Sian's 12 Days in Israel: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Day 9 – Bethlehem, Calvary Communion & Garden Tomb

In some ways I can’t believe this journey is coming to an end. It’s 5:30 and I just got back in the room after another unforgettable day. I need to journal the last place first because it so fresh in my mind and heart.

Our adventure here in Israel began in Caesarea where Peter first preached the gospel to Gentiles and it ended in the Garden Tomb where we could reflect on Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

John 20: 8 “He saw and believed.”

Is it possible not to believe after seeing with our eyes what the Lord has given us to see? Yes it is because it is only by grace that we are saved and our eyes can be open. No historical site that we visited questioned Biblical accuracy; the questions were only of things we did not know YET. I am so grateful that I didn’t wait one more day to see, touch, feel, what I have been reading, hearing and believing. Before I came to Israel I believed with all of my heart and soul that Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again for my sins but now I go home with my story and when I teach my children and the kids of the Good News Club, I can show them my Footsteps Of Israel.

Throughout history two things have caused great divide, politics and religion. I’m not going to go into all the things we learned and experienced today but, I will say, today helped us to understand why “religion” is and, will continue to be the root of all wars. Religion claims truth but, the only one that can claim truth is God and His Word. Choosing anything but LOVE, will always cause wars. The answers to “where,” “what,” “when.” will never be fully answered but the greatest thing for Christians is that it doesn’t matter that we know EXACT locations, time or chains of events, the only thing we really need to be sure of is that we were standing at an empty tomb and…

Besides the skull-like appearance of a limestone bluff, a tomb and a garden that is located on the largest water systems 2,000 years ago, they can’t confirm the burial site of Jesus because there has been earthquakes and factors that may have disrupted the stone wall so it is possible that it is not original. After going to the church in Bethlehem (see picture) that is said to be the burial place and there are shrines to show us, I believe Jesus was buried in the Gardens because I felt the presence of Him and the Holy Spirit was so alive that people of other tour groups stopped and listened to our Bible lesson, our worship and finally our communion.

Golgotha
Skull-like limestone rock in the Garden Tomb.

This trip was life changing and I will never forget it. I know even more what it’s like to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Thank you Bonnie and Pastor Bob. I know speak for every person in our group when I say that your leadership and ministry is unwavering conviction and truth. I will cherish the 2 little lambs you gave me at Abraham’s Tent. Annie and Emma love the Lord and one day they will be able to do what I have. I love you so much and pray for God’s protection and blessing over you and your families always.

Claire & Tami going through a small door to the
Church of Nativity

We waited here for 30 minutes while the morning worship
in the lower room where the birth place of Jesus is said to be.

Bethlehem, over looking pastures and fields that the fields that the
Bible talks about where Jesus was born.
If we looked carefully we could see sheep grazing in the pasture

This is one of many caves in Bethlehem and according to the scriptures
Christians believe is more likely to be the location and the
setting of the birth place of Jesus

When the Bible says the Inn was full, in Greek it means "guest room"
so the Inn Keeper more likely offered the only other place they had available which was where
the animals were kept at night to keep safe.

Humble worship area near the birthplace of Jesus

Bethlehem is under Palestinian rule
This a mural that is on the wall as you leave the check point

Another part of the mural

City of David
When King David saw Bathsheeba in her home he looked
over down into this city from the Temple

The Bethlehem Wall (top right)
Since Israel built the wall there has not been a single suicide bombing

This door demonstrates that Jews and Arabs can live together in peace if they choose to.
One side is crafted by a Jew and the other by an Arab

The dungeon that Jesus was kept before going before the
High Priest Commissioner. At the end of Bob's Bible message, the light went out and we sat in the dark .
It was so moving and we felt the pain it in our souls.
Spike played a song before we left

Steps that Jesus walked up these stairs to Golgotha where he was crucified

We will

Garden Tomb

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Day 7-Mt. Of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Western Steps of Gate of Dung (really), Via De La Rosa-First 2 Gates, Pools Of Bethesda, St . Ann’s Church, & Wailing Wall.

3 Sheckles for an unforgettable photo

Our first day in Jerusalem was a very long but UNBELIEVABLE day. You can never imagine the immense emotion and awe that you feel in this city . We went to the Wailing Wall passing through all the markets in the old part of the city. David said that the site is best at night so we went after dinner and it was an incredible site to see. Tami, Claire, and I went with Pastor Steve, and his wife Sarah and Pastor Steve took us through the residential part of the Jewish quarter and we got to have a bird’s eye view of , what is the center of the greatest spiritual battle of the world, The Temple Mount. Just East and erected high above the Wailing Wall, the Golden Dome (Muslim Mosque built in 1619) is built exactly over the remains of the first and second Temple. The Wailing Wall is the Western wall of the Holy Temple and for the Jews it is the most sacred place to worship God and pray for 3 things, the coming of Messiah, rebuilding of the Temple and the Resurrection of the Dead.

The Mt Of Olives was our first stop this morning. This site is sacred and significant to both Jews and Christians and is a place of great joy and prophecy but it is also a place of great pain. The Mt. of Olives is where one of Jesus’ disciples, Judas, would betray Him but, it is also where Jesus ascended up into heaven after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to His Apostles. The Bible tells us that it is here, the Mt of Olives, the Lord will return in the last days. (Zechariah 14: 4) Below us were thousands of graves that people from all of the world have come to bury their loves ones. Jews believe with the coming Messiah people that are buried in Jerusalem will be guaranteed resurrection. David made us laugh because he said that when Messiah comes he will ask Him if this is the first time or second time he was here.

Pastor Steve delivered a great Bible study. (Mark 13) Steve’s main point was take heed, listen, pay attention…Wake Up! People try to predict “when” the end will come, but Jesus tells us in Mark 13: 32 that no one knows about that day or hour. Mark 13:28 says “learn this lesson from the fig tree, when it gets tender and its leaves come out it will be a sign that the return of the Lord is near.” Israel’s fig trees only started to started to grow and sprout after Israel became a nation again in 1947. Wow, when you think of it, it’s only in this generation that Israel became a nation and its mind blowing when you read all the other prophesies of what will happen in the world before the end times. Mark 13:35, Jesus’ tell us as Christians and followers of Him, “watch,” “be ready” do not let Him find you sleeping. I know that this is why I am here.

After the study we walked down to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was the night before He died on the cross. We were so fortunate because we got to go in the private garden entry; all the other tourists turned left and we went into a private entrance on the right. Instead of a Bible lesson Pastor Bob gave us 20 minutes to find a quite spot to contemplate what Jesus’ went through when He knew He was going to have to die on the cross to heal the sins of the world. He suggested we meditate on that and recommit ourselves to living for Jesus and not of the things of this world. Mathew 26. I have read this passage before but this time sitting in the garden every word sunk into my heart.

Great day and now I have to get off to sleep. We have an early departure of 7:30.

Blessings

Sian

It’s Day 8 today and we had an early outing to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount;, very interesting, and then on our own to do whatever we wanted. We decide to go to the Museum of Israel to see the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in Qumran in 1947. It was neat to see such ancient writings that were familiar biblically and so meaningful. Tami and I are taking a rest in the room right now so we are downloading our pictures and getting caught up on emails. I didn’t get a chance to write about the Pools Of Bethesda and St. Ann’s Church last night but it was one of the most memorable places I have visited so far so I can’t help but journal the experience.

The Pools of Bethesda is also know as the pools of mercy because a great number of disabled people would lie here waiting to be healed. John 5: 6, Jesus asks a man that has been disabled for 38 years if he wanted to be healed. Jesus told the man to “get up and pick up his mat and walk.” Pastor Mike gave us the message at the Pools and this is where God spoke so loudly to me about many situations in my life. John 5: 3 speaks about the blind, the lame and the paralyzed. This scripture was powerful to me not only for the message in my life but, for the eternal message for all our clients at New Start who are physically paralyzed. Until we ( independent of physical disabilities) seek truth we are spiritually blind and when we find truth we are lame, if our walk is not of Him but, of our own desires. And maybe the greatest of disabilities is becoming spiritually paralyzed, we become fearful instead of trusting in the Lord’s eternal promises.

John 5: 6 Jesus initiates help to the man at the Pools of Bethesda and Pastor Mike passionately pointed out, that is exactly what God does in our lives on a daily basis. Before I committed my life to Jesus I had roadblocks in my life and the only way to break those roadblocks was to go harder with my strength and understanding. I never understood my Mom’s faith until I began a personal relationship with Jesus. Thanks Mom for praying for me all those years. Being here is such a celebration of your answered prayers.

So many passages of scriptures during my visit to the Holy Land have come to life like never before. John 5: 14 Jesus sees the man who is healed and says “See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse will happen.” Anytime there is an amazing work of healing in our lives there is a great step of faith to believe that it isn’t coincidence or random intervention it is Him working in our lives.

After, we finished our study and Pastor Bob led us into St Ann’s Church to sing and worship. St. St. Ann’s Church is the only church perfectly preserved after the Roman conquering. The Romans fell in love with the beauty of the building and spared it from ruin and turned it into a place for Islamic studies. There have been so many highlights of my tip to Israel but, singing in St. Ann’s was something that touched me so deeply that I felt like I was in heaven. The acoustics are indescribable. There was no music just our voices and the sound was like that of angels. Our group sang about 10 songs, different people breaking into a new worship song. I looked around and I saw that I wasn’t the only one that felt this presence each one of felt a slice of heaven this day. Wow, as I walked out I looked at the entrance to the church and it looked so familiar and then I realized it looked like the church where my mom grew up and later would get married. It was called St. Ann’s Church of the Rhondda Valley in Wales. One day I hope my Mom and Dad will visit this church together, it is the most beautiful place I have ever experienced in my life.

Last stop was the Via De La Rosa. To be honest I didn’t know anything about this until a friend told me about it before I came to Israel. David took us to the first 2 Gates only because the exact route that Jesus took as He walked toward the place He would be crucified is not what we read about in the Bible. I believe the Via De La Rosa came from the time of the Crusaders so it is a Catholic tradition and something that David said that we could walk on our own if we wished. Pastor Bob explained after we go onto the bus that nobody really knows for sure the exact location of Jesus’ barriel site but, for Christians it is not for us to know “where” but “why" Jesus died at Calvary on a cross for our sins and for this we are truly grateful.

It’s 2pm, Tami is snoring so I’m going to get a little rest before heading out for dinner.

I miss you too girls. I can’t wait to see you in a few days. Greggy keep emailing me, I love to get messages everyday. Mom, I hope you are feeling great and Dad, don’t let Annie get the best of you.

Thanks for holding down the fort. I love you

Thanks for all the great messages. I haven’t responded because my time so limited.

Blessings

Sian

The girls at Ein Gedi

Steps of Western Wall

Street level where Jesus walked while teaching & healing

Excavation of the Wall and Roman Shrines

Lion's Gate

Bible study at the Pools Of Bethesda

Tami praying in the Garden of Gethsemane

Beginning of the Via De La Roasa

Sarah, Pastor Steve & me at the
Steps of the Western Wall

Camel day, after a great lunch we rode into the sunset!

David Citadel Hotel
This place is unbelievable!

White stone graves below the Mt. Of Olives

Pastor Bob at the Garden Of Gesthemane

Gate Beautiful
This is the gate that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and scripture tells us
that Jesus will enter again through this Gate when He returns.
After the Muslim Shrine was built, the Arabs closed off this gate.

Check out the rainbow on this olive tree in the
Garden Of Gethsemane

Via De La Rosa

Tami & went over to the Muslim Temple and took this shot.
This is only open at select times. Very interesting

Shopping in the markets of Old Jerusalem

Our VIP entrance to the Garden

St. Ann's Church at the Pools of Bethesda

Monday, March 28, 2011

Day 6 – Ein Gedi, Dead Sea Scrolls, The Jordan, Abraham’s Tent & JERUSLAMEM

Entry last night…

I was a little bit convicted last night for the YouTube clip I posted yesterday so I will share my heart on it. After dinner and a little browsing the tourist shops Tami, Sarah (Pastor Steve’s wife) and I went to the coffee shop for a cuppa. Pastor Bob and Bonnie were reading my blog because I had mentioned that I posted some great photos of today’s happenings. Anyway, because I feeling a little guilty of posting the “Pastor” clip, (if that guy is really a Pastor he should probably be De-Pastoralized) because God hates profanity and actually I do too. I meekishly asked Pastor Bob if he watched the YouTube video clip and right away Pastor Bob looked over his glasses at me and said,…”Are you kidding me, I don’t ever go onto any of those sites, do you know what would happen if I did.” Yes, I think most people that go to our church know the scrutiny Pastor Bob, his staff and the church are under and it is only by God’s power and Glory that those standards can be adhered to. So with that said, since I’m not a Pastor’s wife or in the ministry, I laughed so hard with Tami that I decided to share it.

Proverbs 31: 4-5

It is not for kings, Lempel it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget the law decree and deprive all of the oppressed their rights.

On To…

Day 6 – Ein Gedi, Dead Sea Scrolls, The Jordan, Abraham’s Tent & JERUSLAMEM

Entry last night…

Proverbs 31: 4-5

It is not for kings, Lempel it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget the law decree and deprive all of the oppressed their rights.

On To…

Day 6 – Ein Gedi, Dead Sea Scrolls, The Jordan, Abraham’s Tent & JERUSLAMEM

Ein Gedi is a natural camouflaged oasis of thick vegetation and numerous caves that David chose for refuge from his archenemy King Saul. This ancient city is where David demonstrated his mercy, compassion to Saul and obedience to God’s will

(1 Samuel 24:26).

Ein Gedi is one of the most ancient cities still remaining. (3,500 BC) and it is said to be the “Palm Springs” of Israel.

Each site we visit, most of our time is spent at our Bible Study. I love the way Pastor Bob has guided us through this tour of Israel, it really isn’t about hiking up to the top of the cave and taking photos, it’s about reading the scriptures of what happened at the site we are sitting. I love it!

Today’s Bible Study at Ein Gedi was incredible. Bob is always awesome but this message was especially great. The message came from 1Samuel 24, David Spares Saul’s Life. David (our guide) mentioned on the bus as we were leaving the Dead Sea that the Dead Sea was drying up and would one day be gone. But Bob showed us in scripture where it says (Ezekiel 47) that it will never dry up and it is incredible how scripture, that was written so long ago, can line up exactly to where we are standing and what we are actually seeing.

When Saul says to his men in Ezekiel 47: 15-20, go and look in all of Judah for David, it tells us the borders of Judah, is all of Israel and as we turned to our left and right we could see where we were in scripture. So cool!!!

Another really cool thing was that Tami and I just taught the Good News Club kids at Capri the Stories of the “Reign Of David” so all of this was fresh and alive. The main lesson of Ein Gedi was Psalm 37: 1-8

Psalm 37^[a]

Of David.

¹ Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Bob admitted that even he restles with this on a daily basis.

The opportunity came to be that David could have killed Saul twice before Saul could kill David. But David was a man of God and both times he spared Saul’s life because Saul was the King of Israel, God’s anointed one. David knew that God promised Him that one day he would be King but, David knew as a man of God it wasn’t to be on his time but in God’s time. After David spared Saul life Saul called a for a truce and go to go separate ways to the East and West but, David knew that Saul did not mean what he said so David stayed where he was in Ein Gedi for some more years.

This is significant in our lives because we have to ask ourselves if our words match up to our actions. Jesus tells Christians to stand strong for their faith but both the New and Old Testaments strongly warn about taking things into our own hands in anger and wrath. The Bible tells us that David was a man of God and he demonstrates this concept of letting the Lord be the judge. Bob says that Psalm 37 is telling us to do 3 things…

1. Practice patience

2. Submit

3. Wait for the Lord

Thanks Pastor Bob, your passion today spoke to me loudly and I know that you give us all of you every time and I we hear.

Our next stops were back to Qumran to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, which was really interesting, and,then to a site that I don’t think many tourists come but I am so glad we got to see it. Bob gave another amazing teaching here, the West Bank of the Jordan River. We have heard so much about the West Bank and we were sitting right there. This is the first time we saw, up front and personal soldiers with AK machine guns. Where we were sitting was the closest location, according to all the maps and archeological discoveries, where John the Baptist baptized Jesus and close to where the Lord separated the waters to lead His people to the Holland; where we were going next.

On our way to Jerusalem we had one more stop, the camel and lunch at Abraham’s Tent. This was a tourist highlight. We have laughed so much this trip but this was a topper. Seeing Tami riding a Camel was classic.

It’s breakfast time so have to go. There is so much more to write but we have a big day today in Jerusalem. We are staying at the best Hotel in Jerusalem and we heard when we arrived that Madonna was staying here. So I’ll let you know if I bump into her.

I love you Greggy, kisses for the girls. I miss you.

Blessings

Sian