Dear Friends,
The past two days have been inspirational.
Sunday, we worshiped at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. It is a 150 year old Lutheran church founded by German missionaries in this (now) muslim city. Strange combination. The worship was primarily in Arabic but the pastor did a nice job of speaking in English to welcome those of us from the States.
The day ended with a trip to the Shepherds' Field were the "shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night." There is a small, beautiful chapel marking the place where the angels announced the birth of Jesus. we stayed in their for about a half hour singing Christmas carols in April. It was beautiful!
Today, Monday, we headed to the Dead Sea. When they say you can float in the water, it is an understatement. You can lie on your back with your hands behind your head and feet popping up out of the water!
We also had a trip to Masada where the Zealot Jews chose to kill themselves rather than become slaves to Rome after a 3 year siege in 70 AD. We also visited Qumran where the Essene Jews hid the Dead Sea Scolls in the caves overlooking the Dead Sea.
The day ended with a trip to Bethany where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We sat in a small chapel built by the Crusaders, had a time of prayer and ended our time with Gwen Glaeser singing the Lord's Prayer as a solo. It was very moving.
Each night we end with a time of devotion, prayer, and reflection. We have a couple more days left and look forward to spending time back in Charlotte telling you all about it.
Peace,
Pastor Scott
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