Rockpoint Church sends missionaries around the world. Learn more about our Israel trip here.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked
Monday, May
19
We
left the Dan Jerusalem Hotel at 7:30am to the Southern Steps which
was the main entrance to the Temple during the Second Temple Period.
While there we had a time of personal prayer. The steps are varied to
slow you down as you enter Jerusalem. These steps had been
refurbished. We walked through the Western Wall Tunnel that runs
along the hidden continuation of the Western Wall. Inside the tunnel
is the closet spot accessible to Jews to where the Second Temple
“Holy of Holies” once stood. The tunnels ave become a site of
prayer and spirituality because of that. We overlooked the Cardo
which is an exceptionally wide colonnaded street running through the
heart (or cardo) of Jerusalem. We began the Via Delarosa beginning at
Pilate's Hall where Jesus' journey to the cross began. We walked
along the Stations of the Cross ending at the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher. This is the church that was built over the sites some
believe to be where Jesus was crucified, his body prepared, and
buried. There are five different denominations that disagree over the
ownership of this very old church. We then walked through the
Armenian quarter into the Jewish quarter. The Jewish quarter was much
newer because it had been destroyed. There was a beautiful new
Synagogue therei. We left through Zion's Gate (Mount Zion), which is
still riddled with bullet holes from the 6-day War.
We
had lunch in a park, making our own pita bread sandwiches. We spent a
little time in the Israel Museum which is ranked among the world's
leading art and archaeology museums. Among the highlights is the
Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Model
of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period. Our very last stop was the
Garden Tomb (where others (and us) believe is where Jesus was
crucified and buried. We had communion and sang “Jesus Paid It All”
together as a team. A very special time. We and headed back to our
hotel listening to the song “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked”.
We packed up, had our final meal together, and thanked our guide
Boaz, driver, Doron, hosts Ken & Barb Lason and leaders Roy &
Lynette Fruits. What an incredible team. We were blessed.
We
made it through all the security checks at the airport and are ready
to board the plane. We fly through the night to Philadelphia. Then to
Minneapolis. This truly was the “trip of a lifetime” and we all
feel that we will be forever changed by our time here. Shalom.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
We had a GREAT dig experience today! This was a rare nail from a sandal from the 2nd century.
click here for video explanation
Temple mount sifting & dig
click here for video explanation
Temple mount sifting & dig
What an incredible Sunday!
Sunday,May 18
Our first stop was the Temple Mound Sifting Project. After a very
interesting lecture by the archaeologist, we were able to sift through
the ruins that were truck loaded out of the Temple Mound by the
Muslims and dumped. They were reclaimed by the Israelis and are being
sifted through every day. Our work was checked before we dumped the
rock. Our best finds were a nail from a Roman sandal by Mike Olson
and a pig bone found by :Paul Carlson. We all found pottery, glass,
metal, a pig tooth, mosaic, etc.
Those who were not claustrophobic went through Hezekiah's tunnel. It
was a long wait to do down and start and took about 30-40 minutes
after we began. It was thigh deep at one point in the beginning and
calf deep the rest of the way. The floor of the tunnel was very
smooth, the water clear and cool. Most of the tunnel was a little
more than shoulder wide and mostly abut 6 ft. tall. A few areas were
lower and we needed to duck. The end of the tunnel was very
high...maybe 20 ft. We sang Amazing Grace as we walked through.
City of David. They are excavations here and think they have found
King David's Palace...watch the new for more info on this...if they
find something that will identify it for sure. They are also
excavating across the street and will very soon announce what is
there. This is a new dig of maybe 3-4 years.
Population of the Old City is 30,000. The New City which was started
160 years ago has a population of 800,000.
Lunch was at a beautiful park in King David city. It is a very
expensive are with multimillion dollar homes. We had extra, extra,
extra large pretzels for lunch with goat cheese, hummus,olive oil and
hyssop. An authentic Israeli lunch..yummy!
We stopped at a beautiful overlook on the south side of the wall. You
could see the Israeli side and the Arab side of Jerusalem, which used
to be divided by a wall than came down after the war in 1967. Off in
the distance the wall that separates the area under Palestinian rule.
We were blessed to hear a lecture by Dr. Scott Carroll. A highlight
that words or pictures won't explain!!
After dinner we have a final sharing time together. Our team has
become like family. What a great group!
Couple of camel ride videos... see if you recognize any of the faces !
CLICK HERE FOR OUR CAMEL RIDE
MORE CAMEL RIDES
3RD CAMEL VIDEO
CLICK HERE FOR OUR CAMEL RIDE
MORE CAMEL RIDES
3RD CAMEL VIDEO
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Jerusalem, Bethlehem & Herodium
We started out the day with a photo overlooking Old Jerusalem. We
then went to the Mount of Olives where Roy did a teaching. We took
some time to pray individually. We walked the Palm Sunday route down
to the Garden of Gethsemane. At the bottom of the Mount of Olives,
close to the bed of the Kidron Valley, are a number of extremely
impressive burial structures carved in the rock, including the tomb
of Absalom, the son of David. After a pretty long uphill hike, we then entered Old Jerusalem through
the Lion's Gate, also known as Stephen's Gate. We went to the Pool of
Bethsaida. We sang in a church with fabulous acoustics. The video is on another post. We walked out the gate...with cars, trucks, and
motorcycles all on the same road..and path outside the wall to the
Eastern Gate. This is the Gate that the Lord will enter when he comes
again. We took a group photo there. (The gate is sealed shut.)
We left to go to Herodium and Bethlehem. We dropped off our Israeli
guide, Boaz, as he is not allowed to go there as it is under
Palestinian rule. We met up with another guide who took us up to
Herodium. He built this artificial mountain that could be seen for
miles around to ensure he would never be forgotten. It covered 62.5
acres with palace, fortress, and lower Herodium with a pool, and a
tunnel system that we went throughout. Herod was buried there—his
tomb discovered just 7 years ago. Another good hike!
We ate lunch at a cafe in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is quite a large city
now...not what you probably picture in your mind. Bethlehem is 25%
Christian and 75% Muslim. Our guide was a Christian and we shopped at
Johnny's Souvenir Shop to support the Christians there. We then went
to the Church of Nativity, the oldest church in the Christian world.
This is built over the place where some believe Jesus was born.
After a busy day site seeing, some headed to the outdoor pool for a
refreshing swim and others to the spa and indoor pool. We had dinner
at the beautiful buffet and then headed out to the Antiquities Shop.
We have had many opportunities to purchase gifts and souvenirs and
this was another opportunity to see many interesting items...even if
one didn't purchase. Pots, jewelry, olive wood items, coins,
rugs...etc.!
Another memorable day in Israel!
(Disclaimer! It is so hard to remember what we did by the end of the day as we do a lot! If missed something or this is out of order, hopefully some of the team will catch it so we can correct it.)
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