What a blessing this trip has been

It is hard to believe that this is the last time that I need to update you! We finished our tour of Israel in a great way. We started off by visiting Hezekiah's Tunnel. King Hezekiah was one of the good kings of Judah and built a long underground tunnel to a nearby spring, just outside the Jerusalem gate. The thought was that they would need to get access to the water supply in case an enemy would surround the gates. We were able to walk, or crouch, through the tunnel while water was up to our thighs in some places. The tunnel was very narrow and short at some points. We had to crouch down in order to fit through. It took our group 35 minutes to walk through the tunnel. It was a challenging and exciting experience!

Next, we were able to explore the Southern Steps. These are the steps that Peter would have preached from to the newly formed church of 3000 people in the beginning of the book of Acts. After preaching, Peter instructs that all be baptized after becoming believers. The challenge is, how in the world do you find enough water to baptize 3000 people at once? Just beyond the Southern Steps, there were discovered many mikvahs! Mikvahs are a bath used for the purpose of ritual use to achieve purity before entering the temple. These baths were then used to baptize the many new converts to Christianity!

What was next, proved to be very helpful. We went to the Israel Museum where they had on display a giant model of Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great. After seeing everything over the last couple of days, it was helpful to look at the city from a bird’s eye view and see where some things were in relation to each other. We could also see some things to completion that we only saw in part because they were ruins. The detail of the model was breathtaking.

We then traveled over to the Holocaust Museum. This was a somber experience, but helpful in understanding the culture of the Jewish people. We took a couple of house to walk through and educate ourselves on what happened during that tragic part in history.

To lift our spirits, we dined together and reflected on great memories that we’ve shared over the past 10 days. What a blessing this trip has been! We are so thankful for your prayers throughout our journey. We ask that you continue in prayer for a safe flight! God bless you all!