NOTES FROM THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF GUIDING AT THE GARDEN

• A lady from Nigeria who had been on my tour approached me afterwards.  She had a toque with a Canadian maple leaf on it.  She told me her husband was from Saskatchewan ( her pronunciation added a few letters).  I informed her that my wife was from Grenfell, Saskatchewan and asked her where her husband was from in Saskatchewan.  She said she wasn't sure but he had told her it was close to Niagara Falls. The next Canadian group I guided got a kick out of that.
• I was a little apprehensive that I had forgotten everything after 18 months, but after the first tour, it felt really comfortable and it all came back.  Actually, coming back to Jerusalem was like coming home.
• Had our first ( but not last ) flafel and coke upon returning to the Garden - just as good as I remembered.
• Last Saturday, all the Jerusalem holy sites opened their doors to the locals ( Israelis ) with an invitation to come and visit.  We were pleasantly surprised to welcome over 800 Israelis( mostly non christians ) for their first visit to the Garden - the only Protestant holy site in Israel.
• Tried St Peter's fish for the first time.  On previous tours I just couldn't eat something that still had a head on it when it arrived on my plate - but this time I tried and it was very good, with much more meat on it than I had thought it would have.  I also tried hummus and it was just as Glenda said - I didn't die.
• I tell North Americans that I left Jerusalem last time with a challenge to myself - if I could share in the Garden with 6000 strangers I had never met, I should be able to share more upon my return to Vernon.  It was amazing how many times the word Jerusalem came up over the last year when I was driving people around Vernon at work.  
• Back in Jerusalem, it never ceases to amaze me each time I take a tour, no matter what part of the world the people are from, that for the next 25 minutes I get an opportunity to share Christ with them.
• I was doing just that this week at Skull Hill, the place where we believe Jesus was crucified, and I had just got to the highlight of that segment of the tour, when I say, "It's not  important where He died, but why and for who" - when this American lady who was obviously glued to every word I had said, jumped up and yelled, " Is that a cat over there on the hill?".
• The guides swap stories during the day about some of the questions people will ask when they get to the tomb - everything from " where are the bones?" to "is there only one tomb?"  
• Ran into our guide / friend from the first two tours I went on a few years ago - His name is Roni Winter and he seemed glad to see us - we hope to get together near Christmas.  He is close to Gordon and Donna Reeve, fellow Canadians who are joining us later this month in the Garden.
• We went to the Jewish quarter today just to sit there and watch - it was fascinating.  Glenda took pictures and once we find a faster way to download she will add to the blog.  We will let the pictures tell the story.
• Enough for now - we are truly blessed to serve here. It really feels as if this is the place He wants us to serve at this point in time.

          Don Weglo