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Our morning began at 6am as we gathered to walk the Villa de la Rosa, the Stations of the Cross. Jerusalem is surprisingly busy at this time of day, with shopkeepers opening their stores and delivery trucks driving through the streets.  St. Martins went with the group from Minnesota and our chaplan, Fr. Andrew, with a different pilgrim carrying a good sized wooden cross to each station. Most of the stations are in the middle of busy roads, and it was interesting to imagine what it would have been like to see Jesus carrying his cross on these same streets.  It felt like Good Friday, or like we were starring in our own version of Jesus of Nazareth (part 4).  At each station, there was a sign and number representing it, and one person read the bible verse while another pilgrim read the prayer.  This was such a real experience, to hear the story of Jesus on his way to be crucified and it was very emotional.  We finished the stations around 8am in the  Holy Seplecure ( Church of the Resurection). We entered into the church  to a wonderful sound of holy music and touched the calvary stone where Jesus was crucified. Afterwards, we got lunch and went shopping for the day! We also stopped by the graveyard where Oskar Schindler is buried, his grave was full of stones paying homage to his work.  At night, we had a farewell dinner and got to spend time with everyone before we had to leave. Everyone thought today was one of the best days full of amazing experiences!

Early this morning we walked the Stations of the Cross.  At this stations, Maggie is holding the cross, and Carrie is reading the Scripture

Following our walking the Stations of the Cross, we toured the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (aka the Church of the Resurrection), built on the site where our Lord was crucified, buried, and raised again

Here we are outside, in front of the Church of the Resurrection, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

We visited the grave of Oskar Schindler, made famous in Steven Spielburg's movie "Schindler's List."

We spent a few hours shopping (emptying money from the pockets of the pilgrims).  Here, Courtney and Kristen conclude a sale with a Palestinian shopkeeper