I asked Billy to write down something about his trip so that a) I could post it here and b) he would have something to look back on. I also asked him to send me pictures to go along with his story, but he sent me over 200 and I have no idea which ones would go where. So I'll post what he wrote and put some random pictures at the end. If you have any questions, I'm sure Billy would be more than happy to answer them.
Jerusalem/Bethlehem Trip In Israel
Currently I'm stationed in Izmir Turkey and we had a group that decided to go to Israel for Christmas this year 2009. Roger Yoon and I decided to split a room and we were off. I must say...I never thought I'd be spending Christmas Day in Jerusalem/Bethlehem/West Bank and witnessing all the things that I did in one day! Here are some details of the best trip I've had in my life.
We chartered a group and our leader was an Israeli woman named Judy who had been giving guided tours for quite a long time. Our hotel was in Tel Aviv but we headed to Jerusalem around 0730 in the morning. Upon arriving in Jerusalem we first went to the top of a hill/mountain known as the Mount of Olives. From here you can look down on the city of Jerusalem. The first thing that jumps out at you is The Dome of The Rock...Muslims believe that this is where Muhammad ascended to heaven and he left his footprint on the stone which is the Dome of the Rock. From this vantage point you can see David's home...that's King David/the City of David also. You can also see the hill that Abraham was going to sacrifice his son on until the angels came down and told him to sacrifice an animal.
Our first stop was the exact spot on the second floor where Jesus had his Last Supper. We were actually in the room where they had the Last Supper. They explained why Jesus broke the bread and gave to the disciples symbolizing the breaking of his body and the wine representing his blood that was shed to atone for man sins. It was very interesting and exciting there.
Next Judy handed us to another guide that was Palestinian because Israelis' can't go into Palestinian Authority territory. So there these two Air Force guys were going into Palestinian controlled area (they didn't advertise this in the tour brochure by the way. We drove about 15 minutes to reach Bethlehem which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA). We went through a check and didn't have a problem...I think it's because all the tourist and money that both sides were making. The Palestinian's were out in the street with all black attire on where you could only see their eyes and all carried an AK-47 machine gun. Also there were Israeli soldiers in the Neutral zone very close by...kinda scary...didn't really know who was who at first. So we went to Sheppard's Field first and this is where an angel came to the Sheppard's that were watching their flock and told them the great news that the world had been sent a savior and to go worship him. We saw where they kept their flocks (in a couple of caves actually). We also saw the cave where Mary fed Jesus milk and a drop of her milk fell onto the floor of the cave and it is said that the powder in that cave is blessed. Most of the people there would touch the cave and the white powder came off pretty easily. I purchased some rosary beads that were in a box and I opened the box and scraped off some powder into the box with the cross of the rosary beads. They say that people have put the powder on places on their body and have been healed and some have had their sight restored from this powder.
Then we went to the Church of the Nativity. Just outside the church they have a large square called Manger's Square and they had dancing and drums. It was very crowded...but it was Christmas Day and we were where Jesus was born! We went into the church and down the hall you go down some stairs and enter into a small opening...kinda looked like a cave and that's the spot where Jesus was born. It was so crowded there must have been about 200-300 people in front of our group so we didn't actually go in the room where Jesus was born but we were about 50 feet away and I took a few photos of people going in near the spot.
Via Dolorosa is the path Jesus carried his cross on his way to be crucified. There are 14 STATIONS that have significant meaning on the Via Dolorosa. I will give a short explanation of each. This is the most moving of all the trips/tours and places we went.
1. Jesus is condemned to death "Then they led Jesus from Calaphas to the Praetorium" (John 18:28)
2. Jesus takes up the Cross "Pilate took Jesus and Scourged Him," (John 19:1) "Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified: (John 19:16)
3. Jesus falls under the Cross for the first time " He who would console me and give me back my life is far from me." (Lamentations 1:16)
4. Jesus meets His Mother "All you who pass, look and see: is any sorrow like the sorrow that afflicts me?" (Lamentations 1:12)
5. Simon the Cyrenian is forced to carry the Cross "They enlisted a passer by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, to carry His Cross" (Mark 15:21)
6. Veronica wipes the sweat from Jesus' face "May the Lord's Face shine upon you. (Numbers 6:25)
7. Jesus falls for the second time "With their affliction, He was afflicted. In His love and His pity He redeemed them." (Isaiah 63:9)
8. Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over Me. Weep rather over yourselves and your children. For if green wood is treated thus, how will the dry wood be treated?" (Luke 23:28)
9. Jesus falls for the third time "I have come to do your will, O God." (Psalms 40:8)
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments "From the sole of the foot to the head, are bruises and sores and bleeding wounds." (Isaiah 1:6)
11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross "They have pierced My hands and My feet. They have numbered all my bones." (Psalms 22) "He came to the Place of the Skull ( in Hebrew, "Golgotha"), where they crucified Him." (John 19:17)
12. Jesus dies on the Cross "Jesus cried, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?" that is, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Once more, uttering a loud cry, Jesus gave up His spirit" (Matthew 27:50)
13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross "Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, and a disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took the body of Jesus down." (Luke 25:53) The Mother of Jesus was there. [The stone of annointment was where they put Jesus after his death and this was the most moving place of all to me personally...very moving and emotional to kneel down placing my hands on the stone that Jesus was placed on after his death. Everyone who touched the stone wept...I still weep every time I think about it.]
14. Jesus is laid in the Tomb "And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock. Then he rolled a stone before the entrance of the tomb." (Matthew 27:59)
The living Jesus rises from the tomb "And the Angel said to the women: 'He has risen. He is not here." (Mark 16:6) Christ has died...Christ has risen...Christ will come again...ALLELUIA...ALLELUIA...ALLELUIA
We went to most of these stations. I took pictures of the place where they took Jesus and removed his clothes.
**There were three levels to the church where Jesus was Crucified, where they cleaned his body after passing, and the resurrection. The underground floor exists directly below the Cross and we went there first. There they have in glass the actual hill Golgotha (part of it) and we took pictures of that. In another room directly under the cross is where the bedrock was split after the earthquake when Jesus passed. Next, on the middle floor we went to the Stone of the Annointment where they put Jesus after his death. On the wall they have mosaic's depicting the crucifiction and his loved ones taking him from the cross and carrying him to the stone to prepare his body for burial. The actual stone is under these mosaic and I know there is power in this stone. I spoke of this a bit in the 13th station of the cross above but will repeat. It felt strange to even take a picture of this and after I took a couple of pictures I was going to move to get a picture of the entire Stone and felt like God told me to stop...so I did and went to the other side and got on my knees and placed my hands on the stone and prayed. (This is the most moving thing I've ever felt and I get emotional just thinking about it and writing about it now). The closest I've ever felt to Jesus was in this room and I really can't explain it but I will try. The feeling is like when you know you were first saved and you just know that you have been saved and have that direct relationship with God and the sheer joy and elation of freedom...but it felt so much more powerful for some reason.
After visiting the Stone of Annointment we climbed the narrow stairs to where Jesus was crucified. Another somber feeling when you get to the top and actually see the spot where Jesus was crucified. There is a Cross and depiction of Jesus on it exactly where it happened.
Then we went to the Tomb where Jesus was resurrected!! This is still a cave inside the church in the middle of a huge dome and is dark. There is a small entrance and wonderful depiction of Jesus rising out of the tomb. This is the reason we worship and believe!!
Massada and Dead Sea Trip in Israel
Next day...different tour guide and different location...off to Massada and the Dead Sea
We hopped on another tour bus around 0730 in the morning and were off to Massada. This is a place in the dessert in Israel. This was King David's place of refuge should he need to escape from his enemies. This is the worlds first known health resorts and King Herod liked to visit this place. I've got pictures of this place and all the different levels It's huge and I imagine took a very long time to build. Later in history this site is famous for a large group of Jew's that were running from the Romans and killed themselves so they could die free instead of live in slavery to the Romans. The way they did this was each family were to kill their children, wives and there were 10 selected men that cast lots to see who would be the last to fall on their sword. Once the Romans finally broached the gate and got in they found all the Jews dead by their own hands. The Romans had been trying to get in that fortress for months and had finally built enough ramp via the rocks to roll a battering ram to knock down the eastern gate and the Jews knew that it wouldn't be long so they made the decision to kill themselves.
On the way to Massada we stopped and rode a camel...that was pretty cool...they stink though. We stopped on the way to Massada overlooking the Dead Sea and looked into the mountains...there are two cave entrances and that is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in ceramic cisterns by a Sheppard who was looking for a lost sheep hundreds of years ago. These are the letters that our New Testament were written from!! Got a couple of pictures of this.
Now we went to the Dead Sea. We brought our swim trunks and flippyfloppies!
When we arrived at the area where they had food for sale and a place to change we ate and got into our swim trunks. One thing about the Dead Sea is that it is so salty...you can't drown...I felt like I was about to float out of the water. When you lay back your feet pop out of the water and most of your calves are out of the water. They told us not to get the water in our eyes or we would not be happy for a while. Which meant no splashing or putting your head under the water. A few known or less known facts of the Dead Sea is that it's the lowest elevation on earth at 422 Meters (1385 feet) below sea level and is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. No animals or marine life can live in it because it's so salty...i.e. the name "Dead Sea"!
Just before the Dead Sea entrance they had a huge Mud Pit and a lot of people got in it and covered themselves in this mud. It looked like tar and was very thick. Roger and I said you know what man...we may never be back here...let's do it! In the mud pit we went. We covered ourselves in this smelly mud and it did stink I tell ya! We looked like the Tar Baby...lol. Once we got covered in the mud from head to toe we noticed we had sunk to the top of our thighs and couldn't move...so with a bit of a struggle and panic for a few seconds we managed to get out of the mud pit and sit in a couple of plastic chairs that had already been covered in mud and we just chilled out for about 20-30 minutes and let it dry a bit. Then we got in the ocean and rinsed off the mud...my skin felt great and they say the minerals that are in and around the Dead Sea are the best in the world. AHAVA is one of the if not the number one leaders in body minerals, mud's, scrubs, ect. I've got pictures of Roger and I looking like the Tar Baby too...
On the way back to Tel Aviv the tour guide said to look to the right...and said there's Jericho. Wow...Jericho huh. Then he proceeds to tell us that the 20 foot wall with all the barbed wire on it was built in 2007 and before that there were at least 2 terrorist attacks along that stretch of highway each day killing people every week. Since that's where the Palestinian Authority is and those guys have been fighting the Israili's for a long time. He said that the wall has helped greatly and that if that wall wasn't erected that we would have a 50/50 chance of getting killed on the way home from our tour. Probably a good thing that they don't tell you this stuff before you get on the bus right?
Well that's all I can think of for now...but I will tell anyone who reads this to visit Israel at least once in your life. If you are a Christian it will strengthen your faith and bring you even closer to God! If you have questions...go and your questions will be answered by the almighty that gave his son so that we could have everlasting life by accepting his son as their personal savior and all our sins will be wiped clean due to the blood he shed for us. Forgiveness is ours for the taking if we only ask!
//SIGNED//
William Gray Johnson, Jr.
P.S. I want to thank my Mother, Grandmother and Grandfather for taking me to church when I was young to learn about Jesus Christ and God. Without Jesus in my life there is no telling where I would have wound up or if I would even be here now. I know that I'm not perfect...but forgiven!
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