Every day is a new surprise

The penultimate day in The Land was exciting, but also a little bit different. That is one of the best things about this trip! Every day is a new surprise.

We began the day by visiting the Israel Museum. This expansive museum is far too much to take in on one day, so we focused in on two sites: the scale model of the ancient city of Jerusalem, and the Shrine of the Book. The model of Jerusalem was an incredible overview of what the city would have looked like in Jesus’ day. It had to be 60 or 70 feet long and perhaps 30 or 40 feet wide. It was impressive. It truly helped put in perspective the visit to the city of David later that morning.

From there we visited Yad Vashem, the holocaust Museum. You can’t help but be devastated by such a place. The horrors that were done in that time are absolutely unspeakable. And yet the joy and hope that the people have survived that journey with is awe-inspiring. It was truly a moving experience.

We hurried over to the City of David and entered just in time—before they closed early for Shabbat. We travelled down and down in tunnel after tunnel seeing the ruins and excavations of a still underdeveloped site. There is much more to learn about this area. This site climaxed for us at Hezekiah’s tunnel—a half-mile long tunnel cut through the bedrock to save Jerusalem during a time of war. It was amazing to walk through, sometimes hip-deep, and try to picture the workmen chiseling such an impressive feat.

After lunch we spent some time shopping and learning about the future plans for the temple (according to scripture)—while standing above and looking across at the Western Wall. We ended our day visiting this holy spot for the Jews.

It was another amazing day. Our guide, Dan, is so expertly weaving together a story that helps Israel come alive for each of us. We can’t wait for our final and climactic day tomorrow!

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