WOW WOW WOW

Began the day at 6AM walking the Stations of the cross. Incredible to know that Jesus walked that route to redeem the world. And as Father Hedman says to "...claim his prize," every single one of us! Goose bumps.

After stations, we went to breakfast then to the Church of the Holy Sepulcre. We went into Jesus' tomb where His body lay for three days until he was resurrected. AWESOME. I was in the tomb and prayed on the rock he way laid on. Or at least what they say is the one. Then we got to touch the rock face the cross Jesus hung on was standing on. So amazing.

From there it was free time. I went with team Crouse and Dan and Peter M. to the Dome of The Rock. It was big. And there is a lot of land up there. It was an interesting feeling being there.

From there I went out on my own. I wandered Old Jerusalem and took in the atmosphere. Today being our last full day I wanted to make sure I got a well rounded perspective on the current climate among the citizens of Israel. The college has offered several opportunities for us to learn about the political climate, but I felt we were hearing mostly the Palestinian side of things. So I introduced myself to a group of four very well armed Israeli police officers.

At first they ignored me. So I just kept standing there waiting to engage them. Finally, I politely interrupted their conversation. I was greeted with a, "what do you want?" I explained I just wanted to talk to them for a few minutes. Three of them were sent away by their superior and he stayed to talk to me. I asked him about what he thinks of the current situation. He said "right now I am wearing my uniform so I cannot talk about politics." I prodded deeper, and got a lot of information from him. Basically his perspective is that all the problems are not based on religion but on poverty. The people who live in impoverished areas according to him are the ones who start all the trouble. He believes the walls are good because they keep out people with criminal records, not just because it prevents bombs. And he said that he is an officer of the law and no matter who you are if you break the law he will arrest you and if you are being harmed he will help you. It was an awesome conversation, I can't spell his name but he used to work in the intelligence division for the army and now is a police officer. Seemed like he had some clout too.

What a cool day!

Chris