After this the whole team gathered at the Garden Tomb located half way between the Damascus Gate and the Nazarene Church. It is only a couple blocks from the Damascus Gate to the Tomb and a couple more blocks from the Tomb to the Nazarene Church. Horatio Spafford, the American author known for penning the song "It Is Well With My Soul" lived in the Old City just inside the Damascus Gate while his daughter's home was right beside the Nazarene Church. In fact the Nazarene compound was the garden of the Spafford estate before the Nazarene Church purchased this land about 1970, just a few years after the national border moved and this property switched from being part of Jordan to being within the borders of Israel.
Cesar (from Paraguay) was our excellent tour guide in the Garden Tomb and he did an excellent job explaining the compelling argument about why Golgotha and the garden tomb located here fits all the specifications mentioned in the Bible as to the correct location for the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. I have to admit the argument for this being the correct location rather than the place commemorated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has me mostly convinced that this is the real site of this most important event in human history. We saw the skull face in the hill situated close to a major intersection which would be the practice of the Romans for an execution. We saw the ancient wine press in the garden signifying this has been a vineyard garden far back in time. And most importantly we saw the empty tomb and the track carved in the rock where the round door stone would have rolled away on that first Easter Morning. We were told of the ancient ruins of an early church that existed at this location, most likely before the Romans repurposed this tomb for a stable. We had the amazing privilege to take communion here in the garden. It was an emotional time, as we sang and prayed, and listened to other groups from around the world and even a children's groups singing and praying in other languages as they also celebrated the resurrection in their own native tongues.
After these powerful experiences we all headed back to the church and got to work. Today painting continued on doors, window frames, hallways and bathrooms as the painting crew wrapped up work in the lower level and started working their way up to the next level. Tree and foliage trimming and removal continued in the back of the property and appears to be complete at this point. Shahade worked at busting out some cracked concrete around the compound in preparation for a little concrete work later in the week. Soap dispensers were installed in the church bathrooms. The black metal doors of the church are now freshly painted and the gold crosses really pop.
We put the big metal letters back on the front of the church this afternoon and we got the new flood lamps mounted and up on the porch roof so we could experiment with placement. After supper, as the sky slowly darkened we tried out various lighting positions and adjustments and decided on the best position and combination of lights on the sign. We have some tweaks to make before mounting the lights permanently but we are excited with how the sign and the lighted cross look, and can't wait to see the front of the church at night when this project is finished.
A few team members took a special tour this afternoon in the Old City down in the tunnels that snake through this ancient place. They came back excited about the amazing insights they gained from being below street level in Jerusalem. We revealed prayer partners tonight after supper since Pastor Russ is heading back home tonight. We normally wait until the last day before traveling home, but did not want Russ to miss out on this experience.We enjoyed revealing who we have been praying for and sneaking candy to during this trip. It was a full day with touring, worshiping, working, and sharing.
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