Rested and Ready to Roll
Rested and Ready to Roll!
It is currently 11pm here in Jerusalem, which is 3pm is San Antonio, we have finished up today's adventure and are winding down for the night. And when I say winding down, I mean BLOG TIME!!!!
First off, props to Kathleen Weiss for getting in at 4am, without her bags, and still hitting the city with us today at 7:30am. Now that's what I call a trooper, and she did it with style! A couple of the other "early morning" arrivers joined us a little bit later but we were still missing a couple of people throughout the day. So I am hoping to get you a picture with ALL the trip participants tomorrow.
Now onto the good stuff….
Today we started in the classroom as Jerusalem University College with some basic rules from the short-term program assistant, Terri, and then our amazing guide Becca began our study. We learned some great things about the geography of the Holy Land and how that plays into knowing and understanding more about scripture. Terri first informed us that we, as Americans, are too polite and that we need to avoid doing a couple of things while here. (this is good) She tells us that we are used to telling everyone "Hi" and "how are you?", but we should not do that here. And, that the culture says to not look a man in the eye or speak to him if you are a woman and do not know him. Yall, are you kidding me? Do you know me? "Are you new here?" (LK) I talk to everyone! And now I can't look at or speak to any male that passes me on the street? This is proving to be a bit of a challenge for my Louisiana Southern Hospitality self. I mean, I did go to Mrs. Dixie's Smokey Creek Charm School (a 2nd go around was probably needed) and this train of thought is not in line with those teachings. But, since I am a rule follower (hey, no comments from the peanut gallery) I will abide by these rules as best as I can. #JesusTakeTheWheel
Once Terri finished with her general rules and procedures, Becca started teaching. She is extremely knowledgeable and we are going to learn a ton from her over the next 2 weeks. One of the extremely controversial things she mentioned was about the ever so loved font, Papyrus, and that it is a font that came from the biblical times. Ben and I did a quick double take. Alyssa Carroll, our Communication Director, does NOT agree with that. Papyrus, who would have thought? #PapyrusForTheWin
We finished up our morning study session, had a great lunch at JUC, met a JUC student from TEXAS, and then we were ready to Hit the streets! Or so we thought. The streets of Israel are no joke my people. Becca mentioned several times "hills and valleys" and she wasn't lying. (short musical break for the song Hills and Valleys by Tauren Wells to run through your head - you're welcome) They joke about walking up hill, both ways, but that's really what it felt like most of the time. I was sure we were going to meet up with St Peter at the pearly gates at any moment; that's how high we had to have been walking up all those steps. (FYI, Mrs. Dixie didn't cover exaggeration in charm school). My fit bit says this: Floors - 50…WHAT???, Miles - 7, Steps - 17,051…and that is just in half a day since we were in the classroom until 1. Crazy, right? We all survived the crazy attack on our feet and most of the ladies got back and immediately put on some flip flop/sandal type of shoes. #StairwayToHeaven
The weather is perfect, yall. Sunny but cool and in some places a great cool breeze. We visited some sites today that took our breath away and for some of us even moved us to tears. We were walking where our Jesus walked. We were in the spaces that our Jesus was in. We sat in a place that our Jesus taught. And, we learned about a place that is likely the site where Jesus' trial was. And then the gates that they walked him back in to be mocked, beaten, and eventually led to death. Our guide said "turn around, this is likely Jesus' last view before he was led away to be crucified". Wow. My heart immediately felt the weight of that statement. Tears rolled from my eyes when she said it and are rolling from my eyes writing this. Imagine standing where OUR Jesus was standing looking out over the same hills and valleys OUR Jesus looked at shortly before He was tortured and crucified.
We then walked and saw several more breath-taking sites. We were in what is thought to be the Upper Room….like we stood in THE Upper Room!! We went into the craziness of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre….sooooooooo many people there. The church was beautiful and seeing an actual tomb was shocking. I can't find the words to explain what it feels like to see a tomb that is either that of or Savior Jesus Christ's or is within feet of His actual tomb. We stood at the foot of Golgotha!! Again, feet away from the place that Jesus took his last breath and said "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). We stood at the Western Wall and will be going back to spend more time in prayer later in the week(s). It is unreal and unforgettable. I have included several more pictures today that will allow you to see some of what we saw and I hope that this blog gives you a small sense of being here with us.
Thank you all for the prayers and support and we ask for continued prayers of health and rest for all of us. Please feel free to message me with any prayers you would like us to leave at the Western (Wailing) Wall for you and I will make sure it gets written, prayed over, and placed in the wall for you.
Sarah Morris,
Your Blessed Blogger
PS - Again, please forgive me for any typos or grammatical errors as my soul is full but my body and brain are fatigued. Also, we have additional pictures posted on our Facebook page.
