REFLECTIONS AND THANKFULNESS

"Remember Me, I will remember you." (Surat al-Baqarah 2:152)

I want to remember  the kind Israelis and Palestinians.......the Muslims, Jews and Christians that we have met in our travels. The random acts of kindness have been too numerous to count.  The beauty in this land also lives in its people.

 I came across another type of quote that inspired me.   Joshua L. Liebman is an American rabbi and author of the book Peace of Mind.  I love this quote because it gives me inspiration to remember to forgive myself when I make mistakes.  I need to bookmark this quote for myself.

As people in our group who are reading my blog will know, I don't always post in chronological order but rather when something inspires me.  As Richard said on our first day, we will have  information overload from our trip and  that at times we will feel overwhelmed with the information flowing through us.  I have only touched the surface slightly from what we have seen and our pilgrimage with the group has now come to an end.  Some participants have flown back to Canada, while others are extending the pilgrimage to Jordan.  Andy and I are in Old Jaffa on the edge of Tel Aviv for a few days where I will continue to blog.

I have a few photos and memories that I would like to share.......

Memories of hillside towns and villages.  This is the hillside of East Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley. 

 The Bedouin people.  I have had the privilege of a few one-on- one conversations with these fascinating people.

East Jerusalem.....around the corner from where we stayed.  Notice the Arabic letters on the bus.

The Damascus Gate - the walls date from the 1500s, and the 1st-century walls and gate are below the level of the present entry 
by about 5 metres.  

In the Armenian Quarter in the Old City

I will remember walking past here every day on the way to the Old City.  The owner might even remember me buying dark chocolate nightly on my way home.

I will be forever grateful for this wonderful man Mousa, our bus driver who kept us safe throughout our travels.  I already miss his kindness and warmth.

Two young Jewish men from Netanya who were in the line up for the Western Wall.  It was their second time to visit the Wall.

Around the corner from the Dome of the Rock

This is the site of the healing of a paralyzed man by Jesus as told in the Gospel of John, chapter 5.  Archaeology supports the mention of 5 porticoes in John's account. 

The Apple Core depicting the forbidden fruit, at the Israeli Museum, and also where the Dead Sea Scrolls are located

While the group is souvenir shopping in Bethlehem, I love to veer into neighbourhood corner stores to see how local residents shop.

Thanks, Richard, for such an unforgettable journey!

We will never forget the shores of the Sea of Galilee

 Linda and Annette picking lemons at St. George's - with permission of course!

 Mary and David Neelands, I so very much enjoyed our conversations.  Thanks for all the helpful pieces of advice Mary....everything from sterilizing the River Jordan water to tips on floating in The Dead Sea.

Standing on the Shores of Galilee where Peter was said to have lived - this is identified as the location where the risen Jesus ate fish with the disciples at the lakeside and restored Peter's ministry

 Looking down from the church of the Beatitudes.  This is believed to be the setting for the Sermon on the Mount,  overlooking the Sea of Galilee.  There is a natural amphitheatre shape to one part of the hillside, which allows sound to be heard clearly by a large crowd.

After we had left Yad Vashem on our way to check in at St. George's guest house, our bus happened to break down immediately in front of the U.S. Consulate compound!   Our bus blocked the access to their entrance and caused quite a stir.  A street sign was taken down to allow this official vehicle to back into the entrance.  It was quite the performance and coincidentally happened a day after Obama made the speech about making U.S. embassies safe places.  Also to note....the signage does not indicate the existence of the Embassy, but rather that there was a convent located here previously.
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Ahem.......Does anyone remember a certain someone chipping their front tooth?

 I took this pic through the iron railing in the window of the woman's WC at the  Panoramic Golden City Restaurant.  The food was excellent quality.....everything from lamb to chicken and wonderfully fresh salads and hummus.  I had a couple things to do on my own this particular morning so I arranged to find my own way.  The twisted narrow streets in the Old City are very confusing even with maps so with the help of my faithful GPS (aka Andy) he helped me plan the route the night before. 

With the bulging crowds for the Orthodox Easter weekend, a full force of soldiers are present to keep order in Jerusalem.

 Clever photography Linda!  This is the location we bought some Armenian pottery to take home.

Thanks to a generous parishioner at St. Edmund's in Parksville, St. George's Cathedral now owns a guitar as accepted by Deacon Honey.....  She and all who share the services there are very grateful for your donation, Edith.

On our way to the nativity sights in Bethlehem, we stop next to the Mar Elias monastery to look across the olive groves to the Jewish settlement of Ephrat, next door to Bethlehem, but separated by the 8-metre high concrete wall that stretches 722 km along the west bank.  In Ephrat, we hear from a settler who argues that, ugly as the wall is, he believes it prevents terrorism within Jerusalem and throughout Israel.  A Palestinian growing up in refugee housing without access to his friends and family in Jerusalem may have a different perspective.  If you look closely you can see the wall, built at a cost of a thousand dollars per metre, just below the housing complex.  Nadal explains his sadness that the wall and the no-go zone next to it are the site of what was once a public park that he used to play in as a child.  

 We all get a turn to wear the bangles.

Judy!  What can we say!!!  The poem you wrote and read to us was superb.  So humorous and entertaining!  Here are some additional photos of our "Last Supper"

I will be blogging about Jaffa next but the last word comes from Nadal who can still  be heard saying......be back on the bus within 20 minutes.   Thanks for the memories Nadal.  It would not have been the same without your amazing knowledge of the country, and of the Bible and its languages.