Hey friends, thanks for following! We are nearing the end of our time together in Israel and we are all beginning to come to that realization. We share a WhatsApp group, so many plan to stay in contact that way, and others have traded contact information. It is truly a great group…but more of those thoughts later.

After a morning highlighted by our time at the Garden Tomb, we offered options for the afternoon: a tour of the City of David or shopping on their own in the Old City. Not so much to report on individual shopping experiences, so let’s turn our attention to the City of David.

As one of my personal favorites, it was great to be back in the City of David to see the amazing progress made since I was last at the site in March 2023. Lots more ground has been excavated, the entry area and gift shop are fully complete, the walkways through the site are greatly improved and the Pool of Siloam now has almost Olympic-sized proportions! And oh BTW – lots of work has been done to the Pilgrim’s Road as well.

The City of David was the “original” Jerusalem. After conquering the Jebusites, David established his kingdom there, where a palace was built. Also, because the only water source, the Gihon Springs, was outside the city walls, protection was necessary. Eventually, tunnels were built to allow water to flow inside the walls. It was a miraculous engineering feat, and those tunnels (a wet one and a dry one) exist to this day. Our group opted for the dry tunnel, so we trekked through that one.

Kings and judges were often anointed near the spring, so we know this was a significant place for anointing rituals. We also know that the Pool of Siloam was the public ritual bath for “commoners” (such as Jesus’ family) to cleanse themselves before entering the temple compound.

If stones could talk…. In some ways, they can! We have learned much from the ancient and living stones! We are so blessed to be in the land of Israel, experiencing God’s Word right where it was written and lived out.

After parting for the afternoon, our group reunited at the hotel for dinner and an interesting talk by Eitan Kashtan from One for Israel, relating October 7 to Habakkuk 1. He indicated two dilemmas: “God, why don’t you do anything?” and “God, why do you use those wicked people against us?” Read the first chapter of Habakkuk and you will find that God does do things and His vision has not yet been fulfilled!

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we say goodbye to Jerusalem, to Israel, and to one another, but not before a very important final day of touring! We will visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, tomorrow. In many ways, it is a gut punch to see the horrific evidence of the Holocaust, but it is also rewarding to see how God has kept His promise to bring the Jewish people back home and plant them IN THEIR OWN LAND! (His words, not mine!) Tomorrow’s visit to Yad Vashem will be an incredibly moving one.

Then, if time allows, we may visit the Valley of Elah where Goliath met his match with a small, young Jewish boy named David. Tomorrow evening we’ll enjoy a celebratory (and likely very tearful) farewell dinner before heading to the airport.

Stick with us through Tuesday’s final tour day, as well as a few days afterward when we recap the tour and fill in some gaps. Also, bear with me as I spend almost a full day flying back to Phoenix. I may or may not have opportunity to post on a regular schedule, but I do commit to finish up!

Shalom from Jerusalem!