The Garden Tomb: Then and Now

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

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

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!

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

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!