Guess what??? We're in Israel!

I woke up this morning and first thing I said when I rolled over and said good morning to Erika was, "GUESS WHAT??? We're in Israel!!" And that phrase repeated itself throughout the whole day while the group made its way into Old Jerusalem, Hezekiah's tunnel, and the Western Wall.

It was a rough start to the day, trying to adjust to the time change and get out the door by 8 oclock. For most of the trip we're staying in a resort/hotel called Tantur Ecumenical Center. It's absolutely gorgeous. When we first drove up last night it was pitch black, but we could definitely tell that is was a beautiful place and seeing it in daylight this morning just confirmed that!

We drove to Old Jerusalem where we stayed all day. For most of the trip we have a tour guide, Jared, who lives in the area. We had the opportunity to meet him earlier in the year when he came and visited the states so it's nice to have a somewhat familiar face. When we first got there we went and learned a little about Israel geography which uniquely is shaped like how Peter is standing in the picture below. We got a fun little visual about where everything is in Israel before doing some touring.

Then we proceeded to a lookout where we got to see all of Jerusalem. One misconception that many people have (and that I had) was that Jerusalem is huge. It's actually not, it's just something that we have built up so much in our mind because it is the center of so many things that we read about in the Bible. Another misconception that many people have is that Jerusalem is built up very high in elevation when in actuality the water source runs from the Mount of Olives through the Kidron Valley towards the heart of Jerusalem. Then on the higher parts of Jerusalem is where the temple was so people would make the very obvious act of going up to a high place to worship God and this would require a time of meditation while they made this journey

Mount of Olives 

JERUSALEM 

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After seeing all of Jerusalem from a birds eye view, we went and saw some ancient ruins that archaeologists have uncovered and are in the process of uncovering. In this darkly lit area, there are large walls and stones that have been dated far back in history and are believed to have been a palace at some point due to the size of the walls and the area that they are uncovering. This site could have possibly been King David's Palace. In 150 years of archaeology in Jerusalem however, they have not found one thing that can be traced back to King David so it can't be scientifically proven. But to know that this is a very real possibility was definitely mind boggling!!

NOW WE GET TO MY FAVORITE PART!!! Hezekiah's tunnel!!! Jerusalem is surrounded by walls so if someone was to attack they were fairly secure. However when it came to their water supply, it all gathered outside the walls of Jerusalem. And in this very hot place (like we experienced today!!) water is ESSENTIAL! So King Hezekiah came up with this plan to create a tunnel that brings the water underground from outside the walls to inside of Jerusalem. It was all hand chiseled and one man started on side of Jerusalem and another man started by the source of water. They chiseled their way underground using sound. So while theywere chiseling they were yelling one another's name so as they got closer it was easier to tell where they were going to meet up. They also had people above ground, banging and making noise so the people underground had a direction to follow. It's amazing how intricate the walls of this tunnel were. It was a very narrow tunnel and pitch black. The first 10 steps or so we were in water up to our thighs
 and the rest of the time it was at our ankles. Man times in the tunnel we were ducking and crouching as we walked single file line for at least 20 minutes. To walk through the tunnel and run my hands over the walls that were chiseled so many years ago, was an amazing experience.

After Hezekiah's tunnel we walked to the temple and sat on the Southern stairs. This is where people came from all over to offer up sacrifices. And this is one of the places that we can be almost certain that Jesus walked. So to sit on those steps and hear Ben (our prof) read from the Bible of the story of Jesus at the temple as a little boy, gave me chills. 

We walked towards the Western Wall where we ate lunch. We got to eat pita bread, falafel, humus, and goat cheese. This is one of the "staples" in this culture so it was a good first meal for our time in Israel. And definitely got us more introduced to the culture!

We then went to the Western Wall. This is one of the holy sites where people gather from all religions and come to this wall. This Western Wall is the mount of the temple. So the temple would have been above it. It was a very solemn and religious experience as people walk up to the wall and pray, write
notes and stick it in the cracks of the wall, read Scripture, or sit there in meditation. Then many people as they leave the wall will walk backwards still facing the wall. I asked Jared about this, and he said it's a form of respect that many people do. They don't want to "turn their back on God" so they continue to face it as they leave. It was an experience that pushed me outside of my comfort zone but also was very powerful as well. 

It was a great day! Prayers would be appreciated as we continue on in our trip! Israel is just entering into a heat wave so it is going to be getting very very hot here starting tomorrow. We're trying to stay up on drinking water constantly and reapplying sunscreen on a regular basis but the sun is very draining and so prayers for strength and energy would be much appreciated! It's 9:15 here, and we're showering and headed to bed! 

Thanks again for reading and hope you're getting a little taste of this trip!