The Heavenly Jerusalem

Hand prints, artifacts, and 20 shekels

Stations of the Cross was an interesting experience. There are fourteen different places where St. Helena said that Christ carried his cross along his walk to Golgotha. It is interesting because there isn't any historical evidence or references in the Bible to confirm that it's true, but it is still a possibility. Different things supposedly happened at each place such as him falling down, the place where he was condemned, a lady gave him a cloth to wipe his face, and the gate that he walked through.

This is where Jesus saw his mother Mary

It's said that Christ put his hand here at this spot

This was place where they believe Christ's cross was placed, and where his blood dripped down into the ground

I don't know if those events actually happened, but what I do know is that it is a long walk to carry a heavy cross after just being whipped. I gained even more appreciation for Christ and all that he has done for me.

Tel Arad was my favorite spot on our field trip excursion this week. It is the ruins of an old Jewish temple. We are one of the first groups that has been able to visit this sight. The most amazing part was the Holy of Hollies. It was their sacred place where men could commune with God. I loved being able to see the structure of the temple from so long ago.

Holy of Hollies

I learned that I should probably appreciate archaeology a little more because one of my favorite parts was the view... but the temple was honestly incredible too.

It's hard to see, but the landscape was amazing and stretched out for forever

We also went to a Bedouin weaving center that's for the empowerment of women. All of the money received from the purchases of the things made there go to the education of the girls in their community. It was so cool! This young teenage girl gave us a tour of the center. She showed us the process of making the wool and how to weave it. She talked about their culture and her daily life in the community. I was so impressed with her love of learning and her desire to do whatever it took to obtain a good education. It made me appreciate my own education even more.

This is a tent outside where they gave make the wool and weave

Free day! We went to the Israel museum. We are taking an Ancient and Near Eastern class and it was so cool to see so many of the artifacts we had studied in the museum. There was a huge model of what the city of Jerusalem would have looked like during the 2nd Temple Period.