Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day everyone! We’ve really enjoyed our day here. There were no parades, no fireworks (maybe that’s a good thing?), no Canadian flags flying everywhere, but we still had a great day. It was a fun day in two ways: it was Jeff’s first day being finished his class (which was amazing and there’ll be more blogs to come about it), and since we already celebrated Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the kids thought it would be fun to have Kid’s Day, where we did things that were fun for Reese and Carter (it was actually more Reese’s idea, but Carter had no problems going along with it). It was supposed to be for the kids, but mom and dad had a pretty good time too.

The highlight of our day was doing Hezekiah’s tunnel again. Reese loved it so much the first time that she’s been looking forward to do it again more than almost anything else and has talked about it a lot. Well today was the big day! We traveled through the ½ kilometer tunnel with our headlamps on, with Reese walking and leading the entire way. And Carter walked most of it too! He had a blast walking around, sticking his hands in the water and on the walls then licking them. It took a bit longer but it was a blast, and we remembered our cameras this time for some fun pictures. For a child who’s generally a bit more on the reserved side of things we were surprised to see Reese’s spunk going through. She and Carter were soaking wet, tired, but loved every minute of it. And at the end we were greeted by about eight 10-year old Palestinian boys swimming around in their tighty whities! It wasn’t quite the greeting we expected.

After exiting the tunnel you see what is known as the Pool of Siloam. This where the Biblical story, in John 9, where Jesus heals the blind man with nothing more than dirt and spit; which made the story more memorable for our children!

We grabbed lunch at Carter and Reese’s favourite hot dog/burger place, then spent the rest of the day watching some good ole’ Mr. Dressup, giving shoulder rides around the Old City, and even having ice cream cake for dessert at the hotel. Are we nice parents or what? (just kidding).

Every day has truly been so much fun here, but it’s hard to believe we only have a week left here. We are excited to come home but already are starting to miss things here. The people here at the hotel and around the Old City have been so good to us. The class at JUC was so rich and full, and we’ve made great memories. This last week will be busy as we travel around to some of the sites we haven’t taken in yet and generally just enjoy time hanging out together. Everyone has been healthy, sleeping well, and getting by in the heat with the help of ice cream and air conditioning. We are truly blessed to be able to be here and are thankful for this place so much. Happy Canada Day to you all, as we take time to also celebrate our amazing country at home!

And a HUGE Happy Birthday to Kimberley!