Zachar!

I've learned one hebrew word and this is it. Of course I would remember it as it stands for "remember" or "memory." Sounds like a page title to me.

Here are a few things I want to remember:
1. the Church of the Nativity is the oldest church in the Holy Land. I am blown away by all the churches here.

2. And another thing. I always thought of the Holy Land as "ours" (meaning Catholics). Turns out, we are a small minority here. In fact, only about 5% of the people here are Christians. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher---Jesus' tomb, place where he was prepared for burial and Mount Calvary---where he was crucified---are all under this roof. Each of these areas is controlled by a different religion. There are about 30 chapels within this church. The Franciscans (the only Catholics here) have the---darn, I've already forgotten what part of this church they control. So much information---interesting, but too much to remember!

3. All the hotels have holy names: Notre Dame Hotel, The Christmas Hotel, Mt. Zion and one that sounds just right for kids---the Holy Family Hotel.

4. I've forgotten everything else I wanted to remember.

Here's some other stuff:

I like this presentation of honey straight from the comb. I didn't try it though. I don't really like honey.

These four bowls all looked about the same. I finally figured out they are (from left to right), sour cream, cream cheese, whipped cream cheese and cottage cheese. I was looking for whipped cream.

Everywhere you go, you feel like you are in ancient times. This is the dining room of our hotel.

The Notre Dame Hotel---where we stayed for 4 nights.

Here's the group from Nashville---Christ the King. There are 29 people on this pilgrimage---most are from Memphis.

Butch has been using this backpack since the 1980's. I'd say he has gotten his money's worth out of it. I love that he carries it so I can stick my stuff in too. Another thing---he's so good about looking out for me. He reminds me when there's a step, takes my arm, let's me use his shoulder going down stairs so I don't have to touch the handrail, and calls my attention to potholes and uneven pavement. It's probably more for his benefit than mine. He'd rather not be embarrassed by my propensity for falling!

Somebody needs to report this to Starbucks. The logo is almost a "knock-off" too.

Also, there's a Holy Rock Cafe. I couldn't take a picture of that as we were doing some prayer stuff when I spotted it.

We had a crappy lunch here at the Bethlehem University---although everyone else seemed to like it.
It seemed funny seeing all the "scarved" students sitting around. It is a Christian school with a large Muslim population.

This is where Jesus' Ascension took place. I thought it was appropriate that there was a dove in the upper window.

This was probably my most favorite thing so far---The Garden of Gethsemane---where Jesus prayed before he was arrested. These olive trees are supposed to be from His time. They were really neat to look at---all old and gnarled. Wait, that's sort of how I feel! I'm getting a work-out for sure. Add the bad food, I must be losing weight. On a  positive note---no problems with my hives. I'm down to 5MG of the prednisone. I'm going to try to go off of it when I get home. As added insurance, I was blessed today at the Jordan River. We also renewed our Baptismal vows.

The streets of Jerusalem are exactly like you imagine them---narrow with shops solid on both sides. I wish we'd had time to go exploring on our own. I did get a little shopping done in Bethlehem---think Christmas presents!!

Of course, Linda would make friends with a cat in Jerusalem. This is the Upper Room where the Last Supper took place and Jesus appeared to His apostles after His Resurrection.

We're doing a lot of really fun stuff and have seen every place you've heard about in the scriptures. It's been really good for the spirit.

Notice all the proper use of capitalization in reference to the Lord? Looks like I'm a pretty good Catholic after all!!