Day in Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Welcome to another day of our Israel family trip. The final days are coming fast now and there is still so much to see. We gathered early (again) and took a short ride into Jerusalem to participate in a archeological dig. The Muslims, thirteen years ago removed four hundred truckloads of dirt within the Temple Mount. They used bull dozers, which destroyed the layers of history. The Jewish government stopped the project and after a while the government of Israel got permission to claim all the rubble, they are now using volunteers to sift through the rubble.  After a very informative lecture, we were allowed to see what we could find. We washed the stones and separated the different things we found.There were six possible things we could find, bone; glass; metal; plaster; and pottery.

Our group found glass, metal, tiles, pottery and nails. It was really a fun experience!

Next stop Bethlehem. We visited the shepherd's field and the Church of the Nativity. Boaz, our guide who is Jewish, cannot enter Bethlehem, so we had a wonderful Christian Palistinian. Most of the sites in Bethlehem are covered by churches, so it is hard to even imagine what it would have looked like. We did learn that Bethlehem was a small village of about one hundred twenty five people, when Joseph and Mary went there for the tax, the town swelled to about twenty five hundred, no wonder they couldn't find room at the inn.

We did make a quick stop at a store run by a Christian, it was a good experience.

We then returned to old Jerusalem to visit the Garden Tomb. This is a beautiful garden setting in the middle of all the busyness of the city. It is one of two possible spots for the burial place of Jesus. While we were there, we found a quiet spot where we together celebrated communion together. David shared a message that prepared us to take the elements. It was so meaningful for each one of us.

Now the day was coming to a close. One of the experiences Ken and I love to see is and wanted our family to see, was the Jews preparation for the Sabbath. They gather at the Western Wall, to pray and praise God. The men pray on one side and the women on the other. Each of us prayed at the wall and prayed for those we love. Whenever we have visited Jerusalem, Ken and I have prayed at the wall for our family, how special for us to have them gathered there with us praying.

Silas, waiting to go pray.

The sunset was beginning to close in on us, time to say goodby and try to process all we saw and experienced in God's Holy City.