Walking, praying, views around Jerusalem

It has been a busy week. I am thankful that is finally Shabbat.

Israel celebrated Yom Kippur from sundown Tuesday and all day Wednesday. It was my first experience seeing how the streets in the outskirts of Jerusalem fill with children and adults on their bicycles, and older couples walking hand in hand throughout the warm evening hours. It was as if every family had nothing at all to do but come outside and enjoy their time together. It was beautiful! Indeed they were fasting and avoiding tv and other things that typically fill their lives. The roads were all blocked off and no traffic was allowed anywhere in Jerusalem. It seemed as if the city sighed in relief from the hustle and tension of everyday life for that brief period. No pictures allowed. You will have to come and experience this for yourself.

Throughout the week I attended some prayer gatherings and did a lot of walking–over five miles a day. Much of my walking was in prayer, walking familiar streets. I passed through the Mahane Yehuda a couple times, Yemen Moshe, Ben Yehuda Street, Jaffa Road and many others. I even took a bus to spend a day in Abu Ghosh in prayer. On the eve of Yom Kippur I chanced upon many buses unloading soldiers that were deployed in Jerusalem as extra security. (There had been a terror attack earlier that day.) As I passed through their midst, stepping over their duffle bags and gear, I took the opportunity to pray for each of them as soldiers in the Lord’s Army, stepping into their destiny with the light of God in their hearts. What a privilege it is to follow the path God leads us on!

 

 

Mahane Yehuda (Shuk)

 

 

 

View of the windmill in Yemen Moshe

 

 

US Consulate, Jerusalem (Judean desert hills in the distance)

 

 

 

 

Stairs and more stairs in Yemen Moshe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<–Western Wall

Abu Ghosh–>