This is where Jesus was crucified. The man down in the front ‘box’ sat like that for a long time. It looked like he loved Jesus. Tradition has it that Jesus was crucified right over the tomb of Adam…therefore becoming the new Adam.

What grace God (and Danica) have given me to travel to Jerusalem.  Of the many countries I have been to in the world I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this.  The variety of cultures and languages represented here are as diverse as the smells you experience walking down the narrow, uneven roadways.

This is a view from the mount of olives

The last few weeks in Burundi were great if you don’t count the loneliness.  I was able to learn a LOT of French in a short time as well as teach 15 pastors and Sunday school teachers from around the country.  I worked my way through an excellent curriculum created by Karen Jacobsen from Rwanda.  The students were hungry for the content and had wonderful attitudes towards learning.  There was a 3 hour period in my teaching where I just left the material that I was supposed to teach, sat down on a chair, and proceeded to tell the whole story of the Bible.  I think this is the best way to teach the Bible.  I am not that interested in authorship, literary criticism, or difficulties with some texts.  Instead, I like maps, dates, and characters.  I have to give thanks to Ken Esau who was my Old Testament teacher from my undergrad who taught the Old Testament in ‘stages’ which helped me understand it way better.  All in all the training was great and I felt the Holy Spirit as I was teaching.  Saying good-bye to everyone was not so easy and it was a mad rush of activity to get everything in order before leaving.

These boys were giggling like crazy as they pulled each other down the steps in these boxes. Children have been playing in these streets for thousands of years.

I had two options for the way home.  The first option was the direct(est) route that took me from Bujumbura—Dubai—Paris—Vancouver.  The other option was to go through Amman, Jordan and Jerusalem.  This option only cost $100 more and so I decided to capitalize on this very rare opportunity to see the Holy Land.

After I got on the plane I started to read ‘The Hobbit’ and I don’t remember much else for the next day until I finished it.  What an awesome book…I can hardly wait for the movie.

This was my favorite site in Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s tunnels. Not for the claustrophobic.

So I am once again a tourist.  This is a life of backpacks, tones of walking, hostels, meeting new people every day, and many foreign currencies in the wallet.  Right now I sit in Jerusalem in my dorm and reminisce about what I have seen in the last few days.  I am at a Catholic guest house that is on the Via Delarosa and from the upstairs terrace I can see the whole city.  I have seen the Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount, the Garden of Gethsemane, the City of David, Golgotha, the tomb of Jesus and Mary, and many other things.  While all of these things are incredibly interesting, as a Christian I question the theological significance.  So many people come to this city to gaze upon the sacredness of ‘places.’  Both theists and atheists alike speak of a ‘spirituality’ of this place.  Does the Spirit of the Lord dwell in places like this…outside of any human body?  I guess some are quick to talk about places where an evil presence dwells, so why not have the opposite?  Almost every other sect of Christianity besides Protestantism has a rich history of attributing holiness to objects or places, whereas us protestants don’t know much about that.  Anyways, it was something interesting for me to think about.  Could I say that I felt the ‘presence’ in some of these places in Jerusalem…I don’t know.  I definitely felt like praying.

The site of Isaac’s binding and the center of the world. The Muslim’s have it (for now).

Tomorrow I leave Jerusalem and head home with a one-day stop-over in Paris.  I am super excited to see my wife and kids and all my friends and family.  All of you have been so supportive of us and I have been extremely humbled by your generosity.  I don’t know how much blogging I will do when I get home but I know it will be less.  We will keep you posted as things progress.  Shalom.

This may not be exactly where Jesus prayed, but it is close.