my first view of the tomb

Last Sabbath (Saturday), we all went to the Garden Tomb for the first time. Like so much of what I have experienced here thus far in Jerusalem, the site was a surprising find. Still amazing, but not what I expected. The Tomb is definitely a tourist destination today; it is kept up very well by a Christian church. We were guided through the area it encompasses and told the story of Jesus by an elderly Irish man. There was the most vivacious, jubilant group of African Christians just ahead of us taking a tour - I wish you could have heard their praises to Jesus! Deep, deep moans and tones, hands in the air, "amens" echoing throughout the whole place...I loved it. However, I am glad we can return there as much as we want; I'm anxious to get better pictures of it and to do a bit of peaceful pondering.

(weekly visits to the Garden Tomb, are you serious?...just another perk of living in Jerusalem!)

A few of my besties. Cute girls, huh? I love them all.

This is Golgotha - "the place of the skull." 

Can you see it - the skull? It looks more like Voldemort's face, in my opinion.

But that is for real.

Christ's cross was just below the skull's face, actually, where a parking lot now is. I always imagined Him to have been on a hilltop, but no, He hung at ground-level and this was His backdrop.

Oooh I get the chills with this one.

Here is the Tomb. And that is a line of sweet African saints waiting to see inside. I post this pic because I want you to see what Jerusalem is really like today, as much as I want to convey its ancient sacredness. I never imagined seeing the supposed site of my Savior's burial like this for the first time; incredible peace and quiet was my mental schema. Isn't that great, though, that long, long line? 

I'll go back and get some more pictures, but for now this will do.

Final thought: real faith is everywhere, in every land and among every people. 

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World.