Day 5 Jerusalem

(Charlene) This is Thursday so we decided to go to the Garden Tomb today instead of tomorrow. We changed our schedule because of the unrest here yesterday and the possibility of the same happening again on Friday when all the young Muslim men seem to congregate. You may not understand the logic there but---We have to walk through an Arab area and market to get to the Garden Tomb and tomorrow we might feel more tension in that area.

(Edith)Today we went to the Garden Tomb Such a beautiful place and so peaceful within the walls there, but right outside the chaos of the world continued. After seeing what might be the "place of the skull--Golgotha" the four of us read scripture and shared communion together, a time I'm sure we will never forget.

There were several other large groups there when we were and we joined a group from Nigeria who were on the English tour. Before we went into the tomb a volunteer worker did a wonderful job sharing the gospel and explaining the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us. The volunteer staff there are definitely all believers.

Afterwards, Charles and Charlene decided to go back to the rooms to eat and rest but we entered the Old City again through the Damascus Gate. Some of the shops and schools were closed for the morning in the Arab Quarter. One shop owner who elected to stay open explained that it was in protest to the trouble on the top of the Temple Mount yesterday and that the shop owners who closed were just hurting themselves.

After awhile we rode the light rail train back into to the new city to do more exploring and shopping. To get back home we caught another train but inadvertently missed our get off point and rode the train to the end of the route. That train traveled directly through the Shimon Hatzadek station where the incident took place yesterday. News reporters and cameraman were videotaping at that location. We saw armed patrols at every station along the way.

We are going to a light show presentation inside the walls tonight at "David's Citadel" and it will be chilly so we will take our warmest clothes and a blanket.

(Charlene) The holes in the rock face resemble a skull. Charles is pointing out where two main roads crossed in ancient times which might be the place of crucifixion. The area today is the Arab bus station.

Day 4 in Jerusalem

We walked and walked today--through half of the old city and miles of the new city. We walked through Ben Yahuda pedestrian mall, to the central bus station, and visited two of the Christian humanitarian groups that we (the Mundys) support.

We visited the Lighthouse Distribution Center of CFI (Christian Friends of Israel) where we volunteered a few months several years ago. They have a big ministry blessing Israel by helping the new immigrants to Israel, providing clothes and start up packages for families who often come here with only one suitcase. Right now many immigrants are Jews from Crimea and Ukraine.

We had lunch with some friends from our volunteer days. Pictured with Charles are Maggie from Taiwan, Roccio from Peru, and Linda from Texas.

 The CFI Lighthouse also has a bridal room where women can choose from 300 beautiful wedding dresses for just the cost of cleaning when returning them.

After lunch we walked more and more blocks to visit another group, Shevet Achim whose ministry is facilitating heart surgeries for Muslim children from Iraq, Gaza, Syria, and other troubled areas. We were welcomed by the founder Jonathan and by Christina, a nurse from California who volunteers there.

On our way home we rode the light rail train to the Damascus Gate of the Old City and walked more blocks through the Arab Quarter with its hundreds and hundreds of little shops selling every imaginable item from spices to bras. A local lady on the train told us that earlier today a van deliberately ran into a crowd near a train station killing one policeman but we weren't ever aware of it. Later on CNN we saw the video of the crime. The Hamas leadership in Gaza praised the man who did the deed (who was "eliminated" by police).
You may have also heard about trouble on the Temple Mount. Just to clarify---that is the raised area up above the Western Wall where the Muslim Dome of the Rock is located and we don't go up there any more because of that very thing.

Jerusalem Day 3

Today we started out with something else new for E & D. They had never gone geocaching before so we did that in Jerusalem. We found the hidden cache right next to a plaza called Bush Plaza--no lie. It was made in honor of Israel's friend G W Bush and we made the Bushes' photo there. I had a "travel bug" to drop off that I had found in a New Mexico cache. Of course our comedian David was disappointed the cache did not contain cash.

 Charles drove us up to Mount of Olives and dropped us off. He returned our rental car while the rest of our "tour group" took pictures of the city and then walked down the route Jesus would have taken when traveling from Mary, Lazarus, and Martha's house to the Temple. We ended up in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We spent the next few hours walking around in the Old City. We prayed at the Western Wall for our friends and families---some of you for sure. We mortals are dog tired but you know who is at the Y working out for a couple of hours before dinner.

Day 2 in Jerusalem

After driving around to see the gates of the city, we visited the high priest's house where Jesus was questioned and Peter denied knowing him. Charles and Edith swear that they really heard a rooster crow while we were there. Charlene heard only a horse and David heard only a dog so is there a spiritual lesson there?


We drove toward Bethlehem but the police had the road blocked so we didn't get close. We didn't know what was going on but we can take a hint. We went to another place where we could overlook the Bethlehem shepherds' fields.

We visited the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea scrolls are stored and displayed. David was really impressed with the outdoor scale model (1/50) of Jerusalem with Temple in the time of Jesus.

When we came back to our rooms for a couple of hours, David went to the historic YMCA across the street from the King David Hotel to workout (bought a weeks' membership) the Mundys rested and Edith walked to the Old City alone to shop and explore. It took her only 6 minutes to walk back to our rooms. We are directly behind the King David Hotel but down 250 stone steps so it doesn't take long to get there either.

Late afternoon we drove out of Jerusalem into the wilderness toward Jericho. We rode camels down the hill to a big tent where we had a delicious meal while watching the light disappear over the wilderness hills. When it got dark we could clearly see the lights on the Allenby Bridge at the border into Jordan and lights of villages of Jordan.

When we got back the Bushes walked back to Jaffa Gate to explore some more. It didn't take them long to get comfortable here.

On to Jerusalem

We drove into Jerusalem for the Bushes' first time today. The traffic was terrible as usual. Edith said "I can't believe I'm really here." We went to our little apartments and unloaded before going to the grocery store for some supplies. We will be staying in these rooms for 6 nights and cooking some meals on our one burner hotplate, microwave and toaster oven. Tonight we all ate salad, hummus, pita, cheese toast and rice. Don't laugh--it tasted mighty good. At the store D & E struck up a conversation with a Jewish man who immigrated here years ago from New York.

While we were out we drove to the Promenade Overlook where all the buses come to show the whole city to their groups.

In the picture below I am standing on the walkway in front of our rooms. Notice the walls of the Old City up behind me. Our rooms are in the lower story of a 100 year old house on the slope just across from the old city. In fact after dinner and an hour after dark we walked over there and entered at the Jaffa Gate and walked a way down among the shops. Many families were walking around and heading home. There were some shops still open and in fact, would have been happy to sell us a scarf or a sterling silver necklace.

From Galilee to Caesarea on the Sea

We drove from the Sea of Galilee across to Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea passing through Cana and Nazareth on the way (only about 50 miles across). We started touring the ruins at Megiddo but showers cut that short. Sun breaks and showers took turns most of the morning. They are always grateful for showers here so we tried not to gripe.

The last site of the day was at the ruins of Caesarea. There was a harbor on the sea, an amphitheater, a hippodrome, lots of other ruins. We checked into our hotel as soon as possible so David could spend the rest of the afternoon working out. Edith and Charlene decided to go to the pool but chickened out when the water and breeze were too cool--chose the hot tub instead.

Most days we have Mangum ice cream bars so we are ready when dinner time comes. Below are Charles, Charlene and Edith having lunch on a stick.

Finding dinner was an hour-long fiasco with no restaurants in sight. Finally we put McDonalds in the GPS and ate $10 hamburgers (no dollar menu here) but we were desperate. We never even saw another eating establishment. Should have ordered from room service.

Northern Israel/Syrian Border

Today we drove as far north as you can go in Israel and stopped at a popular overlook. A couple of tour buses were there at the same time we were there. We listened to a Jewish guide talk to his group about what we were seeing. The nearest village, about 2 miles away, was supposed to be occupied by the United Nations. UN was in big black letters on background of white on buildings and trucks. He called them the United Nonsense (which is a pretty general opinion shared by some of us). If you have been keeping up on the news you might have read last week that ISIS in Syria was getting closer to the Israeli border so the UN workers fled into Israel. Wonder why they came this way?

On the way north (The Israel border with Lebanon and Syria is just about 25 miles north of where we are staying.) we stopped at the Hula Valley Nature Preserve in honor of my good friend Jo who is being buried today. She was my (Charlene's) best birding buddy for the last 40 years. We have been known to delay the tour bus because the two of us were looking at some Syrian woodpecker or something. The Hula Preserve is known for the thousands of pelicans, cranes, and other water birds who live there or stop there on migration. They have bicycles, golf carts, or tractor pulled bird blinds that people can rent to navigate the reserve. See picture below of us four on a bicycle built for six. You sit in a circle but all pedal.

The other main place we stopped at today was Banias (Caesarea Philippi in the Bible) at the foot of Mt Hermon where there was a temple to Caesar in the time of Jesus. Next to that was a cave where sacrifices were made to the pagan god Pan (Panias, Banias). The cave entrance was called the Gates of Hades. We read the scripture where Jesus took his disciples and asked Who do men say I am? Who do you think I am? and Peter came out with the right answer. We talked about why Jesus might have asked that question with all the pagan worship right in front of them.

Today and yesterday when we returned from our driving tour, Edith and David have taken the car and gone a couple of miles away to the city of Tiberias where David found a workout room in Caesar's Hotel for $6.50 a day. While he was in the workout room Edith was visiting shops and talking to locals. (Charles and Charlene were resting and having a cold drink on their patio.) The Bushes also found a little business where they got their clothes washed, dried and folded for $12. At the kibbutz hotel (Nof Ginosar) where we are staying we found out they would do about 2 bras for that price.

Right now it is 4:30 pm Friday and they are setting up for Erev Shabbat (Sabbath eve) when the lady of the house or group will light the Shabbat candles and say the blessings. Some of the groups staying here are Jewish and most are Christians. Some of the Jewish guides will show their Christian groups how it is traditionally done.