Day 3 - To Bethlehem
Waking to a beautiful sunrise, we left Galilee early in the morning to make the long trek (3-4 hours) to Bethlehem. We stopped along the way for a bathroom break, and as you can see below, for some snacks. A couple of our members were thrilled to find some snacks they were familiar with – they said the picture doesn’t capture the smell of the goats, however.
After the long bus ride we arrived in Bethlehem, Palestine. It was quite a culture shock! Crowded, narrow streets bustling with people, cars, honking, yelling, and merchants. We went to a Olive Wood/antiquities/jewelry/icons store for some shopping, then to lunch for more falafels and shawarma.
After lunch there was a harrowing bus ride followed by fascinating walking through the streets of Bethlehem to the Lutheran Church of Bethlehem where they opened up for us to hold our own worship service. It was moving.
After worship in the Lutheran Church most walked to the Church of the Nativity to enter this ancient church through its front, main, 4.5 foot door into this massive sanctuary. We made our way down into the he cave where it is believed that Jesus was born and laid in a manger. In this deep cave we sang Silent Night and Away in the Manger. Again, it was very moving.
Our final stop was to a field and cave called the Shepherd’s field. It isn’t claimed to be the actuary place where the angels appeared to the shepherds watching their flocks by night, but most of the hillsides in and around Bethlehem have been overrun with urban sprawl so this at least gave a flavor of what it might have been like.
Finally we arrived at our hotel in Jerusalem where we will stay for four nights – about a 10 minute walk to the Damascus Gate of the old city wall. After dinner a group of us went for a walk through the old city to the Western (or Wailing) Wall.
It was another great day! Our first two days were blasted hot (over 100 degrees), so the cooler temperatures with the higher elevations of Jerusalem and Bethlehem have made this a welcome change. However, tomorrow we go to the Dead Sea and Masada, which will be even hotter. After such a cold spring in Spokane I don’t know that any of us are complaining.
- Shalom for now
