Jess's Wedding

The wedding of Jessica Tinlin and Norman Smith took place at Fort Campbell KY on November 8, 2008. Most of the Gillis family was present. The fall weather was very cool with the wind but the trees were in full color.

You could tell that we were in Tennessee Volunteer country by the duo in the hotel lobby.


Family and friends were present and some were babies.




Speeches were made by the brothers.



At last, the wedding procession began in the Fort Campbell chapel.








Here comes the flower girl.


Father and bride.



The ceremony.





Leaving the church.


Outside the chapel.





At the reception.

Jerusalem & Bethlehem

(Gail and Jim inside the Garden Tomb).

Our first day in Jerusalem we walked from our hotel to the Damascus Gate. We experienced the sights, food and shopping in old Jerusalem before walking to Succat Hallel. A 24x7 prayer meeting is held there for Jerusalem. Our group entered in and God was there. The view while praying is of the old city wall and the Mount of Olives. This is the Tower of David.
The following day we began by visiting the Mount of Olives which has a commanding view of the Kidron Valley and all of Jerusalem. Paula and Gail on the Mount of Olives. Camel rides were available so we jumped on one. I befriended, Anies, a 16 year old Arab boy selling book markers with his uncle probably. I bought something from the boy and instantly made a friend. The uncle looked very proud that Anies sold something. Anies came back to me and asked my name and I had this picture taken of us. Pray for him. From the summit of the mount Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:6-12).We visited the Garden of Gethsemane which still grows descendant olive trees from the time of Christ. This was a special place for us to visit. We could really feel the presence of the Lord there. The adjoining church is called The Basilica of the Agony. Later we entered The City of David section of Jerusalem as part of Mount Zion which is the hill southwest of the old City's Zion gate. We went to the House of Caiaphas next which is where Peter denied Christ in the courtyard three times before the cock crowed. The church steeple has a rooster on it and what our guide shared there about how after Peter's denial Christ forgave him as He does us was very moving. The newly excavated holding cells under the church could well be where Christ was held and tortured. It was a very impacting place. For sure this is the walkway Jesus was brought into and out of Caiaphas's house. The Upper Room is there also. It is known as the place where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper as well as where He appeared several times to his disciples (with Thomas absent and present) (Luke 22:14-22). Judas's replacement was chosen here and the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples here on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The traditional site of King David's Tomb is nearby.

We ended the day by participating in the Jerusalem March sponsored again by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. There were so many people from many nations in the march and the Israels watching were blessing the USA and thanking us for being there in their country. We were so blessed by the people since most other countries don't like us.
Click on the arrow. Bill was ready. You can tell by our faces that a good time was had by all. The next day we delivered some of the humanitarian aid that we brought with us to The Joseph Storehouse. Each team member brought a 50 lb. suitcase of donated aid. What a blessing to be able to supply these great charities with goods to be distributed to Christians, Jews and Muslims in need. Our bus driver, Ezra, had a treat for us that did not include shopping. It was hard to believe but he drove us to an Elvis diner. It was a lot of fun even for an old Memphis boy like me. We attended a play called "The Covenant" which told the story of God's promises to Israel. Well done. We saw this candle holder which the Israels have prepared to be placed in the yet to be built temple on the Temple Mount as soon as the Muslim shrine The Dome of the Rock comes down.The following day we toured the Southern excavations followed by the Western (Wailing) Wall. In Luke 4 the Bible says that the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and placed Him on a pinnacle of the temple and said to Him,"If you are the Son of God jump off..and His angles will keep you". This wall is similar to that pinnacle. The Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who had been ill for 38 years is dried up now. Next to it is the beautiful Church of St. Anne. We had a blessed time of singing unto the Lord there led always by Henry and Cindy and this time by Ellen Judy too. Naomi shares with us outside the Church of St. Anne. We then walked the Via Dolorosa, "Way of Sorrow", (where Christ walked from arrest to resurrection). There are 14 stations of the Cross, where believers recognise His sufferings. They include: the Place of Condemnation (Luke 23:1-24), the Burden of the Cross (Matt. 27:27-31), Jesus falls for the First Time, Jesus meets His Mother, Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus (Luke 23:26), Veronica wipes the Face of Jesus (tradition), Jesus falls for the Second Time, Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-31), Jesus falls for the Third Time, (stations 10-14 are contained in The Church of the Holy Sepulchre) Jesus Stripped of His Garments (John 19:23-25), Jesus Nailed to the Cross (Mark 15:27), Jesus is taken down from the Cross, and the Burial and Resurrection of Jesus (Matt 27:33-37, Luke 23:34, Mark 15:33-34, Matt 27:50-51, Matt 27:57-61 and Matt 28:1-7, John 20:11-17). This is Paula exiting the small tomb of the crucified Lord. After Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus down from the cross, tradition says that He was laid on the Stone of the Anointment which Gail is laying hands on and praying for all those who have and will do the same. On the Via Dolorosa was the traditional site of Mary's birth.
The following day we rode to Bethlehem which is in Palestinean control. The city is on a hill and is surrounded by a wall and we had to change busses to an Arab bus and had an Arab (Christian Arab) guide. He really exorted us to seek God with all our heart. These Bedouin children live in the fields of Bethlehem. We stopped at the Shepherd's Field and met inside a cave very similar to those used for centeries. He made a good point about how shepherds would be in the field in December since that is not the normal time to tend sheep in the field. His point was that the sacrifical animals used in the temple in Jerusalem, which is very close to Bethlehem, would have been kept in the field year round. We ate at a nice almost open air restuant with a very nice view. Bethlehem is on a hill and seemly all buildings are built with the ivory colored Jerusalem stone. A church near the shepherds field was very beautiful inside.

The famous Church of the Nativity had very ornate decorations much like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This is the church you see on TV on Christmas from Bethlehem. The Muslim influence is everywhere, just stepping out of the church shows a mosque. This is where we left some of our donated supplies, it is a refugee camp in Bethlehem. Sunday we toured the City of David again with Hezekiah's Tunnel and the Pool of Siloam. Hezekiah's Tunnel is part of the underground water system of Jerusalem. It was dug during his reign (about 700 B.C.). It transported water from the Gihon Spring to a reservoir, the Pool of Siloam, which lay inside the city walls (2 Chr. 32:30). We actually walked inside the tunnels. One was dry and one was wet. Gail chose the dry one and I chose the wet (ankle deep to thigh deep at times). It was very narrow and short at times and seemed like a mile long, actually only 1748 feet). We had lots of laughs and some fears at times. The Pool is where Jesus spit on the ground and made mud to heal a blind man (John 9).

On a more modern note, we visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum which showed in depth the whole process of how 6 million Jews were exterminated in the 1930s and 1940s.
Of those 6 million, 1.5 million were children which had its own museum. Inside that museum it was very dark with large sheets of glass and many lights all being reflected by the glass. There was nothing else to see. A voice was heard reading each of the 1.5 million children's names, ages and where they had lived. It was quite moving. Michelle, who has Jewish roots, placed rocks on the statues. On our last day touring, we began walking the Ramparts while praying and worshipping. The view of the city from the top of the wall was great. As we walked the Ramparts, we came to the top of Zion Gate and with Henry and Cindy leading we began to praise and worship the Lord. Soon other groups behind us just joined in worshiping and prasing God in any language.
Click on the arrow. After the dancing, someone noticed this dead snake whose head had been crushed by our heels. Here is a man who wanted to talk about the USA. He had many questions and opinions. On the way to the Garden Tomb, we see a Muslim bowing in prayer to his god. The Garden Tomb is another possible site for the tomb of Jesus. The traditional site is inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but there is compelling evidence in favor of the Garden Tomb. It is located outside the Old City walls, north of the Damaascus gate (John 19:20). Nearby is a hill resembling a skull even today. Pictures of it from early 1900 still show a skull. An Arab bus station is right next to it.John 19:41 states "Now there was a garden in the place..." There is a very large cistern and a wine press there indicating there has been a garden there for a long time. Several caves nearby contain skeletons showing that it has been a burial place. The Tomb has been hewn into the rock and a tombstone was found blocking the entrance. It is the tomb of a rich person since it has two rooms, one for mourners to cry and two beds (only one had been modified to fit a person and the other was not). Whether or not this is the actual tomb of Jesus, it certainly looks exactually like it should. We certainly could feel God's presence there. We even had a communion service in the chapel there led by our own pastor Al Jefferson.We said our good byes to our guide Naomi and our driver Ezra and gave them some gifts to remember us by.

As we were eating our fish and chips at the London airport restaurant we certainly had much to be truely thankful for.
Most of us sat outside this eatery waiting to head to the boarding gate.

Next stop: US of A

AFTER THOUGHTS:

We had a great time on this trip no doubt about it. Gail and I sat on the bus just behind "the cackelers" and at least the first week or so were laughing about the silliest things. It was so entertaining. This trip was certainly not all serious and spititual. Everyone seemed to be joyfull and family-like in demenior. The restaurant staff was so efficient that they would often cleam up your dishes as soon as you left the table and you would return to discover that your plates and utensils were gone. Susan Dunn had this happen one time and stated that every time she left the table and returned, all her food would be gone....so just after saying that she got up to get more silverware, leaving her newly obtained food....Paula removed her plate so when Susan quickly returned to the table, she found her food gone again. She said, "See what I was talking about--my food is gone again". Paula returned her plate to her and all had a good laugh. Our trip to the Elvis Diner was fun and really pleased our Jewish driver, Ezra.

The experience of seeing what Christ saw and being where He was on earth, was truely rewarding to us all. At one point we sang "We are standing on Holy Ground" while standing inside the warehouse for Joseph's Storehouse. That might not seem like the most likely place to sing that since we had been to so many "holy sites" but that is where Christ had us to be ministering in His name. The Holy Spirit was really there. Our first Sunday back in our church, MCC, I had that same feeling that here we are still "standing on holy ground" because His Spirit is where His children are NOW. You don't have to travel to Israel to experience His presence. Just seek Him and surrender your life to Him. He wants to spend time with you.