Israel with Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries - Last Day :(

Well, here we are on our very last day!  I think everyone on the trip was so sad that the final day had come and so we were all trying to make the very best of it all!  We were going to focus the whole day pretty much on Old Jerusalem which is inside the Gates.  But before we would go to the Old City we would take a final bus ride up to the Mount of Olives.  The Mount of Olives literally is an olive grove up on a mountain that is very scenic and looks over the city of Jerusalem.  And it is beautiful!!!




MOUNT OF OLIVES

See what I mean! This is the view from the Mount of Olives looking over the Old City.

                                            

Here is a pic of my friends Sandy and Tammy and myself

There were people everywhere taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.  And of course, Beth brought us another message.  I loved it when she would teach the Word and many others (not in our group) would stop to listen to her!  

                                    

Here we are assembling to hear Beth teach.  And many others were listening too!!

Before we left this area - many of us had the chance to ride a camel!!  Yeah, a CAMEL!

Here are several of the camels.  Isn't the lady on the far right making a funny face!!!!  Think she's having fun?!

And I thought I had dental problems!!!!!!

This is my friend Ronda!!

Yes, this is me!  Not sure if it was worth the $5 but I had to get this picture for my grandkids!!

OLD JERUSALEM

Then we left The Mount of Olives and headed to Old Jerusalem.  We had to wait quite awhile to be allowed to enter the Old City.  But it was worth the wait!!  Arie was so very knowledgeable of the Old City.  He introduced us to so many areas that I'm sure I will get something wrong!  So forgive me if I do!

                                     

While we were waiting in line - these two girls asked the soldier if they could take a picture with him.  We were told NEVER to take pictures of soldiers!!  Guess he thought they were cute cause he sure didn't mind!!

As we were walking through one of the corridors of the Old City I saw this young Orthodox Jewish family looking at a brochure.  Even though you see these people all through Israel - I thought they were so unusual.  And if you knew how very hot this day was - they had to be super-hot under all these long heavy clothes!!!

Arie was so careful to give us very specific facts about each location he took us to.  We are about to enter the area of the Temple Mount.

TEMPLE MOUNT

The Temple Mount is one of the most fought over places on earth!  The Temple Mount is the same location as Mount Moriah.  This is where Abraham was told to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice.  This is also the site where Solomon built the first great temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  The second temple was built by Zerubbabel and rebuilt and enlarged by Herod the Great.  This was the temple that Jesus went to in Matthew 24.  Today it is the location of a Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock. 

The Dome of the Rock

Sandy and myself in front of the Dome.

Some of my new sweet friends by the Dome.  Me, Judy, Sandy (my roomie) and Betty. 

They were all so much fun!!!

EASTERN GATE

We then walked to the Eastern Gate.  This is the Gate from the inside.  It is the only Gate into the  Old City that has been sealed over!!

¹ Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. ² The LORD said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it." Ezekiel 44:1-2    

Here is the Eastern Gate from the outside of the gate.

The Eastern gate is now considered by the Arabs to be their exclusive property. They have sealed it up and blocked off to prevent Jesus' return!!  However one day, Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives, with all His saints, and walk down to and right through the Eastern Gate and into the Temple area. 

The Temple Steps (Psalms of the Ascent)

Arie then took us to my next most favorite location of our trip.  The Temple Steps!  I never would have thought these would be so special but as Arie told us about the steps and how very ancient they were he also showed us how his own father taught him the Psalms of the Ascent to sing as he walked up these steps.  Just as our forefathers had done thousands of years before us - on these very steps!!  

As Arie walked the steps - he sang.  It was so beautiful to watch!! 

 I found this description of the Psalms of the Ascent.  

"In the Old Testament there are fifteen psalms called the "Psalms of Ascent,"  These psalms were to be sung when the children of Israel came to Jerusalem and ascended to the top of Mount Zion three times a year, where they would hold a feast before the Lord. The physical ascent of the Israelites up Mount Zion is a type, or a picture, of the spiritual ascent of Christian believers through their growth in life and experience."

We then walked the Temple Steps and prayed or sang as we walked them.  
This was an emotional moment for me!

And of course, Beth taught us from the Word.  And "Hawk" kept the relentless sun off her.  And let me tell you....it was H-O-T!!!

As we were leaving the Temple Steps and heading towards the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall) we passed these young children.  I thought they were so cute and wondered if they were on a field trip!!  

THE WESTERN WALL (THE WAILING WALL)

We then started going towards an area I was very curious about.  I'm sure we've all heard about the infamous Wailing Wall.  I have seen pictures of Jewish people standing there praying and I knew it was traditional to write your prayers on scraps of paper and leave them in the wall.  Beth encouraged us to all write our prayers on paper and leave them at the wall.  She also had previously encouraged us to take something literal that signified our prayer and actually leave it somewhere in Israel.  So I wrote my prayer which was for all for my family and put our family Christmas picture (from my wallet!) inside my written prayer.  As I prayed at the wall, I left my family picture wrapped up inside my written prayer wedged between two huge boulders.

Here is my prayer written in purple ink!!!

The wall is divided into two sides - The Men's side and the Women's side!!  I had to stand up on a chair and take this picture looking over the fence that divided the two sides!

The men's side is much larger than the women's side!!

This wall is the only part of the old Temple still standing. That's why it is so "revered" by Jews.  It is considered to be the most holy place for Jews to pray!

There were all ages, all faiths, and from all parts of the world there praying!

Many were praying and some were reading out of their prayer books.

You certainly don't have to be praying at the Wailing Wall for God to hear your prayers - but something about being there and praying was so "Holy".  Yet, I know God hears our prayers where ever we are!

Arie suggested we read one of our favorite verses at the wall.  This is what Betty is doing!

Some chose to put their prayer way up high!!!

As we were leaving I saw this cool old man leaving the men's side!

And I saw this young Jewish boy running through the courtyard!!

VIA DOLOROSA

And did I mention it was steaming hot!!  And believe it or not....we were just getting close to lunchtime!!  So Arie led us through the super-small corridors to the inner city.  These corridors are also known to Christians as the Via Dolorosa.  The Via Dolorosa is the path that Jesus took from Pilate's "court room" to Calvary.  It was a continual uphill climb and I can't even imagine our Savior carrying His cross through these very small pathways!

See how narrow they were!

We saw lots of kids playing in the corridors!!

Remember me telling you about sweet Delores???  She was the one that was sobbing on the bus as we entered Jerusalem!!  Well here's Delores walking along the Via Dolorosa with lots of our other friends!!  

One of my most favorite meals was eating lunch at a sidewalk cafe in Old Jerusalem!!  We had this amazing Israeli "fast food" called a Falafal that was so much healthier than our fast food!  It was sort of like a salad in pita bread.  There were little round hush puppy-type things that were fried chickpeas then all drizzled in some kind of amazing dressing!!  I was a little reluctant at first but they were so YUMMY!!  

And then after lunch we got to hit the sidewalk vendors for some more fun shopping time!!  I love this kind of shopping!  It's all about bargaining the price down!!

There was just about anything you wanted for sale!

I wanted this really really bad!!!  But it was about $300 so it stayed in Israel!!  But I did get a picture of it!!

There were shops everywhere!!

HOMEWARD BOUND!

Then it was time to load up the buses and head back to our hotel for one last night before leaving early the next morning for the airport.  But that night we had a super fun goodbye farewell dinner and super fun share time!  One group was actually leaving for the airport that night.  The rest of us spent the night and didn't leave until the next morning.

Beth spoke and said a lot of thank-you's to our wonderful guides and other leaders of the trip!!

Even Melissa (Beth's daughter) spoke a little!!

We took lots of pictures!

And then a group of us went and visited until way into the night on this courtyard!  We eventually had to move to another courtyard because some women were ordering cappuccino and the Jewish faith will not allow diary served in the same location that meat is being served!!  

The next morning we got up early, had another amazing breakfast, repacked our suitcases for one last time, loaded the big bus one last time, and headed towards the airport at Tel Aviv!  We were warned early to be prepared for a very long wait while going through security.  And they were right!  Finally about two hours later, we loaded the plane for the very long plane ride to Newark, NJ.  And then after a way-too-long layover, we loaded the plane again for a "short" 4 hr flight to Houston!  We landed around midnight!!!  I was never so excited to see my wonderful hubby than I was that night!   

Israel was amazing and it is something I will never, ever forget! I will NEVER look at the Scriptures again in the same way.  I now have a "visual" of so much that takes place in the Bible!  And I do look forward to the NEW Jerusalem that God has promised!!

 ^"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."       Revelation 21:1-3