Today was a lighter day in that we had the afternoon free to do what we wanted. Four of us decided to go back to the Old City where we walked the ramparts (portion of the top of the wall around the Old City- see picture) and where we did some shopping (basically haggling and bartering for some souvenirs and gifts) and ate a delightful lunch of hummus, falafel, salad, dill pickles and pita bread. The food here in Israel has been wonderful and have tried many different dishes.
This morning we went to the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the national Israeli Holocaust Museum. All three experiences were amazing and very touching. After having visited the Washington DC Holocaust Museum, now this one, and all the advocacy I try to do for Darfur I continue to be appalled that genocide, injustice and inhumane practices continue to this day. As God's people we need to be raising our voices in protest and action!
Tomorrow we travel from Jerusalem to the area of Qumran where we will visit one of the caves that provided the Dead Sea Scrolls; then on to Masada; and lastly ending with a visit to the Dead Sea and a swim. We return to Jerusalem to get cleaned up and have our final celebration dinner with our group, our guide and our driver. They have been a blessing to us all week.
Thanks be to God for this amazing land and people!
Yep- genocide is a baffling and horrifying thing. Today we went to Old Fort Harrod for a field trip- one of our guides enthusiastically told us about the killing of Indians when it came to us taking their land... it was the Indians land BUT we had the right to the land because WE had the deed to the land from the Queen of England.... I groaned quite loudly and was just getting ready to speak up on befalf of the Indians when the subject was changed... it is hard to think of, it is hurtful to imagine, it is impossible to comprehend what ALL have suffered at the hand of others- BUT we must NO longer turn a deaf ear and blind eye! Start with prayer and open hearts... God can go a long way with our willingness!
ReplyDeleteSounded like another amazing day! I can't wait to hear more- Love Kirsten