The Florida Meltons

Still in Tampa, Florida

2012-01-12T02:22:00.000+02:00

We are still in Florida. Judy had knee replacement surgery in August, two cataract surgeries and now I (Al) am waiting for surgery on my right shoulder. We are scheduled to return to Israel mid September for two months. In the midst of this latest trip cancellation we have expanded our British vocabulary. Our word for the week is "gutted." I think that pretty well describes how we feel about not being in Israel at this time!

We have taken advantage of being stateside; two trips to New England, cruise from Boston to Canada, trip to Houston for Thanksgiving and an awesome Christmas with our entire family here in Tampa. We have nothing to complain about.

Tampa Florida

2011-06-27T00:02:00.000+03:00

We returned to Florida a week early back in May. Judy has had Miniscus surgery on her right knee. Surgery was successful. However, additional work will need to be done after the first week in September. We were scheduled to return to Israel the first of September. We will not be returning to Israel. Needless to say, we are discouraged. However we are rejoicing because we will return January 6, 2012 - March 6th.

Israel and the Garden Tomb have become incredibly important parts of our lives. While we wait to return to Israel, we are teaching at our church, spending some quality time with our grand children and hope to sneak in a little travel time in the USA!

Samaritan Passover on Mt. Gerizim

2011-05-01T20:36:00.002+03:00

I'll skip the appolgies for not updating...

Judy's knee started giving her problems the middle of April. We were walking through the Old City when, for no apparent reason, her right knee began to give her excruciating pain. X-Ray was non conclusive. Our Dr. friend at Idlewild advised her to go home for further testing and we will be doing so. We leave Israel a week early (May 5th) for Tampa and have a Dr.'s appointmen scheduled for her as soon as we get home. Sure looks like she is going to have to have surgery - not a pleasant thought.

Her injury has pretty much kept her confined to the Garden. Unfortunately, she was unable to go with us to Mt. Gerizim in Samaria to witness the Samaritan Sacrifice on Passover, Palm Sunday - April 17th.

The Samaritans are descendents from a group brought from Babylon to Samaria during the Jewish exile to Babylon who inter-married with the remnant of the Jewish population that was left there by the Babylonians. The Samaritans inhabited Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to this very day.

The Samaritans accepted the God of Israel as their God and their religion is based on the Torah only. Samaritans claim that their worship (as opposed to the mainstream Judaism) is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

The Samaritans were hated by the Jews in Jesus day. Jesus went through Samaria and talked to "The Woman at the Well" who believed and brought many Samaritans to hear Jesus. Jesus loved all - even the "enemies" of the Jews and came for all. He set an incredible example for us to follow!

Today there are about 750 Samaritans left. They still observe the Passover and sacrifice sheep on Mt. Gerizim. Their Temples were destroyed in the first century BC and 6th century AD.

When Jesus gave the "Great commision" He mentioned that the gospel should be preached in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost ends of the world.

From the top of Mt. Gerizim looking down to Shechem (modern day Nablus) in the valley below.

Ruins of the First and Second Temples

of the Samaritans and a Byzantine Church

View from the ruins on top of Mt Gerizim.

Notice the building on the slope to the left with the dome on top.

Next picture please...

That building is not a church...

it is the home of the wealthiest man in Palestine!

Looks like a Roman Villa...

Looking down into Shechem aka Nablus

and the home of Jacob's Well.

We visited Shechem 33 years ago and drank water from Jacob's well!

This Greek Othodox Church stands over that well today.

The High Priest in the White

Preparing to bless the sacrifice

It is time to catch up...

2011-04-10T19:24:00.002+03:00

Yes we are alive and well... I know, I know... I did promise to be more faithful about keeping up to date with posts... sorry but not too sorry because we have been incredibly busy! Lots of people visiting the Garden and we have been run ragged... We are tired but a very good kind of tired!

We have been blessed with a significant increase in visitors to the Garden, including some old friends as well!

Larry & I graduated from High School together 50 years ago!

Jonathan Falwell's Father, Jerry, was our Pastor 1977-1982

Dr. Erwin Lutzer and his wife

Sarah Palin

Sarah and her husband Todd

Dr. Woodrow Michael Kroll

Dr. Kroll's daughter, Tracy

Dr. Kroll's son, Tim

Dr. Kroll's daughter, Tina

And... for my "Bloomin' Friends!"

The Garden is getting dressed up for Easter!

Jerusalem is always a fun place during holiday celebrations...

In the midst of a very busy season, we did have the opportunity to get away to Eilat for a few days to rest. On the way down through the Negev, we stopped off at David Ben-Gurion's tomb. Incredible views!!!

Jews, when visiting the tomb of a loved one, instead

leaving flowers leave a "Stone of Remembrance."

A great idea, if you forgot to bring flowers, there

are always stones around!

Awesome view!

Now, the view is perfect!

There were a number of Ibex in the memorial park.

We drove on down to Eilat for a restful couple of days. Our hotel was on the water with a balcony overlooking a lagoon that emptied into the Red Sea... We were two blocks from the sea and about a mile from the Oceanarium. Fun visit and very restful... much needed!

View from our hotel balcony looking East

Looking North

Sun rising over the mountains in Jordan

Koi Pond at the Oceanarium

Oceanarium

New Pet for Carly!

We found Nemo!

A pet for Ben!

A pet for Al?

We found this guy swimming near the beach...

We stopped off in Timnah Park on our way back to Jerusalem

Incredible!

Solomon mined Copper from here.

Copper Ingots ready to be transported.

There is a full size model of the Tabernacle in Timnah Park

Fascinating

The Holy of Holies is behind the stripped curtain.

Altar

Table of Shew Bread

Altar of Incense

High Priest

Menorah

Ark of the Covenant

Inside the Ark: Arron's Rod, Ten Commandments and Mannah

Jerusalem, Israel 2011

2011-03-09T16:31:00.000+02:00

We have returned to Jerusalem and the Garden Tomb.

I (al) came over February 12th and Judy March 2nd.

Judy remained behind to care for her brother who was dying. Our daughter, Jennifer, wrote a wonderful tribute to him on her blog http://ryanmcgregor.blogspot.com/2011/02/this-is-my-uncle.html

She captured in words and pictures what all of us felt losing Judy's beloved brother, my brother-in-law, and our children's uncle.

Judy and I are settled into our routine here in Jerusalem. It is always good to be here. I have had the privilege of taking over 1700 visitors through the Garden so far sharing the gospel with them.

We have been blessed with groups from all over the world, including the Chilean Miners that were trapped underground in Chile.

They were our guests in the Garden along with their wives and at least one small child.

We controlled the news Media (oh the joy of it all!), allowed only one camera in the Garden to film them. Consequently their experience here was a tremendously worshipful experience for them.

Judy and I were off yesterday, walked over to the Garden of Gethsemene, visited "Mary's Tomb" - one of two... how does that work?

Her other tomb is in Ephesus. We went through the old city

to the Western Wall - prayed for our pastor, who was preaching a funeral service for a young man later in the day in Tampa. We also prayed for many of you who are reading this blog. We continued through the Jewish neighborhood of the old city,

stopped off for lunch, saw the remains of the city walls from the First Temple era (Solomon's Temple)

and visited a museum that has a model of the First Temple and the city of Jerusalem in that day.

Very interesting.

As we draw to the close of our day in Jerusalem, it is with a sad heart that we report that all is not well in Jerusalem... We are reminded every day that this is a city for which Jesus wept and we are surrounded with a people that he loved, died for and wanted to come to Him. Our daily reminder of that crushing need lies just outside our Garden... we cannot forget that it was for the lost that He came!

The Sun sets and the moon rises over our Garden and this city. We are so thankful for the opportunity that is ours to represent the One who loved us here in His land!

The Epicenter of the Universe!

2011-02-03T21:14:00.000+02:00

We leave Tampa February 12th to return to Jerusalem and the Epicenter of the Universe for three months. Our home, for the sixth time in just over two years, will be an apartment at the Garden Tomb just outside the Damascus Gate of the Old Walled City of Jerusalem in East Jerusalem.

The Garden Tomb

is the possible location of the Crucifixion, burial and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We return to Israel with a great deal of excitement in our hearts as we travel back to the most incredible place on earth. We will be just a few miles from Bethlehem where Jesus was born. We will walk where He walked, love people that He loves, pray where He prayed, share His gospel where He established that gospel and we will treasure every minute we are there.

We are volunteers at the Garden Tomb (Al gives tours sharing the gospel while Judy works in the shop, prepares communions and trys to make sure Al behaves himself).

We have an apartment assigned for our use as our home away from home in the Garden, We are looking forward to seeing and working with our Garden Friends again. If you are good with dates, as our grandson is, you have already figured out that 3 months beginning mid February has us coming home to Tampa mid May. Which means that we will be at the Garden to celebrate Easter again this year.

We expect that we will have upwards of 3,000 visitors worshipping with us Easter Sunday as we are reminded that the Epicenter of the Universe revolves around the Cross, the death of Jesus, His burial, His resurrection (an empty Tomb!),

and His soon return to earth for us.

I am sure many of you would like to join us in Jerusalem for Easter. Some of you are, some others perhaps will and others will be praying for us as we labor in Jerusalem for our Risen Lord.

We leave behind family

Friends

and our number one Groupies

Every blogger should have at least one groupie following their blog as faithfully as Nina and George follow ours!

Our promise to you is that we will TRY (emphasis on the try) to keep this blog updated faitfully this trip... send us your prayer needs and we will pray for you in Jerusalem!

Al & Judy

JERICHO: The Oldest City in the World

2010-10-28T19:41:00.001+02:00

We have visited Jericho in Israel many times since 1977 - our last visit was over 20 years ago. Since it lies in the West Bank Occupied Territories today, it is not so easy to visit. We teamed up with our Brit friends, the Haywood's, last Sunday - hired a Taxi and visited Jericho! We were a bit disappointed. Not as much fun as we remembered. Maybe it is because not many tourists go there anymore.

There is a new cable car that takes you up over the ancient walled city of Jericho to the Mount of Temptation. From the Cable Car, we looked down on the ruins of ancient Jericho. We skipped going in to the ruins and visited the ruins of Hisham's Palace (a Muslim Palace built around 750 AD). Nothing Biblicaly important about this site, just very interesting. We stopped by a 2,000 year old Sycamore tree, thought of Zacchaeus and returned to Jerusalem. Anytime we do anything with the Haywood's we have FUN, Sunday in Jericho was no exception - we had FUN and got some great pictures!

Looking down onto the ancient ruins of Jericho

Jericho

On the Mount of Temptation looking toward Jordan

Mt. of Temptation

Great Conversation:

Roy: "I am NOT afraid!"

Mavis: "Yes you are, you ARE afraid!"

Roy: "I am not afraid!"
Judy: "Al, don't say anything!"

Mount of Temptation

Monastery on the Mountain

Palm Tree in Jericho

Ruins of Hisham's Palace built around 750 AD by the Muslims.

Small private bath

Huge Public Bath

Incredible Tile Floors

Fountain Pool

2,000 year old Sycamore Tree. Zacchaeus, where are you?

We leave Jerusalem one week from tomorrow on November 5, arriving in Tampa in the late afternoon November 6. We will spend Thanksgiving with our oldest daughter and family in New Hampshire and Christmas in Tampa with the rest of our family. We are looking forward to spending time with family and friends in the USA. We are scheduled to return to Jerusalem mid February for three months and will spend Easter in the Garden next year. Blessings from Jerusalem!

Galilee September 2010

2010-10-05T21:09:00.000+02:00

We have been busy in the Garden the past few weeks but have managed to squeeze in a little "away time" from Jerusalem. Just over two weeks ago we went North to Tiberius, around the North side of the Sea of Galilee and on up onto the Golan Heights to the Syrian Border. From the top of a small mountain there we were able to look over into Syria. The weather could not have been better as we took in the sights and thought often of the coming of our Lord and how that piece of real estate would play into His plan for the future.

This mountaintop was fortified as a first line of defense to repel armies from Syria advancing on Israel during the war. The fertile plains in the last picture are between the mountain and the Syrian border.

We drove further West to one of Al's favorite places in Israel; the Fortress Nimrod. This fortress was built by the Muslims out of cut stone in the 13th century to protect the road to Damascus. The Crusaders tried to take this fortress but were unsuccessful. The Fortress was captured and destroyed by the Marmalukes shortly after-wards. The fortress lies in ruins today, is from 500 feet to 165 feet in width and 1,380 feet in length. Al played Crusader Knight for an hour and climbed over most of the ruins!

The Psalmist cried out over and over again his faith that God would always be our Fortress!

Our travels took us South to the West of the Sea of Galilee to Tel Dan, the headwaters of the Jordan River and to an early Canaanite town captured by the tribe of Dan.

Archaeologists are in the process of excavating ancient Canaanite Gates to an earlier village just up the path!

We spent the night in a wonderful Guest House in Migdal overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

The High Rise buildings in the distance are in Tiberius just East of Migdal.

The Horns of Hitin from the balcony of our Guest House. I know I know... YES we are suffering for Jesus in Israel.

Our day away ended watching the sun sit across the Sea of Galilee... the perfect ending to a perfect day!

The next day we headed South back to Jerusalem. On the way we stopped off at Mt. Tabor just outside Nazareth. Mt. Tabor is the traditional site of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The road up was curvy! The church at the top was beautiful.

We went on to Tel Megido, an active archaeological dig spanning multiple lairs of civilization covering centuries and overlooks the valley of Armageddon, before returning to Jerusalem and the Garden Tomb.

Yom Kippur

2010-09-18T16:52:00.000+02:00

Today is Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). This is my favorite of the Jewish fall festivals.For a 25 hour period, religious Israelis fast, seek God's face, attend up to 5 synagogue services and ask forgiveness of each other.
This culminates 10 days of awe which started with Rosh Hashanah. They believe that on Rosh Hashanah God opens three books and writes each one's name in one of the three for the next year: the book of life, the book of death or the unsettled book. During the following 10 days, each one in the unsettled book can do mitzvahs(good deeds) to get into the book of life or if not, they are recorded in the book of death.
Because there is no temple they believe this is in place of the sacrifice for atonement made during the temple times.
Why is this my favorite? because for 25 hours, all focus is on God. All traffic stops and everything shuts down: stores, radio, TV, even the airport is closed. Only emergency vehicles operate! There is what I call a Holy hush. It is a day dedicated to God. Can you imagine if everything closed , nothing operated in Tampa Florida or where you live because of God!!! I would love to see it happen in America, that our country, one nation under God would give Him the honor due Him.
It causes me to focus on my atonement for sin and on Jesus who shed His precious perfect blood for my sins and not for mine only but for anyone who wants to accept his payment price. Thank you Jesus sounds so inadequate!

A busy time in Jerusalem...

2010-09-17T13:14:00.001+02:00

We have been very busy in Jerusalem over the past couple of weeks. The number of tourists coming to the Garden continues to increase each day (we had almost a thousand guests through the Garden yesterday in the matter of a couple of hours!).

We have managed to squeeze in a little sight seeing in between busy times. Several trips to the Western Wall (our favorite outside the Garden) in Jerusalem, visited two churches, walked through Hezekiah's Tunnel and our friends from England (Roy and Mavis Haywood) returned to the Garden for three months.

We went through Hezekiah's Tunnel this past Spring with Roy & Mavis but wanted to go again. The tunnel was built in the 8th century B.C. The aqueduct is 1,575 feet long. There are no lights unless you bring a flashlight with you. We did! Water still flows through the tunnel from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam. The water was one to three feet deep and cool - very refreshing on a very hot day! Amazing! It is 2700 years old, built without machines and water still flows through it today!

Roy & Mavis Haywood

We were out and about with our friends the Haywoods on our day off this week and wound up at the Central Police Station. Al found a wallet with a fare amount of cash in it on Ben Yehuda Street. A young man came running up to him and said "that is my wallet." Al thought; "no it isn't!" Took the young man into a shop and asked the shop keeper to check the ID (our Hebrew language skills are non existent). The shop keeper looked at the ID card inside the wallet and asked the young man, in Hebrew, what is your name? Hmmmm.... NOPE not the name on the ID card. "OH, it is my friends wallet!"

Can you see where this is going? Al suggested that we call the police and let them sort it out. The young man decided he would go get his friend (say "Yeah right" with me). We took the wallet and went to the Central Police Station. I think we shocked the police that we brought the wallet (with cash) to them. They looked up the owner (a 77 year old Jewish man) and called him. He came to the police station right away to claim his wallet. The police asked us to wait until he came so he could say "thank you." We did...

The best part of the day was the conversation with the Police. We answered questions about us... Are you Tourists? Why are you here? What do you do? They had never heard of the Garden Tomb but were impressed... not with the Garden but that we had turned in the wallet. What a golden opportunity to say; "we knew that bringing the wallet here was what God wanted us to do."

Don't you just love Al's new best friend?

Night before last we went out with friends from the Garden for coffee and stopped off at an overlook for incredible Night Views of the City of Jerusalem.

We are off Sunday and Monday and have made arrangements to go up to Galilee and spend the night in Migdal.

The Garden Tomb: Then and Now

2010-09-06T20:02:00.002+03:00

Judy and I made our first pilgrimage to the Garden Tomb in December 1977. Thirty Three years of water under the bridge does indeed bring change. The most important aspect of the Garden revolves around the Tomb itself. It has not changed... it is still empty!

33 years ago!

33 years ago

Today!!!

Our first tour of the Garden 33 years ago.

Today!

The number of visitors each year has significantly

increased each year in 33 years.

Our Guide 33 years ago.

We are trying to identify him

Any help will be appreciated.

Bear in mind that he is 33 years older but just might have a son that looks just like him!

Volunteers in the Garden Today.

OK, you got me. The picture was taken in February.

It is not cold enough for leather coats yet!

Skull Hill, Golgatha, 33 years ago.

Notice that there is no TV antenna on the tomb atop Skull Hill.

Today, complete with TV antenna.

Wine Press 33 years ago, full of rain water.

Wine Press today minus the water.

Sadly there are more changes to come that we are not looking forward to. Our neighbors, the Waqf that control the Muslim cemetery atop Skull Hill are building a Mosque and Minaret in the cemetery. They are getting ready to pour several tons of concrete on top of an unstable brick wall that the Garden Tomb Association built 105 years ago to separate the Garden from the Muslim Cemetery. We are concerned for the safety of our guests in the Garden as well as for the Skull face on Skull Hill. The Minaret is being built right alongside and above the Skull Face.

15 foot high poured concrete wall will sit on top of

a 105 year old brick wall. Incredibly unstable!

It could come crashing down into the garden at any time

crushing upward of 200 guests.

A potential disaster of catastrophic proportions just waiting to happen!

Minaret under construction in the bus station next door.

It will rise alongside the Skull Face and tower above it.

The pile of dirt above the Skull face, alongside the tomb on the top,

is preparation for further building.

The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) was here last week and aired a great news story over the weekend. You can catch it online at

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/shows/cwn/2010/September/Garden-Tomb-Threatened-by-Muslim-Construction/

On top of everything else, this month is Ramadan. Approximately 130,000 Muslims marched past the entrance to the Garden this past Friday on their way to Temple Mount to pray at the Dome of the Rock. It was heart breaking watching them go past our gate without Christ while we knew that we had the Truth they needed. Ramadan ends this week. Please pray with us that God will give us unique opportunities to share our faith in this land.

On the way home from Muslim Prayers

We do not know the future for the Garden. We just know Who holds the future. Please pray with us that God will protect this place. A quarter of a million visitors come to the Garden Tomb each year. There are a significant number of those who do not know Christ as their Savior but they ALL year the gospel while they are here. This place has been a very special place in our lives for 33 years personally. We trust that it will remain a light house in this land for the Kingdom until Jesus returns!

Haiti 2010

2010-08-06T03:12:00.000+03:00

July 24th we went to Haiti on a Medical Missions Trip. Our team consisted of two doctors, five nurses and two evangelists. We saw 900 patients and twenty two people trusted Jesus as their Savior. We conducted five clinics; three in St. Marc and two in a remote village. St. Mark is about three hours out of Port-Au-Prince. The second clinic was in a remote village an hour and a half out of St. Marc. Port-Au-Prince is in shambles from the earthquake with countless people living in tents... The people that we saw in St. Marc and the village were incredibly poor.

Encouraging moment; the plane into Haiti and out were both filled with teams going to Haiti from all over the US to help as they could. We had a team of seven from South Africa join us in the remote village for two days. Thank you for praying for us!

We are currently at home in Tampa but will be returning to Israel on the 24th... excited to be going "home" to Jerusalem and the Garden Tomb!

Tent city in Port-Au-Prince

Church in St. Marc on Sunday - Al preached

Street near St. Marc Clinic site

Al sharing the gospel...

Judy giving out Meds...

Al giving out water to thirst souls

Nadine and Susan

Dr. Emma and Nurse Pat

Torrey's Graduation from 8th Grade... May 14, 2010

2010-05-19T02:59:00.000+03:00

OUCH!!! that really hurt! Torrey turned 14 in March and graduated from 8th grade in May... How did THAT happen? Oh yeah - good grades! But who said she could grow up? Not us!!!

We just spent an awesome weekend in Houston celebrating with Torrey, Dean and Tracy. Lots of fun...

Got my diploma, I am outta here!

You can do what you want to ... I'm heading for the door!

and time just keeps flying by!!!!

April 24 to May 1st.... Laurie and Amanda came to visit!

2010-05-19T01:27:00.000+03:00

We are HOME in Tampa... I heard that cheer Ben & Carly!!!! or was that Jen?

This trip to the Garden Tomb was especially sweet for us as most of our family came over to visit us while we were there. Our two oldest grandchildren, Jeff and Kristin Fleming, came over in February. Tracy, Dean and Torrey came over in March. Laurie and Amanda came over at the end of April.

Any one that knows us knows that we LOVE Israel and especially love the Garden Tomb. Sharing our love for this place with our loved one's is very special for us!

It is easy to see from these pictures that we ALL enjoyed their visit...

Amanda would have willingly staid in Israel with Sami, our Palestinian salesman just outside the Garden Gate...

Mandy's favorite experience? Not sure it was the Camel ride!!!

Cable car ride to Masada...

Mt. Carmel is one of our favorite places....

Roman Aqueduct at the Mediterranean Sea

We had fun too!

The Dead Sea will never be the same!

and... at the Sea of Galillee...

We plan to return to the Garden in August for ten weeks...

Easter in Jerusalem 2010

2010-04-08T11:57:00.002+03:00

What an absolutely wonderful week in Jerusalem. Thursday night before Easter, the night Jesus would have been betrayed, we went to Christ Church (Anglican Church) just inside the Jaffa Gate for a wonderful worship service. After Communion we walked to the Mount of Olives. I have lost count of the number of times I have led our congregations in worship in Communion Services and concluded those services saying; "the disciples then sang a song and went out to the Mount of Olives to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. I wish we could do the same!" Thursday night that is exactly what we did. We crossed through the Old City, stopped off at the Western Wall where the Jews were celebrating Passover (the place was "heaving" to borrow a term from our British friends), walked down through the Kidron Valley with thousands of people. Oh yeah, it was DARK, it was almost 11 pm when we got back to our apartment! But what a great night of worship.

The next day, Good Friday, we conducted a "Good Friday Worship Service" at the Garden Tomb. After the service the Garden was open for meditation and prayer only. We did not do tours but we spent the day in the Garden and had many opportunities to share the gospel in quiet conversation with over 1300 people that visited that day. The Old City was so crowded that many people gave up trying to get in churches in the Old City and came to visit us. One of those couples from the U.S that I had the privilege of sharing with (who did not know of the Garden Tomb and were not believers) came back on Saturday and again on Sunday!

Saturday was a normal day in the Garden and concluded with an Arabic service for over five hundred people. The service was translated into English and Hebrew. It was a pretty exciting day.

Easter Sunday Morning in the Garden

We were up early on Sunday morning (try 4:00 AM!) to clean the Garden and prepare for the first of four services on Sunday. I was in the lane outside the gate at 5:30 greeting people who came for the first service, we opened the gate at 6:00 for the first service at 6:30. Over 1100 people attended the first service. Andy Jack, son of Victor (Garden Tomb Chairman of the Board) and his wife Meg, preached an incredible message at both of the first two services. Al had the privilege of participating in the first service.

We closed the Garden after the first service about 8:00 and had a wonderful typical Israeli breakfast. We reopened at 9 for the second service at 9:30 for about 700 people. Both of the first two services were in English. The third service was in Scandinavian and the third in French. The Garden emptied about 1:30 and we had lunch in the Garden after 2 PM. We saw well over 3500 people in the Garden Easter Sunday. To borrow another term from our British friends... we were pretty well shattered come the end of the day!

Some, were not quite as shattered as others...

Our lunch main course was provided by Sami, the Muslim business man that sells souvenirs in the lane outside the Garden. It was a wonderful Palestinian "up side down" dish of lamb, cauliflower and rice flavored with some incredible spices.

This has been a wonderful week and we shall be eternally thankful that God has allowed us to serve Him here in this place this year. Our friends, Roy and Mavis Haywood, went home to England this week. We miss them but are looking forward to seeing them again in the fall. Hopefully, we will see some of you in Israel later this year as well!

Palm Sunday in JERUSALEM!!!

2010-03-28T20:28:00.001+03:00

What an incredible day. We are still flying high - hours afterwards!

We went up on the Mount of Olives this afternoon - along with several thousand other people to celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into the City of Jerusalem two thousand years ago. You can read all about it in Matthew 21:1-9, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-38 and John 12:12-15.

It was pretty amazing to stand on that same hillside with thousands of people waving Palm branches today and be reminded of that day two thousand years ago when Jesus came riding into the city on a donkey. I have often wondered if the people in the crowd really had a clue about what was going on and what was about to happen. I think Bill Hybels answers that question in a very concise way. Bill tells us that "... everyone who lined the streets had a different reason for waving those palms.

"Some were political activists; they'd heard Jesus had supernatural power, and they wanted Him to use it to free Israel from Roman rule.

"Others had loved ones who were sick or dying. They waved branches, hoping for physical healing.

"Some were onlookers merely looking for something to do,

"While others were genuine followers who wished jesus would establish Himself as an earthly King."

Then Bill tells us something that I have always believed. "Jesus was the only one in the parade who knew why He was going to Jerusalem - to die. He had a mission, while everyone else had an agenda."

I wish it would have been possible that you could have joined us on our journey down the Mount of Olives to the Old City of Jerusalem today. The next best thing is to wade through the following pictures!

Visitors in Israel

2010-03-22T18:45:00.000+02:00

And once again we have had visitors in Israel. Twenty Two years ago we brought our four children to Israel and are having the privilege of hosting two of them and their families here at our home away from home. How precious to have your children (Tracy this time), and their families (Dean and Torrey) here for a week! We have had a wonderful time. I'm sure it will take them a month to recover from this trip.

Their adventure began OK with a safe flight over from Houston on British Air. However, in typical Melton fashion (this year) they arrived without luggage. We lost one bag when we came over in February, our grand children (Jeffrey and Kristin) lost two bags when they came over later in February, and the Townsends lost all three of their bags last week. We are waiting to see how many bags Laurie and Amanda lose when they come at the end of April! One, two, three ... sounds fair that they should lose 4. That will be a neat trick since they are only bringing two! We shall see. FYI all bags arrived the next day!!!

The Townsends did the usual Melton Israel Tour on Speed! We went to Galilee and spent the night (we had an extra day off while they were here), visited the Galilee sites, came back to Jerusalem through Nazareth, Mt Carmel and Caesarea. We then went to the Dead Sea and Masada with them, celebrated Torrey's birthday and Judy and I worked the rest of the time they were here. Judy did take them into the Old City and up onto the Mount of Olives. They did some things on their own and had a personal guide for one day in the Old City.

British Air went on strike which stranded them in London for two days but they "should" be on their way home tonight. We absolutely had a wonderful time with them. Sharing our land with family and loved ones is one of our favorite things to do.

As you can see from the pictures - fun was had by one and all!!

Boat on the Sea of Galilee - we did not go on it.

On Mt. Carmel

On the Beach at Caesarea

On Masada

Feet in the Dead Sea

Getting Dressed Up for Easter Sunday ... In This Place

2010-03-12T12:50:00.000+02:00

This past week I have been reminded so much of my mother. She always made sure that we had new clothes to wear on Easter Sunday morning. Here, in this place - The Garden Tomb, I have watched as the Garden is getting dressed up for Easter Sunday Morning as well. Everyday there are new flowers blooming in the Garden. It is almost as though the Garden itself is aware that we are getting ready to worship the Risen Christ and it is getting ready too!

We are looking forward to that day of worship and wish that our family and friends could join us for that awesome time of celebration and worship. At least you can join us here in enjoying the flowers of this place as we prepare to worship Him, the King of Kings, in this place!

What a great place to wait for the return of our Lord

as we celebrate His Resurrection.

Today was a GREAT day in the Garden!

2010-03-10T12:44:00.000+02:00

"We have a group coming in this morning of 3 - 5 year olds. Who would like to take them around?" I figured you had to be a grandfather, a child or able to act like a child for this job so... since I am all three... I volunteered! Great group of kids from a Christian School. But not all of the children were from Christian homes. They were from all over the world. You will be able to pick out several nationalities. Some were from Muslim and Jewish homes... they were incredibly well behaved.

You will think, as I did, of the Words of Jesus; "suffer the little children to come unto me!"

I kept thinking of our daughter, Tracy's, kindergarten class and how a field trip to the Garden Tomb would be a great trip.

It's all about the Gospel!

2010-03-09T16:03:00.000+02:00

What an incredible Joy to serve God in this place. We have been seeing over a thousand visitors each day in the Garden and have had some pretty incredible opportunities in this place. We have seen individuals giving their hearts to Jesus, trusting Him by faith alone to be their Savior. Al has had an unbelievable opportunity to take a group of 30 Jewish tourists through the Garden and shared the gospel with them! They were courteous and attentive the whole way through the Garden. Al was pleased that he had the opportunity and that he did not get stoned!

We have had the privilege of hosting groups from all over the world including two very large groups from the US. One was from Chuck Smith's church in California and the other was traveling with John Hagee. Their groups were just over 500 people each, amazing crowd. Just a foretaste of what Easter Sunday morning will be like when we host over a thousand people at a time in the Garden with multiple services! I am sure that many of you would love to be here with us and we wish you were too!

Chuck Smith's group arriving in the Garden

Chuck Smith in blue sweater and white hat - over 80!

Richard Meryon, new CEO of the Garden

Chuck Smith preaching the Gospel

Our friend, Steve Bridge, talking to John Hagee

Hagee's group

John Hagee proclaiming the Gospel

Love the flowers!!!

The Garden is getting all dressed up for Easter!

Purim

2010-03-02T08:29:00.000+02:00

Purim has just ended.

It is the time when Jewish people celebrate God using Queen Esther to save them from annihilation. They go to Synagogue where the Book of Esther is read. When the name Haman (the one who hatched the plot to get rid of them) is read, they boo. They dress up in costumes - young and old. They also take gift baskets to people and eat together.

We walked up to Ben Yehuda St. to watch the celebration. On the way up we could hear parties and people rejoicing.

Ben Jehuda St. was packed with revelers, many in costumes. There was dancing and a general sense of joy.

Wild Wild Girls

About as wild as it gets for us!

Iggie looking for Ben

Great Week with the Grands!

2010-03-01T15:12:00.000+02:00

Jeffrey & Kristin have flown home safely and their luggage arrived with them on time. That's a good thing!

We had a wonderful time with them. Traveled much, laughed more (mostly at Kristin), saw a lot and enjoyed every minute with the kids. How fun to share Israel with your grandkids!

On our way North to Galilee we stopped off at Caesarea so the kids could see the beach.

Kristin actually let us stand close to her. Some a little closer than others!

Hey! It's OUR blog and if we want to put the same picture on twice we can! How big can we blow this picture up? I think it would look great in Kristin's room.

Jeff & Kristin on Mt Carmel overlooking the valley of Jezreel.

Elijah's statue on Mt Carmel.

We went on to Galilee from Mt Carmel.

Jeff at the Synagogue in Capernaum

Possibly a carving of the Ark of the Covenant.

Jeff getting his feet wet in the Sea of Galilee.

Last day in town and up on Temple Mount at the Dome of the Rock

Inside the Eastern Gate.

And of course our all time favorite picture of their trip here. Kristin on the camel! No Tim, he did not offer to trade the camel for Kristin!

Grand Kids Visiting Jerusalem

2010-02-22T21:23:00.001+02:00

WOW ... talk about feeling your age!

22 years ago we brought our children to Israel as their graduation gift from college. Laurie had graduated the year before, married Tim, and he came with us but paid his own way. The deal was "if you don't graduate from college, you have to pay us back!" And here we are today, Laurie's two oldest children are visiting us in the Garden. We are having a wonderful time!

Yesterday we took them to the Dead Sea, Masada, hiked back into en Gedi (where David hid from Saul), worshiped at King of Kings and had supper on Ben Yehuda street - love those falafels and Shwarma's.

The day was incredibly exciting...

When you hang out with Grand Parents,

you can expect almost anything!

Gotta love riding a Camel!

It's not so bad...

and at Sea Level no less

I don't speak Arabic,

so I am not sure what he was asking me...

he may have been offering to trade the camel for Kristin...

I turned him down!

Kristin was really happy to get off that camel!

Masada was pretty impressive

Kristin & Jeff both enjoyed it.

Roman siege ramp leading up to Masada

One of the falls in En Gedi

School kids cooling off at the falls.

We wondered if David's men did the same thing?

We came back to the parking lot and found an Ibex

(wild goat) wondering among the cars.

Being tourists we took pictures of course.

he jumped up on the cars so he could eat the trees!

We were not parked under the trees

and will NOT park under the trees in the future!

All and all a wonderful day. We love sharing the Land of our Lord with family and friends from the USA.

Week Two in Jerusalem 2010

2010-02-18T21:42:00.001+02:00

We always love walking through the Old City of Jerusalem. This week we walked past the Western Wall into the Jewish Quarter. We visited two excavated homes from the Second Temple period. One was a wealthy home and one was a home of a priestly family responsible for making incense for the Temple.
During lunch we watched two families go down to the Wall for bar mitzvah. It was a joyful parade with lots of singing. When a Jewish boy turns 13 he has a ceremony where he becomes a son of the law. During that ceremony he reads the Torah (first 5 books) for the first time. The ceremony in these cases take place on the men's side of the Western Wall. The women stand on chairs at the fence separating the women's side from the men's side and observe - throwing candy at some points. It is special for them to be able to have this at the most holy spot for Jewish people, the Western Wall of Temple Mount.

Young School Boys on a field trip to the Western Wall

The "Burnt House" was fascinating. A home belonging to a member of the priestly family responsible for making incense for the Temple. The house was destroyed by the Romans when they destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. A young woman died in the fire.

Young Jewish boy on the way to the Wall for his bar mitzvah.

Another

I (Al) especially like this picture. 13 year old's are the same the world over ... notice his tongue.

Shalom from Jerusalem

2010-02-11T01:36:00.000+02:00

Wednesday was our first day back at work in the Garden, with visitors from around the world. The day was beautiful with many reminders of why we are here - sharing the Gospel with visitors in the midst of the most wonderful visual aid of all time.
There is something very special about standing in front of the empty tomb as you remind people that He lives!

The garden itself is beautiful. Surprise surprise - flowers are blooming in February in Jerusalem - an incredible reminder from God that ... though He was dead yet He liveth!

We are living in a different apartment this year. It is one of the largest apartments. We are looking forward to our grandchildren, Jeff & Kristin, coming next week. Dean, Tracy & Torrey will visit mid March and Laurie and Amanda will visit in April.

In Jerusalem

2010-02-10T08:35:00.000+02:00

We have arrived safely in Jerusalem. Our flight out of Atlanta left a little late but arrived in Israel on time. One of our bags (Al's) took a side trip to Miami and arrived in the Garden late last night ... a little over 24 hours after we did.

We rested Monday night, were up out and about all day Tuesday. The weather has been awesome. Went shopping in the Jewish Market (fresh veggies and Strawberries to die for!), visited the Jewish grocery, had a falafel for lunch, back to the garden and out again to the Western Wall (had to go pray), saw a wedding pary, military being sworn in and returned to the garden and dinner with friends.

Great nights sleep and we are beginning our first day back in the Garden this morning. Pictures later! Thank you for praying for us...

Soon and very soon...

2010-02-01T23:45:00.001+02:00

Is it time to go back to Israel already??? I can hear Carly asking that question and know that others are asking it too... but yes, soon and very soon...

We leave Tampa Sunday Evening at 6:30 PM February 7th and connect with our Delta flight to Israel in Atlanta leaving at approximately 11 PM. We will spend 3 months in Jerusalem at the Garden Tomb.

As you think of us, please pray for us and others who labor at the Garden for Jesus. Aren't you afraid? Of what? Jesus has called and we are responding - trusting in His faithfulness. Yes we are aware of political events heating to the boiling point - but all we have ever wanted to do is to serve Him. And the place He has given us to serve Him, at this time, is in Jerusalem. And what better place could there be to serve our wonderful Lord than in His Garden?

You can read all about the Garden and see some pretty amazing pictures (look for Al!) at the Garden Tomb Web Site - http://www.gardentomb.org/ The "A Brief History" section has a lot of good information.

This will be our 4th trip to live and work in the Garden and we are pretty excited to be going back. We will be in the Garden for three months through May 6th. Oh YES! Easter Sunday in the Garden.

We do not know for sure if this is the place where our Lord Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead for our sins. The disciples left us a written record of the crucifixion and resurrection. They did not leave a map with a cross marking the spot where it happened. I think maybe God was more interested in us knowing about the Person of the crucifixion more than He wanted us to know about the Place! However, the site is an incredible visual aid for sharing the Gospel and it sure looks like what the disciples described in the Gospel accounts.

Some of our family will be coming over to visit while we are in Jerusalem; Jeff and Kristin (our oldest grandchildren) will come over February 19th, Dean, Tracy & Torrey will come mid March and Laurie and Amanda will come in April. We are looking forward to sharing Israel with them! And we expect to see some friends in the Garden as well - will you be among them?

Al & Judy Melton

In front of the Garden Tomb

October 2009

Christmas in Florida 2009

2009-12-26T07:30:00.001+02:00

We have spent more than half of our married life living in New England and are often asked; "how do you celebrate Christmas in Florida."

Duuuuhhh - just like we always did with a few modifications...

We start out attending every "Christmas" event that our grandchildren are involved in.

Grammy and Carly at Ben & Carly's school Christmas program

as you can see, Ben is glad the program is over!

We decorate for Christmas

string lights in the palm tree

we DO live in Florida!

use a FAKE snowman!

and a fake tree

some things don't change!

remember the REAL meaning of Christmas

kids and presents

Carly dressed up as her favorite character in the movie we went to see

The Chipmonks the Squeakual

good food on a special plate

hmmm wonder if anyone in Louisiana recognizes this plate?

Carly practicing her dance moves before we went to see the movie.

and YES she danced at the movie!!!

Nice and Eze ... not Nice and Easy as some smart mouths called it!

2009-11-25T19:10:00.000+02:00

Off to Nice and Eze...

Nice was fascinating

Loved the town square

Russian Orthodox Church built by Nicholas II

Harbor

Leopold II's Home

Our ship in the harbor below

Awesome trip with my best friend!

and she took me to Eze too!!!

Eze is a medieval village high on a rocky outcrop above the harbor dating back to before the time of Christ.

Eze Church

Overview map of Eze

Castle Ruins

You can see our Ship in the harbor below.

Castle Ruins in Eze

Monaco and Monte Carlo

2009-11-25T04:00:00.000+02:00

OK, the French Riviera is cool... we can't afford to live there, but it is cool!

We went ashore early in the morning.

First miracle of the day, Judy is awake!

Harbor Fortress

Monaco

Church where Grace Kelly & Prince Rainier

were married and buried.

Inside the Church

Princess Grace's Tomb

Hey! Tourists have to take pictures of something.

Courtyard in front of the Royal Palace (behind the camera)

View from the Palace

Monte Carlo Casino

We climbed a million stairs. Judy

was pretty happy to find this along the way!

Thanks to Israel and all the walking we did there

we did not need the Defibrillator!

The harbor near where our ship was anchored.

RCCL Voyager of the Seas

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

2009-11-24T14:48:00.002+02:00

I didn't do it! It leans, but I am not responsible!!!
If you had told us years ago that one day we would stand in this place, I would have told you "not likely!" But once again God shows Himself faithful in that He does indeed give to us the "desires of our hearts"
Pisa and its leaning tower are awesome!

On the way to Pisa

Somebody is HAPPY!

and ... "Gob Smacked!"

Baptistry

and... the Baptistry leans too!

Oh YEAH, Judy took me with her!

Inside the Pisa Church

The Pendulum Chandelier

and our day ends with yet another Towel Critter...

On Holiday! Moving on to Rome...

2009-11-24T05:20:00.003+02:00

We went to Rome on day three of our cruise. How can you visit Rome and not visit the Vatican? Pretty impressive. Click on the pictures to see the full picture.

St. Peter's Basilica

As you can see, Judy was pretty excited to be in Rome.

The Vatican Museum is huge and filled with incredible treasures.

Emperor Constantine

Mosaic Floor

Sistine Chapel

Vatican Garden

St. Peter's Basilica

The small pitched roof to the right is the Sistine Chapel

Inside St. Peter's

Michelangelo's Pieta

AWESOME!

Inside the Dome

Altar

Altar up close

The sad note for us on this day was that this beyond beautiful building was built to honor God but man spent more time and money on honoring man than they did God!

This statue is a typical example... It is one of the largest most ornate statues in the church and it honors a man. Revelation 2:9 comes to mind...

The end of a perfect day.... AND

No cruise would be complete without "Towel Critters!"

On Holiday!

2009-11-23T21:42:00.002+02:00

What happened to the Melton's?

Quick catch up... we left Israel October 29th, arrived at home in Tampa on the 30th, spent time with family and friends and left Tampa Nov 7th "On Holiday" as our British friends have taught us to call vacation. I know we seem to travel all the time but most of our travel over the past two years has been missions trips or to visit family - those are fun but more often than not, there is a lot of work involved. It was time - it was time...

We flew to Barcelona Nov. 7th and took a seven day cruise on the Mediterranean on board Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas. If you click on each picture, it should come up in a larger format so you can see the whole picture.

Our cabin was awesome...

Al & Judy Melton (just in case you forgot what we looked like!)

Our first sale day was at sea , great day to relax...

On day two we visited Pompeii and the Amalfi coast... if a picture says a thousand words, then these replace a book!

Mt. Vesuvias from Pompeii

From Pompeii we went on to the Amalfi Coast...

Ignore the sign... we were having a capuccino!

Drop dead gorgeous... great trip, one that we would do again in a heart beat! Thus ends day two of our cruise. Day three we went to Rome! stay tuned - sooner or later, I WILL post more.

Super Busy Week

2009-10-12T21:54:00.001+02:00

But it always seems to be like that the closer we get to going home time.

Israel has been celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to be in Israel during this time. The Jews build booths or Sukkots and for one week live in them - some even sleep in theirs. They can be incredibly fancy or just a simple tent in the yard. They do this as they reflect back on that time when their nation came out of Egypt and lived in tents in the wilderness for 40 years. It is a joyful time with singing, street parties (yes we went to several - I told you it was a busy week!), and much celebration.

There are even booths at restaurants, the city hall (largest in Jerusalem), and at the Western Wall. The Jewish men go to the Western Wall and wave branches of 3 different trees tied together as they pray.

On the way to the Wall. Not sure who the guy is in the middle - but he was someone important.

Gathering at the Wall

3 Species of trees and the citron (lemon)

The largest Sukkot at the Wall and people eating inside.

Family Sukkot on the roof of their house.

And hovering right over the Western Wall, where the Temple once stood, the Moslem Mosque of the Dome of the Rock.

Many areas of the Old City are beautiful

75,000 people from all over the world marched in a parade this past week to honor Israel. Basicly, they just said "Hey Israel! We love you!" It was pretty awesome and a joy to behold. We are glad we were off and could attend.

Yep! Military recruits - Kids... but they grow up to look like the next picture

You have to be crazy to mess with Israeli soldiers!

The strongest ally and friend that Israel has - the SIGN not the flag!

The Lion of Judah! Israel's only hope...

Netanya

2009-10-03T13:15:00.001+02:00

Can you spell Road Trip?

We drove up to Netanya on the beach on our day off this week and just spent the day with our Brit Friends hanging out. We walked on the beach, laughed, spent time walking around Netanya, had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant, shopped and had ice cream cones to conclude our day. Lovely day off for each of us.

Beach Bunnies? Judy and Mavis

Israeli Gym on the Beach

Ready to hit the Beach?

This couple was setting up their Succot (booth) on their front lawn.

They will eat their meals here this week as they remember

wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.

inside the Succot

These girls were celebrating a birthday.

Torrey? Grammy?

Somebody needs to celebrate their birthday in the same way...

Al making friends as usual!

The beach is drop dead gorgeous and we decided that we would go back sometime, when we had time, and spend the night.

NO, I (al) am not the one doing the Kite Surfing... or whatever ... the man was crazy!

An awesome day on an awesome beach with awesome friends in an awesome land ... what could be better?

Yom Kippur

2009-10-02T08:26:00.000+02:00

You are probably wondering why we would took pictures of empty streets (no traffic). These were taken on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Everything shuts down on the Jewish side of Jerusalem. There is no traffic except emergency vehicles, no phone, TV or radio service. The shops are all closed. Those who are at all religious fast. It is a solemn day dedicated to thinking about God. in Leviticus, it is a day to afflict one's soul. A sacrifice was made of a goat for the sins of Israel on this day until the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Today Jewish people believe your fate for the next year is sealed on this day based on past acts.

We did not imagine this would be one of our favorite feasts but it is. It made us think about and be thankful for Jesus' atonement for our sins and the fact that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I am glad it is not based on what we do or have done but on Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God Who paid our sin debt on the Cross. What peace and freedom that gives!

Can you imagine a day in the United States when all traffic, TV radio, shops, restaurants were closed? Can you imagine a day when even secular people thought about God even if it was to recognize why everything was closed? For us it was a day of great peace and overwhelming gratefulness to God. What a thrill to be in Israel now. We went to a Synagogue for one of the five services that people go to on this day. Imagine going to church five times in one day!

Shalom from Jerusalem!

Botanical Gardens in Jerusalem

2009-10-01T21:39:00.000+02:00

Our visit to the Botanical Gardens was a bit of a bust. Not that many flowers blooming (wrong time of the year). Some pretty flowers. Just not very many. It must be gorgeous in the Spring and we will go back next Spring.

But we had fun anyway. Moved on over to the Bible Lands Museum. That was our favorite for the day but we could not take pictures in side. (sorry) You will have to take our word for it that it is a "must see" and come visit us when you do!

We enjoy our days off, love to be able to visit different places in Israel and look forward to each new day with anticipation. We look forward to what God has in store for us each day.

We have been officially invited to return to Israel (we knew we would be just didn't know the dates) February 9th - May 6th 2010. That will put us here for Easter - a dream come true!

2009-09-20T22:03:00.001+03:00

The Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem

2009-09-19T13:11:00.002+03:00

On our day off this week we took two buses to the Tisch Family Zoo on the other side of Jerusalem. We had been told that this was one of the cleanest zoos in the world. We were not lied to! The Zoo was incredibly clean. Our venture out was an incredibly relaxing day. Well... there was the lengthy bus ride... we did take a taxi back! Some of the animals were native to Israel.

This one, Hylobates Syndactylus, was not one of the native animals.

We took Carly's friend, Flat Stanley, along with us. He had as much fun as we did.

I don't care what you say, THAT is a snake!

Red Panda

Bear... David killed a bear...

and David killed a lion...

the Zoo is located in a beautiful area.

a Jewish chicken? I don't think so... but then again, we don't know what it is other than a pretty bird!

Noah's Ark?

and even deer... no hunting season though. Sorry Tim, leave the guns at home. We had a wonderful relaxing day and decided that when the kids visit next year, they must go to the zoo.

Catching up in Jerusalem

2009-09-17T19:31:00.002+03:00

We have finally sorted out (British term) our computer issues... Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Sunday morning we went through the Old City with our Brit friends, the Haywoods, to the City of David on the south side of the walled city of Jerusalem. This is the ancient site of the city of Salem (Abraham and Melchizedek). David captured this city 3000 years ago and made it his capital of Israel, Jerusalem. We visited this site when we were here before but wanted to go back with friends who had not been and to go through Hezekiah's Tunnel.

This tunnel was cut 1700 feet through solid rock from inside the city to the Gihon Springs outside the city and down in the valley of Kidron. This allowed them to channel wanter inside the city for defense purposes. We thought you might like to enjoy some pictures.

Looking down into the Kidron Valley

from the City of David.

The valley was significantly deeper

in David's day.

Our Jewish Guide, Missy, was very animated.

Looking UP from David's City to Temple Mount where Solomon built the first Temple

Ruins of a house in David's City. David's Palace was very close to the house. It would have been very easy for him to look down onto the roof of his neighbor's homes.

This is what the house would have looked like.

David's city was very modern for its day, complete with indoor plumbing.

Yep a 3000 year old toilet seat.

Lovely huh?

David's City 3000 years ago.

David's Palace is the large building near the top.

The Gihon Springs are in the four towers on the right.

The Pool of Siloam is inside the city walls lower left.

Hezekiah's Tunnel runs from the Gihon Springs

1700 feet to the Pool of Siloam.

There was too much water in Hezekiah's Tunnel when we last visited David's City. But Sunday we were able to walk through the tunnel. The tunnel was dug 300 years after David, through solid rock to the Pool of Siloam, bringing water inside the city.

Going through the Tunnel

You can see how deep the water was in places

by how much Judy's pants are wet.

AND the water was very COLD!

Many places in the Tunnel, we had to stoop over because the ceiling was so low. Very claustrophobic!

These steps are part of a massive staircase that let up from the Pool of Siloam to the Huldah Gates leading up to Temple Mount. Jews would take their ritual bath at the pool before walking up to the Temple to make sacrifice.

and we have returned to the peace of the Garden Tomb. Can you even begin to imagine the joy that fills our hearts on a daily basis to Serve our Lord in this marvelous land?

At Home in Jerusalem!

2009-09-06T15:59:00.002+03:00

We are at "home" in Jerusalem... and loving every minute of our life here. Our first stop was to visit the Western Wall to pray for you. We went on Thursday, the day many Jewish families go to the wall for their children's Bar Mitzvah, it was a little busy.

It was exciting to see the joy in the faces of the families and to feel as though we were "a part" of their celebration. We are very excited to be back in Jerusalem, see many changes but at the same time much that is the same.

The Garden Tomb will always be our favorite place in all of Israel and to be able to serve God here shall always be a tremendous blessing in our lives. How sweet to walk in this place every day sharing the Gospel of Peace in a wonderful setting of peace!

We are waiting for our Lord's Return...

Patiently???

Joyfully!!!

Jen, did you notice that I am using your photography skills?

Up to Jerusalem

2009-08-31T21:20:00.000+03:00

It is time to return to Jerusalem...

We leave tomorrow evening, September 1, 2009, and will spend two months at the Garden Tomb.

We are excited and look forward to what God has in store for us over the next two months.

Home from Cameroon

2009-08-12T15:02:00.005+03:00

It is hard to believe that I (Al) was in Yaounde, Cameroon West Africa just a week ago! I traveled there as part of a team of twenty people with CWE. Most of the team was made up of medical personnel. Three members of the team and myself made up the Evangelism Team. We went to remote villages outside of Yaounde, set up Medical Clinics, dealt with medical and dental needs, passed out glasses and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with over a thousand people. 750 of those people responded favorably to the Gospel and trusted our Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior! It was a long, tiring journey but a journey well worth taking. Many of you, reading this bog, prayed for us. Thank you! Your prayers made the difference.

The team was well the entire time (no physical issues). The team worked togther as a well oiled machine. The weather was awesome (not too hot, not too cold, not too dry, not too wet ... just right!). Who among you prayed for "Goldilocks" Weather?

Meet the Team

We left Tampa on Friday

and arrived in Yaounde Saturday evening

with ALL of our luggage! Those of you who have

made trips like this know how crucial that is!

Sunday morning we worshipped

in a local church.

Getting ready to load up for our first clinic

The local organization we worked with in Cameroon.

We stayed in the dormintories of a Seminary

connected with this clinic.

Each morning we packed up

to go to a remote village. We drove over an hour

to most villages - over three to one!

Few roads were paved.

Fortunately, it did not rain!

Each morning, after we set up and before

we opened the clinc,

we met out front to pray.

Time to go to work

One of our Evangelists, Chris,

presenting the Gospel

Villagers waiting to be seen.

This ladies family brought her

to the clinic on a cart. I shared the

Gospel with her in the courtyard

and prayed with her as she

recieved Christ as her Savior.

We always had lots of help loading and

unloading the vans at each clinic site.

I thought my son-in-law would appreciate

this addition being added to this house.

No building codes here and not typical

construction for this village.

Still glad it didn't rain! These roads

are not fun when they are wet. Dr.

Smith told us that last year they had to

get out and walk so the van could

make it up some of the hills!

Typical housing in the villages.

Village kitchen. How would you like

to have to cook here?

Waiting to be seen.

One of the Medical teams seeing a patient.

Some of the people came early and they

all waited patiently to be seen.

Al sharing the Gospel

Fitting Reading Glasses

Medical Team

Dental Team

This was an incredible trip. God has been so kind and good to us to allow us, at this stage of our lives, to do those things most dear to us. We are home in Tampa but not for long. I go to Texas and a short visit to see relatives in Louisiana next week. We will leave for Israel Sept. 1st for two months at the Garden Tomb. Thank you for praying for us in our many Mission indeavors - please keep praying.

Yaounde, Cameroon West Africa!

2009-07-26T13:42:00.005+03:00

Wait a minute... didn't you just go to the Philippines?

Yes... and now Al is going to Cameroon West Africa.

A Christian organization that we have worked with in the past, Construction for Worldwide Evangelism (CWE) http://cwe-missions.org/medical2009-cameroon.htm, built a clinic just outside Yaounde ten years ago. CWE is sending a team of doctors, dentists, nurses and evangelists (20 in all) to work in the clinic along side the national doctor that runs the clinic for a week. One of the evangelists was unable to go at the last minute and Al is taking his place. The Tampa portion of the team leaves for NYC on Friday July 31st, where we will meet up with team members from several other parts of the country and on to Cameroon.

The Medical team will be dealing with patients. Al and three other evangelists will share the gospel with each patient.

The people of Cameroon

Cameroon is just South of Nigeria

and next door to Chad in West Africa

Little country church...

It's all about the people folks!

You can pray for us.

It will be very hot, pray that we, air condition addicts, will be able to tolerate the heat without ac.
Pray for the medical team that they will be abled to treat many and correctly.
Pray that many people will come to the clinic.
Pray for the evangelists that they will communicate the gospel clearly and that many will respond to our Savior.
Pray for the team... twenty people from several different parts of the country. Pray that we will work well together, be united in what we are doing for the cause of Christ and that we would stay well.

This is an exciting opportunity for Al and he is looking forward to the trip.

Tampa Update

2009-07-06T15:00:00.004+03:00

Not to be outdone by our Texas Townsends... we have our own ducks!!! As of today - just a pair. Any day now we expect to see a flock of little ones on the pond... I'm going to send them over to Texas to roost on Tracy's house!

We have finished painting the house! Well, almost. We still have some trim and a little touch up to do. But you can't tell unless you look very carefully. Steve and I are voting to wait until it cools down some. Judy is not seeing it as we do!

NO, Steve and I did not do those high places... Our son-in-law, Ryan, and our friend Merl Sperling came over and did those. Merl did the high places in the front.

Ryan got stuck with the awful back side on top of the screen porch. Not sure he will ever forgive me for tricking him into that, but I am forever thankful for his help. There is still a little trim up there Ryan and I still have some trim paint (inspite of the fact that you threw most of it on the ground!) :-) --- Thankfully it was paint that hit the ground and not Ryan. I'm not sure I could deal with Carly for hurting her daddy.

Special shout out to all the help I had painting the house. Our neighbors want to hire you, I am officially retired!

Home from the Philippines

2009-06-16T04:16:00.006+03:00

We are home in Tampa after a successful trip to the Philippines where we teamed with a group of students from the Medical School of the University of Tennessee in Memphis. We broke up into two teams and ministered in six villages on the Island of Tingloy where we saw over 2,000 patients. Our team, along with two of the UT students saw over a thousand people. Each of them heard the gospel, had an opportunity to respond to Christ and had either dental and or medical needs met.

Waiting to see the Doctor after hearing the Gospel

Judy and her translator

Our days were long, it was hot and the bugs were many!
But Judy still hung in there!!

and loved every minute of it.
OK maybe she didn't LOVE the roaches...

Dr. Rao & patient.

Nipa hut on the water.

We traveled by boat each day to the village we were working in and spent the day there.

Your missionaries survived!

Note the volcano in the background.

Two of our UT students working with Dr. Reid.

Al presenting the Gospel.

Dr. Emma Ocampo sharing her testimony at church Sunday morning.

Dr. O and her husband, Oscar, were born in the Philippines and currently live in Tampa.

Part of our Sunday morning worship service. We met outside. Al was especially thankful for this opportunity because he was saved in the Philippines back in 1962.

Pastor Isaac translating the message Al preached.

We are thankful for the opportunity that was ours to visit the Philippines and serve God there. The people are incredibly friendly and very thankful for everything. The trip was long (over 24 hours of travel each way), it was hot, God opened doors of opportunity and the team worked well together. And best of all ... God blessed! People were saved, the local pastors were thrilled and anxious to do follow up. Praise God!

Philippines Bound

2009-06-02T23:12:00.005+03:00

Team Philippines:

Megan Ocampo, Rajanie Rao, RN, Oscar Ocampo, Emma Ocampo, MD, Ray Reid, DDS, Ann Reid, Ann Rao, RN, Bala Rao, MD, Judy Melton, RN, Al Melton, Rev.

It is Mission Trip time...

We leave Tampa for the Philippines Thursday Morning at 7:00 AM. Seventeen hours later we arrive in Manila - ready for bed. Al will be preaching Sunday morning in Lippa. We will move to the Island of Tingloy, south of Luzon, on Monday where we will visit several villages where there is no gospel witness. We have two Medical Doctors, one Dentist, three Nurses, one Dental Assistant, and three Evangelists in our team.

We will meet medical and dental needs, as we can, in villages where there are no medical services available. Our Evangelists will present the gospel to people that come for medical help. Our goal is to help our local Missionary establish a church on Tingloy. Prayerfully, our Evangelistic efforts will give him a base to work with in the future.

We will return to Tampa on Sunday June 14th.

You can help us by praying. Please do so!

Back in Florida! (for a few days...)

2009-05-27T01:47:00.009+03:00

Our daughters have complained that we have not been doing a very good job keeping our blog up to date and I agree. We have been very busy. The yard (garden for our Brit friends) was a wreck when we got back from Israel. Major freeze damage and lots of bushes to cut back and trim up and an area of lawn that had to be dug out and re sodded. Looking good now.

I remodeled the family bath and our son and I have been painting the house but that has been postponed by torrential rain (much needed so no complaints) and Judy and I just took a week long trip to New Hampshire where we hung out with old friends in Vermont for lunch

We visited friends in Southbridge, Massachusetts from our former church

spent time with my brother

planted our rock garden at our oldest daughter's house. This project began 3 years ago when our son-in-law, Tim, had the stonewall built and I planted it for them. I have enjoyed our annual project and this year, I especially enjoyed planting with my helper, our grand daughter, Amanda!

We spent time with our family and in general had a wonderful time.

We are back in Tampa. Our middle daughter and grand daughter are coming Friday for a week and we leave June 4th for the Philippines for a medical/evangelism missions trip. We will not be slowing down this week: dental appointment, Dr.'s appointments, wedding, ballgame and lots of playing with the grandkids. Hopefully in there somewhere we will get a little painting done as well!

At Home in Tampa, FL

2009-04-04T12:36:00.005+03:00

We are at home in Tampa, FL enjoying grand kids, kids, pleasant days and our home church. Lots of work to do to "sort out the garden" as our Brit friends would say. We had some severe killing frost in Tampa while we were in Israel. Extensive damage but nothing we cannot survive. Several bushes and palms cut way back. We only lost two hibiscus. Need rain desperately.

But here's the real reason we are glad to be home... and why we live in Florida... grandkids and sunshine! Swim Team time for the youngest grandkids -

and Al is loving his new camera!

The kids enjoying their favorite pastime ... hanging out at Grammy's!

Does anyone in Israel recognize the hat?

Grammy, can I have an ice cream cone?

One ice cream cone coming right up!

Heading for Home...

2009-03-30T21:11:00.003+03:00

It's late Monday night, we are packed and ready to head for home. We will move out of our Jerusalem home, the apartment in the Garden, that has been ours for five months and be "homeless" in Jerusalem for 10 hours tomorrow. Our flight to the USA will not leave Tel-Aviv until late tomorrow night but the apartment must be made ready for our replacements flying in from New Zealand.

Our Time in Jerusalem has been incredible. Daily we have been reminded that the cross is why we are here. Every day, in the Garden, we share the gospel with everyone who comes. God has met with believers and the lost. Hearts have been blessed and we have had the privilege of seeing some come to faith in Christ. I don't think I will ever think of the Cross again without thinking of the Garden!

We are reminded that without the cross there would have been no need for the Tomb and without the Tomb there would have been no resurrection. Without the resurrection there would have been no salvation! We rejoice that we will spend Easter Sunday at our home church in Tampa and will enjoy "Family Easter Dinner" with some of our children and grandchildren in Tampa.

We have loved our stay in Jerusalem. The city is beautiful - even at night!

The Damascus Gate is especially beautiful at night!

Look at these happy faces... we loved our stay in Jerusalem but at this moment our hearts are turned toward Home and a happy reunion with our loved ones. See you soon and very soon!!! Some sooner than others but soon!

Sharing Israel with Friends from Home!

2009-03-24T07:00:00.005+02:00

Friends from Tampa, Florida came to visit us this past week - Allen and Nadine Pelham. We had an incredible time showing them Israel.

They were only here for a four day weekend and we kept saying that we felt as though we were doing Israel on speed - from Jerusalem to the Galilee to the Dead Sea and back again. Of course we started our tour of Israel in the Garden with Al guiding a group through the Garden.

... and the Garden at night, a sight that most tourists do not get to see. How did they do that? Their guides hold the keys to the Garden! One of the perks we enjoy!

Our first stop going North was Mount Carmel - had to take their breath away! We love Carmel. The Biblical account of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal has always stirred our hearts and the view is just drop dead take your breath away incredible!

Our journey around the Sea of Galilee took us to the usual stops. Our favorite is the Mount of Beatitudes and Capernaum. The ruins of the ancient Synagouge at Capernaum are incredible.

Our whirlwind tour of Israel brought us back to Jerusalem to overnight and then Down to the Dead Sea.

On the way to Masada, we stopped off at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Caves at Qumran

On to Masada and the ruins of one of Herod's Palaces. This one hangs over the cliff overlooking the Dead Sea.

The day was perfect. In this last picture you are looking across the Dead Sea to Jordan. Hard to believe that one day you could be in Tampa and the next in Israel.

The Pelhams are on their way home and we miss them already. But in a very short few days we will be headed home too. We will be back in Tampa April 1st and NO that is not an April Fool's Joke! Our tour of duty in Israel is rapidly coming to a close. We shall forever be thankful to God for the opportunity that has been ours to serve Him here at the Garden Tomb for these past months. We are looking forward to returning home, seeing family and friends and are looking forward to new adventures for Christ. Our plans for 2009 include a Missions Trip to the Philipinnes in June as well as a trip back to Mali in December. We are also praying about returning to the Garden later this year.

Happy Birthday Judy!!!

2009-03-19T21:57:00.002+02:00

We celebrated Judy's birthday yesterday in the Garden complete with a delicious cake and our Garden friends.

I hope you notice there are only 4 candles on the cake... one for each decade of her age???

Judy is in great shape - she blew those candles out with just one puff! You go girl!!!

Unwrapping her gift from her beloved. Yep, she was surprised and very happy (see the next picture). Al gave her a hand made Bedouin Shawl.

Thomas Road Baptist Church & Liberty University

2009-03-17T21:51:00.002+02:00

We had a fun morning at the Garden Tomb this morning. We hosted Rev. Jonathan Falwell and his family along with over 300 people from Lynchburg, VA and Liberty University. Jonathan is the son of the late Dr. Jerry Falwell. Judy and I both are alumni of Liberty University. We were able to renew friendships with both Jonathan and his sister Jeannie. Our children went to school with them back in the 70's and early 80's at Lynchburg Christian Academy in Lynchburg, VA.

Rev. Jonathan Falwell

We were very pleased with Jonathan's sermon at the Garden this morning. The staff was very impressed and had many good comments to make about him and the way everyone with him conducted themselves. Judy told Jonathan that his father would be proud of him and I agree. Jonathan is a godly young man. He and everyone involved in the service conducted themselves in a Christ honoring humble manner.

Judy and Jeannie Falwell

I met Jonathan, his wife and children as they entered the Garden. He greeted me as though he had just seen us last week! I thought how like your father! Dr. Falwell never forgot a face or a name, was always gracious, and always made you feel as though you were the most important person in the world to him. Jeannie was in the group that I took around (there were 7 groups in all from Liberty). I did not recognize her when she asked "is Laurie here?" I was stunned and said "do you mean my daughter, Laurie?"
She did but it was not until 20 minutes later that it dawned on me who she was! Duh! She is very sweet. These kids are a tremendous tribute to their parents. My only regret for the day was that their mother, Macel, did not come with them.

The students were awesome. I sent special messages back to Liberty to our grand daughter, Kristin - a Freshman at LU. I hope every one of them is delivered. We met one of Kristin's future teachers in the School of Nursing. Kristin, you will love our messages!

We recieved special greetings from Josh and Dawn - long time family friends in Lynchburg.

Sharing the Garden with friends is a very special treat and we are looking forward to doing that more this week as friends from Tampa come to visit us. Later this month Dr. Kroll will visit as well - yet another long time family friend! Can't wait. We leave March 31st to return to Tampa.

Gates of Jerusalem

2009-03-11T20:26:00.004+02:00

Two of our Grandchildren, Carly and Ben, asked us about the Gates of Jerusalem. Today we walked around the city walls of Jerusalem and took pictures for them.

The Damascus Gate is very close to where we live in East Jerusalem. It is located in the North Wall of the Old City and was referred to as "St. Stephen's Gate" up until the Crusader's gave that name to the Lion's Gate on the East Wall. It was called St. Stephen's Gate because Stephen was stoned to death near here because of his strong faith in Jesus Christ.

The "New Gate" was added to the Old City Wall just West of the Damascus Gate in 1889 to give easy access to the Christian Quarter.

The Jaffa Gate is in the West Wall of the city and is part of the wall that Suleyman the Magnificent added in the 1500's.

The Zion Gate is in the South Wall just West of the Dung Gate and was heavily damaged in the fighting in 1948.

The Dung Gate is in the South Wall just East of the Zion Gate. As you enter the city through this gate the Temple Mount and the Western Wall are on your right.

The walled shut Hulda Gate or Triple Gates are on the South Wall of Temple Mount. They are at the top of a wide staircase leading up from David's City. Jesus would have climbed these steps to enter the Temple Mount.

The Eastern Gate or Golden Gate is located in the East Wall and led directly up to the Temple.

The Lion Gate is located in the East Wall just North of the Golden Gate. This is the Gate that the Crusaders renamed "St. Stephen's Gate." This Gate is a short walk to the North Wall, Herod's Gate and the Damascus Gate. The traditional site of Stephen's stoning was the ancient rock quarries located near Herod's Gate.

Herod's Gate is located in the North Wall just East of the Damascus Gate. In between Herod's Gate and the Damascus Gate is an entryway to Zedekiah's Caverns under the ancient city of Jerusalem where Solomon and Herod cut stone for the first and second Temple. The rock quarries extended above ground across the street where the Garden Tomb is located.

Evidence for a Garden

2009-03-11T06:46:00.003+02:00

We have grown to love the Garden Tomb and will be forever grateful for the opportunity that God has given to us to serve Him here. Our limited memory will not allow us to count the number of times we have been able to share the gospel in this place. It is our joy to point men and women boys and girls to the Savior here as we emphasize that which God emphasizes - the PERSON of the crucifixion, Jesus Christ, over the PLACE of the crucifixion. God never intended for us to worship the place! Is THIS the place? I don't know and I don't care. But does it at least look like the place? Look at what Scripture says...

The Tomb

But this is on Mt Moriah, a stone mountain, was there a garden here at the time of Christ? It would have been hard to have a garden growing on solid rock. If there was not a garden here, then surely this was not the place.

The Israelites were masters at farming on solid rock. They built terraces using stone walls on the rock, filled in behind the walls with dirt and had a garden. But you have to have water if you are going to have a garden. There is no natural source of water in this place. The nearest natural source of water would be the Gihon Springs over a mile south of here and down the mountain. Not likely that anyone carried water from the Gihon to water a garden here.

But there is archealogical evidence in this place that does point to a garden at the time of Christ. The first deals with that necessary resource, water. In the next picture you note what looks like the top of a chimney. It is an opening to a deep dark hole that looks down into a water cistern that will hold 250,000 gallons of water. It was lined with plaster that the Romans used and is dated to the first Century. If you have water on a stone mountain, you can have a garden. "In the place where He was crucified... there was a garden."

Opening to the Cistern

Picture of a picture made inside the cistern

I often caution people as they prepare to look down into the cistern; "this is a deep dark hole. I don't do deep dark holes. If you drop anything into the cistern, it becomes the property of the garden. So please hang onto your glasses, cameras, children and anything else you consider valuable because I am not going down in there after anything you drop. And yes there is a Palm Pilot down there." Last week there was a 12 year old girl in the group I had who asked; "May I ask a question?" Of course you may... "what's a Palm Pilot?" People in the group began to giggle. I looked at her as only a loving grandfather can and said; "you know, I can't prove this but I think it might have been a first century Blackberry." She said simply; "ohhhh" as her group roared. Which begs the question, I wonder if my almost 13 year old granddaughter knows what a Palm Pilot is???

Fifty feet away from the cistern the Garden Tomb Association uncovered a wine press that has been dated to the time of Christ and it is one of the largest uncovered in Israel. In the first century there was a garden in this place, a vineyard growing grapes to make wine. Was the tomb the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea? I don't know and I don't care... but it sure looks like it.

First Century Wine Press