Last Day in the Holy Land

This morning we visited the Garden Tomb, another traditional site of the burial of Jesus.  Our tour guide was an energetic Brit named Roy who reminded us that whether Jesus was buried here or there doesn't really matter, because He it Risen!  The Garden Tomb was a much more atmospheric place to reflect on the sacrifice made for us and we had communion after the men led devotions.  We were each given a small olive wood cup to take home as a reminder of this wonderful trip. 

We continued on to Yad VaShem, the museum of the Holocaust.  We only had an hour to go through it and I think we could have easily spend another hour in sober remembrance of the lives lost in Nazi Germany.  1/3 of the Jewish people were killed during this time.  David shared his reflections and personal connection to the Holocaust and we went to the candle memorial for the millions of children who were lost. We also saw trees dedicated to people who helped the Jews, such as Corrie Ten Boom.

 Then we said good-bye to David and traveled into the West Bank to Bethlehem.  Our guide there was Nemir who led us to the Shepherd's Field and the Church of the Nativity.  The two locations stand in contrast, much like the Garden Tomb and Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  One is quiet and peaceful while the other is crowded and chaotic.

We had to wait a short while at the checkpoint back into Jerusalem, and Langer, our bus driver, played Hallelujah as soon as we crossed through, but overall we had an enjoyable excursion into the West Bank territory.