The Big Middle East Adventure: Part Four

last two days! i can do it!

day ten: temple mount (dome of the rock), bethlehem

temple mount- the place where abraham was to sacrifice his son, isaac. this is also where christ will rein during the millennium. burr, it was cold there, but we did see some pretty amazing things.

next up, we went to bethlehem. our israeli guide could not come in with us because she was jewish, and only palestinians could enter bethlehem. we saw the church of the nativity, the traditional site of where christ was born. we also saw the shepherd's field, where the shepherds and their herd were when they heard the wonderful news that christ was born.

after that, we headed back to jerusalem to walk part of the villa dolorosa, the 'stations' where christ was in the events leading to His crucifixion. there were even smaller crosses that people could carry to just get a taste of what christ went through at that time. it was very sobering to be walking the path that christ walked, while he was spat on, crowned with thorns, and burdened with a heavy cross. 

we also got to spend more time at the wailing wall. there were tons of bar mitzvahs that day, so we got to see plenty of boys become men with lots of dancing and music.

day eleven:  last day, guys! holocaust museum, garden tomb.

we woke up to a stormy and cold day. after breakfast, we went to the holocaust museum in jerusalem- yad vashem. sadly, we couldn't take pictures inside, so hence, there are none to post. there was a beautiful children's memorial in a separate building. you went into a room, and the name and age of a child was read out in the speakers overhead. it was dark inside and the only light came from hundreds of candles, each representing one child. mirrors were placed from floor to ceiling, so thousands of candles were reflected everywhere. when we actually got into the museum, it was so crowded. it was so hard to stop and read things with people yelling in spanish, japanese, german, and hebrew everywhere. that place was huge. you could zig-zag back and fourth for hours, and still not catch the fullness of this museum. amazing.

after that, we went to my favorite place of the trip: the garden tomb. we got to see many great things, but at nearly every site, the tour guide would say 'this is the traditional site' or 'this is where it may have happened', but at the garden tomb, it is impossible to believe that that wasn't the very spot where christ was buried and where he emerged three days later. even apostles say that is the site. our little british guide told us that excavators found no bones in the tomb. 'well of course they didn't! hallelujah! he is risen! of course he was not there!'. there was even a groove in front of the tomb where the rock was rolled in front of the entrance. there was such a sweet spirit there, and you knew it was a holy place. 

inside the tomb

you guys! that's all! i'm so happy i could share this experience with you. this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and i am so blessed to have been able to go. i wouldn't trade the sacred experiences i had while in jerusalem for anything. 

sara bareilles- king of anything

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