Hello again from the Old City

Well, it has been another busy week in Israel. Also it has been very warm and so I praise the Lord that my Aunt and Uncle have a swimming pool I can cool off in. Today is not so bad, I think it is about 23C today but Monday it was up to 35C which is very warm they say for May here.

On Saturday we decided to go into the old city and look around which was pretty awesome. Between all the sights and sound here I still hadn't gone in and actually looked around at the place (I did drive through it one night though). It is quite surreal actually being there and looking at all the places where these biblical events took place. We visited the Western (wailing) Wall and Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I'm kinda not really gonna say too much and show you some pictures and maybe a few vids just to let you know what is up.

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the traditional site of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection although many scholars dispute it. There has been a church on this site since Constantine. The current church has parts of it that date back almost 1000 years.

These are the walls of Jerusalem looking just outside the Jaffa (Western) Gate.

Not actually in the Old City but a cool mural on Agrippas St. Just up the street is the market and King of Kings church, which is the largest evangelical church in the city.

Me with the Dome of the Rock in the background. Just below the dome (kind of by my shoulder) is the Western wall.

The Western Wall. There is a story behind this picture. Normally on the Sabbath they don't allow pictures in the square. I kind of cheated and pulled out and snapped this and quickly put my camera away before anyone noticed. I hold God doesn't hold it against me. :)

Later on I actually went right up to the wall and touched it, they do let non-Jews into and up to the wall but it is a sacred place and you have to be reasonably quiet.




This is the temple mount where you can see the Dome of the Rock and then along the wall to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Dome of the Rock is largely ceremonial while the Al-Aqsa mosque is the one that is in daily use. We tried to go up there but we came at the wrong time and they were only allowing Muslims during that time. The second Palestinian Intifada (uprising) is commonly known as the Al-Aqsa uprising as it started as a result of then Prime Minister Arial Sharon visiting the temple mount.



Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchure. The video is a little dark but I more wanted to get the sound of the place and the Monks chanting. It was quite beautiful, although throughout the years there has been squabbling between the different churches about jurisdiction on the church. It is quite sad actually and a poor witness. The Pope was just here in Jerusalem and he was here the day before giving a speech/sermon on the whole Palestinian thing but I kind of wish he could have tried to resolve this as well.

Anyways, it was quite a day. A few more things during the week included filming an interview with some men from an organization called tabletotable here in Jerusalem that picks up and gleans leftover food (a lot like the gleaners organization in Vancouver) to give to the needy. I also spent a little time working on some stuff for the Palestinian Media Watch who are enlightening the world to what the Palestinian people are teaching and telling their own. Some of it is quite shocking. We went over to their office and met with PMW President Itamar Marcus about the sequence and he like what we are doing and are planning to do more video work for them. As well I got to see the whole operation in effect. They have several people billingual in Arabic, Hebrew, and English monitoring Palestinian media for anti-jewish/zionist/ even anti-western propaganda. More stuff is on the burner and I have two shows i am awaiting some footage on before I finish them and commit it to tape. Anyways, I miss you all but I am exciting about all the stuff that is happening and what God is doing here too. God Bless, shalom from Israel.