farewell, as a third of our group will leave early tomorrow morning to make there way home, while the other two thirds of us begin a new adventure, spending the next few days exploring in Jordan, before heading home on Friday.

This trip has been incredible and transformative for all. We’re all so thankful for the opportunity to have been here this last 8-9 days, and can’t wait to spend the next several months unpacking all that we’ve learned. Thank you all so much for following along and for partnering with us in prayer as we’ve traveled. Please continue to remember us in your prayers over the next several days! Thanks for reading! See you again in 2017!