Happy 13th Samuel!

Dear Samuel,

You ushered us into parenthood 13 years ago, and now you bring us into the new and exciting phase of being parents of a teenager. Truly we had no idea that you growing up would pass in a blink of an eye. You are maturing in to a young man who loves the Lord and we couldn't be prouder. From the time you could speak you have never ceased to drill us with your myriad of questions that at times are so random in topic you leave our heads spinning trying to catch up with you. From that, we see the inquisitive mind the Lord has given you and your desire to be a learner. May you always be student, especially of God's word.

You not only love to learn, but you love to share what you have learned. We pray the Lord will make you a wise and humble communicator that is sensitive, not always determined that winning the argument is of highest importance, even if you are right, but to speak truth in such a way as to win the person.

You are fascinated with all things stellar and science related which forces us to keep learning too just so we can converse with you. Although, don't expect too much of me--blackholes and interstellar travel are a bit beyond my comprehension.

We appreciate your sensitivity and for setting an example for your siblings. You are a big brother they can look up to (even if you don't always feel R-E-S-P-E-C-T) -- trust me, they love you deeply and you will only draw closer to each other as you get older. Thank you for looking after them, always ready and willing to help with school homework and offer advice.

You are content with little and happy to celebrate your special day with just family. Your request of white and chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting was a great combination choice (no matter if Emma thought it was weird). Your birthday dinner request was spaghetti and meatballs. 

So glad you can better enjoy all your music explorations with your new iPod. Just promise me you will still hear my voice when I call. :) Happy 13th birthday, Samuel David! You are loved more than you will ever know--always and forever--no matter what! **Un baccione**

Love,
Mamma (and Dada)

The Holy Land: Days 7-8

This final post on Israel will recount the final two days of our trip. We continue to marvel at all that we were able to see and experience as a family. I had a good chuckle the other day when one of Luca's friends read the first post of our trip and said "Now I want to go to Israel!". Luca's response was "I feel your pain. Once I wanted to go to Israel and now I did!!" At 9 years old, this boy has seen and traveled more than most people will in a lifetime and his "painful wait" to see Israel was very brief compared to most. His comment was comical to me.

Indeed, our children have been given an incredible opportunity to make this journey at such a young age. Our prayer is that God's word would become even richer in their lives as they grow in their walk with him because of what they saw. To have walked where Jesus walked is overwhelming and I know that it has deeply impacted Jonathan and I.

DAY 7: Monday, January 4

It was nice to have a leisurely start to our morning knowing that our day would be spent nearby in Old City Jerusalem. Having received a good orientation of the city from our friends a few days before we knew where to park, find sites to see and places to shop on our own. We started out at Jaffa Gate where there is an entrance to the "Ramparts Walk" that goes along the top of the wall surrounding the Old City. We walked over the Zion gate and ended at the Dung Gate, completing about half of the length of the old city wall and arriving near the Western Wall.

The Tower of David seen from the Ramparts walk

The experience was unique and provided a different perspective of the city. 

On the city wall with the Mt. of Olives in the background

Near the Western Wall entrance is the Jerusalem Archeological Site-Davidson Center. We had very little time to explore the richness of the exhibits as we had tickets for an 11 o'clock tour for the Western Wall tunnels. However, the highlights within this park were the ruins of Herod's Temple from the second period temple. The Romans destroyed the temple in 70AD and the blocks of stone that were pushed down still remain where they fell.

Southwestern corner of the Temple Mount

The stones where they fell from the Roman destruction in 70 AD

The stone from which the shofar was blown to announce the daily sacrifices

On the south side of the Temple Mount you can walk up the "Teaching Steps." This is where Rabbis would teach their disciples and where Jesus may have done so as well. Mikvahs (ritual baths) are also nearby so that when one would enter the Temple Mount through the gates at the top of the steps they would be clean to worship God.

Triple (Huldah) Gate

We had made reservations for an English speaking tour of the Western wall tunnels. Since much of the Western Wall now lies below street level, this allowed us to see the whole length and depth of the wall built by King Herod. Our guide was great and we learned a lot, giving us perspective on the size of the Temple Mount and its history.

Seeing the "Western Stone", the biggest stone in the wall was mind boggling to think how it was cut, moved and placed without modern machinery. The stone is 45 feet in length, 9.8 feet high and a width estimated between 11-15 feet with a weight estimated at 570 tons. The architectural and engineering abilities of Herod seen throughout Israel are incredible.

Such precision laying the stones together

Inside the tunnels there is also a small synagogue of prayer for women. It is the closest point a Jew can pray near to the ancient site of the Holy of Holies, now located under the Dome of the Rock.

After our tour we headed back out of the Western Wall square to wait in line for entrance to the Temple Mount. To enter both the Western Wall area and the Temple Mount there is high security. You have to pass through metal detectors and even possible interrogation. We had a 1 hour window to get in and out as there are restricted times in which the general public can enter the Temple Mount.

During our 45 minute wait in line, we were entertained by the continual stream of Bar Mitzvah celebrations as families walked up the street to the Western Wall. We were told Jews come from all over the world to celebrate Bar Mitzvahs in Jerusalem. The hired musicians with their drums, shofars, singing and dancing must make a good living.

Once we arrived up on the Temple Mount we had only about 15 minutes to walk around before we were herded out of the area because of its strict closing time. And believe me, they don't mess around nor would you want to test them even by taking that final picture. We are so thankful we were able to see the Dome of the Rock up close as we were not expecting this opportunity since it is often closed due to high levels of tension and unrest. 

We made one final stop in the Old City at the olive wood merchant recommended to us, because of course I wanted a nativity set from Jerusalem. Samuel was happy about his falafel for the road as we made our way over to the Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane, just across the Kidron Valley.

View of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives

The eastern wall of the Temple Mount with a view of the Golden Gate

One might envision the Mount of Olives actually being covered with olive trees, but surprisingly that is not the case today. The hillside is a cemetery with limestone headstones covering the vast majority of the area. The reason being is that many Jews believe this to be the place from which God will begin to resurrect the dead when the Messiah comes. The most famous of these graves actually lie at the foot of the mountain, flush against the Old City walls, including the Tomb of Zechariah, the tombs of the sons of Hezir and Yad Absalom.

At the base of the mountain is the Garden of Gethsemane. Some olive trees in the grove have been dated to be at least 2,000 years old, placing them here during the lifetime of Jesus. The beauty and longevity of these trees are absolutely amazing.

We arrived back at our friends' house with the rest of our afternoon dedicated to packing and babysitting. It was our privilege to babysit for the evening so our friends could go out and celebrate their anniversary. We understand what a rare opportunity a date night can be in our expat lives, and to be able to provide them the chance on their actual anniversary was a great joy for us. Did I mention how refreshing it was to be in the presence of friends that completely understand your life, emotions, hardships and experiences in a way that no one else can? Our time together was a mutual blessing. Truly a gift.

View of the west bank wall from our friends' house

DAY 8: Tuesday, January 5

This was our final day and one without a clear agenda. We had seen a ton and I believe we managed to impress our hosts with what we had seen in a short time with less daylight. We finally decided on one more morning in Jerusalem so we could take in the City of David.

This is the original ancient Jerusalem, the birthplace of the city, where King David established his kingdom and where the history of the people of Israel was written. Today it is located outside of the Old City Jerusalem. 

There are remains from what is believed to be David's palace, a section of Nehemiah's wall, and many archeological finds such as seals and documents from people mentioned in the Bible. 

Hezekiah's Tunnel is a water shaft that was built to bring in water from the Gihon spring, Jerusalem's main water source, from outside the city to its residences within the walls, necessary given the threat of Assyrian invasion. The tunnel is 533 meters long, ending at the Pool of Siloam and was carved through solid rock. Its builders carved the tunnel beginning from opposite ends and succeeded in making the two sides meet in the middle! This tunnel still contains water and you can actually walk through it. However, without water shoes, headlamps and clothes for submerging ourselves, we opted to walk through the dry tunnel carved by the Canaanites. We knew it was going to be a hard call to not walk through Hezekiah's tunnel and may have been the only regret of the trip.

The entrance to Hezekiah's tunnel 

Our walk through the dry tunnel was fun and adventurous as long as you don't get claustrophobic and can pass through small spaces.

We got a shuttle bus ride to the Pool of Siloam. Here Jesus healed the man that was blind from birth as told in John 9:1-12. 

We then walked back up the hill 600 meters through the drainage tunnel that Herod built. The stones and uneven paths we walked on this trip were many and we are thankful for no major injuries besides sore feet. 

Mikvahs outside the city walls

We wanted to conclude our visit at Tel Gezer, a Canaanite city in the foothills of the Judean mountains. However, we had difficulty in getting there as it appeared we had to drive across private property on farm roads. The roads looked muddy and we didn't want to risk getting stuck in our rental car so we proceeded no further. Not to be defeated in our quest for one more stop, we headed further south to Tel Be'er Sheva.

Beersheba city gate and Abraham's well

Down into the cistern we went

Beer-sheba is mentioned 33 times in the biblical text. It is often used when describing a border, such as “from Dan to Beer-sheba” (Judges 20:1; 1 Sam. 3:20; 2 Sam. 3:10, 17:11, 24:2, 24:15; 1 Kings 4:25; 2 Kings 23:8), but it is also a significant center in the patriarchal narratives. Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba (Genesis 22:19), Abraham and Abimelech entered a covenant at Beer-sheba (Genesis 21:32), and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba (Genesis 21:33). The Lord spoke to both Isaac and Jacob, Abraham’s son and grandson respectively, at Beer-sheba (Genesis 26:23; Genesis 46:1). Beer-sheba is also the site of two significant wells: Abraham’s well at Beer-sheba was seized by Abimelech’s men (Genesis 21:25), and Isaac’s servants dug a well at Beer-sheba also (Genesis 26:25). Additionally, archaeological evidence of the dismantling of the altar at Tel Beer-sheba strongly supports a correlation with the biblical account of the cultic reform carried out by King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:22).

We returned to Jerusalem and enjoyed the remainder of the day with our friends and grocery store shopping for things like cinnamon toast crunch, cheddar cheese, Reese's peanut butter chips, spices and vanilla to bring back with us. 

We headed back to the airport around 10pm to catch our red-eye flight back home at 1am. It was a super long trip home especially with the 5 hour layover in the Istanbul airport in the middle of the night. We napped when and where we could but nothing felt better than being back in our own beds the next night. The kids returned to school the very next day but thankfully they are resilient at their ages and managed just fine.

This concludes the travel log our amazing trip to Israel. Thanks for virtually traveling along with us!