Chelsea is ready to go, even with her sprained ankle.

The group in front of the Dome of the Rock.

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Rachel and Clara.

Deborah is in front of a very old olive tree.

In the Garden of Gethsemane.

Peter is standing on the Mount of Olives.

Overlooking the territory of Benjamin, sitting on top of King Hussein's unfinished palace.

Trying to find on the map exactly what they're looking at.

In the basement of a Jewish home, remains from the Second Temple period have been found.

While waiting to enter the Archaeological park...

Many interesting things happened.

John G sits on a 1st century road.  Evidence of the Roman destruction can be seen behind him.

Reading the Psalms of Ascent on the ancient steps.

Cory and John T in front of the steps.

At the Garden Tomb.

Whit and James in an empty tomb.

Studying where we were on the way home...

Karen and Cory look over their maps.

In their own words:

I have to say, the Judean Wilderness was a lot like I imagined as I looked off in the distance when we were at Gibeah.  The dust, the dry expanse – suddenly the stories of Jesus in the wilderness seem a lot more personal when I can sit and see it in front of me.  I can’t imagine spending 40 days in that lonely, dry area – and this is the wet season.

-Ashley Bricks

From what we saw today the wilderness seemed quite barren, not what my mind pictures as wilderness.  But from our hike on Sunday, the wilderness is beautiful in its unique way and the LORD obviously uses its uniqueness for His purposes.

-Tiffany Clark

The greater Jerusalem area was very impressive and intriguing.  Walking in the places that Jesus walked helps me to understand the accounts given in the Bible and to come to more accurate conclusions.  The Mount of Olives is much larger than I imagined and it was overwhelming to see all of the graves on the hillside.

-Brittany Wagner