Day 5

Fantastic day! Older cities and different cultures fascinate me. Danny walked us along the Palm Sunday path where Jesus made His way into Jerusalem. We stopped in the Garden of Gethsemane and viewed the oldest living olive tree-dates back 2000 years. Lovely garden. The Basilica of the Agony was built over the site of the older Byzantine church and a Crusader church. Inside is a rock that is believed to be the actual spot where Jesus knelt in the garden to pray.

We made our way to Bethlehem without Danny. Israeli citizens are not allowed to enter there. It has to do with politics and the people who are still fighting for control of the country. I don't understand it much. I guess I should read up on that a little more. Anyway, the first stop was the Church of the Nativity built over the traditional sight of Jesus's birth. This is one of the few places that we had to wait in line to go see. Danny is good about timing our tours or getting us through crowds. He jumps out into traffic to get us across streets and holds back crowds to keep us together. And everyone does what he says. It's quite amusing. Three different churches are housed here: The Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and the Catholics. Underneath the main floor is another floor that was discovered after an earthquake had damaged the building. A large section of elaborate mosaics was found. They have it fixed up with wooden doors that can close the openings so that chairs can be set up for services. The memorial marking the site of the manger is down a few steps through a narrow opening. The room is small, but is used for services. Once our group was in there, we were able to spent a few moments reading the scripture and worshipping. This is one of my favorites activities that we do, and I guess I have failed to mention it much. At many of the bibical sites, Stephen reads the appropriate passage from the Bible and we usually sing a hymn or two that fits the occasion. Very moving.

We then followed Danny through the streets of the Old City-eventually making our way to Saint Anne's Church. The Catholic church believes that this is the site of the home of Joachim and Anna- the parents of the Virgin Mary. The chapel is rather small, but with it's high dome how wonderful acustics. We sang several hymns and worshipped.

After dinner back at the hotel, most of us took an extra excursion to see the city at night. Danny and our driver, Shlomo (sp? Solomon in English) took us through a couple of Jewish neighborhoods explaining some of the different cultures and traditions of the people. We went through some modern areas with boutique shops and stopped for coffee. We also went into the Old City to visit the Wailing Wall. Since tonight is the end of Sabbath, many Jewish are here. Very interesting. Different sects of Jews are identifiable by their mode of dress. I feel intrusive and don't feel comfortable taking pictures here. There are separate areas for men and women to pray. Men are required to wear a head covering. We all entered the praying area, but I stayed back. The people here are so devote and I feel very lax in my devotion around them. We have witnessed people standing and praying in the corner of the airplane, in the airport and now here-very publically and unabashed. Makes me a little sad that for all of this devotion, they won't be joining us on the other side.

Tomorrow we spend the day in the Old City. Can't wait!!