Thursday January 5

new author tonight…. Eric

Today was our first day on the bus. After breakfast, we boarded a short motor coach near our hotel shortly after 7:00 this morning. We spent the morning studying the layout of Jerusalem – both the Old City and the City of David to the South.

Mount of Olives:

Much of this time was spent on the Mount of Olives – which lies to the East across the Kidron Valley. The Mount of Olives plays out in the topography as it separates Jerusalem from the Judean Wilderness (areas East that don’t get as much rain…. Think desert hills). We read from Psalm 48 and reflected on the impact the topography would have had on would-be attackers – as well as the command to walk about the City (something you can only do if you are here). We also had the chance to view a New Testament burial chamber cut into the bedrock of the mountain.

Next we looked at the Judean wilderness on the other side of Mount of Olives. We reflected on Jeremiah 2 and how Jeremiah had to commute from the village he lived in, over the mount, and the sobering task he had to perform to bring God’s message to the people.

Further south on the mount, we stopped above the cemeteries and got a great view of the city and especially the Temple Mount and the City of David. We walked down the valley and visited 2 Catholic churches – one celebrated the place where David and Jesus wept over the City, and the other housed what may have been the Garden of Gethsemane. Once in the Kidron Valley (directly below the SE corner of the temple mount) we viewed some elaborate tomb/shrines cut into the bedrock that would have been there when Jesus traveled through the valley.

Herodian:

From Jerusalem, we crossed into the West Bank and traveled south along the ridge of the mountains on a route called the Patriarchal Highway - 10 miles southeast to a set of palaces built by King Herod the Great. This is the guy in the Nativity story that was a bit zealous – but he was an aggressive and ingenious builder with sites all over Isreal. The spot we stopped at on the edge of the wilderness has 2 palaces known as the Herodian – one palace and garden/pool below and one on a hill. The palace on the hill is extremely interesting – it’s actually a man-made mountain where Herod’s workmen moved the soil from one hill onto the next. On this hill an elaborate palace and fotress was built with a system of tunnels and cisterns underneath. This mountain fortress could be seen from Jerusalem.

When we got to the Herodian – we had our first ‘bus lunch’ which consisted of Pita bread, tuna salad, fresh veggies, cheese, and olives – with cinnamon crescents for dessert. Fueled up, we walked to the top of the Herodian and spent some time talking about the landscape. From the Herodian we could pick out the towers on the mount of olives and some of the buildings of modern Jerusalem. To the west we could see Bethlehem a few miles away. As David was a shepherd from Bethlehem, we read Psalm 23 while looking at the same land that David used to graze his sheep. My mental images of the green pastures and quiet waters in the passage were shattered in the land that lay before us. After a group photo and time to view the modern amenities of the Herodian (at least for the period of 0 AD), we climbed down through the cistern system.

Bethlehem:

Next we traveled to Bethlehem – not that quiet little village portrayed in our Christmas hymns. The city was bustling as Christmas is celebrated by the Armenians on January 7 – so the whole town was decorated (I even saw Santa). We visited the church built by Constantine over the cave where Jesus was believed to have been born. There is a grotto in the church with a 12 pointed start bolted to the floor – to mark the spot… but the line of tourists was so long, we were not able to view the grotto ourselves.

Following the church, we visited a wood shop on the hill near the church and the shopkeeper let us stand on her roof and evaluate the lay of the land from Bethlehem – identifying Jerusalem, the Herodian, and the Patriarchal Highway. Once back inside, we were given a tour of the wood carving shop and many of us bought some carvings made from local olive trees.

On our way home, we went through an Israeli checkpoint on the border – this was the first time in my travels I’ve ever had a soldier board my bus to check my passport – but it went smoothly and we’re back in our hotel for supper.

Tonight we have a tour of a tunnel under the Western Wall near the temple mount scheduled for 10:00 pm. As some of us are still adjusting from jet lag – this might throw a wrench in everybody’s body clocks as we won’t get back til midnight - the bus leaves at 7:15 tomorrow morning.

That’s it for now. Everybody seems to be staying relatively healthy and in great spirits. A few Advil after a day hiking the hills and mountains to deal with some sore muscles and we should be ready for tomorrow.

I know we talk about all of you at home and wish you well (a shout out to Rachelle, Jenna, and Emily – love ya!) Drop us a line and let us know what’s happening back home…. Or sign up to make comments on this blog and we’ll read them to the whole gang!