Welp, the first full day is over. We had a meeting tonight and we ended up cutting it short, because just about everyone in the room was nodding off! JET LAG!
Today we toured around Israel and saw some amazing sites. We saw Herod the Great's palace in Bethlehem, called Herodian and it was really awesome! Later in the afternoon we went to the Church of the Nativity, which is the traditional site where Christ was born. They built the church over the top of the cave where they believe Christ was born. That's right people, I just totally ruined that American fantasy you have of a wooden stable and a wooden manger! Womp Womp! Whether or not Christ was born in this particular cave is negotiable, but it was most likely a cave, which would have been in the back of someone's home where they kept the animals/tools - sort of like a shed.
The interesting part about the Church of the Nativity is the various peoples' reactions to seeing the actual place where Christ was born. It doesn't really sink in where you are until you see someone fall down and kiss the floor, weeping at the sight of it. It was a pretty moving experience. The Greek Orthodox church is in charge of keeping the church up, so as you can imagine, the actual birthplace is decorated to the hilt! There is a silver star on the floor in the spot where Jesus may have been born.
I didn't necessarily fall down to the floor and weep, but I was definitely moved by the whole experience of seeing it. To hear that Christ was born is one thing, but to see the actual place makes it real. Although I could live without all the elaborate decorative things that hung in the cave and over the spot, it was still quite moving.
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