Barkers, Rosens, and Jim went on a trip he’d read about in a book called “Jerusalem Easy Walks,” which concentrates on small areas of Jerusalem at a time.  We started at the St. Andrew’s Church, which was built in 1927 to honor hundreds of Scottish troops who died during WW 1.  

Just below the church are several tombs and burial caves from the First Temple Period.  It was here that two thin silver tablets from the 7th century were found.  Inscribed on them in ancient Hebrew was the priestly blessing from Numbers 6: “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” 

We also walked through the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and then explored the Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood, which features the Montefiore Windmill, charming stone houses, art galleries, the Jerusalem Music Centre, and views of Mt. Zion and Dormition Abbey. 

The real find here was the burial complex of Herod’s Family Tombs (which is only a couple of blocks from the YMCA and King David Hotel).  From the Second Temple Period and excavated in 1892, one of the tombs has an enormous round stone that can be rolled in front of the tomb entrance.  We remembered Mark 16: “and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.” 

We had a terrific day with the students on the Jericho field trip.  Jim had been last summer (when it was so hot).  Deanne had decided to wait until cooler weather—a good choice!  First we went to Wadi Qelt, St. George’s Monastery overlook, and a short walk through the real wilderness near what may have been the Mount of Temptation.

St. George's Monastery

Wadi Qelt

Security lead Mahmoud

A lot of desert!

Next to the Good Samaritan center and museum, with a devotional led by JoAnn Seely. 

Then down to the traditional baptismal site of Jesus at the Jordan River (and on the border with Jordan).  Because of the recent unrest, there were a lot of armed Israeli policemen at various intersections in the West Bank.  Our guide and bodyguard Mahmoud talked his way through the first roadblock. 

Mary Ellen Rosen, Adelaide Hunter, Brynne Petty, Syrena Dyreng at the Jordan River

Andrew Faust and Mark Drasbek

Two doves in the rafters of this shelter by the Jordan River baptism site--very appropriate for the location.

In Jericho we saw the amazing mosaics at Hashim’s Palace, toured the ruins of the ancient city of Jericho (with its neolithic towers, stone walls, mud ramps, and more).  

We saw Elijah’s spring, had a refreshments break at the Temptation Tourist Center where they treated the faculty to a typical Palestinian lunch! A surprise for us.

Jo Ann Seely

We had a 5-minute stop at the Zaccheus tree. Most New Testament translations say it was a sycamore tree, but some say a wild fig tree.  Well, the “Zaccheus tree” is obviously not 2000 years old, but it isn’t a sycamore, either.  It looks more like a Moreton Bay fig tree than a sycamore. Just wanted to clarify that!  

We ended at the ruins of Herod’s lavish winter palace, which in its day sported swimming pools, baths, gardens, and orchards.  

We ran into a much more serious roadblock leaving Jericho, but our driver Said maneuvered the bus through the traffic snarl, and Mahmoud tried to talk to the police.  The officer who was calling that shots was an 18-year old female, but she was carrying a big gun and wasn’t going to give an inch.  We ended up waiting another 45 minutes or so, but finally made it through the jam without the police ever boarding the bus.  We gave a cheer for the team and made it back to the Center safely. 

Raining, raining, raining!  We’ve all been praying for rain in this drought-stricken land. We are getting it!

Fun evening games with the "Cool Couples"