Coexist!

Whether it's the Los Gatos Interfaith group or the Coexist Foundation, there are lots of people in the world hoping we can find common ground among differing religions. The headline news shares violent stories of extreme fanatics and we sometimes forget that many other good individuals work and hope for peace. Peace here in Israel and Everywhere!

I feel grateful and blessed to have internal peace, something I really do believe was Christ's message to us. If his gift was his atonement and resurrection, I think his life's message truly was one of finding peace and to "be of good cheer." (John 16:33)

Our last full day in Israel yesterday followed Christ's Final Day and subsequent Resurrection. Many Christians tourists come to the Holy Land just to walk the Via Dolorosa (latin for suffering way). We followed this trail (with some added locations). Some of the places we saw:

Gethsemane - the olive orchard garden around the Church of All Nations replicates the place where Christ retired.

St. Peter in Gallicantu - the Roman Catholic church on the possible site of Christ's pretrial hearing before Annas. Gallicantu is Latin for where the rooster crowed (signifying Peter's betrayal)

The Antonius Fortress - thought to be the most likely location of Pontius Pilate's hearing.

Church of Holy Sepulchre - the traditional site of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

Garden Tomb - while there is no archeological evidence for this site the garden tomb fits the physical description and is a beautiful spot. Garland shared his testimony of the resurrection with us here. You do feel a sense here that the knowledge that "he is not here, but is risen"(Luke 24:6) really does make ALL the difference!

A few other sites we visited:

Orson Hyde Garden - a beautiful area on the Mount of Olives, owned by the church, named after the Apostle Orson Hyde who came to Israel in 1840 and dedicated the Holy Land for the return of the Jews.

Pool of Bethesda - the place where Christ healed the man who had been lame for 38 years.

St. Anne's Church - thought to be the location of the home of Anne, mother of Mary.

We meet an Israeli couple for dinner that Garland has known for many years. Just like meeting the Bedouin family, this was another bonus of the trip; not something the typical tourist gets to experience.