Jerusalem: We’re Finally Ready

We started at the Temple Mount (Dome of the rock) built on top of the Second Temple (Temple of Jerusalem). We got to hear the word of God spoken quietly because it is not allowed by the Muslims.

Praying at the Western Wall:
The opportunity to pray at the Western Wall was meaningful. The prayers that we put into the wall will eventually be taken down and buried in the cemetery on the Mount of Olives. We got to observe Jews in the prayer ceremonies and several celebrations of Bar Mitzvah.

City of David - Reading from 2 Samuel we heard the story of David and Bathsheba sitting on the same veranda where David would have seen Batsheba. Humbling reminder of our own humanity and God’s grace.

Pool of Silom: John 9 - Jesus healed the blind man at the pool of Silom which had been newly discovered several years ago.

Hezekiah’s Tunnel: An adventure through the underground tunnel that King Hezekiah built to redirect water to save his city from an impending siege by the Assyrians.

Wonderful Israeli lunch dipping bread into shared bowls of various spreads.

Sobering walk through Holocaust Museum.

We visited Bethlehem and the oldest church (in Israel). We saw the place where some believe Christ was born. Bethlehem is in Palestine which is 90 percent Muslim. Christians are very much in a minority and it seemed they struggled and need our support and prayer.