Jerusalem... through my camera lens

Day One of our trip was spent in Jerusalem. There is so much to show you, but I do not want to be too wordy! I will just suffice it to say that I am HONORED to be here and walk where my Jesus walked. My goal is to blog every day about this trip, but it will all depend on internet availability as we travel. Please enjoy this first set of pictures!

Our day started out with a 7:30am breakfast in the hotel lobby We had the privilege of spending some time with Vice Prime Minister of Israel, Moshe Ya'alon

Mrs. Judy Van Sant and I in front of the Knesset (which, in Israel, is equal to our U.S. Congress. We had the privilege of meeting with Member of Knesset Arieh Eldad here) Jews walking the streets of Old City Jerusalem

Touching the Wailing Wall, a very sacred sight for Jews because they believe that Shekinah, God's presence, is located within these walls. I praise God that God's presence is everywhere and that He lives in me!

Prayers written on small pieces of paper, rolled up, and tucked between the cracks of the Wailing Wall.... there were thousands of these!

Women praying at the Wailing Wall (which is considered to be so holy that men are separated from the women).

Women reading the Torah and reciting prayers at the Wailing Wall

Standing in front of an olive tree, inside the Jewish Quarter of Old City Jerusalem

Golgotha, the place of the skull. This is now Palestinian territory.Here is a zoomed-in view of Golgotha. Notice the two deep, dark holes... these are the eyes of the skull.

In the Garden Tomb area

What the stone that was rolled in front of Jesus' grave would have looked like

Where the stone was rolled to the entrance of Jesus' grave

Standing in front of the entrance to Jesus' grave

And we can have eternal life because our Jesus is not dead! This wooden plaque was nailed on the door to the entrance of Jesus' grave.

Standing inside the tomb

The place where Jesus' body lay (to the left)

We serve a living God! It is a privilege to be missionaries and proclaim this Good News!

Garden and tomb entrance

In Jerusalem!

We left Simferopol, Ukraine this afternoon. We had a short layover in Istanbul, Turkey, (where David and I enjoyed the thrill of sharing a Starbucks coffee!), and we are now in Jerusalem, Israel! After a LONG search for our hotel, we are finally in our rooms (it is after 11pm and we just got here!)

We have not seen much yet, so this post will be short. "Old Jerusalem" is not far from here, and that is where we will be spending the day tomorrow! I hope to share some amazing pictures with you soon... I will also be doing my best to learn as MUCH as can! I heard my youth director, Bro. Ross, say, "Once you've been to Israel you no longer read the Bible in black in white but in full color!"

Thank you for your prayers for us. I feel so blessed to be here and share this time with my sweet hubby...

Holiday Happenings

I am sure the holidays create many busy moments for all of us! I thought I would share with you in this post, some of what has kept us busy during the last month.

As you look and enjoy these pictures, please pray for David and I, as well as Bob and Judy Van Sant. Tomorrow we fly out from here (Simferopol, Ukraine) to Israel. This month, Pastor Bob and Mrs. Judy (as we so affectionately call them) will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Since David has been to Israel several times and I have been once, they asked us to accompany them, as tour guides and for the extra fellowship. When we realized that we, too, will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this year, we decided to go for it! Of course, we are first and foremost missionaries, so we will always be searching for witnessing opportunities. Our three darlings will be staying in the Van Sant's home along with two babysitters and the Van Sant's own three darlings (their three dogs!) It is going to be one action-packed, happy household, for sure! We return next week, January 20th. It may be worth mentioning here, that Israel is just a two-hour flight from here and that we live in the same time zone.

Well, enjoy these newest pictures!

OUR CHRISTMAS CANTATA "TEN THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS" (I already posted about this, but here is a picture of the whole choir.)

SINGING "THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS" WITH A GROUPPERFORMING OUR CHRISTMAS CANTATA FOR A SECOND TIME, THIS TIME AT THE NURSING HOMEI COUNTED ABOUT 30 ELDERLY PEOPLE WHO MADE THEIR WAY DOWN TO THE AUDITORIUM TO HEAR US. THIS PICTURES SHOWS A FEW OF THEM.LADIES' CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOSTED BY JUDY VAN SANT, OUR PASTOR'S WIFEBRIANNA AND I, TRYING TO BLEND IN WITH THE DECORATIONS!

LADIES' CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

THE SUNDAY WE HAD MORE THAN 30 ORPHANS IN CHURCH! HERE, SOME OF THEM BEING DROPPED OFF AT CHURCH BY A BUS.CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS CANTATACHILDREN'S CANTATA SKIT NARRARATORA CLOSER LOOK.... I JUST LOVE THIS PICTURE! (THINK HE'LL ONE DAY TRULY "FILL" THIS PULPIT?!) CHILDREN'S CANTATA SKIT

TEEN CHRISTMAS BANQUET (HOSTED BY THE VAN SANTS AS WELL. PASTOR BOB IS THEIR CURRENT TEACHER)TEENS WITH THEIR CHRISTMAS GIFTS... NEW BIBLES!DAVID AND I, SERVING AT THE TEEN BANQUETTHE "NEW LIFE" SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS HAD A CHRISTMAS CLASS FELLOWSHIP AFTER A SUNDAY SERVICE. THOUGH WE DID NOT ATTEND, I GOT A GOOD PICTURE OF JOSEPH AND MARY (A.K.A. MISSIONARIES TONY AND DAWN HESS) AND WANTED TO SHARE IT!

OUR LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING SERVICE OF THE YEAR... SO WE CELEBRATED WITH A MEAL, A MESSAGE,....

...AND A CANDLE-LIT TESTIMONY AND PRAYER TIME

NEW YEAR'S PARTY AT OUR HOUSE THAT KEPT US UP UNTIL 4AM!ANNUAL MEN'S CONFERENCE... 37 MEN ATTENDED THIS TWO DAY/NIGHT RETREAT, THAT CENTERED AROUND THE THEME "HOPE IN GOD"CHRISTMAS CAROLING TO THE ELDERLY AND NEEDYDELIVERY OF NEW SHOES TO YET ANOTHER ORPHANAGE (I was not involved with this, but some of our church ladies were, so I wanted to share these pictures too)HAPPY ORPHAN GIRL WITH HER NEW HOUSESHOES!