Tower of David
Ancient Temple Walls
The Wailing Wall
Dome of the Rock
Before saying goodbye, we all went out for lunch at Lena's (a hole in the wall place famous for its hummus) and then to Jaffa's sweet shop for dessert...
After saying goodbye to Cate and Chinua (sniff, sniff - we REALLY miss them!) we headed down south to Eilat on the Red Sea. There we stayed at the coolest little Christian hostel called "The Shelter."
Oh yes, one thing I forgot to mention earlier. The night we arrived at the rainbow gathering I started to break out with hives or bed bugs or some pestilence sent to torment me night and day for weeks. My legs and arms were covered with itching, burning, evil little wounds that made daily life incredibly...challenging. It was a battle not to scratch my skin off and scream and complain and be a super grump the entire time we were there! They kept spreading and in Jerusalem they started to spread to my face and chest. Not good. I frantically sounded a call to prayer to my family and friends and while we were in Eilat they seemed to begin a slow process of healing rather than spreading. Thank you Jesus!!!
We also met up with Leilah's good friend Racheli. She took us out snorkeling and (bless her heart!) watched Asha so Ian and I could go out together. AMAZING!!! The moment we put our faces down into the water it was full of life!!! Asha really wanted to go scuba diving with Abba, so he took her pretty far out with the snorkel and let her see fish and coral. She was so excited!
We also took Asha to an aquarium there in Eilat that is comparable to the one in Monterey Bay. She was able to see all the fish we saw down there and so much more:
They had HUGE sea turtles and rays and sharks and even a fish we had never heard of before...
Behold the "frecked frogfish"
We spent a few days enjoying the restful sanctuary of The Shelter and then made our way back up north to Jerusalem. We stopped by Sde Boker again to see Leilah one last time. Oh how we love that girl!!!!
With Sita, Leilah's Nepali neighbor. Asha shocked her by doing the "namaste" and speaking Nepali
In Jerusalem we stayed once again at Petra, our favorite seedy little overpriced hostel by the Jaffa Gate. We learned from another guest that Mark Twain had once stayed in that very building. It wasn't a hostel at that time, though...
The view from our room
Our little yogi
Cuddle Momma time
We visited a couple museums our last day in Jerusalem. Ian watched Asha and took some sweet pictures in the courtyard while I walked through Yadvashem, the Holocaust Museum. It was a heavy experience, to say the least. What a contrast to find their smiling faces at the end. It forced me to face the dark side of human nature once again as well as see the many blessings I so often take for granted...
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