The great city of Jerusalem

Shalom friends and family!
We have finally arrived too the great city of Jerusalem! The name itself either means “city of peace,” or “complete city.” In Jewish culture, this place is of the utmost importance; it’s a place to come to be closer to God. As Christians, it was so special and awe inspiring to see the ancient walls of the city, and to imagine Jesus walking through the very same streets that we were treading upon.

We started off our tour of this historical place visiting the City of David, which used to be the city of Zion in the time of the Jebusites. David chose a neutral location to be the capital of his kingdom, and he brought the presence of the Lord to where one of his covenants with Abraham was given so long ago.

As we were still in the City of David, we journeyed through Hezekiah’s tunnel. A few individuals hiked through the wet tunnel to the Pool of Siloam, and the rest of our group journeyed on through the dry tunnel. Hezekiah’s tunnel, after a war that destroyed so much territory, became a symbol of victory, of obedience, and of following God.

Next we visited St. Peter’s Church in Gallicantu on the mountain of Zion. Not only was this where Peter denied knowing Christ, it was where Jesus was held captive at the house of Caiaphas after being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a humbling and somber moment for all of us travelers as we sang a hymn about our neediness for God, for his grace and mercy, as we stood confined in the deep pit that was believed to hold Jesus the night before his crucifixion.

We made a stop to visit Herodium, where one of five palaces of Herod the Great was located. After this site we made our way into Bethlehem, where we visited the Church of the Nativity which is thought to house the birthplace of Jesus. It was incredible to see the great contrast between what would have been an extravagant palace of a king to the dirty and lowly birthplace of the King of Kings.

We also enjoyed a unique shopping experience to bring a reminder of our time in the Holy Land back home with us.

As the sun sets on our first day in Jerusalem, I am completely overwhelmed at the remarkable sacrifice Jesus made for ordinary people like you and I. I can’t speak for all of my fellow travelers, but speaking from my personal experience, today was one of the most emotional days of the tour thus far.
We thank you for your prayers as we continue to traverse on this incredible journey.

Much love, Katelyn Krezman