Message to Kidz City

Israel - Day 11

Hey guys! I'm still waiting for someone to win the contest!

Here's some adventures I had this week. Below is a photo of me and Pastor Justin at a Sycamore Tree. This is the tree that Zaccheaus climbed to see Jesus in a big crowd. Zaccheaus was kind of a short guy so he climbed this tree to get a good view. It's a pretty neat story. You should check it out this week with Mom or Dad. It's found in the Bible in Luke 19:1-10.


Another place we went to was the home of Caiaphus. This guy was in charge of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus and imprisoned Jesus the night before He went to the cross. Archaeologists dug way deep into the earth to find these stairs. These are the exact stones Jesus walked the night before and the morning of His crucifixion.

Jesus loves us all so much. Pray a prayer right now to thank Him for that love.

FIRST CONTEST!!!

Alright! I promised a contest or two for you guys, so here's the first one. (This is for kids 1st-5th grade only.) :)

Remember what I said about what a psalm is? Check out my post called "Israel - Day 6."

The first kid who writes their own psalm and e-mails it to me at amanda@cityoflifechurch.com will get a souvenire from Israel! Woohoo! Make sure you include your first name, last name, age, and parent's name in your e-mail.

Remember, a psalm can be a few lines or a lot.

Love you!

Miss Amanda Rollin'

I found a hill and thought of what you guys would do! Here's me being silly in Israel. Enjoy!

Israel - Day 6

Hey, guys!

I have been soooo busy here! I've missed Kidz City a lot - but I heard you guys were having a good time. :) I haven't had the chance to answer the video questions yet, but as soon as I do, I'll post it up here, so you can see.

Here are just two places that I've been to this week. The first is a place called En Gedi. It is a place where water springs up in the middle of the desert; an oasis. We had to drive through huge hills of desert to get to a mountain. Then, we climbed the mountain to find this waterfall. (Check out my cool rock climbing shoes - they look like frog feet!)

While we were at En Gedi, we saw a cave where David (from the Bible) hid from King Saul. My professor told us that this is where David wrote many of the Psalms that we have in the Bibe today. Here I am writing my own Psalm. A psalm is simply a special song to God - it can be short or long, fancy or simple.

After we wrote our psalms, we got to swim in a pool that was made by the waterfall. It was really fun!

The last picure for today was taken at the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the place where Jesus prayed for us right before He was arrested and taken to the cross. I even got to touch a huge rock that Jesus might have prayed on. It was neat to see the Garden and the rock and know that Jesus was thinking of us while He prayed there.

This week I read cards from Madison, Gabriel, Isabella, Jon Michael, and a bunch of other cards with no names. Thank you so much for writing cards to me! That is so special. I'll send you a video soon. I'm praying for your prayer requests and I love you so much!

Israel - Day 1

Wow, guys! I'm here! I've been in the country for only 14 hours and I've already seen 15 different places! There's so much to do and see in Jerusalem. It has been fun walking the stone streets and alleys. It gives you an idea of what the town was like when Jesus was alive - how AMAZING!

As you read the blog, I hope you get inspired to pull out your Bible and study things you've never studied before - or maybe haven't studied in a long time. I'll give you today's highlights, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Today we walked on roof tops and had an amazing view of the Old City, we went to an 800 year old basilica (Catholic church,) Elvis shrine (I know, crazy!), a possible tomb for King Herod and his family, the Arab food market, seen the road where Jesus appeared to the men walking to Emmaus, the battlefield where Joshua got an extra 15 minutes of daylight, and the desert Ruth & Naomi journeyed through.

Here's a picture of me on top of a roof with Jerusalem in the background.

Check out these two pictures of the walls at Herod's tomb. One is in English, the other in Hebrew - how fun!

Especially for my Kidz City Kids:

I got your video questions from Miss Rebecca on Sunday, and I'll be replying with a video soon.

And! I read some of your cards today. You guys are great artists! I read a few cards with no names, and also a card from Yanexa and one from Alondra. I'm praying for your praye reuests, and I love you all so much!

Last Wednesday

The countdown is at 4 days!!!

I still have to get on that packing thing...I told the kids on Sunday that this week I need to start adjusting my sleep schedule so that each night I'm going to bed earlier and waking up earlier each morning so that by this Friday I'm going to bed at 5pm and waking up at 2am (the equivalent of midnight and 9am in Israel.) That's going, slowly but surely.

I'm really excited about the other announcement I made to them on Sunday - periodically, I'll make up little contests on this blog. For instance, one day I may say "whoever e-mails me first with our theme of the month will win a souvenire from Israel!" So, if you're a kid or parent from COL, make sure to check in often! I know there are going to be amazing photos and videos to come!

It is my last Wednesday service - I'll be saying goodbye tonight. I can't even write any more. I think I'mma cry.