Day 09 - Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Saint Anne's, Pool of Bethesda, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Ramparts, Israel Museum, Yad Vashem

Our last day. It’s bittersweet knowing that we’ll be leaving in a matter of hours, but what we’ve experienced has changed us forever. 

I know that I’m glossing over many of the things we saw today and that’s not to downplay the significance of any of it. Walking through the old city - the sights, the sounds, the smells! - touring through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, seeing where Golgotha may have been, these were all once in a lifetime experiences. For me though, starting the morning descending the Mount of Olives into the Garden of Gethsamane will always stay with me.

Knowing that Jesus sought solace here on the night of his arrest, praying to his Father and ultimately submitting himself in complete obedience to his Father’s perfect will, shone a light on my own frail faith. As we sang “I Surrender” and took communion, I realized that no matter what my sacrifice would need to be it would never compare to what Jesus did for all of humanity. 

I left that hillside with the resolve that Christ must have felt. “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” He doesn’t ask the impossible of us, he only asks that we listen and follow. That we simply, obey. 

I leave Israel with the peace in my heart and soul that only Jesus can give and I can’t wait to see what he has planned for me next!

- Grant Lawley