Wednesday, 6/25/14
Arrived at the King
Solomon Hotel last night – definitely more of a tourist hotel, while the Scots
Hotel (our previous one) was more of a resort. Dinner was good – best part
about dessert was getting everyone to answer questions about it: “What is it?
Is it good? On a scale of 1-10…? Would you get it again? Etc.”
After dinner, we went
to the hotel bar and had drinks and a nice chat – it was quite a big group.
Finally got the shower
to work – realized the hot water turned on the opposite way.
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Breakfast was good
this morning. I think I ended up with pudding instead of yogurt, but there are
worse things than that mistake, right? I also ended up with coffee on me (just
a little though)… There was a woman at the espresso machine – she was making
her coffee, when she turned to the young man behind her and said, “You can
laugh. You can laugh.” Then, she took her coffee and threw it at the guy (full
in the face). Then, she said, “I did it. I did it.” And she proceeded to walk
away, muttering to herself. (Later, the hotel staff asked her to leave.)
Fortunately, I was two people back, so I barely got sprayed…What a start to the
morning, eh? Good thing Marisa had Tide-2-Go.
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Post-excursion
reflection:
Today was a day I was
very much looking forward to – we were going to Bethlehem, the birthplace of
Christ.
Our trip began at the
Church over the home of John the Baptist, which started with an open courtyard
with the Benedictus written in many languages. Fr. Ken led us in praying it in
English before we went inside to visit, take pictures, and pray. There was a
cave down below and a Church above.
We then made a decent
walk up many stairs to the Church of the Visitation. (Youssef said it was 150,
but I did not count.) That was absolutely beautiful. The courtyard had a
lovely (modern) statue of Mary and Elizabeth, and the Magnificat was written
in 42 languages (got that figure from my guidebook!) on the wall.
I prayed also for
expectant mothers, especially my friends Kelsey, Jillian, and Melissa.
It was in this town,
Ain Karem, where Youssef explained what the Jerusalem cross symbolized – there
are a few explanations:
1-Jerusalem as the
center of the world (because Christianity was established in Jerusalem)
2-5 Catholic countries
of the Crusades: Italy (center), England, Spain, France, & Germany
3-Jesus (center) with
4 wounds from cross
4-Jesus (center) with
4 Gospels
We then went to the
Holocaust Museum, of which we saw only a tiny part. I did not take many
pictures here. It was very moving, especially the “Hall of Remembrance” and the
“Children’s Memorial.”
In the Hall of
Remembrance, there were the names of the 21 main camps/ghettos on the black
basalt floor. Looking back towards the entrance, there was a tomb/casket, which
seemed similar to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (Later I looked in the
guidebook – it said it contained the cremation ashes from some of those killed
during the Holocaust.) There was also an eternal flame lit by the tomb.
In the Children’s
Memorial, the first interior room had reflected images of some of the children
killed during the Holocaust (1.5 million children in total were killed). As we
moved further inside, it got really dark and there was a room with mirrors that
caused an appearance of floating candles that seemed to reach down into an
abyss and up to the sky, surrounding us on all sides. It was so dark that I
could barely see where to walk. While in the room, I heard names, ages, and
countries of the children killed.
In Bethlehem, our
first stop was at a shop to buy olive wood and stone products. I bought a few
gifts for family and for my classroom. Upon leaving the store, many street
vendors tried to get us to purchase things – and they just wouldn’t let up for
some people! It got to the point of being very annoying – they practically came
on the bus!
For lunch, we had the
choice of chicken shwerma pita or falafel pita. (I chose the latter.) I sat
upstairs with Marisa, Tracy, Kim, Peggy, and Kathy. (We even had a mini plate
of baklava to share!) The restaurant was called “The Christmas Tree,” so we
actually dined right beside one. Then, we got back on the bus to head to the
Church of the Nativity.
The Church of the
Nativity was under renovation, so I don’t think we got the full impact, but it
was still very beautiful! It’s the oldest Church in the world, and it has
survived destruction three times, most recently during the Six Day War in 1967,
when an Israeli plane hit the roof with a missile that never exploded.
We went down to the
grotto next – surprisingly, there was not a long line, so we got to kneel
before and touch the Star of Bethlehem (where Jesus was born) without much
delay. (It still felt rushed, though.) We also turned behind and descended a
few steps to see the manger spot.
It was neat to hear the Midnight Mass readings here, as we are exactly 6 months away from Christmas – couldn’t have timed that any better. We sang three Christmas carols throughout Mass: “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” & “Joy to the World.” I tell you, I have never been more excited or moved to sing Christmas carols in my life!
Fr. Ken focused on the
word “HERE” (maybe because it was win big, bold letters in the missal) – we are
here because Jesus was here. And God is still here with us today.
The final stop on
today’s journey was at the Shepherd’s Field, where, legend has it, the
shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night when an angel of the
Lord came to announce the birth of Jesus. It was very pretty – with three
pictures on the walls of the chapel. Below was a grotto/cave – a star was
carved into the ceiling, and there were various manger scenes set up too.
I had two people
recommend “The Red Tent” to me today, so that needs to go on my “to read” list
– it has to do with Ruth (which is related to our final stop because it’s also
the site of Boaz’s (Ruth’s husband) fields).
