Jerusalem Holy Sites

Wow! Tomorrow is my last day in Jerusalem… if all goes well that is. There is supposedly a nationwide federal workers’ strike that is supposed to start at midnight tonight and last all day long. If the workers’ go through with it, parts of Israel will be without electricity and the Tel Aviv airport will be literally shut down. Not the best news for us, since many of us are scheduled to fly out tomorrow evening. Danielle just smiles and says, “Welcome, to Israel. This is our world — a world of uncertainty.”

The food — that wonderful food I kept telling you about in the earlier parts of this trip? It’s getting old! (smile) I mean it’s still good and all, but I have to force myself to go eat at meal times now, where as earlier in the trip I was more excited. I think part of it is because of our schedule. I have mastered the art of “scarfing”. So many days, we have had literally just minutes to swallow down our food before going on to the next thing. That, and the fact that I long for steak, potatoes, and soft drinks galore, is why Israel’s food isn’t as “fun” anymore.

I have enjoyed this trip thoroughly and can’t believe my good fortune after talking with several other convention goers that haven’t had the same amazing experience that I have had. Yes, the schedule is full, the tour is sometimes grueling and physically draining, the buses are a little cramped, the weather can be a little hot and humid, but the experience of being in Israel, for me, far outweighs all of these other minor insignificances. I’ve barely noticed them — at least not until the end of the day when I am wiped out from sheer exhaustion! LOL!

Part of me longs to be home, too. Deanna tells me that Kella cries for “Daddy” whenever she is sad and that makes me about want to get on the plane right now and fly home. I miss Deanna and the girls a lot and look forward, so much, to my return. I have missed Destiny, too. The worship at the conference was good, but in my book, doesn’t compare with the passion and zeal of our team back home. I do want to take home some of Tommy’s new songs and teach them to the team.

At the last service this morning, Pastor Jack had a commissioning service including times of worship, messages from Glen Burris and Mike Larkin. They had a short time of focus on the youth movement, which of course, was meaningful to me. And the whole conference ended with a convention-wide celebration of communion and Pastor Jack blessing us. We even got to keep the olive tree communion cups!

I can’t remember if I had mentioned before the boxed lunches that have been delivered to our buses after convention the last three days. They were “okay”, but I’m glad we’re done with them. Not enough meat for a guy like me. Tomorrow, we are on our own again for lunch; this is the fourth time I think. Something that wasn’t mentioned very clearly in the travel information before we came. The food and drink around here is kind of expensive and I think everyone’s cash is running kind of low.

The touring today took us to all sorts of different places. We started at Mount Zion at the place of Peter’s denial and the literal pit that Jesus was thrown into after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemene.

Just outside the church are the stairs that Jesus walked to get to the Garden before His arrest.

From there we went to old-Jerusalem and visited the upper room, which was very moving. Each group, as they entered and found their place, started singing and worshiping.

In the basement of the same building, we visited the tomb of David, where some Jewish school kids and their teacher were praying.

We walked from there through the Zion Gate and into the Jewish Quarter. Daniel showed us the Cardo, or main walkway, from the ancient city and also parts of Ezekiel’s ancient wall. Just before entering the Zion Gate, we stopped and chatted a bit with Israeli soldiers. This particular group of soldiers were from all over the world.

Here we are going through the Zion Gate…

…and walking in the Jewish Quarter, along the ancient Cardo.

We were moving so fast that it was hard to find someone to take pics of me today. I don’t think I made it into one of them (Side note: I prefer pics with people in them, even if it is “just me”). That’s kind of a shame, as the next place we visited was another part of the retaining wall (an archaeological park) and the Southern Steps. The wall was HUGE and the stones used were MASSIVE! Daniel pointed out some very faint ancient graffiti that quoted scripture.

After our visit there, half went shopping (AGAIN) and the other half went back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner — that was me. I’ve been showering twice daily because of the heat. Once in the morning and once again in the evenings after our return. Tonight, I opted to have dinner and then go back to the room and pack up for tomorrow’s never-ending travel day.

We’re actually scheduled to tour most of tomorrow (some of the most exciting stops yet!), get dropped off at the hotel at about the regular time, eat, clean-up, check-out, and then get shuttled back to Tel Aviv at 8:00 pm-ish for our return flight to the States. We’re all praying that we won’t be stuck in the airport, waiting around because of the strike.

Palm Sunday Walk and “The Covenant”

I woke up, went to breakfast, and headed over for the morning session of the convention. I’ve heard several people saying that this was the “best convention in years”. I’ve only been to one other one in Colorado, and all I can say is that this one beats that experience by far. Ken Medema is so “the man”; his songs still get me every time. I’m keeping notes from all of the different speakers, most of which are from the nation of Israel and have ministries in the nation. Good stuff — all of it.

Daniel was easy on us today, taking us only to the Mount of Olives and what he was calling the “Palm Sunday Walk”, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. David ran to the Mount of Olives for sanctuary after learning of his son Absolom’s treachery. It was also the hill on which Solomon built pagan altars for his foreign wives and the crossing place for the scapegoat.

There were Israeli’s selling pictures, postcards, bookmarks, and embroidered bags on every corner. Daniel warned us before we left the bus that many of them were also professional pickpockets and to keep our wallets and purses either on the bus or very hidden. We took a group picture overlooking the old-Jerusalem landscape. While we were there, one of the pastors from Louisiana raised her banners — as she was instructed by the Lord — over the city. She broke out in tears as she did so and gave several of our group the chance to do the same.

Ever since the first temple, Jews have yearned to be buried on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Many believe that when the Messiah comes, He will descend the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem through the Eastern Gates. Once resurrected, they too will enter the Holy City.

Jesus frequented the mountain and traveled over it to visit his friends Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and Simon the Leper, in Bethany. It was here that He gave a major address to the disciples. He spent the night before his arrest in the gardens at Gethsemane, where Judas brought guards to arrest him, betraying Him the next morning. The gardens overwhelmed me and when we went inside the chapel where the rock Jesus was said to pray sat, I literally fell to my knees and the tears came immediately. To try and describe the moment would be futile; it was simply God’s presence meeting me in a very powerful way.

It was also from this peak that Jesus ascended into the heavens. The mountain’s slopes are filled with churches commemorating events in Jesus’ life. A tear-shaped chapel that we visited, Dominus Flevit Church, honors the place He wept while envisioning the dire future in store for the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Because of the lighter schedule today, we were able to get back to the hotel about an hour earlier than we have been. I used the time to catch up on publishing videos to YouTube from some of the previous posts. Problem is that my Internet service runs out this evening. I have to decide if paying for another day is worth it or not. It’s been nice being able to stay in touch with everyone. I guess we’ll wait and see.

The big — and I do mean BIG — evening production was a musical put on by the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem. It was AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLE and definitely a highlight of the convention. It was like the best part of your favorite movie, where your heart feels like it is going to fall apart, bursting with an overflow of emotion — either from joy or from sadness, for a full hour and a half! Everything was top class: the singing, the acting, the drama, the dancing, the costumes. Again, it was just INCREDIBLE! I wish I could show you the whole thing. Here’s some of the clips that I shot. I was close to “stage right” and right in front of one of the projection screens, so a lot of the shots are from the screen that was just a few feet away from where I was sitting.

When I got home for the evening, I shot my thoughts of the day video (below) and went back up to floor six to connect with everyone back home. I’m tired now, so I’m going to go back to my room and go to bed. There’s only a day and a half left of my stay here and then I’ll be back home. I feel like I’ll be going home with a different outlook in the fullest sense.

Jerusalem Museums

Today seemed to go by very, very quickly. Everything, from morning until this evening’s service, felt rushed. Maybe I’m just tired, I don’t know, but it did all seem to go by quickly.I woke up a little bit early (6:00 am) and wrote down all my thoughts from yesterday so that I wouldn’t forget. Then I showered and jumped on the shuttle bus without breakfast. That may have been a mistake as I was very hungry up until lunch — which is unusual for me as I rarely have breakfast. Hmmmm…

Anyhow, Ken Medema blew me away again and was my favorite part of the morning sessions. Both speakers grew in my heart an amazing love and new understanding of Israel, the Jewish people, and Jerusalem. Powerful stuff.

During the evening session, President Jack Hayford spoke to us about the six things Jerusalem reflects from the Bible and at the end we all anointed each other for “breakthrough anointing”. Whew! Also, before Pastor Jack shared, the musician that did all the flute-like sounds on “The Passion of the Christ” performed. Here’s some clips of music featured during today’s sessions…

I have a renewed sense of pride in the Foursquare movement. Pastor Jack is probably the best living example I’ve seen of an anointed servant leader. He personally approached me again this evening and encouraged me and blessed me with a short conversation as he was getting out of his V.I.P. taxi from the evening session. That made my day! (smile)

The afternoon of touring went by very quickly. There were cool-looking box lunches waiting for us on our seats when we arrived after the morning session. We literally had about 5-minutes to chow the included 2 sandwiches, plum, cupcake, salad, and water. I couldn’t finish before we got to our first stop, which was the Shrine of the Book museum.

Upon our arrival, we first visited the model city of old-Jerusalem — a very cool site to see. The model recreates Jerusalem in A.D. 66, when Israel was at it’s greatest and just before it’s fall. Here’s some video…

The second big part of our visit to this museum was visiting the actual Shrine to the Book, where scrolls and artifacts found in the mountains of Qumran were on display. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, so I don’t have much to share with you visually from that experience. Same with the next stop…

The next site we were rushed to was Yad Vashem, or the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. This museum is the Jewish people’s memorial of the six million that were murdered during the holocaust. Obviously, this wasn’t a “light” visit, and I found myself almost ready to vomit while walking through the whole thing. What a disaster and a terrible mark on history. At the end of the tour, we walked through a special darkened walkway with candles lit to represent all the children’s lives that were lost. Many were teared up after the visit.

It was a little too warm for me when I got back to the room so I took off my shirt immediately and was too tired to put it back on as I finished filming my finals thoughts for the day. Don’t worry, I shot from the head up!

Dead Sea Region

I stayed up late the night before and thought I had posted this day to the blog, but I guess not. That saddens me, as it was my favorite day of the trip so far and I wanted to post the blogs each day while the memories were still fresh. So, I’m writing this — day 5 — in the afternoon of day 7. Hopefully my memory will serve me well.

The first stop was Masada, a mountain that is 1,432 feet above the shore of the Dead Sea and 231 feet above sea level, 1,950 feet long, 650 wide, surrounded on all sides by deep ravines, and cut off from civilization by the Judean desert. The fortress of Masada was built for the personal needs of King Herod. He was worried that either the Jews or the Romans would try to overthrow him, so he built this private luxurious fortress-palace. He diverted the floods of the Judean desert into cisterns carved into the mountain and stored huge quantities of water, foods, and weapons there — all for his personal use.

Going up to the top in cable cars, I felt a little bit like Indiana Jones. The place was incredible and the view was absolutely grand. I did not look like Indiana, as you can see from this picture…

It was so cool, it kind of reminded me of a Disneyland adventure ride. It almost didn’t seem real. The whole day was like that. You can see that I was wearing my swim trunks in preparations for a dip in the Dead Sea later that day. Here’s some video…

Our next visit was Ein Gedi, a tropical oasis whose Hebrew name means “spring of the young goat.” It is so beautiful that it is found in a poetic description in the Song of Songs. It was here that David fled to the caves when he was hiding from Saul…

At lunch, we found our group going back to the Qumran area, where I was feeling decidedly sick to the stomach. After a somewhat lengthy restroom visit, I was doing much better, though, and was able to enjoy the lunch buffet. (smile) After lunch, I decided to give in and give the camel guy some dough so that I could say that I had ridden a camel in Israel. A friend taped the experience for me. I’m sure the girls back home will enjoy watching this one…

It was just a hop and a skip over to the Dead Sea after lunch. This was another unforgettable experience — again much like a theme park ride. You do not swim in the Dead Sea, as the water is comprised of 33% minerals and salt. Crazy! Daniel warned us not to get it in our eyes or mouth as it stings very sharply and doesn’t taste very good. I learned about the icky taste accidentally — yuck! It was a surreal experience — like laying on a waterbed while on the water which felt a lot like some sort of oily sunscreen. I could literally sit up and read a magazine while floating. I did the “superman”, triple twists, and every other impossible trick that you could imagine.

Daniel also suggested that we cover ourselves in the Dead Sea mud, which is used for healing and cosmetic purposes worldwide. Here’s some footage…

After showering off the Dead Sea — and still feeling tingly all over — we did an hour stop at a rather large Jerusalem gift shop. I had already purchased gifts for my girls and Deanna, so I didn’t do anymore spending…

After we got back to the hotel, I showered, ate, and returned via shuttle for our first night of the convention. It was a powerful evening, as one would have imagined. Ken Medema, an old friend and amazing musician from the Youth Specialties conventions is providing his prophetic voice and musical genius as a backdrop to all of the services. Quite amazing.

Here’s my thoughts at the end of day 5…

Lower Galilee to Jerusalem

This morning we all packed up and left our hotel at Tiberias and started our long Journey towards Jerusalem. Daniel, our tour guide, kept on telling us that we were going there last, because we had to “earn” our way there. (smile) Beth She’an was our first stop today. It is the Greco-Roman decapolis city where King Saul fell to the Philistines at Gilboa. It has been in just the past ten years that most of this site has been unearthed.The site was HUGE — upon first sight, it literally took my breath away. We toured the area’s ruins for two full hours looking at the ancient forum, marketplace, Roman bathhouses (including an ancient gym area), and a gigantic theater. We also drove by an amphitheater, where gladiators fought their battles and men were thrown to the lions…

On a side note, I’ve learned by now, that purchasing water on these long tour days keeps you going a lot longer. I splurged a little today and bought myself an iced coffee that hit the spot “just right”!

On the road to Gideon Springs, we passed by Mount Gilboa (pictured below), where King Saul felt forced to commit suicide when facing defeat by the Philistines. In light of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths, David cursed the mountain: “O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, nor fields that yield offerings.” (2 Samuel 1:21). As you can see (probably not as clearly as I could), this curse still holds to this day…

Gideon Springs was a refreshingly fun spot. Lots and lots of locals were enjoying the cool spring waters during our visit. I got in the water and demonstrated to my tour mates the correct way to drink water from the springs…

We were not able to visit the city of Jericho (other than a highway “drive-by”) as it was given over to Palestinian Authority as part of a peace agreement in 1994. It is believed to be one of, if not the oldest cities in the world. The oldest stairs and walls ever found are located at this site and the layers of 23 ancient civilizations were uncovered here that may be as much as 9,000 years old.

The last place we visited on this day was the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea where the Qumran, or Dead Sea Scrolls, were discovered. I remember taking a summer class on this when I was in Bible college. I found it all very boring at the time, but now am much interested in going back and re-reading my course material (smile)…

There was a couple of guys there with camels that were charging $1 for a ride or to even take a picture. I guess that I don’t even remember taking this little video clip, but I do remember that I did not pay for it! Ha-ha!

The last part of the day, of course, involved us driving up into the mountains of Jerusalem, another very moving experience. One of the female pastors on the tour — I can’t remember her name at the moment, but Pastor Ray’s wife — got up and started singing “Create in Me a Clean Heart”. That was pretty cool… and then one-by-one, different pastors started getting up and reading Psalms of ascension from the Bible. Psalms that were written while ascending to Jerusalem. When we finally came through the tunnel and saw all sites, the group erupted in cheers and applause. It was a glorious moment to be sure. Again, I found myself tearing up…

We arrived at our five-star hotel, where we will be staying for the next three of four days while attending the convention. During dinner, President Hayford, or more affectionately, Pastor Jack was walking around the room and welcoming everyone. I was touched on the back, so now, like Pastor Brent, I will never be able to shower again. LOL! My room is very nice, although it does not have wireless Internet capabilities — a big bummer. I am going to go right now and see about connecting on the main floor, which they say is an option. I leave you today with a few video thoughts that I just filmed this evening upon my arrival…