What a day! We began the day in the old city entering through St. Stephen’s gate, near where Stephen was martyred. We went to St. Anne’s church near the pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralytic. Weaving through the old city, we made our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. There we had about two hours to roam this massive collection of monumental architecture, art, and faithful graffiti. We descended down the stairs to the Chapel of St. Helena and then further down to the Chapel of St. Vartan. There, where few tourists get to go, we saw stones and walls of Hadrian’s temple (160 AD) and parts of the original Basilica that Helena, mother of Constantine built (360-390 AD). On one of the Hadrianic walls is a drawing of a ship with the inscription in Latin DOMINE IVIMUS (Lord, we went), possibly referring to Psalms 122:1. It was left by a pilgrim to the sight in 330 AD while the church of Constantine was being built. We are grateful to Mike, our guide, because he pulled MANY strings to get us into the chapel. Two Armenian ladies went with us and I overheard them say to Mike, “Do you realize that this is a chance of a lifetime.”

We then left the second and fourth centuries to head up the stairs to the main church. Afterwards we headed to the Western (Wailing) Wall and to discover other secrets in the excavated parts in the area around the Temple Mount. We stood on steps where Jesus walked and we walked a street that Jesus walked on as he himself entered the Temple. What privileges.

I love coming to the Holy Land. Yes, we will be planning a return trip in a few years, if you are asking. But most importantly, we don’t need to walk where Jesus walked to have contact and sense of Him. He can live within our hearts. While in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I saw Orthodox pilgrims touching and kissing stones. At the Western Wall I saw persons offering prayers and kissing the wall. In Hartwell, we don’t need to kiss walls. We need to just ask Christ in our heart and He is there! I sensed Jesus here, but I also sense Jesus in the sanctuary and in the worship center. I have even sensed Jesus in the gym and by the fountain. Wherever we are, we can feel and touch and hear Jesus. We just need to be quiet, humble, and repentant. Wow! What is a holy place for you?

The drawing of a ship on the side of an ancient building block. Below the drawing was the Latin inscription DOMINE IVIMUS (Lord, we went), possibly referring to Psalms 122:1.

The Dead Sea loomed in front of us as we traveled from Jerusalem to Masada. The Jordan desert comes quickly as we pass out of Jerusalem, by Bethany where Jesus raised Lazarus, and into wilderness. We saw many Bedouin with their sheep and goats. Masada is always an impressive destination with its palaces and defenses in ruins. Frescos still beautify many walls and mosaics still cover many floors.

After Masada, we traveled to Qumran, where the Essenes lived and copied scriptures. They made their stand there and all lost their lives as the Romans made their way to Masada in 70 AD.

After lunch, we went to float in the Dead Sea. What a wonderful experience! You cannot sink in the Dead Sea because it is so salty and mineral rich. I witnessed a slight miracle while we were there. A family had a young man in a wheel chair. The wheeled him down the ramp and I witnessed him float in the Dead Sea. For me and others, you just lean back and then you bob like a cork. You could even read a newspaper if you wanted. This young man could, for a few moments, be just like everyone else. He did not need special floats, but he was watched like a hawk by a member of his family. His smile and joy was contageous. In the water, his differences did not matter. He was the same as everyone in the water at that time.

How many of us help others to feel welcome at church, in Hartwell, and in our homes. How many of us are truly aware so that those that may be different or have difficulty may feel as if they belong. We may see differences in others, but God sees only possibilities. Maybe the miracle is you and me and not “them.” Just a thought., have a blessed day!

Kathy and Bob in the Dead Sea

Mike is not that tall. He is standing on the curb and would not let me stand beside him.

Mike and Allen

Today we had a wonderful Sunday. We have prayed for each family by name in our congregation in the Holy Land. Also we have prayed for certain persons each day, often lightening a candle in the holy shrines in their honor. Thus said, we started the day at the Israeli museum. We saw parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as a detailed model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. The we headed south to Bethlehem and witnessed the true political and economic disparity of this land. We bowed through the small door to the mighty church, parts of it date from 360-70 AD. We were humbled by the antiquity of the entire place.

Afterwards, we toured Mt. Zion where the traditional location of the Upper Room is and other traditional sights. What a day!

In front of the Church of St Catherine, next to the Church of the Nativity, is a statue of St. Jerome. We owe him for his work in translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek to Latin. Jerome lived in Bethlehem from about 384 A.D. to 420 A.D. He lived in a cave under the church and wrote the entire time he was in Bethlehem. At the foot of the statue is a skull. It is a reminder to us that the first Christian martyrs were not the early Christians, but the murder of the innocents that Herod had killed trying to kill the Baby Jesus. These children were sacrificed to the will and power of an insane leader and his ambitions. What does that tell us today? What do we sacrifice to ambition and power?

Allen, Lillian, Kathy, Sandra and Bob in front of the Holy City