Spencer and Lydia having a wonderful lunch overlooking the sea of Galilee
Spencer conquering the monastery at Petra, Jordan
Lydia at Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem
Some flowers blooming at the Garden of Gethsemane
Well, what can I say, it was a whirlwind tour. We left our babies in Egypt and went to Israel early February 28th. We flew into Tel Aviv and got to our friend's house, the Meyers. That day we saw the Western Wall, or the Wailing Wall, in Old Jerusalem. Then we wandered around and just took it all in. The next day, we got up nice and early and went to Masada. Drove right along the Dead Sea for 2 hours. Saturday we went to church at the Jerusalem center and then went to the Mount of Olives, the Garden Tomb, the Garden of Gethsemane and other sights. Sunday, we got to see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the other sites that claims to be the site of Christ's crucifixion and burial. Also, we got in to see the Dome of the Rock, that blue mosque with the gold dome. That afternoon, our friends gave us a ride to the border of Jordan and we got a taxi on the other side to Amman. (we will have to tell you about that whole adventure another time) We stayed in Amman with the District President and his wife, Gil and Gerry Cook. Monday, we got up and rented a car in Amman. Then we went to see their Citadel and museum. On Tuesday, we did Petra. Ah, such a small sentence for such a huge effort. It was tiring and took all day, but it was worth it. A three hour car ride down, 4 1/2 hours there and then another 3 hours back to Amman. Wednesday, we arose early again and went an hour north to Jerash, a huge ancient roman metropolis with an arena that used to seat 15,000, a temple to Zeus, and lots of columns. Heading even further north, we got to Umm Qais. It overlooks the sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights, a border point between Jordan, Israel, Syria and Lebanon. We couldn't see Lebanon, though! We turned around before sunset and spent the night at the service missionaries house in Al Husn. The Cotton's are the greatest!! We got up Thursday morning and left for a castle called Ajloun. We made it there ahead of a bunch of tour groups and then found our way to the baptismal site of Jesus on the river Jordan. It was a bit disappointing, the river has receded so much, it's barely more than a muddy stream. We raced back to Amman to get back and do some shopping. Friday, we got up and went to church with the Amman Branch. They actually have Jordanian and American members meeting together, so sacrament is translated from English to Arabic. Then we went out to visit with the family Spencer stayed with when he came to Jordan in 2003. The Al-Mousa's are a wonderful family and it was good to catch up with them. Then we caught our own plane back to Cairo that evening and saw our babies again!! All in all, a tiring whirlwind, but it was time well spent together!!
