Day 15, June 14th

(Greg) Matt and I went out while the other fellas were still waking up to find some breakfast, but with no success. It was the Sabbath and the shops and restaurants were all closed. So we started off on empty stomachs for our final day in the Holy City. Some of the T-weeds went to see Gethsemane which they had missed the day before. The rest of us went in search of the upper room and the site of the first Mass. After a good hike back to the Jaffa Gate (the main road into the old city), we decided to take the rampart walk to our destination. We bought tickets and ascended the walls. It was a change of scenery, but not what we had imagined. We walked as far as the Zion Gate where we descended. 

Here on the street below, we found a boy selling bread at an absurd price. Still starving from our lack of breakfast, we scraped together enough for a single piece of bread. Its funny none of us made any connection as we broke the bread among ourselves and ate it below the windows of the Upper Room.

Our first stop was the Dormition Abbey where our Holy Mother fell asleep or died. The church itself was okay, but the crypt was much more memorable. Chris really liked it. He was the first one down and the lights were still off. The sight of Mary's body (a plaster model, of course) in the dim light made an impression on him.

 Next we went to the Upper Room. Here we spent quite a long time in prayer and reflection.. the room, I believe, was recreated by the Crusaders on the original spot as a church, but that did not diminish its importance. So many things occurred on that spot: the Last Supper, First Mass, Jesus' last exhortation to His Apostles, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and the doubting Thomas. We passed the New Testament around and read the passages to ourselves in prayerful reflection.

On the way out, we discovered David's Tomb nearly right next door. Several Jews were there praying as we quietly stepped in and back out. Back at the Dormition Abbey, we ran into the other T-weeds. After several minutes of emotional embraces, hugs, and tears, we went our separate ways once again.

Our group decided to make one last visit to the Holy Sepulchre before we left the city. On the way, I was surrounded by two postcard vendors eager to sell. It seemed they were competing with each other dispite my refusals, because they both had their cards in my face for several minutes. When I finally broke away from them, I discovered my shoulder pack was half open. they had attempted to snatch my camera! Angry, but all the wiser, we continued to the Holy Sepulchre and finally back to our hotel.

(DAVE) Leaving Jerusalem (& Anot) behind, we headed for the Golden Coast. Jerusalem was an awesome experience - an experience I'm sure none of us will ever forget. What a blessing it was to visit the Holy City - the city where Our Lord lived and walked and ultimately died for our sins. We continued that long tradition through the ages of making pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was an unforgettable experience.

But now on to the Golden Coast, world renowned for its beaches and diamonds (Greg informs me.) Upon arriving in Natonya?, we sat down to some down home, good old fashioned American cuisine - Domino's Pizza! Upon swallowing the last piece, we made our way down to the golden sands of Natonya. After enjoying the rhythmic massage of the waves and some antics of throwing each other up into the air and into the water, Greg, Sam, and I meandered over to the basketball courts to show the Israelis how to play basketball. But they had some idiotic rule of no-take-backs, which meant that anything off the basket was prime picking for an easy shot. We were easily beaten 7 to 1 (but on account of, I might add, this stupid rule.)

After having our fill of basketball, we tried our hand at a game or two of volleyball. By this time, Chris, Matt, and Joe had joined us. The guys we were playing were obviously very good, so I don't know if they were holding back on us or not, but we managed to squeak a win out of the two games we played.

After that and a short swim for some of us, we headed on to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. We ended up staying in Tiberias two nights. We had a very nice youth hostel there and it was in Tiberias that we befriended probably one of the more interesting characters of out trip - Fr. Tom.

(Greg) It was early evening when we arrived in Tiberias and we attempted to navigate ourselves to a Franciscan monastery (Terra Sancta) reputed to have lodging. The map directed us to a boardwalk on the Sea of Galilee, the center of Tiberias' nightlife. We saw bars, dance floors, disco boats, souvener shops, but no Terra Sancta (Holy ground). Convinced the Franciscans had sold out to the local heathens, I went across the street to a youth hostel. Chris, however, persevered and discovered the church behind a dance place. It was locked, but a sign informed us there was Mass at 8:30am. We booked a room at the hostel and went out to get a bite of food.

All of the food was expensive, so we split some pizzas among the five of us (Sam stayed at the room because he was sick) and enjoyed the quiet holiness of that Sacred Sea of Galilee. Disco boats, beer, Led Zepplin added much to that religiously inspiring meal.