If you read anything I wrote while in Israel you might remember my thoughts of the streams of people cycling up to the front of a famous site, snapping a picture, and then heading back to the bus. Well, over the past 24 hours I have not seen a single camera. No one is taken pictures of the cobble stone streets, the small tiendas, the worship spaces, the plazas, the families washing clothes in the river, the women gathering flowers to take to Saturday market, or the kids who have little more than the clothes on their backs playing while their parents work. Not even me...
Thought: Israel is where Jesus was. In places like this is where Jesus is. He said, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” Is this where it is possible to take a picture of the face of Jesus today?
Less Deep Thought: I need to carry my camera whenever I leave the guesthouse. I find myself visiting the church that Tammy serves, without any way to share it with others. It is not the Church of the Annunciation, but it is a much better expression of local believers creating a place for them to worship in “spirit and in truth.” I find myself being lead up the mountains behind the house by Maddy – a fun 3rd grader. Jashton and I are just going out for a walk. And the next thing we know Jashton is seeing how people do laundry when they don't have running water at home. Dozens of people scrubbing clothes (often as a whole family) on the rock by the rushing stream, and drying them on the bushes. It was just a walk, but it really was so much more.
While the Dome on the Rock is famous, there is great value here – time to carry my camera so I can share it.
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