Fenway

It's finally that time of year!

Welcome to My Mid-Thirties

Year 34 has now begun. Last night's three-tiered yellow pudding-layered cake with chocolate frosting and toffee chips wrapped up the best birthday week ever. Not only is Marta beautiful but she is also an excellent cook and baker. From the homemade calzones and pulled pork BBQ to the famous Grandon Chocolate Cake, this was a week full of fine dining.

The gym is now calling.

"The Holiest Place of All"

I've saved my last Israel post for the place of the whole trip that was the most special.

History tells us that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built on top of the place that was thought to be the place of Christ's crucifixion and burial at least from the 4th century. It is honored by nearly all Catholic sects as the holy site. However, since its discovery in 1869, the Garden Tomb has also surfaced as the potential sight for these memorable events and is revered by most Protestants and Mormons. You can probably get a sense from the photos how different these two places are. People can give archeological/traditional evidences for either site, but the best article I've come across is in support of the Garden Tomb and found on the lds.org website. If you're interested, it is a great read on what you see in the photos below.

We arrived at the Garden Tomb early before they opened for the day, just before a couple of large groups lined up to get in. The Garden is gated and just down an alley from one of the major bus stations of the area. The main street is loud with a constant traffic of people and buses.

However, immediately upon entering this place, the noises of the outside disappear and you can feel that you are somewhere special. We got in with an English-speaking tour (I guess you're supposed to call ahead) which was their first tour of the day.

I knew that I wanted to try to get some photos without people in them so I snuck away from the group and wandered over by myself to the tomb.

It was the best decision of my trip. As I approached the tomb I noticed that there were two women inside who had my same idea. They spent some quiet moments inside and then vacated so that I could come in. I had a few minutes there in the tomb all by myself while these two women sang a hymn outside the door in their language. It was an incredible moment. Mormons have a special connection with this place at least since the days of President Lee who traveled to Jerusalem and said of this place:

“Something seemed to impress us as we stood there, that this was the holiest place of all, and we fancied we could have witnessed the dramatic scene that took place there.”

Of all the places we visited on this trip there were only two times that I hesitated as I lifted my camera to capture. One was the small skulls in Bethlehem. I was too flustered and surprised there by what I was seeing to get my camera set right in the low light (the photo I posted was taken by my father-in-law). The other was inside this tomb. After reassurance from the tour guide here that it was ok to do so, I took some so I could remember this special place.

If this really is the right tomb, then this is the stone on which Christ was laid and from which He arose.

So this wraps up my Israel posts. I hope you've enjoyed them. I've learned more putting these posts together than I did while seeing it all, so I've really enjoyed it. Israel has to be one of the most unique places in the world and somewhere that I'm convinced should be on everyone's list of places to see and experience for themselves.