Journey Into Bethlehem

First of all, before I get into my blog post, I have to tell you what wonderful daughters I have.  We have all been hit with that lovely cold that seems to be going around of late, but what nearly did me in was when I got infected with a horrible stomach virus last week while John was on a business trip.

The older girls took great care of me (as I literally couldn't move the first day it hit) by making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, putting their younger sisters to bed, etc.  I was so proud of them for being such wonderful helpers.

We missed out on some fun Christmas parties over the weekend due to illness, but by Sunday, it seemed like everyone was back to normal, so we ventured out to one of the local Baptist churches that puts on a journey into Bethlehem event each year.  We've never been, but thought we'd check it out.  It was incredible, though everyone else seemed to think so too because it was a really long wait.

 

However, it was worth the long line since we got to experience life back at the time Christ was born.  We journeyed from Nazareth with a local Jew, 'Gaddiel', and his family to Bethlehem for the census and to be taxed.  Along the way (the church has a huge amount of land that we journeyed across - and yes, it was cold) we encountered Roman soldiers who made sure we had our passports with us, and then we met wise men, shepherds, and even were visited by an angel announcing Christ's birth.

We had to enter through a gate to get into Bethlehem, where our passports were stamped.  We got to visit some of the shops, and meet with some of the local people who wanted to know about the visit we had from the angel.  Everyone was so excited about Christ's birth - it was easy to get caught up in the moment.

We tried to get a room at an inn, but when they told us it was full, they showed us to some tents that were being set up by their stable where we got to see baby Jesus and meet Mary and Joseph.

It was fun to imagine what it must have been like to be there during those times.