Day 17 - Sunday 4th December

City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Pool of Siloam

04.12.2011 - 04.12.2011

Today was the last day of the tour. A number of us went to Christ Church in the morning to worship with the locals. It was great to be with so many people from around the world, learning about and praising Him. The people there were very welcoming, and it was interesting to find out about the various ministries Christ Church are undertaking. They certainly need our prayers as they seek to evangelise the Holy Land.

In the afternoon we met back up at the hotel and made our way to Hezekiah's tunnel. This tunnel is briefly mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20 as one of King Hezekiah's achievements - building a tunnel to bring water to the city. The tunnel was not for the claustrophobic! It stretched 530m along, deep underground, with water flowing through it. It certainly was an experience walking through it! I tried to imagine what it would have been like for those slaves who had to make it. Probably not very nice! I didn't take a camera down the tunnel for fear of losing it.

At the end of the tunnel we were able to see the Pool of Siloam, mentioned in John 9.. Together we read the story of Jesus sending the blind man to the pool to be healed. This was a good place to sit and reflect, and to think about in awe of the power of Jesus. This last site summed up the tour well for me. To just sit and realise that Jesus did such extrodinary things in such everyday places was something that needed to sink into me. Remembering the fact that Jesus came down to our world, to a place and people filled with so much sin, reminds me just how much he loves us. I think that's the main thing that really affected me on the trip - how amazing God is and how much he loves us. He is good!