Walking the streets in Jerusalem

Shabbat Shalom from Ellie Mullins and Christina Garibay! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term Shabbat, it is the Jewish sabbath day which begins Friday at sundown and ends Saturday an hour after sundown. Shabbat is a day of rest for the Jewish people. We even have an elevator at our hotel that doesn’t even require you to press buttons. Despite it being a day of rest, Jerusalem was pretty crazy today! Click here to see some photos from today.

We entered the old city for the first time today and it was a bittersweet experience. We began by going to the pool of Bethesda where Jason Freehauf spoke on John 5, the story of the crippled man who was healed at the pool of Bethesda and how there is a hole in our hearts that only God can fill. He is asking us if we want to get well and be healed. All we have to do is accept the love that He is offering. But He does not force Himself on us. He loves us enough to leave the decision in our hands. And if we allow Him to enter our lives, they will never be the same again. As for us, we’ve chosen Christ. Not to say it doesn’t get tough or even difficult along the way, but as Christ as our center, our hearts are whole.

We are very blessed to have so many good teachers on this trip with us! The amount of things we are learning on this trip are not only amazing facts about the history of Israel, but actual things we can apply to our lives!

One of the coolest things about today was when we sang in a church that had amazing acoustics right outside the pool of Bethesda. Rich directed us in I Love You Lord and the Doxology which we sang all together as a group in front of some Asian tourists sitting in the church. I have to admit we sounded really good as a group! The acoustics might have helped a little bit… I really enjoyed that church because it was simple and not overdone like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which we visited next. The Church was built upon Golgotha, the place Christ was crucified and buried and then of course resurrected from the dead. It was incredible to be in the place where Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice. However, it was sad to see how those who visited the church were more into worshiping the place itself rather than Jesus.

After that we had some free time in the market area. There were lots of different vendors who all sold basically the same thing. We had a little bartering lesson from our tour guide Boaz and then we were off to shop for souvenirs. The market place was pretty crazy when we tried to walk 70 people through the narrow streets at once! Luckily we all stuck together and no one got lost.

After being in the Muslim quarter for a while we headed to the Jewish quarter where we went onto a rooftop that overlooked the temple mount and some of the city. We took a class photo there and then headed down to the Western wall. Since it was Shabbat we weren’t allowed to take pictures there and everything became a lot more serious. We approached the wall, the girls and guys had separate areas, and had the chance to watch both the people and experience it ourselves. The guys were required to wear a kippah or a hat and were not allowed to journal because it was Shabbat and that is considered work. It was very interesting to see how the people considered themselves closer to God by being closer to the Holy of Holies, when really God dwells in the hearts of those who believe in His name.

We wrapped up the day by going to the upper room where the Last Supper took place, above David’s tomb. It was another idolized church that was built on top of a Holy site. It was thought provoking to see all the different religions make a spectacle out of the different sites in the Holy city, turning the focus on the wrong things. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day in Israel, but as you can see we have been learning and growing so much through the diversity of what this place has to offer. Good night as we head to bed and look forward to tomorrow.

Click here to listen to thoughts from the day by Brougane and Elizabeth

Click here to listen to one of the talks from Jason at the pool of Bethesda

Click here to listen to the students singing “I Love You Lord” in Saint Ann’s Church

Click here to listen to the students singing “Let Us Adore” in Saint Ann’s Church

Click here to listen to the students singing “Doxology” in Saint Ann’s Church