· Old City: Christian and
Muslim Quarters. So we did not go into the Old City today. But getting from the bus station to the Garden
Tomb takes us past our shopping area when we were at the Garden. We stuck our head in to say hi to one shop
owner who usually only works the early part of the day and then turns it over
to his sons. Freij. An Arab Christian. After the time at the Garden we stopped at 2
shops to get fruit, etc for us to have in our rooms. We will have a main meal together, then say
goodbyes when we get to the hotel. We
all leave at different early times, beginning with us and one other lady at
2AM/1AM. I will tell you now. There was a time change in the middle of the
night which confused our time. We got
there at 2AM old time to find out he was not coming til 2AM new time (we talked
about this at length with the man who ordered the ride). We were able to call and get him to show up
at 1:30 old time. That was sufficient.
· 4:00 PM: Garden Tomb. For Cindy and me this was especially
exciting. I could not believe how many
volunteers there were there that we had served with. What a blessing. I actually asked one of them to take our
group around. I did not want to make
them listen to me more than they necessary given how much they have had to
listen for 2 weeks.
o
So we got a great tour from Paul Doble from Cornwall in England (think
the “Yaak in Montana”, redneck folks, she’s our queen but we don’t always do
what she says). Then we went to the
tomb. Their being 8 of us and that being
the maximum number allowed in the tomb, we all got to go in at once. We did not over stay as there were others
waiting to get in. Yet as we took
pictures we were able to sing together “He is Lord”. Whether it is the tomb or not it makes you
think, as you are in there, about the reality of what it means when the angel
said, “He is Risen!”
o
Then we spent time at one of the small worship areas singing, reading Scripture
(8 things the Bible says about where the cross of Jesus was, and the
significance of each of these things), sharing communion together, praying
together and greeting each other in the Lord when it was done. I understand why the group I was in the first
time I came to the Garden, and why many, many groups, make the Garden the last
visit before flying home. Everywhere we
have been in Israel leads to Golgotha and the empty tomb.
We left early Sunday morning to go elsewhere: 4 people back to the States, one couple to Turkey to visit family who are missionaries there and then on to Africa for a month of missions work. As for us we are headed to Lithuania to see a grand-daughter and to complete celebrating our 50 years of marriage. Looking forward to a 4-hour train ride from Vilnius to Klaipeda where she attends LCC Christian University.
Tomorrow, its back to 2 Thessalonians, picking up from October 11.
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