Walking Where Jesus Walked

Day 2 from Jerusalem: We began our day with a tour of the Church of the Nativity. It is in Manger Square if you have seen the pictures on the news at Christmas. We toured the church and then had to wait to be able to go down to the site believed to be where Jesus was born. Our group sang “O Come All Ye Faithful” standing in the grotto. Then it was into town for lunch and shopping in an olive wood shop. This afternoon we went to the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked through the market district in the Christian Quarter and made our way to the Western Wall or Wailing Wall as we know it. We were able to pray at this site – the most holy site for Jews. We then took the Rabbinical Tunnel Tour. We walked all along the outside wall of the temple mount – underneath the ground. It was amazing to see the excavations and to walk underneath the city. The tour ended at Antonio Fortress – the site where Jesus was condemned to die and was given the cross to carry. The actual arch He went through is still there – we began the walk that He took to Calvary. We did several sites today and will complete His walk on Friday. We also saw the pool of Bethesda and then sang in the Church dedicated to Sainte Anne – Mary’s mother. The acoustics were great and we finished the day with praise. Another group from Louisiana was also in there and we sang together. Our guide is an Israeli Christian and makes the Word come to life for us. We have really enjoyed our time with him. Thursday we will visit Jericho, the Dead Sea, Masada, and Qumran.
Pictures: 1) Our group outside the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem 2) St. Jerome’s room in the church – he stayed here 20 years translating the Bible from Hebrew to Latin so everyone could read it (the Vulgate) 3) In front of the Wailing Wall – Old City Jerusalem 4) Overlooking the pool of Bethesda 5) Singing inside Sainte Anne’s Church 6) Church of the Agony and Garden of Gethsemane (we will visit on Friday)