Amin and His Family

With closing thoughts of Israel, I cannot help but post pictures of our driver, Amin, and his family. They were so gracious to Becky and me. One of the most humbling moments of the trip was being in their home, being served by his lovely and gracious Muslim wife, and meeting his beautiful children. This truly put the phrase, "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem" in a new light. Amin lives on the Mount of Olives. I want to pray for this family daily. May we all be in heaven together some day. May Amin and Hillel and their families truly come to know my precious Savior as their own, somehow, some day.

Communion

What a blessed and precious way to spend our last moments in Israel....having communion in the Garden....

Oh Breath of Life, ome sweeping through us, Revive Thy Church with life and pow'r; O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us, And fit Thy church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us, Till humbly we confess our need; Then in Thy tenderness remake us, Revive, restore, for this we plead.

O Breath of Love, come breathe within us, Renewing thought and will and heart; Come, Love of Christ, afresh to win us, Revive Thy church in ev'ry part.

Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating While harvest fields are vast and white? Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting, Equip Thy church to spread the light.

The Empty Tomb

Jesus Christ is risen today, Our triumphant holy day, Who did once upon the cross, Suffer to redeem our loss.

Hymns of praise, then, let us sing Unto Christ our heav'nly King, Who endured the cross and grave, Sinners to redeem and save.

But the anguish He endured Our salvation hath procured, Now above the sky He's King, Where the angels enver sing.

Golgatha

Together with the Garden Tomb, this was the most moving place I visited on our pilgrimage. If this is not truly the place where our Savior was crucified, it bears all the characteristics of the place. I cannot help but think of my favorite hymn:
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.

Dome of the Rock

A most unnerving place.... It is said that over 4 million dollars worth of gold adorns the dome. Intricate mosiacs and designs of the pillars. Visible cracks in the supports. Opulent and yet empty shells of religion.....

The Chapel of the Via Doloroso

Ancient cobblestone streets. Ever present military, the finest of Israeli youth. Mary and the child Jesus. The Cross of the Mercy Seat. Scenes inside the chapel and out.

The Beginning of the Via Doloroso

What a fitting place to begin our journey down this sacred road.....
The utter simplicity of the chapel. The floor from the time of Christ with Roman gaming boards etched in the rock. The heart rending words on a small plaque by the door: We can only thank Jesus for His Redemption by choosing the way of His love--a love that does not fear suffering, that is sacrificial and even prays for its enemies.

Scenes along the Walls of Old Jerusalem

Saxafrag

How well I remember dear Jane Knudtson sharing about saxafrag.....rock breakers.....when we would take nature hikes in Colorado years ago. Plants which literally broke rock and hung on in order to live..... and in doing so, they paved the way for other vegetation to follow.
I saw this pictured time and again in the ancient walls of Jerusalem. I am inspired by these tenacious flora. How they picture acts of kindness and their effects on a hardened life or heart! Having the courage to take root and hold on in love to another whose life may be hardened due to their own actions or those of others.
By planting a small bit of hope, love, or kindness within a wounded soul, true Life is given a chance to break forth. May I become such a bit of life for any that God may place in my path. May I be faithful, Lord, with the Life you have so graciously given me.

The Upper Room

How beautiful to hear a lovely lady playing the violin as we approached the site. The lone instrument's music filled the whole area with an almost hauting melody. We were at the site on the Day of Pentecost, the very day of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church 2000 years ago. The place was full of pilgrims from all over the world and each group was praising God in a different language. One group would barely stop singing when another would take up the praise. The music filled the place. I was touched by the brazen olive tree. Its cut off trunk yielding new branches and shoots coming from the earth around it. What a fitting picture of the Church and its Savior.

The Upper Room

Caiaphas's House contd.

Site where Jesus would have been scourged. Steps leading to Caiaphas's house.

Caiaphas's House

The Sacred Pit, thought by many to be the "holding tank" for Jesus the night before he was brought to Pilate. Brought to mind Joseph thrown into the pit by his brothers. Caiaphas may well have been the owner of a vineyard. Present behind his house is a huge wine press.

Not Me, Oh Lord

Steps on which Jesus was led to Caiphas's house. Place where he would have met Peter's eyes as he was in the midst of denying Him. My fervent prayer here was for faithfulness. If a great man such as Peter could have fallen into this trap, how easily I can sink to the depths without the aid of the Spirit alive in me.

Stones of Remembrance and Gates of Glory

Our final days in Jerusalem... Views from the Mount of Olives. The joy that was set before our LORD. The walls of Old Jerusalem. The Eastern Gate. The Dome of the Rock where the Temple would have stood....one and a half times the size of the Dome and covered in much gold. (The Dome has over 4 million dollars worth of gold leafing on it.) The tombs where the dead in Christ will rise some day. I was deeply moved by the stones of remembrance on the tops of the tombs. Placed there by loved ones as they remember their dead....

Excavation under our Hotel

Actual excavation of cellar underneath our hotel. The abundance of antiquities amazed me.

Precious Becky Pritchard

Amidst all the times of reflection, God provided so beautifully in sending Becky into my days.... How much she provided times of laughter and sheer joy to my soul. Her contageous smile, her refreshing observations of this world, her generous, open, welcoming spirit all served to truly refresh and renew my soul! Thank you, God, for Becky!

For the Joy That Was Set before Him

....Endured the cross...
View from Gethsemane.
An ancient grave yard. Tombs above ground. Centuries of lives now silent. Even a wife of Solomon, her beauty now forgotten, lies here.
The Eastern Gate, where Jesus will some day enter Jerusalem. Gates now mortared and stoned shut. The joy.... knowing that stones cannot prevent Life from coming forth. Cannot shut out His coming in Glory.
That Life and Restoration will prevail some day...... All by means of His submission and humiliation and obedience, even to the agony of death on a cross. He will be exhaulted....in God's due time....

The Church at Gethsemane

Somber, thought filled place. Made to look like a dark night of the soul. Even the stained glass affected light seemed tinted with shadows and grief. Doors cast to look like the olive trees outside. Mosiacs spoke so plainly of the struggle that took place here. Mass with Russian pilgrims. Their songs and intermittent silence filled the place. I could do nothing but sit in awe and reverence....

The Shrine of the Ascension

Singing hymns together in the place where, supposedly, Christ ascended into heaven.

Gethsemane

Such a tiny garden. Ancient olive trees. Knarled, weather beaten trunks. New shoots springing forth from aged ones. Greying green boughs bearing fruit even today as they did in millenia past. Cannot but think of the olive presses we have seen and the sheer weight of His surrender here.... Such a still, quiet, sober place, despite the hundreds of pilgrims. Each person seemingly deep in thought and prayer....

Bascilica of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem

This was the newer Church in Bethlehem. I thought it especially beautiful. The adornments were simple and worshipful. All of the structure focused on the stained glass depiction of the Birth of Jesus.

Bethlehem and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity

The grafitti of a dove in the cross hairs of a rifle, the young policemen everywhere, and the tight security to the point that our Jewish guide could not enter the city all brought to sobering reality the Middle East conflict. There were two churches at the Nativity sight. This is the older. Centuries of incense and candles, together with neglect on the part of the Palestinians for Christian holy sites, caused the inside of this cathedral to be dark in so many ways. One had to kneel and enter another "eye of the needle" to come into the structure. A Jerusalem Cross that incorporated olive trees was carved on one of the pillars and I thought it especially beautiful. It was a humbling experience to kneel and touch the stone where legend says that Jesus was born, knowing that thousands of pilgrims for millenia have done the same.

Jerusalem

Breakfast in Israel

The Bible's picture of Jesus cooking breakfast of fish for his disciples made so much more sense after eating 10 days of Middle Eastern breakfasts. Although I'm still very much American in my breakfast tastes, I did learn to appreciate this fare, and actually think it much healthier than our food.