שלום

  This is it. I'm in Israel.

  I don't even know how to describe it. The only adjective coming to my mind right now: breath-taking. This is nothing like what I expected. No matter where you are standing, there is an awesome view. Maybe because of the fact that it's all hills and valleys here, so most of the time you're at the top of a hill over-looking miles and miles of holy land.

View of Old City, Jerusalem from Mt. of Olives

  That's a picture (or a bunch of pictures put together rather) of when we went for a walk around

In King Hezekiah's water
tunnel

Jerusalem. We met up with our contact here and he took us to the city of David, where King Hezekiah's water shaft is, the one where King David went up through with his mighty men to capture the fortress. It was about a 45 minute walk through shin high water and it was pitch black, we had to use flashlights. It was so mind-blowing to think that in that same little tunnel we were walking through, about 3,000 years ago, the only one in the Bible to be called a man after God's own heart came up to conquer the city where he built the tabernacle of God where His presence rested. And it's like that everywhere here, there's so much history everywhere you look.

Wailing wall

  We went to the wailing wall where thousands of jews gather to pray to the God of Israel. They come here because this is the closest they can get to the temple Solomon built for God to dwell, where the Holy of Holies was. The temple is under muslim control so they can't go in. God's presence is so thick in this place (wailing wall). They come here to memorize and recite the Torah (five books of Moses) for hours on end. It's heart-breaking to think, they know God so well, yet they fail to know Jesus his Son. All I could pray while we were there, was that God would open their eyes, that he would give them eyes to see and ears to hear. I kept repeating these words over and over until we left. And that is something we all need to pray constantly, that is why we gentiles are saved, for the sake of them.

  We've been here for a week now. We just settled in Caleb Company's apartment (read previous post), before this we had to stay for a few days in other friends' apartment. So far we have been getting to know the land and the culture, visiting the biblical places, and it's really making the Bible come alive. God's been showing us more and more of what He feels for these people. This week though is going to be more ministry oriented. I'm not sure what this is going to be like since the leaders for the week always let the rest of us know what we're doing the night before.
  Thanks for reading! Please be praying for us! That people might know we're Christians by our love. That God would soften their hearts, open their eyes, open their ears. And anything else you can think of and that God might remind you.

אני אוהב אתכם

-חוליו-

P.S.

If you ever get the chance to go to Israel, take it.