Trip Update

Alright, folks, here's what we did today (Sunday). It's only 6pm here, but there's plenty to write about. Ready? Strap in.

Alright, we woke up this morning, got ready and met for breakfast by 7:30. We had a lot of delicious food (Do you guys care about the food?). It was all pretty delicious.

We then headed to the top of the Gloria Hotel (where we wanted to go yesterday) and did a little sight-seeing and took some pretty awesome pictures, if I do say so myself. It gave us a great view of the city, including the Mount of Olives and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Next up was church at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, where Dr. Strickert is the pastor. We brought books that were donated to the Lutheran schools in the area, and I could not believe how grateful the people were. The assistant director of the schools couldn't stop smiling when she saw them. It was really cool to see how much it was appreciated.

Church services in Jerusalem are rather amazing. We read a Psalm 116 responsively, and saying "in your midst, Jerusalem" while in Jerusalem is an awesome feeling. I also found it comforting when "The Lord be with you" was said and the response immediately was "And also with you." I loved knowing that these words are so common even here, not just in my own church. I got the same feeling when we sang "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" during communion. It was camp, church, and Jerusalem all rolled into one goosebump-raising experience. Awesome.

After church we just milled around, talked to some people, drank some tea. Then Dr. Strickert gave us a mini-lecture about the history of the church. Apparently, the land and surrounding areas were a gift from the Sultan at the time to the Keiser in Germany, as they were allies, in the 12th century. It was actually a hospital. When I hear stories like this, I always marvel at the history that is here. I always forget how young America is.

We then headed to Shaaban's for some shopping and money exchange. We also had tea in his shop, which was absoultely delicious. It had fresh mint leaves in it and tasted amazing.

After a bit of shopping, we went to check the Chruch of the Holy Sepulchre but found it a bit too crowded for our tastes. We will probably return tomorrow morning, when it is less busy. We then looked around a marketplace, which was busy and loud and everything a marketplace should be. It lined the streets of the Lion's Gate, which is shaped like a Z. It was used in medieval times during attacks. If an invading army got into the gate, they still had to turn at odd angles, where they could be vulnerable to counter-attack.

We then got some pizza at a local shop, which was delicious. They offered two types of pizza: meat or no meat. (We're still not exactly sure what type of meat it was...) It had a thick crust with eggs, tomato sauce, and cheese, and sometimes meat. I may need to try to make some at home. We also each got "a fruit" from the owner. We're not exactly sure what they were either, but they were small, orange, and delicious.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of battery, and the converter I brought does not support this computer. I'll look for a solution tonight, don't worry. But I'll have to keep this short and expand later when I can.

We explored more of the Old City and saw amazing sights like a Roman road from the 2nd century. Then Dr. Bouzard actually left us to find the stations of the cross on our own. It was daunting but ended up being really amazing. I still can't believe we were standing in the area where Jesus actually hurt and died.

We then did more exploring (and had some delicious fruit juice at Shaabad's) and are now back at the hotel, running out of battery in multiple ways (battery, physical energy, etc).

I'll hopefully be able to blog tomorrow more about this after I (hopefully) find a solution to this computer problem. Until then, good night!!