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Why
Hillbillies Make Good Marines

Dear Ma & Pa,

Am well. Hope you are. Tell brother Walt & brother Elmer the Marine Corps
beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before maybe
all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but
am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt & Elmer all you do before
breakfast is smooth your cot and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to
pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, they git warm water. Breakfast is strong
on trimmings.

Like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc…, but kind of weak on chops,
potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie, and other regular food. But tell
Walt & Elmer you can always sit between two city boys that live on coffee.

Their food plus yours holds you till noon, when you get fed again. It’s no
wonder these city boys can’t walk much. We go on “route” marches,
which the Platoon Sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so,
it is not my place to tell him different. A “route march” is about as
far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys gets sore feet and we all ride
back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat. The Sergeant is like a
schoolteacher. He nags some. The Capt. is like the school board.

Majors & Colonels just ride around & frown. They don’t bother you none.
This next will kill Walt & Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for
shooting. I don’t know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk and
don’t move. And it ain’t shooting at you, like the Higgett boys at home.

All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don’t even load
your own cartridges.

They come in boxes. Be sure to tell Walt & Elmer to hurry & join before
other fellers get into this setup & come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Gail

Received from FranCMT2, via GCFL

Greetings, WLBC Family,

It was a whirlwind last day.  We started the day on the Mount of Olives, home of the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus ascended into heaven and the place where He will return soon.  It also happens to give some pretty spectacular views of Jerusalem.  I had a wonderful time of prayer and reflection in Gethsemane.

We then went back into the Old City and stopped at the Pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who had been lame for 38 years.  Next, we walked the Via Dolorosa- the Way of Sorrows.  It isn’t really the absolutely authentic path Jesus took to Calvary, but it does give one a good idea of the approximate route and time it took.  That, of course assumes that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the authentic location of Calvary and the resurrection tomb.  Our tour leader, Michael Rydelnik, thinks it is almost certain to be the spot.  I’ll tell you my experiences and impressions of it when I get home.

We then went to Gordon’s Calvary- the garden Tomb.  It is a radically different atmosphere than the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  It is a worshipful, peaceful and loving place.  While it is not as likely to be authentic, it does give one a little better feel for what it would have looked like back in the time of Jesus.  More details on that when I get home.

Speaking of getting home… As I write this, it is a little after 8:00 PM Jerusalem time.  My bus will take me to the airport in Tel Aviv at 1:30 AM for a 5:50 AM flight to Istanbul.  I then have a five hour layover in Istanbul and then a 12 hour flight home to Chicago, where I will arrive at at 7:00 PM Friday evening.  I will not be in church this coming Sunday, but, Lord willing, I will see you all soon thereafter.

Attached is a picture of a view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and a familiar shot from inside the the Garden Tomb. [These pictures follow this post. – Rick]

Once again… THANK YOU!  I love you all and look forward to seeing you, although it probably will take me a decade to organize all my thoughts, pictures and video….

Shalom,
Pastor Dan

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Our strength is shown in the
things we stand for; our weakness is shown in the things we fall
for. –Author Unknown

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Greetings, WLBC Family,

Today was a free day in
Jerusalem.  I spent the day with some of my tour mates exploring the four
quarters of the Old City (Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim).  After
wandering through the seemingly endless sea of shopkeepers and their
“bargains just for you,” I have a new appreciation for the story of
Jesus driving the moneychangers out of the temple.

I also took a nice walk
through parts of modern Jerusalem (not New Jerusalem- that’s something else)
and then came back to the hotel and relaxed.  It’s hard to believe, but
tomorrow will be our last day of touring. We will visit the Mount of Olives,
the Garden of Gethsemane, the Pools of Bethesda, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
(the likely place of the crucifixion and resurrection) and then celebrate
communion at the Garden Tomb (It is a possible site of the crucifixion and
resurrection, but not as likely as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher location.
 The beauty of the Garden Tomb is that it looks much as the tomb of Jesus
would have looked back then, and, it’s really not that far from the more likely
site).

After dinner, I will get
a grand total of about 2 hours sleep and then head for the airport in Tel Aviv
for a 5:50 AM flight to Istanbul.  I will then have the privilege of
exploring the Istanbul airport for about 5 hours before departing on a 12 hour
flight back to Chicago, arriving at O’Hare shortly before 7:00 PM Friday
evening.

I don’t know if I will
have a brief update for you tomorrow or not.  So, if not, let me just say
again…

THANK YOU!!!

It has been a wonderful
time of learning, refreshment, challenge and inspiration.  Of course, I’m
going to need to take a vacation from my vacation when I get back.  Lord
willing, I will see you all on Palm Sunday.

Shalom,

Pastor Dan 

Greetings, WLBC Family!

Yet another great day in the land where Jesus walked.  We started off the day with a visit to the oldest part of Jerusalem- the City of David on Mount Zion- where we saw what is almost certainly the ruins of King David’s palace.  He would have had a pretty nice view from there, and that fact certainly did not turn out well concerning Bathsheba.  

Next, we descended into the water tunnel chiseled into the rocks during the time of King Hezekiah (700 BC). This was done in order to ensure that Jerusalem would have water if the city were under siege (2 Kings 20:20).  We descended down into the tunnel and then walked in cool water about knee-high for 1800 feet in pitch black darkness.  Thank goodness they supplied us all with flashlights.  Incidentally, my pictures didn’t turn out too well down there, so I may have to rely on some commercial shots to illustrate when the time comes for my “slideshow” of the trip.

The end of Hezekiah’s tunnel lets out into the Pool of Siloam.  This was where Jesus told the man blind from birth to go wash (John 9:1-12).

We then visited the Upper Room.  The room you see today was built in the Middle Ages, but the site is almost certainly the location of the Upper Room.

Our afternoon site was rather sobering and emotional.  It was a visit to Yad Vashem (“a memorial and a name”), which is Israel’s Holocaust Museum.  No further words are necessary.

Tomorrow is our free day in Jerusalem.  I think I’ll hole up in the hotel room and better organize my pictures… or maybe not.  No, I’ll be venturing back over to the Old City for further exploration.

Pictures include:

1. Ruins of David’s Palace on Mount Zion

2. A shot looking upward toward David’s Palace

3. The Pool of Siloam (poor quality… crowded!)

4.  The Upper Room (poor quality… crowded!)

[These pictures follow this post – Rick]

Shalom,
PD