A Walk In The Garden: Shalom from Jerusalem

Shalom from Jerusalem! We have had a few emails from friends asking if everything is okay as the blog hasn't been updated in a while. YES everything is fine. I guess we have been busy and didn't realize that it has been so long. 3 weeks today we leave to come home to Canada. Sometimes it feels like we have been here for months and other times it feels like we have just arrived! There are still so manys things to do and so many places still to see. We have heard that British Airways may be going on strike right around the time we will be returning. We won't know for another couple of weeks if our flights will be affected, but it could mean that we may have to return earlier, stay longer, or return with a different airline. My coworkers at Menno Travel have assured me that they will monitor our flights; so I'm not concerned. We had a day off today so decided that we would go through our clothes and pack a suitcase with the clothes that we know we won't be needing for the next 3 weeks. Between the clothes and souvenirs we were able to fill one suitcase! We also need to do a thorough cleaning - wash out the cupboards, wash the windows, defrost the fridge and freezer, etc before we leave and since we will be busy with Easter we don't want to leave everything until the last week. Today we went 'exploring.' We walked to Mea Sharim street which is about a 10 -15 minute walk from here. It is an ultra orthodox Jewish neighborhood - a totally different world. We leave our Arab neighborhood where all the women have their heads covered with scarfs to this area that is exactly the opposite with the men with the long beards, long curly side burn ringlets, wearing the long black coats and black hats. We walked by an outside store where they were selling mens shirts - they were all white shirts as that is the only color you see men wearing. That is one of the things that I love about this place; that you can walk a few blocks in a different direction and see a totally different culture! I know all the historical, archeological sites are important and interesting to see, it's just too bad that the tours don't get an opportunity to see and walk around these neighborhoods as well. We then walked to Ben Yehuda street, got a coke, and sat at one of the tables and watched the people go by. When we got back to the Garden, we listened to the different groups worshipping and singing praises to God. Who could ask for anything more!!! Below you will see some pictures of Merv and Merla Watson who are from Abbotsford but spend most of their time here in Israel. We were introduced to each other via email from a couple of friends and last Friday they invited us to their home for Shabbat. What a privilege! There were 12 of us enjoying a traditional Shabbat dinner. It was a wonderful. After dinner, they put on a concert for us. Merv and Merla have been very influential in Israel - organizing and starting the Feast of the Tabernacles, International Christian Embassy, plus many other events in Israel. They were also the ones to introduce the Hebraic style of music and choreographed spiritual dance into worhsip. Merla composed the song "Jehovah Jireh" plus over 500 other worship songs. Their porfolio is long - I would never remember to tell you everything they have been involved in. Anyway, they performed for us, then their daughter who is also an accomplished musician and performer sang for us.