Well, this is it. The end...
The end of me showing vacation photos, that is! Are you ready?
The end of our journey to Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus was, as you might imagine, bittersweet. We had seen great sights, reaffirmed faith decisions, remembering the milestones in our own personal journeys of faith and made new friends. When we got up on our last day of touring, we had to be out of our rooms by 7am and on the bus by 8.
I am not gonna sugar coat this next part at all...we were tired, we missed home, some of us were sick (including Eric, who went to bed the night before with the start of a cough and fever that continued into the day) and we were all fairly concerned to be leaving our luggage in the lobby for the day. But this is how it is done, so we followed protocol, got on the bus and tried not to cough on each other.
Our first stop was the Valley of Elah, named for the Elah tree, which is a type of oak.
Although I do not remember anything in the Bible about Jesus walking in this valley, there is a significant story about a young shepherd who defeated a giant Philistine here before the time of Jesus. You have heard of David and Goliath, no doubt, even if you are not a religious person. It is a great story of victory to the underdog! There are smooth stones in the Brook Elah below, which was pretty dry on this day. The stones are worn down by years in the water. David chose five.
Being in the valley of Elah on this sunny day in the year 2020 AD, with the place nearly empty invites the imagination into the battle scene. Cowering soldiers on one side, taunting giants on the other...and one young man, too small to even think about wearing armor but brave enough to step out in faith anyway. That must have been quite a scene, and there is a whole new dimension to "fear not" when you consider it.
It was a peaceful stop, and our pace for this day was clearly going to be slower. We were thankful for that as we ambled back to the bus and headed to the possible site of Emmaus (Latrun). It was on the road to Emmaus that Jesus appeared to a couple of his disciples after his resurrection, though they did not recognize him at first. There are ruins here of a Byzantine church, and like many places throughout Israel, mosaics abound.
At one point, Eric found a single tile on the path. It is amazing to me the detail of some of the mosaic work we have seen. I have not witnessed anything to compare it to at home...such small tiles, and such grand works! Even though the color is faded, the fact that these pieces still exist is testimony to the craftsmanship and time that was put into the construction!
We followed Emmaus with an early lunch to an American Diner,
and a visit with the "King." Ha! Modern Israelites have a sense of humor, and an appreciation for American tourists, apparently.
Then we were onto the Samuel's Tomb. This site kindof underwhelmed me.
We went down steep stairs to the basement, where we saw some women praying, then we came back up...anti-climactic. But then we went to the roof!
At first, I was not super excited about the roof either. But looking back at the pictures, being up there gave us one final overview of the lands we had walked these past 8 days.
Our final stop was the Church of St John the Baptist, which has three distinct churches.
All around the courtyard are engravings of Zechariah's song, the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), in which he praises God for being God, and for bringing a son to himself and Elizabeth.
There are translations into more languages than I even recognize. Israel draws pilgrims from the ends of the earth, from every tribe, every tongue, every nation. This land of antiquity is relevant to everyone it seems, and I am so glad that we went on this journey!
I am especially glad that we left for and returned from this trip before the coronavirus hit either the US or Israel. When I began blogging these photos, I noted that seeing these large, ancient sites made me feel small and insignificant. The pandemic and its effects around the world has often made me feel the same. I am not fearful, but I am sad that lives have been lost and many have been impacted in difficult ways.
However, I am also hopeful when I see my brothers and sister helping one another, staying home and doing what we all need to do to keep this virus at bay. Be a helper where you can, friends...and if you need help, look for the helpers. They are everywhere these days.
Now it is time for me to do what I do, and knit a third bunny. I hope that you also have something to look forward to this weekend!
Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!
