Final Day of a Trip of a Lifetime

We made it! Our last day in Israel was bittersweet to say the least. Throughout the past ten days we have become a family—many of us started out as strangers but the friendships we have formed will last a lifetime.

We began the day at the Mt. of Olives. All of us were a little cold and groggy but being on the mountaintop staring out over the entire city of Jerusalem with the golden Dome of the Rock and the temple mount in the distance. On top of the mountain is a huge cemetery—but huge doesn’t actually give justice to the enormity of this cemetery. It costs an astounding $70,000 to be buried there, which is why only the extremely wealthy are buried there; however, it’s free to be buried at any other place in Israel. Jesus spent many hours in prayer with His Father on the Mountain and the words He spoke thousands of words ago took on a new meaning as we stood on top of the mountain.

After this we made our way to Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested the day before his crucifixion. Gethsemane means olive press, which emphasizes how this place would soon become a place of immense pressure. Mr. Gregory gave an amazing teaching that captured the significance of this incredible garden to a tee. When we had the opportunity to sit and stare out to where Jesus would have seen the Pharisees coming to arrest him, we couldn’t help but imagine the flurry of emotion Jesus would have felt. He cried to His Father to do it any other way and began to sweat blood, but in an act of sacrifice for all of humanity, he surrendered his will for the will of his Father and surrendered to death on a cross. After Mr. Gregory’s teaching, we had the chance to take communion. There was something incredibly poignant and real as Mr. Gregory broke the roll of bread signifying Christ’s body and poured the “wine” signifying his blood. We then took the time to worship together. As the sun rose and began to awaken us from the cold, it became clear why Jesus had spent so much time in prayer with the Father in this place.

From the solstice of the garden we made our way into the hustle and bustle of an extremely diverse city, but our purpose was to walk the road that Jesus would have walked leading up to his crucifixion. We began at St. Anne’s Church and ended at the church of the Holy Sepulchre. If carrying a cross on his back after being beaten and tortured for hours after his arrest wasn’t excruciating enough, it was also the Passover, so over half a million Jews would have been crowded in the streets making it nearly impossible for Jesus to maneuver down the road that was taking him to his death. When we arrived at the church of the Holy Sepulchre, there was a different feeling in the atmosphere that each one of could tangibly feel. The church is divided into 6 different denominations, but the keys actually belong to the Muslims. Walking through the church, we all took note of what seemed to be very gaudy decorations and elaborate displays for what should be a place of reverence and recognition of the sacrifice Jesus made for each one of us. We were grateful to take in the culture, but for many of us, it was very different from our preconceived expectations. Walking through Jerusalem was very different than any part of Israel. In contrast to the solitude of Galilee and the majesty of Judea, Jerusalem is a city divided—a city full of more diversity than I have seen before, but even with the religious division, we still felt very safe especially with Ronen and Meir keeping us safe every step of the way.

Our final stop was the Jerusalem museum. Ronen finally came through on his promise to answer all of our “camels” (questions). Looking over a life size model of the city of Jerusalem put into perspective everything we have seen in the past few days. We have seen a lot; we have learned a ton, but most importantly each one of us has grown individually and collectively.

As we headed back to the hotel, we made one final stop to head to downtown Jerusalem where we celebrated with one final dance and one final song. We ended the night with the opportunity to thank Ronen (a tour guide who we all agree is anointed by God with the gift of teaching) and Meir (our bus driver who kept us safe and cared for every moment of the day). In the short time we have spent with them they have taught us one of the most important lessons of all—hospitality and discipleship. They invited us into their family and taught us in ways that each of us strive to be able to share with others. We leave the Holy Land with a new understanding of context, but more importantly a new love for this land and desire to share its influence with everyone back home. Although we are all a little weary from all the traveling and some are feeling under the weather, we are praying for good health and safe travels bright and early tomorrow morning. Israel, you have given each of us a new understanding, a new perspective, and new drive to dive deeper into discipleship and for that we are forever changed and forever grateful.