Reflection and relaxation

This morning we had the opportunity to share with our group some of our thoughts and reflections on our Galilee experience. We firstly spoke in groups of three then shared with the larger group. It was a great chance for us to reflect on and process our pilgrimage so far.
Richard, Paul and I then went for a wander with our aim being to do the ramparts walk up on top of the wall around part of the Old City. On the way, we ended up at a magnificent church called Dormition Abbey, where it is believed Mary lived with the first Christian community, and where she died. It is connected to the Benedictine Church that we went to in Galilee.
It is very beautiful, with lots of altars decorated in stunning mosaics. It is a very quiet and prayerful place- one of the most beautiful churches I have seen on this journey.
We then discovered that the Upper room, where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, and where he appeared to his disciples after the resurrection and where the Holy Spirit came down upon them, was somewhere nearby. We eventually went up some stairs and heard some loud voices and chanting - it was a charismatic group speaking in tongues, obviously moved by the spirit in this place where the spirit was first given!
In the end, we didn't get to do what we had set out to do today, but we were pleasantly surprised and happy with what we had seen and experienced.
This afternoon we had two lectures on the Spirituality of Islam by a very engaging and knowledgeable lecturer.
I learnt so much about the Muslim faith and culture that I did not know, and it was presented in a way for us to understand how they view God and their world. This was very relevant, especially with what has been going on in Australia this last week in the wake of the film about Mohammed. In fact, some of our group saw a rally/march about this issue in the streets here today.
We are off to Hebron tomorrow, to see the tombs of the Patriarchs including Abraham and Isaac.