Israel- Part 4.

Well friends, this is our last Israel update! As you can see, it was an incredible experience to say the least. Thank you for journeying with us!

Shalom!

Well, it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon here! Our time here has almost come to an end. It has been a fast trip, yet slow enough for us to soak it all in.

Friday we all needed a good, hard rest from our busy time up in Galilee. We slept in (we're officially on Israel time & now we head home!) and went to the shuk. This is a large, Israeli open market with venders on either sides of a 10 foot, uphill walkway. We bought so much delicious food- pita, sourdough bread, lots of different cheeses, avocados, peaches, apples, lettuce, etc. It was quite the (crowded) experience! After this we came home and snacked on all the fresh food we had just bought. After lunch we walked back to the Old City, which is about a 25-30 minute walk. (Everywhere we go we walk uphill- this is one vacation we won't be coming home with 10 extra pounds of weight on us!!!) We shopped around and ran a couple errands before coming back home. We made a wonderful meal for Shabbat, which starts Friday night at sunset. We had some of Keith & Laura's friends over and played games until late in the night. It was just the kind of day we all needed.

Saturday morning we went to church- Danny went early with Keith for a Bible Study and I came later with Laura & Maryann for the main service, which lasted a good 3 hours! It was really neat- their congregation is made up of Christians from all over the world. It's always great to get a new perspective on the Body of Christ- it far extends our own understanding of the "church"! After church we came home, ate lunch, and took naps. After all, it was the Shabbat! After that we drove up to the Mount of Olives. We read some Scriptures that took place there, that again gave us a new perspective on the Bible. On our way back to the car Danny took some pictures of a camel. They just tie them to the sides of the road up here and let people pay to sit on them! Poor little guys. Anyhow, we ended the night with homemade pizzas.

This morning we woke up early and walked to the City of David. This smaller city is what "Jerusalem" meant in the Old Testament. The first thing we did was walk through Hezekiah's tunnel! It was one of our best experiences yet! There is a natural spring that comes out of the earth, so Hezekiah chiseled underground bedrock to provide a water system for the city. We first walked down multiple staircases, then put on headlamps, and walked through a 2-foot wide tunnel in knee-deep water for a good 20 minutes! If you are claustrophobic, this would NOT have been for you! It was really neat- wading through a 3,000 year old water tunnel! You could still see all of the chisel marks on either side and above you. It was SO cool.

Then, we walked to the Temple of Herod, who built a palace on top of the City. You'd be amazed at what has been preserved and what kinds of materials he used to built such extravagant buildings. We stood on the southern steps of the temple and read through Acts 2, which took place here. Can you imagine- those steps were the exact place that the Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost, 50 days after Christ's resurrection! After this we walked back home, uphill of course.

Tonight we'll be going to Bethlehem, which will be our final site. We'll be leaving dark & early tomorrow around 4 am to catch our flight back to the states, and back to you all!

We feel very blessed to have had such an incredible experience. We can't wait to show you pictures and share more about our adventure. See you all soon!

We love you all,

us

Sites visited:

Mt. of Olives

Text: 2 Samuel 15:13-17, Luke 19, Matthew 21

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Text: 2 Kings 20:20, John 9

Southern Steps of the Temple Mount

Text: Mark 13, Acts 1-2

Bethlehem

Text: Luke 2