Western Wall and Tower of David

We chose to go to the Western Wall for the first time on the Sabbath so that it would not be so crowded and overwhelming.  The boys went on the mens side with Scott.  Ryan spent awhile praying for friends and family - he had a list in his head prepared ahead of time.  Kylen walked right up and kissed the wall.  He looked up at his dad and said "It's hot."  Scott asked if he kissed the wall and Kylen did it again - thats when Scott managed to capture the moment.  Precious.  I already know it will be my favorite picture from this trip.  He's wearing a little yarmulke out of respect for other worshippers.

Emily and I went to the girls side with shawls wrapped over our heads.  She was wide-eyed and quietly absorbed all the people around her.  Second-thinking it, I want the kids to see the masses praying so fervently there.  Its moving to watch the intensity with which people pray and read the scriptures.
Picts not allowed on the Sabbath but will post some more when we return.  We also made it to the Church of the Holy Seplecher.  This is believed to be the spot where Christ was crucified and ressurected.  Emily had a pretty emotional reaction realizing where we were.  Look at the Tiny Clips on our website to see part of her reaction where she asks if she can take off her shoes.  Caught us both off guard.  What a beautiful response.  www.inruins.org

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Emma arrived today!  Hooray!  She took a Sherut (minivan-taxi) from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem by herself.  We told her what major intersection we were near and she was going to call us when she arrived.  Well, her phone didn't have service so there was no way to contact us!  Emma boldly started walking with her two bags behind her searching for people almost completely unknown in our neighborhood.  Almost...  I'm upstairs with the windows open and I hear my only new friend Rachel say, "Are you looking for Cathi?"  She's of course speaking to Emma!  How crazy is that?!  Emma stumbles upon the one person in all of Jerusalem that knows me and where I live!  Love that!  Thank you God for watching over her and her trip there!

Emma was ready to hit the ground running, so we made our way to the Tower of David.  It is a museum within one of Herod's ancient fortresses.  Amazing.  Even more amazing is how concisely they laid out the history of Jerusalem in a short movie form and through an exhibit that took about 2 hrs to walk through.  We all learned much and walked away with a better understanding our Israeli friends as a people that have miraculously persevered.  No doubt that attributes to the cultural assertiveness we are experiencing.