Sunday, July 11

Happy Birthday Sarah! Today is our middle daughter's birthday and I hope she is having an awesome day. We started this beautiful day off by going to church with the Garden Tomb staff at Christ's Church which is an Anglican church in the Old City near the Jaffa Gate. It was a wonderful service with both very traditional elements and some contemporary music as well. This was my first time to share in the common cup for communion. We enjoyed worshipping our Lord with our new friends and others who were Jerusalem residents and other pilgrims as well. After the service which started about 9:30am and lasted over 2 hours the provided coffee and cookies for those who attended. They also have a meal there that you may purchase so we all had a nice hot lunch there. Christ Church has a guest house so they have meals for their guests and others to purchase.

After lunch we walked back through the Old City and over to Lion's Gate through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Business is slow for everyone in the summer so taxi drivers were approaching us wanting to take us anywhere. We had been thinking of going to Engedi and the Dead Sea and since we had the afternoon off we took one up on his offer. He even took us by our guest house to get what we needed for the trip. Mind you - it was 90+ in Jerusalem which is 3000 ft above sea level and we decide to make an afternoon trip to the desert and the Dead Sea which is the lowest point on Earth.

We go to Engedi (or Eingedi) which is an oasis in the desert. There are many Biblical references to this area. It is where David hid from Saul (1 Sam. 23:29). In Song of Solomon ."My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of Ein Gedi" (1:14) It has the only fresh water in the area. There are several falls and three pools. We hiked up to the highest falls. It was a very hot hike up as we were facing the sun. However, when you get there it is lovely and you can see the Dead Sea when you look back to the East. I posted some pics on Facebook but it was a hazy day due to the heat and you have to look close to see the Sea from Engedi. We saw many Ibex which are wild goats. Many were enjoying swimming in the cool springs. I got my feet in but we did not bring our "costumes" as our new British friends would say so we did not swim there. Our "costumes" were in the truck of the taxi for later use at the Dead Sea. Hind sight is 20/20 - the springs were cool - the Dead Sea was not.

The hike back down was much easier and the sun was to our back. After some cooling off time we went just over to the Engedi Beach area on the Dead Sea. We were expecting to cool off there but the water was so warm. The 100+ temperatures had really warmed the water so we didn't stay too long. The Dead Sea always amazes me. You cannot go under - you cannot even make your shoulders go under. It is beautiful clear water. It is called "Dead" because it has so many minerals that there is no life in the Dead Sea. It is like swimming in baby oil and it softens your skin but don't get it in your eyes - ouch!

Our taxi driver talked all the way there and back (about an hour each way). He was a very nice Arab Muslim man who believes in Jesus but not as Savior. He is like most Arab Muslims - they want to live in peace and respects the beliefs of others.

On the way back in to Jerusalem he stopped at the Mt. of Olives for an overlook of the city of Jerusalem. It was not a good time of day for pics but it was nice to take a look. I did take a few pics of the "whited sepulchers" the Bible speaks about for there is a large cemetery on the Mt. of Olives. If you look at pics I will post on Facebook you will see rocks placed on some of the graves. That is the way they show honor to a loved one - our florists in Alabama would go out of business if we had that tradition. Just a simple, inexpensive way of showing honor - I like that.

Back to our "home". Thank you Lord for air conditioning. We are sitting outside in the garden now because that is where the internet works best. When the sun goes down it gets really cool.
I hear the Muslim call to prayer in the distance.

Tomorrow we go to help in the Garden Tomb. We are not sure what the day will hold but we know who holds it.

I know Westmeaders enjoyed our friend, Lucky today. He is always a blessing.

Shalom