What a Special Sabbath

Today was another special day.  We started with a walk in a private section of the Garden of Gethsemane.  One member of our tour prepared a devotional on the Atonement and as she began the sun came out and shone on her face.  For the next half hour we quietly contemplated the meaning of the Garden of Gethsemane and looked across to the Golden Gate (this is a newer one (blocked up in the 1500's) just above the one Jesus went thru on His way to the Garden). As we went to leave and go to the Church of Many Nations it started to rain again.  This church is the traditional site of the rock where Jesus prayed.  Many of the trees in the Garden are over 2000 years old so they are referred to as Witness Trees.  From the Garden we went to the BYU Jerusalem Center which overlooks Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.  Attending Sacrament Meeting (the Sabbath is on Saturday here) was very special as you sit looking over the city and the Temple Mount as you partake of the Sacrament and are taught.

View of the Dome of the Rock on top of the Temple Mount from the BYU Jerusalem Center

After Church we went to Bethlehem where we had an authentic Bedouin meal in a facility modeled after a Bedouin tent.  Thankfully it was much warmer than a tent would have been. Again the meal was delicious and way too much food.  From there we went to an area called the Shepherds’ fields.  We went into a grotto considered the traditional site of the announcement of the Saviors birth to the Shepherds.  We sang Oh Little Town of Bethlehem in the cave which sounded beautiful.  The hillsides are covered with similar caves where the shepherds kept their sheep at night – it gives you an idea of what it was like in those days and the importance of that announcement. The landscape photo above shows what shepherds fields look like today - there are many caves dotting the hillsides as well as housing now.  Next we visited The Church of the Nativity – the oldest church in Christendom.  It was built about 326 AD by Constantine after his mother Helena visited the area and was told this was the site of Jesus birth. The picture of the gateway shows how it was blocked up to keep people from riding their donkey's into the church.  Below the church is the Grotto of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.  When Elder Harold B. Lee visited the site he said “There seemed to be in this place a kind of spiritual assurance that this was indeed a hallowed spot although marred by centuries of, shall I say, unhallowed embellishment.”  This was probably the most crowded spot on our tour.  This ended our tour for the day which I think all our minds and bodies appreciated.  We have devotionals each evening which together with our fast pace touring has made us all very tired.