Happy Palm Sunday!

I have to admit that I am SO excited about being in Jerusalem for Holy Week this year, and the festivities began today. There is a huge procession put on by the Franciscan Friars every year that starts at the top of the Mount of Olives and works it's way down into the Old City (obviously based on Jesus' route when everyone was shouting "Hosanna!" and laying down palm branches).  There were thousands of people who walked together in the procession today from all over the world (literally). It was a pretty neat experience to have, although we had to push through the procession a bit since our little one was a quite overwhelmed by all of the noisemaking, singing, etc. And now some pictures:

Here we go!

This walk up the mountain is not for the faint of heart...we were exhausted by the time we got to the top, but thankfully it was quite easygoing on the way down. :)

Our view from the top of the Mount of Olives

The little one waving her palm branch :)

The beginning of the procession (the Franciscan Friars)

See the thousands of people in the procession? 

Jericho: A Day Trip

Now that Zach is officially on Pesach (Passover) break for the next two weeks or so, we have the opportunity to travel around the country a bit.  Today we took a day trip to Jericho, and it was quite the experience. It is only about 17 miles east of Jerusalem, but because we took buses and shared taxis, it took 3-4 hours of travel each way to get there! Ultimately, though, it was worth it.  We had a wonderful day.

This is a Russian museum (no idea why it's in Jericho), but we were just amazed at how green everything was! We have not seen grass this green since we left Oregon.

Jericho residents claim that this is THE sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed up to see Jesus.  Remember that song? "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he..."

Spring has certainly arrived in this desert oasis town.  These were some beautiful flowers that we passed on our way to our first destination.

Just some sheep in the road. Something you see basically every day.

'

This was our first real "touristy" stop.  This is a Muslim palace from the 8th century, and the remains are incredibly well-preserved.  It was extremely hot but worth the walk. By the way, you can see in the picture that Charis is staying shaded under a nice black cloth.  That was given to her by a shepherd we walked by who thought she needed something a little more than her sun hat. :)

The detail is so intricate, and it does not look like it is 1,300 years old!

This mosaic was pretty incredible... essentially every tile was still intact. I wish the picture showed it better, but the detail was pretty amazing.

A camel just chilling in a parking lot. 

This is the spring from 2 Kings 2 that Elisha purifies.  The Bible says that he gets a bowl with salt and then throws the salt into the spring.  That actions purifies the water, and it also says that the "water has remained wholesome to this day." It is still extremely clean, and after a quick drink, we can affirm that Elisha's word is true. :)

This is the spring from an indoor cavern.

Jericho is a true oasis in the desert.  It is pretty fascinating to see palm trees growing so closely to sandy desert (in the distance). 

This is not the best picture, but the tower remains there (tilt your head right) were literally built in 8,500 B.C. -- 10,500 years ago.  They are the some of the oldest ruins ever found. 

This was our view out the window as we left Jericho in our shared taxi. Let's just say we were winding around these mountains on the edge of  cliffs with a very aggressive Arab driver. I would not recommend that trip for the faint of heart (or stomach). 

Our baby girl on the trip back. Long, full day for all of us, but we really enjoyed the exploration. More to come tomorrow as we celebrate Palm Sunday in Jerusalem!

A Guest Blogger

Hi everyone, it's Charis. Mommy is letting me post since I am nine months old today. So in honor of turning nine months, here are nine facts about me:

1. I am doing great eating solid foods, and I especially love avocado, pumpkin, applesauce, and bananas. Now whenever Mommy and Daddy are eating anything, I scoot over and expect that they will give me little bits of their meal.  They usually do. :)

2. I love scooting around on my belly, especially if there is something in front of me that looks interesting. I especially love scooting toward cords, plastic bottles, bowls/plates of food, and paper products.

3. I make noise all the time, but my four favorite words are "Dada," "Baba," "Mama," and "Num" (which I say when I'm eating my food).

4. I absolutely love being outside.  Every time Mommy and Daddy take me out, I start squealing, smiling, and kicking wildly because I am so excited. I especially love to play in the grass at the park near our house.

5. Flapping my arms is my trademark. When something is exciting or makes me happy, my arms go wild because I can hardly contain myself!

6. I love charming people on buses, in the grocery store, etc.  Any time someone looks or smiles at me, I always give them a huge smile in return. That makes them happy.

7. I still love nursing more than just about anything, and Mommy is very happy that I still don't have any teeth.

8. My hair has grown a lot this month, according to Mommy. It sometimes looks crazy in the mornings when I wake up, and I like pulling on it sometimes.

9. I love to hold on to things while standing up, and I sometimes practice walking while Mommy and Daddy hold my arms. Once I learn how to walk, I am going to be unstoppable.

Goodbye, Cassels

I am about a week late in posting this, but our friend Brian (and his family) sadly left Jerusalem to head back to the States last week. It was wonderful for us to have him around for several weeks as we adjusted to life in Jerusalem; with all of the newness, the familiar face was a huge blessing. 

Charis saying goodbye to her honorary Uncle Brian

Best friends since freshman year at Wheaton

We'll miss you, Cassels!

Answered Prayer

If you've been reading our blog for any amount of time, you might remember that we posted a few prayer requests on March 3. (Go here if you missed it). Can I just say that God has been faithful to answer each and every one of those in some way? We have been blessed. So here's the update:

1. A piano/place to teach lessons: While I haven't started teaching lessons yet, a new friend from our church had an extra little keyboard that she didn't often use, and she graciously lent it to me for the time being. I've also gone back and forth about whether to start up lessons at all yet since we will probably have to move apartments in August.  Since I don't know exactly where we'll be, I don't want to have to get a whole new group of students once we move.  Another huge "piano" praise is that I get to play piano at our church every other Sunday. I am really excited about plugging in there!

2. Employment: As of about a week ago, I have a job that I am quite excited about.  I am working for a sermon transcription company that is based out of the States, and I am training to become the proofreader for the company (while currently doing overflow transcription work).  I've really enjoyed it so far, especially because I get to listen to some pretty meaningful sermons while I work, and I can work on my own schedule.

3. Church: I think we've officially plugged into a church here called Jerusalem Baptist Church.  The people there have really embraced us and welcomed us into their community, and it's been nice to start feeling like we have a church family again (although we really miss our Wellspring family!)

4. As I said in an earlier post, we got our student visas a few weeks ago without too much drama.

5. We still love each other very, very much. :)

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

This Will Bring a Smile to Your Face!

After I ran to the grocery store this afternoon, Zach said he had a little video present waiting for me that he and Charis had made while I was gone.  I know I'm biased... but babies just do not get any cuter than this!!

(The joy really begins right around 1:00)

A Few Tidbits

We have had a busy week here and haven't had a chance to update the blog, so here are some random tidbits from our week (in no particular order).

1. Charis and I visited the Garden Tomb for the first time... it's a beautiful, serene place.

2. I gave Zach a haircut with nothing but a pair of scissors -- a definite first for me! It probably doesn't look like a professional did it, but I made it work... and he was quite the trooper for letting me experiment on him. :)

3. We've spent quite a bit of time with our friend Brian and his parents who are visiting this week.  Pictures to come soon.

4. As of about 30 minutes ago, Charis started scooting on her belly! She has never liked being on her tummy, and we figured she might skip the scooting/crawling phase and go straight to walking.  She proved us wrong tonight, though; a cord was a few feet in front of her, and she made it all the way there.  Go, baby, go!

5. I get to play piano on Sunday at our church, and I am thrilled! I have missed playing so much, and there was an open opportunity for someone to play every other Sunday.  I happily stepped up!

6. It is absolutely gorgeous here -- spring has arrived! We have spent quite a bit of time at the huge park near our house, and Charis loves playing in the grass. 

Shabbat Shalom!