Jerusalem Day 11

Today was another early morning. We ventured off to about 3 more places. The first of which was to head to the tunnels under the Western Wall. This is the holiest place in Judaism, and is a recently new exhibit that even Pastor Jim hadn't been to in all of the times he had been to Israel.

It was extremely interesting. From the onset, we saw a model of the mountain on which the Holiest of Holy temples was built. it was very interesting to see how the city of Jerusalem sat on the mountain top, and how additional walls were added, and the mountain top flattened in order to build the temple. From there we saw how Herodian stones were carved, cut, and moved to make the ginormous walls of the walls surrounding Jerusalem.

At times it was very narrow and tight, and it was very long. But, it was an incredible experience to see the massive size of the wall itself. Yesterday, when we saw the outside part of the Western Wall, there were several bar mitzvahs taking place, and there was a lot of dancing and music happening everywhere around the square.

Anyhow, once our tour was over, we headed back to the hotel to finish packing check out off our rooms at the hotel. It was very early for us, as our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 11:30 p.m. from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. But, we had a few more stops along the way to make before heading home.

We then went to lunch and had a delicious buffet of kofta, beef and some chicken fingers, as well as many different kinds of vegetable salads. It was very good. And then again we were allowed to do more shopping. Which was fine, but at this point in the journey, I think I have enough off everything. I did end up buying a mezuza for the front door, and that was it. I think the average number off scarves that each person bought on the bus is about 8. In all, I think we have about 700 scarves on the bus.

From there we made our way to the Garden of the Tomb. This is where it gives a visual of what the crucifixion and the burial tomb of Jesus might have been like. It was a pretty peaceful place. There we had a communion service, sang "Beautiful Savior" and then I sang "Let us ever walk with Jesus" while people were having communion. It was a pretty neat experience as well.

From there we went to a small chapel in the Shepherds Fields which honestly was a bit forgettable. I think it was more of a time filler of a visit instead of anything else, and then from there went out to dinner at the Tent Restaurant. The food was quite good as was the company and the conversation. We had lamb kebobs, grilled chicken, and again a wide variety of table salads that were delicious. I have to honestly admit that I don't believe I have eaten so much red cabbage in my entire life. I have decided that I like hummus, and I like different vegetable salads. Hopefully with my Jordanian cookbook, I can get some ideas about what to make.

Once done with dinner, we had shared another round of hookah enjoyment. It was quite a hoot, especially some people in our group which I thought would be the last ones EVER to try it out. Then there were those that were much too pious or above the experience to even give it a whirl. It provided a bunch of laughs, combined with Karl, Faye, and Allison coming out dressed in Arabic clothing, doing some dance in the middle of the restaurant. It was hysterical! We enjoyed the time together, until we realized we needed to make it to the airport for our US Airways flight home.

Getting through security in Israel was interesting. We found our initial check in area. As soon as we got there, Pastor Jim was first screened for about 5 minutes from one of the security agents. Then each one of us were interviewed by an agent. Then, while we were in line for about 20 minutes to receive our boarding passes, a very inept and not very intelligent looking rep from US Airways told us all we needed to use a different line, even though I was the next person in line to check in. We proceeded to wait another 25 minutes in line, until we were really the last people tto check in, all of the ticketing agents were waiting for people, and the US Airways clerk starts checking in a few people behind us.

Finally, the supervisor saw what was happening ad told the guy to help us out. At this point, there were a couple of people that were REALLY bent out of shape about being jostled around, complaining about how poor the service was, and that it was the worst airline ever.

Apparently they never flew a non-stop flight from Hong Kong to Chicago on United, and were given an apology for the crappy service everyone was about to receive BEFORE even taking off for home.

Anyhow, I was glad to get away from the rest of those people, as I didn't really want to be caught in an incident with Israeli security. I really wanted to just get home.

Once through that, we then went through the regular metal detector (with shoes and belts and watches on I might add). We then went through passport control, and then another gate of passport control to eventually be led into the terminal. While there were many levels of security, I didn't mind one bit. While it took a little longer that what we do in the US, it's certainly a lot safer. And who cares if your convenience and personal information is questioned.

We then were only waiting about 20 minutes before we started boarding the plane. It was an overbooked flight, and I'm glad everyone in our group made it on ok. We said goodbye to Faye and Karl who were extremely nice people, and look forward to meeting them again when they come up to visit Diane. After a beer and a soda in the waiting area, it was boarding time for the US Airways Airbus A330 bound for Philadelphia.

In all this has been a great trip, worth every penny spent, worth every minute of sleep lost, and worth every prayer said. It was an incredible experience that I hope to share again someday.

Jerusalem Day 10

Today was a great day. The weather was amazing, sunny, not too hot, and a great day for walking the Via Dolorosa. Going through the first gate into old Jerusalem, we proceeded to the two chapels at the beginning of the walk, on where Jesus was condemned, and one where the scourging of Jesus was. Both of the chapels were very somber, but what bothered me the most was the inscriptions on the stone floor.

In the chapel of the flagellation, there were little game boards carved in the stone, which were games that Roman soldiers played at prisoner expense. Johnny explained the "King" Game where the Roman soldiers would pick one prisoner and dress and treat him like a king for a few days before killing the prisoner. It brought things to a very real perspective.

It was then that we started on our way through the winding streets of Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa, stopping at each station. The stations where Simon of Cyrene and Veronica were the most impactful for me, as well as the station where Jesus saw his mother. I cannot imagine what agony that would have been like, but to have to wind up the narrow streets, after being severely whipped and scourged, carrying a heavy wooden cross to a place where you knew you would die....I just don't have words.

As I reflect on Simon of Cyrene, I am humbled by his helping Jesus bear his cross, and to Veronica to provide comfort. So often in this world of ours, people don't do enough good for others. Perhaps this is a voice that I received today to perhaps listen to.

We made our way through the many stations of the cross before arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is where Jesus was crucified. I hate to even say that it was a disappointment, but the Catholic Church (and it's off-shoots) certainly know how to really commercialize or "crap up" sites that are meant to be holy. Greek Orthodox decor is WAY to ornate for my taste, and with the bazillion people in the church, it was just kind of one big mad house.

We stood in line to view the rock where Jesus was crucified, which is actually located under an alter, and took a long time to view. Part of the problem was 1) there was a group of Brazilians that were taking pictures (and not just one of everything, but 3 of everything each), 2) they all had to get their picture taken with a madonna type icon, and 3) had to each say a prayer, with 67 verses under the alter, kiss the alter, pat the alter, and genuflect at the alter before moving on. At one point, our tour guide, Johnny, told one young guy that he needed to move along, because there were a lot of people waiting in line. He must have been on verse number 124.

We saw Golgotha, and then made our way out of the church and up toward the Church of Our Redeemer (a Lutheran Church). Our group sang "Were you there" and actually did a fine job of it. All of a sudden, Johnny came with the key to the organ, and asked me if I would like to play. The one time I didn't carry my music with me, I said sure....not knowing exactly what I would do.

Then a man brought up our old green ELW hymnal, and I was able to play two hymns, "Where Charity and Love Prevail," and of course my all time favorite, "Wondrous Love." In fact, I improvised part of the latter hymn at the church in lieu of missing the music, and then really made the organ sing in the big stone church on the last verse, "And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on!" It was all I could do to keep from tearing up. The sound was so glorious, and the reverberation was about 4 1/2 seconds in the church.....it was GLORIOUS! I could have sat and played forever, but I realized that I only had limited time as the church was empty. Apparently, there were a couple of groups that stopped in to listen, and then everyone clapped after I finished my second simple hymn. I made it a point to choose an American hymn tune, and there is none better than "Wondrous Love."

I came down, and there wasn't a dry eye in the church. It was all I could do to not be teary too. For some, I was told that hearing the music and having me play was what made their experience hit them. Perhaps that was part of the voice that I've been hearing all week of my mom, my dad, and of the Holy Spirit. And while I had other music that I could have played, those two hymns, simple, plain, unadorned, spoke clearly for me. It was truly an incredible moment. Me...doing what I do, the gift God gave me, the voice of song at the Church of Our Redeemer, in Jerusalem, Israel, playing...for others in the world to hear.....it's very humbling. Quite the opportunity.

From there, we had lunch on one of the rooftops near the Lutheran church, which had a beautiful view of Jerusalem. The falafel and shawarma wraps were amazing again, and it was a great social atmosphere. before heading down to see the pool at Bethesda, and then touring the Church of St. Anne, which is where Mary's mother lived. This was another singing debut, only this time, the acoustics were even more impressive. I led the 19 of us in singing "How Great thou Art" which really isn't one of my favorites, but being an American tune and an American group, and having been given the suggestion by the French priest, I led everyone in song. I really didn't have to sing loud to hear my voice echo in the church over everyone else. It was impressive, as was the singing by everyone in the group. So much so, that the church was about 2/3 full by the time we got done singing. There were a lot of smiles when we were done.

We then went down below the church to see the spots where Mary's mom lived, before coming up to hear another group sing (this one was Russian), with a few people sitting there kind of laughing at how bad they were by comparison to our group. Again, the voice of song, the Spirit of God was in that place.....and what another glorious experience.

From there we headed to the bus, and back to the hotel, where we have to get things packed, get things ready for the journey home, and be at the social hour before dinner tonight.

ln all, what a great day. Music feeds my soul. And God sure gave me voice to touch others today. What a blessing indeed!

Bethany and Jerusalem Day 9

Today we ventured to Bethany to visit where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived. While the chapel was nice to see, Lazarus' tomb was interesting, in that it was a small crypt inside a cave. This was where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

From there, we traveled to the Mount of Olives to the Church Pater Noster, or the church of the Our Father, where Jesus taught the disciples the Lord's Prayer for the second time. There in a grove of olive trees, we had a short service with communion, and sang a couple of hymns. What a glorious day!

We ventured in the bus to look at the walls and the Old City of Jerusalem. To the left we could see Caiaphus's house, the eastern wall, the mosque, the dome of the rock, and the church of the Holy Sepulcher. Below was the Kidron Valley, the garden of Gethsemane, as well as the Jewish cemetery that was shown at the end of the movie "Schindler's List'.

Then it was a jaunt up the hill to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was really moving. There were several olive trees in the garden that were a couple of thousands of years old. According to the guide, an olive tree splits every 500 years, these olive trees had split at least 4-5 times. It was utterly amazing. Outside of the garden we went to the Church of the Nations, which represented the sadness and darkness of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It had striking purple stained glass windows, and mosaics of Jesus in Gethsemane. It was amazing.

From there we walked to another grotto of olive trees, which were in a more natural state to give an idea of what the garden might have looked like in Jesus' time. It was really beautiful. We headed back to the bus to go to lunch. The Petra Restaurant served us wonderful cold vegetable salads, and then chicken and lamb kabobs that were delicious, before heading on our way to Mt. Zion, the site of the Last Supper, David's Tomb, and the Grandson of the man who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.

We stopped at the site of the Last Supper, which had a cathedral built on top of the site, both Byzantine and Gothic from The Crusades. Again, it was nothing like I imagined it would be, but Jerusalem, with its sandstone walls and streets, is something to behold. Luckily I was wearing a hat today, as when we entered King David's Tomb, it's actually a synagogue. I had been fretting about the day I'd have to wear a yarmulke, as my head is extremely large. I didn't want the "one size fits most" yarmulke to look about the size of a small drink coaster covering a watermelon.

Aside from walking through a Yeshiva there with Hasidic men praying, and the women and men separated, I know King David is very important to Israel, I hate to even say that it was very uneventful to me.

What did impact me was visiting Caiaphus' home. Underneath where it was located (another Catholic Church) was the dungeons where Jesus was kept before being brought to Pontius Pilate. It's a pretty awful place, and after Pastor Jim read Psalm 88, it was pretty moving. I cannot fathom how along Jesus must have felt, having been not only denied by his disciples and betrayed, but also having the feeling of being forsaken. It was the second "lump in the throat" moment for me, and I think that the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services will have much more of an impact on me. I am humbled by God's love, and by God the Son who gave his life for me so that I would have eternal life. And seeing the places where his torture started to take place today was very humbling indeed.

After learning a bit about antiquities, and more jewelry (which I know nothing about), it was back on the bus back to the hotel. A group of us went to the King David Hotel, which is very famous for the dignitaries of the world who stay there. We had an awesome dinner, starting with a cocktail, a little potato croquet on a tartar sauce, breads with tomato spread and different kinds of salt, our appetizers (I had a celery flan, but tried sweetbreads for the first time as well as goose pate which was awesome!), and the main course which was filet with a red wine reduction served over vegetables, and then for dessert, pistachio madeline with pomegranate sorbet. To top it all off wwe were brought little finger sweets, pomegranate and peach jellies, chocolate truffles, and some praline things.

It was a great evening of fun, laughter, and conversation, and was a truly memorable experience in Jerusalem.

Tomorrow it's off to a memorable journey along the Via Dolorosa.

I can't wait!

Masada, Dead Sea, and Qumran Day 8

Today is the day that we ventured off into the Judean and Negev Deserts alongside the Dead Sea toward Masada.

Prior to venturing off, we had breakfast, which was a bit of a circus given the numbers of groups that are all here at the same time. At least this morning we didn't have an interloper join our group. Last night as we were eating supper, a woman decided to sit at our assigned table who wasn't from our group. We decided to name her Marie, as Marie (who was part of our group) wasn't feeling that well and thus stayed in her room for the evening.

Well, this morning, we ventured off to Masada. it was a beautiful day. We got to the park and took the cable car up the side of the mesa. Amazingly it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. After all, I break a sweat getting on a step ladder. We had two nice Scottish people join our group for the day, Lavinia and Andrew, who know Johnny our tour guide, and were staying in Jerusalem to visit their daughter who lives here with her husband.

Anyhow, once at the top, the views of the valley were breathtaking, as well as views of the Dead Sea. The sea has evaporated quickly, as we were able to see where a resort was built that happened to be on it, that now was about a half mile away.

It's utterly amazing how anyone could possibly live in this kind of climate, let alone at the top of a plateau. But the Zionists certainly did give the Romans a good go, even though the end didn't turn out so hot.

Imagining what is was like to live up there I cannot imagine. but it certainly was a great day to see all of the valley. After watching a video about the Masada, a treasure to Israelis in demonstration of strength and defense, we continued on our way to a private beach on the Dead Sea. We first had lunch, and then changed into our bathing costumes to experience the Dead Sea.

There is nothing else like it.

You can literally float on your back, and it's as if you're sitting in a floatie. You can float on your stomach, with your legs in the air as if you're on a water cushion. The trick was to figure out how to aright yourself on your feet. It was extremely difficult. The rules were no splashing, no drinking the water, no meandering off. Well, the water tasted VERY salty almost bitter. One member of the group got some in her eye, and was in a lot of pain. Trying to walk into the sea over the salt crystals was a challenge. It felt like you were walking on coral. And...if you had ANY abrasion on your skin, you'd feel it right away.

While in the water, my skin felt like I had put baby oil all over it, but as soon as it started drying, it felt very sticky and crusty. It was very strange. Again, there is no other experience I have had that will ever come close to it, but I'm glad I did it.

After taking a dip in the Dead Sea, we did some shopping in the cosmetics area where I was able to buy several different products made with Dead Sea salt and minerals.

Then it was off to Qumran.

Qumran is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, or, the oldest translation of all the books of the Old Testament of the Bible (except the book of Esther). Given the group that wrote them down as being Orthodox Jews, I'm not surprised that one of the few books of the Bible titled with a woman's name wasn't there.

Apparently a shepherd had lost a goat, and saw a cave into which he threw a rock, which in turn shattered a jar, which in turn held the scrolls. They never did say what happened to the goat, although after seeing the cave the scrolls were found in (which is high on a cliff, and has a pretty steep drop off), I'm fairly certain the goat was a goner.

The Asim's must have been very clean people, with the 5-6 mikvahs they had in their little community (and it was all men). With all the baths, I'm surprised given the location in the middle of the desert (even with large cisterns) that they were able to have that much water. After all, the Dead Sea isn't good for anything, except for salt.

After leaving Qumran, we sventured into Jericho, where we looked at Hebron Glass. It's beautiful glass, in greens, blues, and pinks. After buying a few items in the store (and getting them shipped home), it was time to breathe and say, ok...you've spent enough. But, I am happy with my purchases, and hopefully they'll make it to my home.

Yet again, another good day!