On May 28, 2015, the Dallas Baptist Men's & Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Teams traveled to Jerusalem to take part in the DBU Global Sports Mission Initiative representing Dallas Baptist University overseas.  Below is a day-by-day account from DBU's Dean of Student Affairs, Jay Harley, detailing the team's mission trip to Jerusalem.

Day 1 & 2 Blog: Jay Harley, Dean of Students & Spirtual Life
The cross-country and track athletes began their morning with an early run around Jerusalem before breakfast. After breakfast, we walked to the temple mount area and had the very unique experience visiting the Dome of the rock area. We learned of the history of the temple mount and how the area or changed hands multiple times. At the dome of the rock Area we were able to see the old beautiful gate of the temple where in Acts 3, the lame man was healed.
 
The Dome of the Rock crowd was sparse this morning when we visited, and we do count it a privilege to visit there and be so close to the Dome of the Rock and also walk on the Temple Mount platform.
 
After leaving the Dome of the Rock, we visited the Western Wall o ft he Temple Mount where Jewish people still pray today.  We are able to pray at the Western Wall.
 
As we visited places today that are so contested in order to determine who can worship their God  at the site and how He should be worshiped, I am reminded of John 4 when Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that a time is coming where worship will not be in Jerusalem or on a mountain in Samaria and true worshipers will worship God in spirit and truth. What grace we have so we do not need to argue and battle over a location to worship God.  Through Jesus, we can worship in freedom, humility, and confidence anywhere in the world in any language.
 
I also love when the woman responds and says to Jesus hopefully that the Messiah will clear up the worship location controversy.  He responds to hero with His identity as the promised Messiah.  He has come, and He does not desire our worship only in special locations.  He desires worship from all parts of our lives. So the real battle may not be about the special location of worship, it may be for us to repent of our sin and flesh and surrender to Jesus.
 
Today, we also walked the Via Dolorosa and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Pools of Bethesda were also a stop on our walk today around the Old City of Jerusalem.
 
Tonight after dinner, we returned to the Western Wall and received a tour of the Western Wall tunnels where we saw the archaeological excavations in and around the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.  We walked on a 1st century street constructed during the reign of Herod the Great.
 
Tomorrow is another full day where we will hopefully participate in an archaeological project.
 

Day 3 Blog: Jay Harley, Dean of Students & Spirtual Life
Our third day in Jerusalem began with a morning visit to the City of David.  The City of David is the earliest part of Jerusalem that King David conquered and expanded.  We were able to learn of the archaeological remains there.

The highlight of our visit to the City of David was our walk through Hezekiah's tunnel.  This  tunnel was constructed by Old Testament king Hezekiah to bring water to the city from the Gihon Spring during the siege by the Assyrians.  Cool spring water still flows through the tunnel today.  We waded through the knee deep water with flashlights.  After exiting the runner, we saw the Pool of Siloam and then walked up the ancient street from the City of David to the southern steps of the Temple Mount.  This ancient street is now underground covered by homes and modern roads.  The tunnel is nearly a mile long, as we ascended to the Temple Mount as people would have done during the time of Jesus.

After lunch we were able to volunteer at the Temple Mount sifting project.  In the 1990's, construction was done on the Islamic controlled part of the Temple Mount with dirt and rocks removed from the site and dumped in a valley in Jerusalem.  For 10 years, archaeologists have been sifting this material finding artifacts as far back as Solomon's temple.

DBU students found mosaic tiles, pottery, an ancient nail, and bones.  Joseph Randle found a metal clip that would have held a Roman toga closed when worn.  This is considered a special find and he will be registered as the discoverer.

We ended the day at Gethsemane and the Mt. of Olives.

What a special day for all of us.
 

Day 4 Blog: Jay Harley, Dean of Students & Spirtual Life
On our last two days in Jerusalem, we visited the Garden Tomb, Masada, En Gedi, Qumran, Bethlehem, the Jerusalem Prayer Center and The Israel Museum.
 
After departing Jerusalem early Sunday morning, we drove to Nazareth and attended church. We were able to see many DBU friends in Nazareth. After church and lunch, our friends in Nazareth took us to Mt. Carmel and the to Haifa to the beach for the afternoon. Our hosts in Nazareth are very hospitable as always.
 
Today, Monday, we will do some work at the Nazareth Baptist School.
 
Thanks for your prayers. We have had a great time and are enjoying listening to and cheering for DBU baseball through the night. The schedule of games has worked well today to be able to listen on dbupatriots.com
 

Day 5 Blog: Jay Harley, Dean of Students & Spirtual Life
The team had a wonderful time serving in the Nazareth Baptist elementary school yesterday. We split the team into groups of three and each group went into one of the classrooms.  Each group led a Bible lesson, sang songs, and shared their testimonies. We provided a DBU coffee mug and t-shirt as a gift for all the teachers. After serving, we listened to a presentation given by the Nazareth Baptist School director, Botrus Mansour. His presentation was informative and provided insight on what it is like to be an Evangelical Arab Israeli. After his presentation we prayed for Botrus and the ministry of the school. That evening the team enjoyed a time of fellowship at a coffee shop with some of the recent graduates of the school.
 
Today half the team went back to Nazareth Village and the other half went back to the elementary school.  During lunch we had a special Q&A time with Randy Green. Randy is an IMB missionary living in Nazareth. Tonight we will attend the Nazareth Baptist Youth group.