We live in a small world!

OK. We had just exited the Church of the Nativity and our leaders told the group that they could go shopping for an hour before heading back to Jerusalem. Some of us weren't interested in doing that. Our activity showed just how small our world has become. We watched a World Cup game being played in South Africa between Germany and Serbia (Serbia won 1-0) with the sports announcer speaking in Arabic while we were seated in a Palestinian coffee shop in Bethlehem, Israel drinking cappuccinos and eating pastry! Let's see ... how many nationalities and/or cultures were represented there in one hour's time? Amazing!

Other highlights of the day:

• Pine trees ... everywhere! They're on Temple Mount; in open land between Bethlehem and Jerusalem; in the middle of the city and on hills overlooking the city. I LOVE hearing the wind in the pines and at Jerusalem University College, we hear it every night. When you think of Israel, you think of olive trees, palm trees, cypress trees, and fig trees - but not pine trees. But, they're here in abundance!
• At the Pater Noster Church on the Mount of Olives, there is a beautiful courtyard where they have The Lord's Prayer mounted in tile on all the walls in practically every language you can imagine. One of our group set up his camera on a tripod and took the most amazing photo. The morning sun was shown in sunburst effect right over the cross on top of the church. Awesome!
  
• While on the Mount of Olives, we could see approximately where the Upper Room was located in Jerusalem and we identified the Garden of Gethsemane close to where we were standing. It was just incredible to see clearly the route that Jesus and His disciples might have taken after they celebrated the Passover meal and walked through Jerusalem, navigated around the Temple Mount and ascended the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed and was arrested. The Bible truly comes to life here!
• One of the pictures I took today was from the Mount of Olives, looking westward to the Golden Gate in the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. This gate has been walled up and cannot be used to enter or exit Jerusalem. The rest of the picture encompasses the olive grove below the wall and the tombstones of Christians at the foot of the Mount of Olives. When Jesus returns for His own, those dead in Christ will rise first to meet Him in the air, right at the Golden Gate where Jesus will ultimately return triumphantly when He establishes His Kingdom!
• The singing of Amazing Grace by another American group in the Church of the Nations. I joined in.
• The singing of O Little Town of Bethlehem in the Church of the Nativity.
  

Another full day in the land of the Bible! I hope you're getting a sense of what we're experiencing here in just the first four days in-country.

Bev