Day 12 - Back Home!

Finally home and well rested.  We have spent some time unpacking, sleeping, laundry, more sleeping and just catching up with life.  Thinking back to the last eleven days we will hold close the friendships we have made along the way.  The time we have spent laughing and hiking, praying and shedding tears will always be our best memories.  We had wonderful leadership in Joe, Cheryl, Brian, Bill and Mickey and they made each place we visited come alive with Gods Word.    

We loved hearing from each of you as we brought you along with us to the Holy Lands.  Its our hope that you have found this blog interesting and maybe raised a question or two of who this man Jesus was.  Always feel free to drop us a note, a text or call with any questions you may have.  We are always happy to share in the faith and hope that we have in Christ.

    

   

     

   

  

  

   

   

   

Day 11 - Our final day - The Holocaust Museum and the Garden Tomb

Today is our last day of our trip and we were fortunate enough to spend time at the Holocaust Museum.  This was an emotional but educational experience and I am confident you could spend a full day or two reading and viewing all that it had to offer. I thought the work the curators did in providing history of the Jewish people prior to Hitlers reign was done well and gave an understanding of all the countries where the Jewish people were impacted.  Overall the emotional impact on all of us and the disbelief was staggering.  Photos were not allowed in the facility but I was granted one photo on the inside.  The main hall felt cold, confining and restricted as Im sure all prisoners experienced.

  

  

Our last stop was the Garden Tomb.  This area does a great job of explaining Christs final days, His Crucifixion, His Burial and finally His promise he blessed us through His resurrection.  We shared in His memory by taking communion and Bill lead us in praise through song.  Joe delivered words of encouragement and the trip ended with all of us in prayer. 

  

  

 

And now we head for Tel Aviv to the airport.  We will fly abut twelve and half hours to New York, then onto Minnesota and finally Kansas City.  Every part of this trip has been unbelievable and spending it with our daughters is what we prayed for starting two years prior. 

 

Day 10 - More Jerusalem!

Today we toured the Western Wall tunnels that have been excavated and exposed Wall street and walkways during the time of Christ that lay under the current Muslim community.  We were able to pray at the Western Wall for all our family, friends and community and see the different religions and sects intermingle throughout this area.

 

We walked to the Southern steps of the temple and stood where Peter commanded over 3000 to repent and be baptized, beginning the Church.  The steps of the temple were staggered at different depths and size causing all who were not approaching thee temple in a concentrated and purposeful effort to trip and stumble.

  

On the backside of the Western Wall we looked at the remains of the temple thrown over the wall as the Romans destroyed it.  This is the original Wall street Christ would have walked.

   

We viewed the Via Dolorosa and walked through the Catholic Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We had a late lunch and spent a few hours shopping in the Jewish quarter in the Old City.