Shabbat Shalom

Sadly this is our last day in Israel, but what an experience we've all had! It will be a pleasure to share the life changing experiences we've had with our families when we get home. And I’m not sure we could keep up the pace of Hezi for much longer. It has been a delight to have such an incredibly knowledgeable guide. Not only is he very academic but his life experiences and age give him stories that enrich our trip in a unique way. 


Today we get to sleep in and don’t have to be in the lobby until 11. Yeah!!! We are going to visit the Holocaust Museum (Yad Vashem) first this morning. I have visited a few concentration camp sites in Europe and I will say there is something about being in the location where an event occurred. Obviously Israel was not a place of death (in the since of WWII concentration camps) but a place of hope. As Zionism spread after World War II, the hope of survivors and all Jewish people was to have their homeland restored to them. The museum was established in 1953 and is located on the western slope of Mount Herzl on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem  adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest. The memorial consists of a complex containing the Holocaust History Museum, memorial sites such as the Children's Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, The Museum of Holocaust Art, sculptures, outdoor sites such as the Valley of the Communities, a synagogue, a research institute with archives, a library, a publishing house, and an educational center named The International School/Institute for Holocaust Studies. We were not allowed to take pictures on the inside. But our memories will last a lifetime.
 

The entrance has a garden that honors Gentiles who saved Jews during the war. Trees were planted in their honor.

This is the tree of Oskar Schindler. He was made famous in the movie Schindler's List. Corrie ten Boom also had a tree. Interestingly her tree died when she passed away and had to be replanted. The king of Sweden also has a tree in honor of the Jews he allowed to be smuggled into his country by fishermen.

Carol, Sondra, Patsy & Vivian in the courtyard at the Holocaust Memorial.

The synagogue at the Memorial.

The tomb of the unknown. This is not just for soldiers but for all  one+ million people that don't have documentation about how they died.

Entrance to the Children's Memorial that was built by a family from California who lost their son at Auschwitz. There were 1.5 million Jewish children killed in the war.

 The Memorial was very much like the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington DC and tells how the evil of the Nazi's spread across Europe like a foul wind. The museum detailed everything from the rise of the Nazi regime, the night of broken glass, the horrors of the camps and ghettos as well as the liberation. A special day of remembering is held at the Memorial each year for the survivors. In Isaiah 56:5 the people are commanded to not forget the events of their history.

A statue in memory of a Catholic doctor who cared for Jewish orphans. When the Nazi's came for the children, be refused to be separated from them even though he was a Gentile. He and all the children perished. Hezi is one of the best guides I have ever had. I am so thankful for his work with us this week. I pray that he will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

Whitney and Angie working on uploading pictures for the blog. Slow internet made for slow, tedious work!

I had to work in the lobby of the last hotel because the internet was so slow. Thank goodness for dear Melody Smith for watching the computer so I could take a bathroom break. Obviously after so many cappuccinos, I needed one. ;)

Eddie and Whitney

After the museum, it is off to lunch in Bethlehem and our last shawarma, falafel or schnitzel of the trip.  We had to say goodbye to our driver Eddie because he had to leave for a family wedding in Jericho. I will miss the way that Hezi would holler at Eddie, "Go man go!" after the head count on the bus.

Hezi explained that these are the main satellite dishes for all the communications in Israel. The picture doesn't do it justice. It looked like something from a sci-fi movie.

 As we left Jerusalem for the Valley of Elah we passed again into the West Bank. Hezi simply oozes history lessons. It's more than I could share in a blog. Without a doubt, I will be processing the information I learned on this trip for years to come. Once we arrived in the valley, we got off the bus and walked into a field where the Israelites faced the Philistines. As we know, David fought Goliath here with 5 stones. We learned that David probably chose 5 stones because he feared that after he killed Goliath he would have to face the brothers of the Philistine. We each collect 5 small, round stones to bring home as a reminder of this place.

Valley of Elah where we collected 5 stones like David.

The stones I collected.

 We continued to Jaffa which is where Simon the tanner lived according to Acts 9:36-43. Pastor Polson read to us as we listened to the sea in the background.

Pastor Polson reading about Dorcas-Tabitha being raised from the dead.

View from the promenade at Jaffa. It was a lovely evening for a walk by the sea.

Sunset on the Mediterranean Sea at Jaffa.

Our farewell dinner at Darby-Port.

Yum!

My tilapia was very good.

We are sitting at Derby-Port restaurant having a delightful dinner. Jim got the most delicious calamari either of us has ever tasted. My Peter fish (aka: tilapia) was fantastic as well. We are dining with a beautiful view of the sea as the sun sets. It is an absolutely perfect way to spend our last dinner in Israel. 

I shall miss this sweet group of believers. I am thankful for my new relationships with brothers and sisters from West Park. We are leaving for the airport now. Hezi says, "hubba, hubba!" So with that.... Goodnight from Tel Aviv; we are all ready to see our families. I know there is going to be quite a homecoming celebration when we arrive back into McGhee Tyson Airport! We will be back in America in 13 hours. See you soon!

Our complete group standing on the Mount of Olives with the Old City of Jerusalem in the background.

The City of David and so much more.....

The symbol of the City of David is the lyre or harp.

Today was an exciting day of trudging through flooded tunnels (or not), learning more about Christ's final days, visiting the garden tomb and taking communion as a community of believers. Every day I think, "this has got to be the best day....." and the next evening I think that same thought again. This trip is just beyond my wildest dreams. We started the day with a visit to the City of David (I know we Christians think Jerusalem is the city of David, but I am speaking historically of the ancient part of the city that David conquered and built). We saw a video on the building process....I know you get tired of me saying this but....oh my goodness....what tenacious builders they were. It is astounding to see the cities the ancients built with simple tools.

Guyer had a cat come up and make itself comfy on his lap.

Looking at The Mount of Olives from the City of David.

We saw a fabulous video that explained how David unified the tribes and conquered the Jebusites who lived in a mighty fortress in the city of Jerusalem. He challenged his top military generals to come up with a plan to defeat the city. The general who solved the task was Joab, and he coordinated the sneak attack on the Jebusite city. Remember David ruled about 1000 years before Christ. David set out to build a palace for himself and the temple to God. King Hiram of Tyre sent cedar trees, carpenters and masons to help build David a capital city. The ruins below are of his palace. Part of the remains have been excavated. Solomon, his son, will build the temple.

King David's palace

Ruins of David's Palace

The site of David's palace (where he wrote many psalms). Today it overlooks the slums of Israel.

Leslie Wisecarver at Hezekiah's Tunnel

Hezekiah's Tunnel also known as Siloam Tunnel was carved out during King Hezekiah's reign. He feared the Assyrians would attack and the city needed a water supply. So he had the aqueduct carved out of solid stone to carry water to the city. Part of the group did not want to get wet by trudging through the tunnel for 40 minutes. So those people took the "dry route." The rest of us headed down, down, down and hit the water.

Whitney heading down into the tunnel.

This is Warren's Shaft. It is likely that David and his men climbed through this shaft to attack the Jebusites in what would later be David's city.

Hezi who is 78 years old led the dry tour and Terry led the wet tour.

The blue lights mark the path of Joab who figured out how to use Warren's Shaft to conquer the city.

The well spring of the city. The people had to walk deep into the cave daily to get water.

I chose to walk Hezekiah's Tunnel, and it was so worth the effort. The pictures describe it best.

The tunnel was fairly narrow.

Joey held his flashlight for all of us to use.

In America, we just don't talk about something being 2700 years ago....but in Jerusalem it is a different story.

Melody and Cindy.

It took a minute for our eyes to adjust when we came up from the tunnel.

Ruth and Sean as they came up from the tunnel.

The wet tunnel group!!!

This gentlemen allows tourists to change out of their wet clothes after their tunnel adventure. His lodgings are very humble but it is a viable way for him to make a living while giving wet pilgrims a service we need.

Heading down into the tunnel. About this time I was thinking...."Have I made the right decision about this cold, wet tunnel?"

Our group resting a moment.

Pool of Siloam where water came into city of Jerusalem.

According to I Kings 1:38-39, this is where Solomon was anointed king. In John 9, Jesus heals the man who was blind from birth by putting mud on his eyes and telling him to rinse in the Pool of Siloam. Pastor Polson read us the scripture as we rested. Afterwards we changed out of our wet clothes in the rooms of the man mentioned above.

We love the goats and shepherds we see. The goats are actually on the Field of Blood which is the place Judas hanged himself after betraying Jesus.

 Next we headed into the mountains to the presumed birth place of John the Baptist.  The sign says "John of the Mountains." Of course a church has been erected over the place where he was born.

Place where Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist.

Entrance to cave where John was born.

 After we had a buffet lunch, we headed back into the city to Mount Zion. Some of the men picked up fancy yarmulkes. We were thankful for the nice road we traveled. It was built several years ago when the Pope came to Jerusalem and the leaders did not want him to have to walk to the sight of the Upper Room.

We entered the Old City by the Zion Gate.

Our group picture of the day at the King David statue. This statue was made by the same artist we visited yesterday. His nose was purposely broken off so that his true likeness would not be displayed.

 Pastor Polson read to us from Luke 22 about the last supper and about how a few weeks later the Holy Spirit would descend on the 120 gathered in that upper room. The views of the city from Mount Zion were beautiful.

The view from Mount Zion.

Another view from Mount Zion.

 The house of Caiaphas where Jesus was held until he could go before Pilate. He would have been beaten in the jail. It would have been dark with only the hole in the ceiling as a way in or out. Terry read Psalms 88 while we were down in the pit where Jesus was held. Again we sang Amazing Grace as a group.

This is the original road. So Jesus likely walked this very path on his way to Caiaphas' house.

The ropes would have been used to hold Jesus while he was tortured to give a confession.

The interrogation areas.

More ropes to bind prisoners.

The hole above the pit to lower Jesus.

 Outside the house of Caiaphas is where Peter denied Jesus three times. This statue serves as a retelling of that event.

 We headed to the Southern Steps of Solomon's Temple just as the Muslim call of prayer went out. It struck me how many lost people are in Jerusalem. It was a very poignant time for me as I prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and that the people of this city would know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The call to prayer for Muslims went out from this mosque.

 While we sat on the Southern Steps of the Temple, Pastor Polson read to us from Acts 3 and Psalms 122.

Leslie and Richard on the Southern Steps

Jack and Doris Catt

Since I have been traveling alone, Jack and Doris have made me feel like a daughter. What a precious couple.

Entrance of the tomb

Golgotha: The place of the skull. The rocks that formed the nose fell off this winter so the place looks different today.

The last stop of the day was the garden tomb. Our tour guide, Gordon, told us about the excavation at Golgotha (place of the skull) and how we had to look at scripture to decide if this was really the place where Jesus was crucified.

 We briefly got to go into the tomb. Praise God it is Empty! He is Risen!

Inside the tomb where the angel met the two Mary's and told them that Jesus has risen. Go tell his disciples.

Communion at the Garden Tomb was very special.

 It turned very cool and began to sprinkle before we left the tomb. After another excellent dinner a lot of us visited in the lobby as we reflected on the trip, played games and shopped. I went with Judy Chambers to a gift shop. I have never seen a better bargainer. She was amazing. She was able to negotiate a beautiful hand carved olive wood figurine for less than half the original asking price. It took a while but she got the price she wanted. I'm taking her with me the next time I have to buy a car! :)

Goodnight one last time from the Grand Hotel in Jerusalem.