Hello from sunny, warm Jerusalem! Today, the temperature said 97 (Fahrenheit) in Jerusalem. But thankfully, the humidity was back down to c.15%. Last week, the temps were in the 80s every day, but the humidity was 60-70%. For a girl accustomed to the dry Colorado air, this was not so pleasant!
On June 9th, one of my friends kindly agreed to accompany me to the Mount of Olives. I've only been once since my arrival in January, and I've been wanting to go again for the past two months. But, it's not a place I can go by myself, so I'm dependent on other people's schedule and energy. :-) Shane walked over with me on a beautiful, breezy Wednesday morning. We climbed almost to the top before spending some devotional time at Dominus Flevit. It was all I had hoped for, and I am so grateful for Shane's willingness to go with me.
On our way back down the Mount of Olives, we stopped for a bit at Gethsemane. This relief caught my attention . . .
The altar (shaped like a cup) and traditional "rock of the agony" inside the church at Gethsemane.
Looking down the valley floor of the Kidron Valley (looking south). It actually is quite a deep valley with steep sides. On the right, the southeast corner of the Temple Mount (traditionally known as the pinnacle of the Temple) is visible behind the trees. Interestingly, the Kidron Valley was deeper still in Biblical times before the fall and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (ruins of the city were thrown down into the valley).
Looking up at the Golden Gate (in the east retaining wall of the Temple Mount) from the floor of the Kidron Valley. The sky is such a brilliant blue!
A beautiful purple flower in the Kidron Valley . . .
We continue to do Shabbot dinners most Friday evenings here at Christ Church. A couple weeks ago, it was only volunteers for dinner; we pushed the tables together so it would feel more like a family meal. :-) These Friday dinners are certainly one of the highlights each week for me.
The evening of Saturday, June 12th brought an adventure and great reward my way. :-) The friends that I have come to Israel with in 2004, 2006, and 2008 were in town for a couple nights, and I walked up to their hotel to say hi. It was about a 40 minute walk deep into Jerusalem's New City, and I had never been to this hotel! It actually was quite easy to find. I had to laugh at myself, though--it's been a long time since I was last in a five-star hotel. I questioned if I was still on the same planet?! It was great to sit down with the Prices and catch up a little. I plan to see them again in 2012 to keep this every-second-year streak going. :-)
Well, it is after 11pm, time to wrap this up. For those of you Americans who are not aware of the other type of "football" that exists, the World Cup has started and I am discovering how much fun it is to watch these soccer games. "American" football is still my favorite by far (go Colts!!) and I have a lot to learn about soccer matches, but I am so enjoying these games. Tonight was Brazil verses Ivory Coast, and one of my co-watchers predicted the final score exactly. You rock, Beno!
P.S. Please forgive any grammatical errors in this post as I was writing it during the soccer game . . . :-)
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