Hope in the Midst of Darkness

Yesterday was a very interesting day, full of many different emotions. Isaac, a Palestinian friend of Living Bread Church, served as our guide for the day. We've spent a good bit of time with Isaac and his 13 year old son Abraham over the past week and a half. Isaac came to know Jesus through Living Bread Church and is one of the few Palestinian Christians in Israel. Isaac met us at the ministry house yesterday morning and we began our journey to the Dome of the Rock.

The Dome of the Rock is the third holiest sight for Muslims. Mecca and Medena, located in Saudi Arabia, are the two holiest sights of the Islamic faith. The Dome is located on the Temple Mount where it is believed that the second Jewish Temple stood from 516 BCE to 70 CE. We had an opportunity to pray silently around the Temple Mount. We prayed for peace between the Muslims and the Jews. We believe the only way that this will happen is for them to encounter the love of Christ, so we also prayed for salvations. (Brittany almost made it into the actual building! That does not happen if you are not Muslim.)

After we left the Dome of the Rock, we visited the East Gate of the Old City. Many believe that when Jesus returns, He will enter the city of Jerusalem through this gate. It has actually been blocked off so that no one can enter and Muslim graves are scattered in front of that section of the wall. Thankfully we serve a living God who has conquered death and we're pretty sure that a few stones will not hinder His return!!!

We stopped at a small, local restaurant for lunch. We ate a very authentic meal...pitas filled with falafel, cabbage, cucumber and dressing! It was a great alternative to peanut butter!!

After lunch, we visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It is really difficult to put into words what we experienced. It really opened our eyes to the hatred that existed towards the Jews, long before the Holocaust even began. The museum was set up like a timeline. It began by showing political and religious antisemitic propaganda. It's hard to believe that such a deep hatred could exist towards such a small group of people. It followed the historical events as well as personal stories of those who survived and those who perished in the Holocaust. This was something that was very important for our team to see. Hearts were left very heavy and burdened for the Jewish people.

We ended the night with prayer and worship on the roof. It was the coldest night we've had here so far! We have grown acustomed to having our worship and prayer interrupted by Muslim prayer calls blaring over the loud speakers throughout Jerusalem. However, we don't let that stop us. We know that our God always hears our prayers and worship!!

I guess we'll see y'all soon!! We love y'all!!
Jason and Laura