"I walked today where Jesus walked," were the words that echoed through my mind as we walked through the Holy Lands. Our small tour group were good friends by now and we sang as we drove.

We arrived at the Jerusalem Shalom Hotel that evening. It was a lovely place. Our supper was eaten at 8:00 pm. We had our choice of stewed Swiss steak, chicken merengo or brisket of beef. Breakfast the next morning was different than our American breakfasts. We had pickled herring, bread and butter, cottage cheese and yogurt.

The ground in Israel is so rocky that farming is done on different levels or terraces. The Jewish people are truly talented.

We went by bus to the Mount of Olives where we could see the entire city.

Riding a camel named Shu-Shu was a new and unusual experience.

Shu-Shu had been in movies with John Wayne and he liked to give people kisses. I didn't feel up to kissing a camel but some did. Debbie was one of those.

We went to the Garden of Gethsemane where huge olive trees grow. A church is built over the rock where Jesus wept.

In the distance we could see where Absalom, the son who rebelled against King David was buried."My son, my son," David cried and being a mother I could sympathize with him.

We stopped in Bethany and stepped into the tomb of Lazarus.

Lazarus had known death earlier but Jesus brought him back to life. Jesus often stopped and visited him and his sisters Mary and Martha.They were good friends. Martha was the one who kept busy, but Mary she sat at Jesus' feet as he taught them. Martha complained to the Lord because Mary was not helping, but Jesus told her that Mary was doing the best thing. I often think that Jesus is still talking to me and saying "Dorothy, Dorothy, you worry about the small things."

We went through the Book Museum. That is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept.

Lunch was eaten back at the hotel and then we took a memorable trip to the Garden where many believe that Jesus was buried.

It was a beautiful spring morning, one I'll never forget as we walked into the shady spot where flowers bloom outside of an empty tomb. Within the garden is a rock-hewn tomb. The tomb and garden are located outside of the walls of Jerusalem, a short distance north of Damascus Gate. They are believed by many to be the Sepulcher and Garden of Joseph of Arimathea where Jesus was buried and out of which He came back to life. The tomb was first discovered when a Greek who owned the ground along the foot of a cliff discovered a tomb. At that time there were two painted crosses on the walls of the chamber.

At the far end of the garden is an incline called Skull Hill. Two black holes in the hill look like eyes, rocks appear to be a nose and mouth. As I looked at that hill, I could almost see the three crosses that stood on Golgotha nearly 2,000 years ago.

A British soldier named General Gordon, who was also a Bible student was on leave in Palestine in 1883. Researching the land Gordon was impressed by the location and skull-like appearance of that rock and thought it looked like the Biblical description of the place of Christ's execution. The hill is now called "Gordon's Calvary."

When General Gordon found the skull hill he looked for a tomb nearby and found it. Gordon helped raise the money to form the Garden Tomb Association. The property was purchased and archaeologists began to restore the site.

As the area was excavated evidence was found that the ground around the Tomb was once a garden. Several cisterns were discovered. One was very large with a capacity of 200,000 gallons of water.

In 1924 a winepress was discovered near the entrance to the Garden and about five feet below the present level.

In the garden outside of the tomb are benches that can seat over 300 people. Our small church group of 21 people worshipped the risen Savior on those benches.

Our open-air service was decorated by pink, red and yellow flowers, and mixed with the greens of wild olives and Aleppo pines. Our backdrop was the bricked up entrance to the tomb.The opening into the tomb was small and we had to stoop to get into the place where Jesus was laid.

There on a ledge was a sign "He is not here, He is risen, just as He said." The tomb has an entrance to an outer room, a low threshold to the graves and a short low rock wall between the rooms. There is a pillow cut into the rock, a weeping chamber and a small window.

Bethlehem is near Jerusalem. We first stopped at the field and saw the cave where the shepherds watched their flock by night when suddenly the angels appeared and told of the birth of our Lord and Savior. Unfortunately I failed to take a picture of it. I'll have to admit I was disappointed in Bethlehem.

The place where Jesus was born in the manger is covered by a church and the spot is marked. Many of the Biblical spots have churches built on top of them. Shopping was done in the Bethlehem new store with a 15% discount on diamonds and jewellery.

The next morning we went to the old city. It was a fascinating experience. We entered through Saint Stevens Gate and through David's Tomb. Our guide took us to a large room which is believed to have been the room where the Last Supper was held. There we had a touching communion service.

A walk to the square led us to the Moslem mosque and the Dome of the Rock where Solomon's temple once was located. The rock where Abraham was going to sacrifice his precious son is inside of the Dome of the Rock.

We saw the old wall, the only part of Solomon's Temple that is left. Bits of paper with prayers written on them were put in the cracks of the wall.

The market place was fascinating with its many shops. The awnings overhead touched and interesting goods were placed in front of the shops. I bought a beautiful blouse. The Arabs were friendly and offered to swap camels for the ladies.

The pool of Bethsaida where Jesus healed the man who could not walk into the waters was between stately old churches. We walked the Via Doloresa and I remembered a lovely song about that experience.

Our time in Israel had come to a close. The next morning we got up at 5:30 and started for Jericho. Carrying our suitcases across the Jordan River we caught a taxicab that took us to Amman, Jordan, then boarded a 747 to go to Athens, Greece.

We spent the afternoon sightseeing.

The Acropolis and the ruins of the temples were wonderful to see.

We drove around Athens. It was a very short time to see the beautiful city.

We stopped and climbed to the top of Mars Hill, where Paul preached to the people who were worshipping the unknown God. He introduced them to our Lord, Jesus Christ.

That night was spent at the Divani Zafolia Palace. It was a lovely, clean hotel. Especially outstanding were the marble tables and floors. Our meal that evening was one of the best of the trip, soup, salad, meat, potatoes, bread, cauliflower and an ice cream sundae.

The next morning we had a nine hour flight to New York and arrived in Denver late in the evening.

I'll never forget that once in a lifetime trip to the Holy Lands and walking through the lands where Jesus walked. I wish I could go back and relive it again in slow motion.