It was Pentecost / Shavuot. My new friends and I visited a total of three churches: one Baptist, one Messianic, and one Greek Catholic (yes, like Roman Catholic, but Greek instead of Latin and East instead of West). We wanted to witness how Christians in Jerusalem celebrate this day.
My favourite part of the day: Wandering alone in the Old City of Jerusalem with a camera, some shekels, a few sentences of Arabic, and no GPS. After the intensity of what I see and hear in the past few days, I wanted some alone time with the Lord. The Old City became my classroom.
(I would highly recommend it, except I am not sure how much of it was fool hardiness with privileged protection from the Lord. I was also armed with some knowledge of the context. So if you have what I have, then feel free to attempt but apply regular caution).
I took the back alleyways and met a friendly man cleaning the outside of his Old City home. I found a stray cat and a stray grandpa looking for reusables in the trash heap. I met an antique shop owner who entertained my request for his story while I cool down in front of his air-conditioning unit. I met some kids who spoke no English but wanted conversation. They offered to take a photo of me with my camera, and then showed me the way to Jaffa Gate. I unintentionally scammed a shop owner who offered me free ice cream after I struggled to find change and he thought I was broke. I felt so bad I went back to pay him. I saw a glimpse behind the scenes. What I saw and heard was both troubling and comforting.
Dear Lord God, your servant is listening. Help me listen better.
