Week run down, before I head off to Turkey!

I never seem to have enough time to say everything I want to say. A little run down of my week though (I'll try and add pictures in a week or two).....

We went to the Garden tomb this week, which is where the protestants believe that Christ was crucified and then later buried. It is maintained by a British group so our little British tour guide was a hoot. I've never seen a Brit so enthusiastic (not that I know very many British people), but he had us praising all sorts of Amens! and Hallejulas! It was wonderful to meet someone so excited about Christ and his life, and most importantly about how He has risen and lives now ready to redeem us.

We were also able to go to the pool of Bethesda earlier this week. In John 5:2, Jesus came to the pool and met a man "with infirmity" who had been sitting by the pool, waiting for when the pool would be troubled and enter in the pool to be healed. He however has no one to help him and he was never able to be the first in. Jesus then healed the man and sent him on his way. It is very neat to see this locations and try to imagine what it would have been like. Was there a crowd around the pool and bustling city life? Or was it this man sitting all alone in a desolate part of the city? I appreciate that these stories from Sunday School, have been coming alive and becoming little moments of life recorded not just a story we hear at bed time. It's really been helping me to appreciate the scriptures and the teachings found in them.

This week, we were also able to visit the mosque in the neighborhood nearby. It was very cool to be able to come inside and have a daily visitor to the mosque tell us about it and about how prayers work and some of the cultural aspects. I learned that there is very little decoration in a mosque and it is purposely bare. There is the cove at the front of the room that directs people to know which direction Mecca is, but other than that and the prayer times posted on the walls nothing is else is there. The women's room to pray was on the floor below and had a TV and speakers so they could follow along with the men upstairs. I am grateful that we were able to learn a bit more, because we hear the call to prayer everyday five times a day so it was great to put some real context in what the call means.

Okay this is all I have time to retell for now, because today we head off for Turkey!!! Where I really won't have internet access, but once I get back I will have explosion of pictures to put I'm sure!

Anyway, this is why my life is an adventure!