The white and golden Roman-style stone blocks you see in Jerusalem in most of the homes and buildings has to be the most common color you see everywhere. Everything is beige. The walls of Jerusalem are made of these one-ton stones seemingly standing there forever. This Roman architecture prevails everywhere as a repeated theme. You cannot miss it.

Israel has lots of repeated themes, even when it comes to food. The pita bread with salad is offered daily, as if there is nothing else to eat. The pita bread is everywhere. I had some with hyssop and almost had to go to a hospital. It upset my entrails as if World War III was happening. A constant theme: Pita bread with small plates of salad. My advice to you: do not mix pita bread with hyssop oil.

Another theme of Israel is the schwarma. This is pita bread with shaved turkey. The turkey is cooked on a skewer, sliced, and warmed by gas heaters. They will shave a plate full and give it to you with pita bread. The problem here is that this turkey has been there for a week and even though looks good, it has some age to it.

Everywhere we went, Belle Ralston pointed out to me the beautiful flower called bouganvilla, which grows all over Israel. One day she noticed a very strange tree. It was a tall cedar tree covered with red bouganvilla. The bouganvilla flower is everywhere. The red of this flower overcame the green of the tree.

How I wished the red of Jesus’ blood would overcome Jerusalem’s Roman stones and give it a new color. During Armageddon blood will run through the streets of Jerusalem. As the bouganvilla covers the cedars, I wish the blood of Jesus would run over every Chassidic Jew. It would be good to have the blood of Jesus run over every basilica filled with religious spirits. And since we are at it, why not have the blood of Jesus run over every tourist shop filled with gadgets for Americans. Come, Lord Jesus!

Rick Bonfim