Following in His steps

Today was our last day of our Israeli adventure, so we packed in as many sites as we could, here in Jerusalem. We started our morning at the Mount of Olives, which is one of the hills outside of the main city, so we had a gorgeous view. The first thing that caught our attention was the Dome of the Rock, the second was a camel. Here in the city, people will do anything to earn money, including 5$ camel rides on the mt. of Olives. Heaps of tour buses began to flood the area by the time we left.

We wandered down busy one way streets, lined with tourists. Finally we reached Gethsemene, the garden where Jesus was betrayed, and where there now stands a Catholic Church. Our little group huddled up on the steps in front to read from Mark 14. The sounds of the street right beside us threatened to drown out Tyler as he read aloud to us.

More busy paths, and a small hill lead us up to the city gates, where we passed through the Lion's Gate (Sheep's Gate in 1st century). From there we found the pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a paralytic man, and St. Anne's Church. In this city, you through a stick and hit a biblical spot.

From there we entered into the Muslim Quarter, where the vendors are practically stacked upon one another, and the corridors are so tight, you have to walk single file. The movies do not do these types of places justice; the smells, the feeling, the constant elbowing of incoming traffic, it is chaos. Eventually we found our destination, the Via Dolorosa; Way of the Cross, the path Jesus took to be crucified. According to catholic tradition, there are 14 stations of the cross, such as places where he dropped the cross, or was mocked. We followed it through the busy pathways, and came to the church of the Holy Sepulchre. At the time we got there, the call for Muslim prayer was also playing from the speakers into the courtyard. It was sensory overload to the max.

We had a lunch of kebabs and pita, followed by shopping and haggling! The key to shopping and street vendors, is to never accept their first offer. Another key, is if you're walking in the street, and some tries to hand you something, don't grab it. They will relentlessly pursue you until you purchase it. Some of us in our little group learned that yesterday.

Our last stop was the Israel Museum, where we saw a model of 1st century Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ronen tested our knowledge of the 1st century city with a quiz all around the model, and the winners got coffee from the gift shop! All in all, it was a wonderful last stop, a lovely way to wrap up all that we've learned.

Tonight, we said goodbye to our wonderful friend Ronen, a bittersweet moment. Though we are happy to be heading home tomorrow, we will miss our friends, and they country we've become so aquatinted with. No words can truly, accurately describe our time here. By the grace of God, we've been changed on this trip. We will all cherish these memories forever. So for the last time, Goodnight from Israel. Shalom friends.