May 19

So it turns out the minions were not very tall…and not very wide. One activity for the day consisted of treading through shin deep water through dark and narrow tunnels that King Hezekiah dug underneath the Old City of Jerusalem. It was quite the ridiculous experience…in a positive way of course. :)

We arrived back in Jerusalem yesterday evening. It is nice to spend the last few days of our tour relaxing in a place that is familiar. And Jerusalem really is a special city.

Our first day back in the Old City started with a breathtaking view from the top of Mount Olives. It is easy to imagine Jesus coming over that very hill and weeping over the city because of their ignorance of their Messiah (Luke 19).

We spent some time reflecting and gradually made our way down the Mount. After a quick stop at the Chapel of Tears (because if you haven’t noticed by now, they build a church to commemorate everything), we made it down to the Garden of Gethsemane. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed into the garden so we spent some time on the outside looking at the fenced in garden. A powerful image to picture Jesus sweating drops of blood and bearing the burden of sin for all humanity before being dragged off to his trial.

Of course our time in Israel would not be complete without camel rides! Eight of us rode a camel on the Mount of Olives – his name was Kojak.

In the afternoon, we had a bit of free time and stopped by at a shop called Shiro Shim. Erik had known about this artistic shop and invited the owner to say a few words to us. It was a great opportunity to hear from yet another living stone – and this time the viewpoint was that of an Orthodox Jew. He talked about his beliefs and gave us a glimpse into how the Jews view the law and their relationship with Yahweh. It is definitely different from our modern, evangelical, Christian worldviews! He also spoke about how his idea of peace in the land is finding a solution that promotes progress because he doesn’t think that any government will come up with a solution that will make everyone happy. A voice from the other side of the equation ultimately wants peace: the ability to live with each other despite their differences. While we remember the oppression of the Palestinians in the land, let’s remember to pray for miraculous reconciliation. Even if it will only come in baby steps.

After one more underground tunnel tour – this time along the west wall of the old temple – we had a late supper and retired to the deck of our American friends, Dave and Sandy. I’m sure we are all exhausted (and poor Papa Jeff has a nasty cold) and our feet and legs are wondering why they had to work so hard today. But, it is our second to last night in Jerusalem…so we’re living it up.