Today was a free day on our schedule. There were limited choices for what we could do because of the Jewish holiday of Shavvuot, or the Jewish Pentecost, so public transportation was not running, post offices were closed and Jewish shops were by and large closed. Some of us -- including yours truly -- took advantage of the free day to sleep in a little later and catch up on much-needed rest. some of us went to restaurants that we had been eyeing all week. Most of us did some shopping for folks back home. For myself, I walked to the top of the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Pater Noster where I knew they had some gifts I wanted to buy. The church is one spot where it is believed Jesus might have taught the disciples the Lord's prayer. It is a grueling walk -- especially in today's 90 degree heat -- but there was a nice breeze all day as well.
This evening we were all invited to the home of Iyad Qumri, the operator of the tour company we are using. Iyad and his lovely wife,Simone and their son hosted a wonderful dinner of Palestinian foods with some fellowship and refreshments beforehand. A highlight of the evening was each of us sharing who our secret prayer partner has been during the pilgrimage and presenting that person with a token gift that reflected our understanding of what they would enjoy. It was great fun and quite moving for some people, especially if they had not known each other well before the trip. In the irony of ironies, Frank Kirkpatrick and I learned that we had drawn each other's names.
Tomorrow: Bethphage, Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Have a blessed day! don
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