Hey y’all!

Today was Shabbat. The day of rest in Israel. Although Tel Aviv is secular, sometimes surprisingly so, the city still lives its life by the Sabbath day of rest. In Israel the days don’t start at first light. Instead they start at dusk the evening before. On Sabbath days people do not work here and it is a city wide day of rest. The weird thing is that other objects also rest. Apparently machines also have to rest here in Israel. Last night when Tabitha and I were trying to leave our hotel we were told we couldn’t use the automatic sliding doors because they were resting on the Sabbath. This morning the coffee machine was also resting. Some stoplights in the city are resting. One of the elevators in our hotel was supposed to rest too while the other still worked.  Its kind of confusing as to why some machines can work and others cant but I think it is very cool that they value a season of rest. Most people I know in America never rest. Everyone works 7 days a week. There is a huge value in choosing to cease from our labors to reenergize and focus on God, family and life.

Because of the Sabbath our team also chose to rest today. We have been actively sharing the gospel the last several days in extreme heat and difficult conditions and we have become both physically and emotionally tired. So, today we enjoyed Tel Aviv. We got up late, and me for a worship service on the beach. We then went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. This evening we went up to the nearby port of Jaffa. Its the same city that Jonah found a boat to flee from the Lord. It was very quaint and beautiful.

We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow and great opportunities to share the gospel. Please pray for us that we will have eyes to see the people that God wants us to interact with. I have been so excited to see the boldness of this team. They are unified and encouraging. I have seen every single person on this team grow leaps and bounds spiritually. Please continue praying for us.

Christ is All,

Mike

I am posting a study guide for Tim Keller’s The Reason for God that I created to lead my small group through. I hope it is a blessing.

Reason For God – Intermission.

Interpretation Questions

• What was your favorite part of this chapter?
• What made you struggle in this chapter?
• What did you learn about God in this chapter?
• What did you learn about yourself in this chapter?

Summary:

He is shifting from answering arguments against Christianity to arguing for Christianity.

Which Christianity?

What is main orthodox Christianity?

Definition: The body of believers who assent to the great ecumenical creeds, trinity, deity of Jesus and his humility, incarnation and passion. They believe in sin, salvation by faith, the return of Christ and the purpose of the church as God’s instrument of hope and change.

• All Christians believe this, but no Christians believe just this. There is variety outside this core.

What Rationality?

Skeptics desire Christianity to be proven by “ strong rationalism”.

• They want proof by the “verification principle” that on one should believe in a proposition unless it can be proved rationally by logic or empirically by sense experience.
• Proof that is so strong that no person whose logical faculties are operating properly would have any reason to disbelieve it.

Problem: although many people want Christians to deliver proofs for those beliefs, other philosophers are not required to do so. Even atheistic philosophers are excused from providing “strong proof”.

Strong rationalism is almost impossible to defend philosophically.

• It cant keep its own standards
• How can you empirically prove that no one should believe something without empirical proof? You cant, and that means it is ultimately a belief.
• Strong rationalism assumes that it is possible to achieve “the view from nowhere,” a position of almost complete objectivity. This is impossible to achieve. We all have our biases, and presuppositions.
• Mike’s interpretation: Any position is really a belief and not a provable idea because we can never have enough proof to believe things. All beliefs have bias and agenda.  Belief comes from faith.

A solution exists between strong rationalism and relativism, “critical rationality.”

• There are arguments for positions that have value and many people will be convinced by them but others will always have a reason to disbelieve for a variety of reasons. It is pointing to what is probable based on the evidence not what is absolutely provable.

The theory of a God leads us to expect the things we observe. The Theory there is no God does not lead us to expect any of these things. – Richard Swinburne

God the Playwright

If there is a God he wouldn’t be another object in the universe that could be put in a lab and analyzed with empirical methods.

C.S. Lewis

Believed in a God  “as I believe the sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.

• Basically believing in God makes everything else make sense.
• What account of the world has the most “explanatory power” to make sense of the world and in ourselves?

God is not a man in an attic, he is a playwright.

• Can only be made known through personal revelation. Written into the story.

Discussion Questions

How do we then interact with people who don’t share our core beliefs?

How do we distinguish between core beliefs and secondary beliefs?

How do we disagree respectfully on open handed issues?

Prayer Time

Download Week 1:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%201.doc

Download Week 2:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/The%20Reason%20for%20God%20Chapter%202.doc

Download Week 3 here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20for%20God%20%E2%80%93%20Week%203.doc

Download Week 4:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20for%20God%20Week%204.doc

Download Week 5:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Chapter%205%20%20Reason%20for%20God.doc

Download Week 6:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%206.doc

Download Week 7

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%207%20%20You%20cant%20take%20the%20Bible%20Literally.doc

Download the Intermission:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God-%20Intermission.doc

Today was our first full day of evangelism in the city of Tel Aviv. What a unique city: there is incredible ethnic and cultural diversity here. And while it’s a bustling urban city, people are very friendly and open, especially compared to what you’d find in New York or Chicago.

For the morning and early afternoon, we went out into the city in pairs and initiated conversations we people we came across. With five pairs and a combined total of 25 hours, we had countless conversations with people of all ages and backgrounds. For now, I can share with you a few stories from my day sharing with Bobby:

Slava lives in a nearby city with his family and was in Tel Aviv today, trying to give away their three kittens. He doesn’t consider himself religious but believes there is some nameless, faceless higher power. While we can’t every hope to know this “God”, cutting ourselves off from his love does harm us, both in this life and future reincarnated lives (very similar to the Buddhist perspective). We talked about many different theological issues and were able to share the gospel with him, but he is very confident in and satisfied with his current world view. His father-in-law is a messianic Jew and has repeatedly encouraged Slava and his wife to read the New Testament. Perhaps, after talking with us today, they’ll give it a try?

David has lived in Tel Aviv for many years and has very poor health. We met him while he was sitting on a park bench and he asked us for money – he’s collecting donations on the street to buy medication. He doesn’t consider himself part of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim faiths but he does believe God exists. We did share the gospel with him, although he said his current physical problems prevented him from considering religious or philosophical issues in his life. We prayed for him and left. Later, Bobby returned to offer him a copy of the New Testament. As they were talking, an Orthodox Jew came out of a nearby store and told him to leave: “I know what you’re doing, and you need to stop now. This is your only warning.” After he left, David passed by us again and encouraged us not to heed the Orthodox Jew’s warnings, and he thanked us for talking to him.

These are just two of the many encounters we all had today. While we can’t ever know what impact the conversations might have had, it’s encouraging to think about the ways God might use them.

Later on today, we went out as a group to distribute some literature about Jesus and sing in the streets. The self-conscious person in me cringed a little bit at the prospect of singing Chris Tomlin songs in front of malls and in parks, but it definitely got the attention of those passing by – and it was a lot of fun. Before we leave this place, there will be many other opportunities to reach people, both one at a time through conversations and many at a time by singing and passing out flyers.

-Sarah

Hey everybody!
This Bobby and it’s my first time blogging. On top of that I’m doing this all from an iPhone, so please give me grace because there will be spelling and grammatical error. Today was a pivotal day in our trip. We left Jerusalem and traveled to Tel Aviv. The Jerusalem chapter was a pilgrimage and also training. We were coached on how to evangelize, but also being in the place where God walked this earth was inspiration in itself. Two nights ago we saw a sunset from the Mount of Olives that was miraculous to see.  The sky turned blood red and it was as if Jesus’ blood was blanketing the same city where it was shed for our sins. In short, seeing these places is the ultimate spiritual awakening and we are all thankful for all of the help we received to go here.

So this morning we left for Tel Aviv, the second chapter of this trip, where we will be sharing the gospel.  Ofcourse there are forces against us, and we were delayed about 1 1/2 hours due to a slight inconvenience at Austrian Hospice, our hotel. Although we were delayed our spirits were not diminished and went to Tel Aviv knowing that God is with us.  So we arrived in Tel Aviv safely, and after checking in and having lunch we went to a busy marketplace and prayed before we left to meet people in the streets. As we prayed in a circle, some orthodox Jewish people surrounded us (about five). They would not dare physically harm us in such a populated place, but they tried to intimidate us with their presence. We stood our ground, and finished our prayer without haste and with confidence in God our protector.

Despite these things against, we all have testimony and that God came here before us, and pointed us to people whom He is trying to reach. Rebecca and I met a young woman whom is Jewish and from Michigan, ironically. She has been strongly surrounded with the Jewish faith but yearning for more. She felt something missing in her life. She told us that she’s been wanting to hear more about Christ, but she’s been too naive to actually look for herself. So we came to her with the Word, and she graciously listened to it and accepted a new testament. We could see the joy and love in her eyes. I believe her spirit truly was awakened in that moment.  Then there was Moti. He is in his 30s, homosexual, and believes in a Creator and does not associate himself with any faith. Yet, he heard the Good News that all fall short and will sin, no one is perfect, and that Jesus in His love for us died for us.  That is the concept that was tugging at his heart, love. He gladly gave us his information so that our contact here can mail him a book about Jesus fulfilling the Messianic prophecies.  Then there was Maya, the store owner who does not believe in anything, but heard the Good News and whatever door she had on her heart was finally being opened up. She thanked us for stopping to talk with her.  So this is the testimony of us on this trip. We were rejected plenty of times, but only if we reached one soul our journey is fulfilled. But today God used us to reach atleast 10. Pray for those individuals that we came into contact with. Pray that they accept Christ and grow in Him, especially because they live in a land where it is challenging to do so. Thank you and God bless.

Bobby

I am posting a study guide for Tim Keller’s The Reason for God that I created to lead my small group through. I hope it is a blessing.

The Reason for God Chapter 9

The Knowledge of God

Ice Breaker

• What was your favorite part of this chapter?
• What made you struggle in this chapter?

Interpretation Questions

• What was your favorite part of this chapter?
• What made you struggle in this chapter?
• What did you learn about God in this chapter?
• What did you learn about yourself in this chapter?

Free Floating Morality

People have strong moral convictions but unlike other people in other times and places they don’t have any visible basis for why they find some things to be evil and other things to be good.

Their moral intuitions are free-floating in midair- far off the ground.

Radical Thesis: People in our culture know unavoidably that there is a God, but they are repressing what they know.

• What do you think about this? Do you have any examples?

The Concept of Moral Obligation

Common Argument: No one should impose their moral views on others, because everyone has the right to find truth inside him or herself.

This belief raises some difficult questions that must be answered:

1. Aren’t there people in the world who are doing things that you think are wrong even though they think they are right?
2. Doesn’t that mean you do believe that there is some sort of moral standard that people should abide by regardless of their individual convictions?
3. Why is it impossible for anyone (in reality) to be a consistent moral relativist even when they claim that they are?

The answer: we all have a pervasive, powerful, and unavoidable belief not only in moral values but also moral obligation.

• Basically we all think people should act right and that is something internal not external.

The Evolutionary Theory of Moral Obligation

People who are good have a better chance of surviving by taking care of each other. This trait is something that is bred into us by our ancestors as a defense mechanism.

Flaws:

1. Being mean to other tribes is a better trait to survival than sacrificing for others.
2. However being nice to others not like us feels right. Example: Why should we care about Haiti or Japan?
3. Some say this is because it is a collective belief that is passed down by natural selection: However there is consensus that natural selection does not work for populations.

Summary: Evolution can’t account for the origin of our moral feelings, let alone the fact that we think there are external moral standards by which moral feelings are evaluated.

The Problem of Moral Obligation

The sense of moral obligation creates a problem for those with a secular understanding of the world.

Most people can’t answer it and are stuck having to stay true to there philosophical beliefs or moral convictions.

Example of lady who thought that there is no relative morality. But when she saw oppression of women had to act because she thought it was morally wrong.

Difficult Issue of Human Rights

Human rights: Every human being has inherent dignity and that it is obligatory that we order our lives in accordance with this fact.

Where do human rights come from?

• Is it from our European Culture?
• Is it from God?  Made in God’s image?
• It comes from nature? Natural law.
  • Problem: Nature thrives on violence and predation, on survival of the fittest.
  • There is no way to derive the concept of the dignity of every individual from the way things really work in nature.
  • AKA: outside of our cities and suburbs the world is savage.
  • It comes from the people who write the laws?
    • That the majority of a society decides.
      • Problem: what happens if a majority think that individual dignity is not in their interests?
        • Apartheid, Slavery, Euthenasia.
        • If they are nothing but a voted on agreement then there is nothing greater to appeal to if they are voted out of existence.
        • If human rights are created by majorities what use are they? Human rights are valuable to insist that majorities value the dignity of minorities and individuals who are weaker.
        • Rights cannot be created, they must be discovered or they are of no value.

Michael J Perry:  There is a religious ground for the morality of human rights… but it is far from clear that there is a non-religious ground, a secular ground for human rights.

Neitzsche: If God is dead, any and all morality of love and human rights is baseless.

• If there is no God there is no reason to be kind, to be loving or to work for peace.
• If we believe there is no God, why do we still keep taking moral judgments for granted as if nothing has happened?

The Grand Sez Who?

If there is no God, then there is no way to say any one action is moral and another immoral but only “I like this.”

Who gets to determine morality?

The Argument for God from the Violence of Nature

Nature is based on violence. Humans alone seem to want peace. Why?

• The Bible explains why.  The world is broken and needs a savior and we know this in our hearts.

• If we believe human rights are a reality, then it makes much more sense that God exists than that he does not.

The Endless, Pointless Litigation of Existence

If there is no God, what is the point of existence?

You can do 2 things: 1. Don’t think about it. 2. Accept that you know there is no God.

Prayer Time

Download Week 1:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%201.doc

Download Week 2:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/The%20Reason%20for%20God%20Chapter%202.doc

Download Week 3 here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20for%20God%20%E2%80%93%20Week%203.doc

Download Week 4:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20for%20God%20Week%204.doc

Download Week 5:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Chapter%205%20%20Reason%20for%20God.doc

Download Week 6:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%206.doc

Download Week 7

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%207%20%20You%20cant%20take%20the%20Bible%20Literally.doc

Download the Intermission:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God-%20Intermission.doc

Download Week 8:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/Reason%20For%20God%20Chapter%208.docx

Download Week 9:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1370227/Reason%20for%20God/The%20Reason%20for%20God%20Chapter%209.docx

Being in the old city of Jerusalem has been such a blessing to our team.  As we prepare for our time in Tel Aviv, I have tried to write down all the incredible things we saw in Jerusalem.  It’s pretty amazing to walk the streets because the Bible starts to come alive.  Mike and our guide Aaron will say things like, ” that is where Simon of Cyrene took the cross from Jesus and carried it for him” or ” that is the place that Abraham offered up his son Isaac as a sacrifice.”  I know that I will always read my Bible a little differently now!

Small things have really stood out to me as we have passed in and out of the gates to the old city.  We exited the Lion’s Gate yesterday heading toward the Mount of Olives and Aaron pointed out that this particular site is where Stephen was stoned for his faith.  ” At this they covered their ears and , yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.”  Acts 7: 57-58.  Before I could move on with the group, I just stopped and stared at the gate.  The Bible goes on to say that after this occurred, the early church was heavily persecuted and as a result scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  Christianity then began to spread across the world and as a result, you and I have heard the Gospel!!

We later hiked up the Mount of Olives and facing us was the Eastern Gate.  As you stand on the Mount of Olives, you look across the Kidron Valley to the Eastern wall of the city.  The Eastern Gate is significant for Christians, because we believe that Christ will return on the Mount of Olives and walk through the Eastern Gate.  What a great day that will be!  Mike will often say that if death separates us, he will see me at the Eastern Gate – that will be our meeting place.

After we finished our hike up the Mount of Olives, which is the steepest hill I can imagine, we came to the Garden of Gethsemane.  This was a very peaceful place and the spot where Jesus prayed and wept for Jerusalem.  The view as you look across at the city toward the Temple Mount is absolutely beautiful.  Our team sat in this spot for several minutes just gazing across the valley praying for the same city that our Lord wept over so long ago.

Another interesting site nearby, was the massive grave yard that spreads across the Mount of Olives and Kidron Valley.  This is a prime burial spot because Jewish people believe that at the resurrection, those on the Mount of Olives will go up to heaven first.  The grave lots go for about 1 million dollars – wow!

I will always remember our days in Jerusalem and long for the day when there will be a new Jerusalem!  Until then, we will sing of our sweet Savior and tell about the peace he brings.  We will praise his name in the streets and tell of his saving grace!

The Apostle John in the book of Revelation says, ” 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.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’.  ”  Revelation 21: 2-4

Please continue to pray for our team as we begin to share the Gospel in Tel Aviv.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would show us the divine appointments that he has made for us and that we could be bold in our faith.  Pray for energy and hydration because it is HOT!

Much love – Tabitha

The Lion's Gate

The Eastern Gate

Entering The Garden of Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane

Tomb site on Mount of Olives

View from the Mount of Olives

Hello all. So we just finished our second full day here in Jerusalem. What an amazing place. One thing that really took me back was the number of different people groups that are here. This is truly a melting pot – Northern, Southern, and Central Europeans are all over this city too along with the Jews and Arabs. We have met some Americans here as well. There’s such a bond when you see people in a foreign land that you have something in common with. I can only imagine how Jesus felt when he was here. He was so relational to the people that he interacted with. I guess I’d have to say that’s one (of the many) things that God has been putting on this teams’ heart – to be relational with the people we encounter so that we may be Jesus to those that don’t know Him.

One thing you can pray for us about is that God helps us do just that. We need to find common ground with the people we’ll encounter so that they’ll be more receptive to our message – that Jesus is the Son of God and that He saves! Being in Jerusalem can be overwhelming in many aspects: cultural, religious, and even the heat. Despite these things, we definitely know that God brought us here for a reason.

As you’ve probably already read, we’re staying in an incredible place on the Via Dolorosa where Jesus walked on His way to be crucified. Also close to us is the Dome of the Rock, which is an absolutely gorgeous building, but is also a spiritually dark place. By seeing such a building, I can’t help but think of what a stronghold this place is for the devil. We’ve been to some “significant” spiritual places while we’ve been here, but honestly, the spirit of some of those places was pretty dark. I can’t think of a better way for the enemy to take ahold of people than by disguising himself in “holy” places and leading people astray in false beliefs under the guise of “religion.” Please pray against this.

On a lighter note, we went to the Garden of Gethsemane and once again up the Mount of Olives. The garden was truly peaceful and had olive trees that were 2000 years old. I could see why Jesus would go to such a place when going through so much mental and emotional torment before being crucified. Praying there was truly an amazing experience.

Tomorrow – Tel Aviv! And we start doing street evangelism. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and we’ll keep you all updated on how the evangelism goes.

- Jeff

” and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”  Acts 1:8

Our first day in Israel was such a moving experience for me and I feel I can say this for all of the team.  The Gospel was sent out from this very place, and we get to be a small piece of the movement to bring it back to Jerusalem!  I am so thankful that we are able to stay in the Old City of Jerusalem – there is so much history of our Savior right here.  In fact, the Austrian Hospice is located on Via Delorosa.  This means ” the road of pain” and it is the very street that Jesus Christ carried his cross to his death.

As we walk the narrow cobblestone streets, I am trying to take in all that is around me.  We walked to the Western Wall yesterday morning and saw the Temple Mount.  This is the place that Jewish people come to pray and it was once known as the Wailing Wall – they also believe that no matter where they are, their prayers come first to the wall and then go up to God.  There is a tradition of writing prayers on a piece of paper and sticking it in the wall.

Next, we saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  For a moment, I felt like I was on the set of Indiana Jones!  The church was very dark and parts were underground with lots of twists and turns.  Many Christians believe this is the place of Golgotha – the location of the crucifixion and resurrection.  There are sections owned by the Roman Catholic Church and some by the Greek Orthodox church.  Mike pointed out an old piece of a Roman column that was once part of a Roman temple and mentioned that this gives possible proof that this could be the location because the Romans tried to stamp out Christianity and would have built a temple over a place that Christians gathered to worship.

Our highlight of the day was definitely visiting the Garden Tomb.  This is another possible site of the crucifixion and resurrection and honestly, the Spirit was all over this beautiful garden!  Scripture tells us that Jesus was buried outside the City, and this location was the spot once known for executions.  There is a huge face of a skull in the rock which some believe it the true Golgotha, or place of the skull.  The garden was once a beautiful vineyard and as we walked and listened to our guide talk about Jesus, my heart was smiling.  Seeing the tomb was an experience hard to describe.  There was a very different feeling here than at the other site.  I had a chance to go inside alone and look at the burial plot.  As I stood there speechless, I noticed the sign on the door that said ” He is not here, He is risen”.  Amen!  I was overwhelmed with tears and for a moment even lost my breath.  I don’t know if this is the spot or not, but my heart was so moved for my Savior that I like to believe it was!

Our last stop of the day was The Mount of Olives where we enjoyed fresh fruit and beautiful scenery.  As sunset approached, we looked out over the city of Jerusalem and our team prayed together.  One of the songs we will be singing this week is God of the City.  If you come to Green Hills Church, then you will recognize this song.  I can not tell you how moved I have been over the lyrics and how much hope it gives me as I look out on a beautiful city that doesn’t recognize its Lord.  3% of Israel is Christian.  This is why we are here – to proclaim the good news and tell of our wonderful Jesus!

Take a moment and listen to this beautiful song.  I hope it blesses you today!

Christ is All,

Tabitha

Some Pictures of Jerusalem

Hi friends!! After nearly two days of travel, we are in Israel. We journeyed from Nashville to Chicago to Poland, and after a 8 hour layover in Warsaw (where we got to see the city and eat cool food) we made the last trek to the Holy Land. Everything has been smooth and I can literally feel the Lord’s hand over top of us, underneath us, and cupped around our sides–this is His trip, His city, His people, and we are honored to be His servants.

Until Thursday, we are in Old City Jerusalem. Our hotel, or “Austrian Hospice” is delightful! Complete old architecture, big windows, breeze from those windows for AC, really tiny showers, a wide spread rooftop accessible to us to hang out on over looking the city, olives and tuna included on the breakfast buffet, and very loud roosters to wake us in the morning. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we wouldn’t change a thing.

We are learning and experiencing so much!! The area we are staying in is a mix of Jewish and Muslim people, maybe with a few Christians here and there (Israel is only 3% Christian in its entirety). However, this is unique to this part of the city because most of it is segregated and problems arise when one group enters the other’s territory. Jerusalem is a divided city–but no matter what the state now, we know one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess. Please pray with us for this land!!!

Today we went first to the Western Wall, AKA the Wailing Wall.  The Jewish people believe all of their prayers arrive at the wall before they make it to the ears of God. Directly behind the wall stands the Temple Mount which now supports the dome of the rock. It is here that Solomon’s Temple once stood but is now under Muslim control. This is the major point of contention between Israel and Palestine. We then ventured to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is presumed by many Christians to be the place of Jesus’ death and resurrection. While the decor was grand, there was a solomn feel in the air. After that we experienced what became, to many of us, the most moving part of the day: The Garden Tomb. This is different location that gives biblically based reason to believe was the place our Savior died and rose again. It was so peaceful and quiet and you could feel His presence walking with us through the glory of the garden. Seeing a real tomb that is probably the very one our Lord conquered is something unforgettable. It was intense and heavy but grace overcame us and filled us with gratefulness and joy. The truth that really matters is what happened, not where it happened but there was certainly significance in what we saw today. We had a near-perfect evening on the Mount of Olives with our guide, Aaron. We ate fresh fruit from the local market, prayed together, worshipped together, and started preparing for the rest of the week..preparation for telling people about the One who shines light into the dark places and makes new creations out of …well, all of us. We will keep you updated! Thank you for reading and praying for the mission of this trip!

Love,

Calla