Hope In The Midst

6 o'clock came around way too early this morning! Getting adjusted to sleep has been interesting, I haven't felt too tired until this morning when we left an hour earlier than normal. Today we had Jared as our guide again and we went back to Jerusalem where we were with him the first day. This time though we got to go up onto the Temple Mount where the famous Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock stands. It's a unique place as religions come together. Christians and Jews come to this mountain because they believe at the top is where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac and Muslims believe in their traditions that this is where Muhammad ascended into heaven. So it holds special meaning for all religions and somehow is shared equally, unlike what most would think. The struggle is in keeping it a holy site and a tourist site at the same time. There are only certain hours in the mornings on Sunday through Thursday when this site is open to visitors. During the other times it is closed for the Muslims who have their 5 ritual daily prayers. During this time on the mount we got to take in a little bit of both regions coming together in one place. This site is very holy and almost has a somber attitude towards it. Our clothing had to all be appropriate. Women had to cover their legs all the way and their arms basically all the way and men as well had to have at least their knees covered. As we walked around it seemed fairly serious as people awed at the sights. But just a little bit over, near one side of the Dome were a bunch of boys playing soccer together: laughing and teaching one another. Jared used this opportunity to explain the beauty that he saw in this scenario. While this may be a very holy worship site this picture of children laughing and playing right next to it paints the idea of God coming down to Earth in some way. It's not all about the holy worship like it was in the Bible times but it's so much more and having these two right next to each other blends nice to have this image in ones mind. I loved how he talked about that and while it at first seemed odd and strange, it was beautiful imagery that represented God and his people together. 

Al-Aqsa Mosque

Dome of the Rock

Boys playing soccer

Afterwards we went to the famous Yad Vashem Holocaust museum. Before we went in though Jared took us on a tour of the outside of it including the remembrance trail and it was great background info to have going into the museum. So when Israel started as a country they didn't really have an identity as a people or what little they had was stripped away from war. So they used the Holocaust experience to point towards hope. Even though it was hard and they felt deserted they looked toward the future. We walked through this "maze". Along the path there are inscriptions of communities that were destroyed during the Holocaust in these cities. The path went on forever, inscriptions going from ground to sky. The trees that surround the museum each have a name next to them. These plaques have names of people who helped Jews and risked their life to help them for no gain. An example would be Corrie TenBoom. There was a tree near the entrance to the museum that had many of the popular names and her tree was one of them there, so it was cool for us Americans there to make that connection. The museum is laid out in a way so that when you enter you go down into it and it's dark and depressing and is kind of a maze so you don't know when it's going to end. Kind of like how the Jews felt when the Holocaust was happening. Then at the end of the museum you exit and it opens up to a great view of Jerusalem and Israel. That symbol of hope and continuing to the future is a unique end to this tough journey. Sitting there and looking out at a city of people where most of them were persecuted for their faith, was mind boggling. And how they take this and make it into a symbol of hope and restoration is a testimony to all who walk through those doors. 

An example of one of the pieces of wall that has lists of different communities in specific cities 

Jared explaining the Valley of the Communities

Then we went to the Jerusalem market that is most popular, where many go to shop before their Sabbath meal. We were given 50 shekels for lunch and told to go find something new and exciting to try and strike up conversations with different vendors. That was one of the first times we have kind of been let free to fumble around and it was such an amazing experience. We tried food that we had no idea what it was but just walked up and asked for it! We talked to vendors, finding out from one man that he was from Italy and by the end of the quick exchange he told us he told Erika and I he loved us and gave us a nectarine just because. They all brought smiles to our faces and I hope we did the same for them! 

We ended the day at an Israel museum with many different artifacts dating way back in history including a scale model of what Jerusalem looked like back in ancient times (50:1 scale) and where they keep all the Dead Sea Scrolls. We ran out of time at the museum but those parts were definitely my highlights from it! 

Tonight was the reason I haven't posted yet! We gathered around the campfire and sang songs in Hebrew! We had learned these songs before we came, but to sit there around the fire in Israel and sing them was breathtaking... I was speechless.   Of course there were giggles and jokes and laughing as well that ended the night on a perfect note! Love the people that I get to do this trip with and the God that we get to worship through it! 

Sorry I didn't have as many pictures, they weren't cooperating tonight! And I don't feel like staying up late to make them cooperate! :)