Bulbs - the kind that flower

It's crazy Friday again! The new muzzein of the Dome of the Rock mosque is really gentle. I won't have heard him singing at 5am if I were not up already. He doesn't turn on the megaphones at full volume, and his voice is very very gentle and soothing. It's actually very delighttful to hear him sing at that hour. Our church bells ring an hour later at 6am and the continuous reminders to pray fill the still and chilly Jerusalem air every day. People call it cacophony but I think its a wonderful testimony of the Holy Spirit leading different religious traditions and languages and cultures to pray to the same Father incessantly. Its like the first Pentecost when peoples of different races and languages gathered to praise God in their own tongue.

The helicoptors are not flying overhead (security for the US President) anymore, so the noise pollution is reduced. That left alot of quiet time yesterday evening - so much so that I decided not to go down for dinner but stay in my room to read instead. Jadallah (our all purpose janitor - he's really hardworking) came earlier in the afternoon to seal my room door with rubber-lining so that the cold wind will not blow through the sides. But we found out that the gaps were really big so he'll need to buy another 3 meters of lining to double the seal.

I've been checking out our Jan.29th group (english speaking) to Israel and there's still space for 3 more people. So please guys, sign up or recommend a friend as soon as possible. Don't miss this chance! And our chinese speaking group for Holy Week also has space of more people. So come join in! Its rare for Asian groups to come visit Israel in the cold! So be different and come! You know well that when I lead the group, it's going to be special!

And for your informaiton the snow didn't come ....... sigh ..... the sun is out but the wind is still freezing cold. But we still haven't given up hope for snow. Do you know that certain bulbs (flowers of course, not light-bulbs) need the snow in order to start growing; or at least below zero degrees? The wild Spring flowers are less pretty because of the lack of cold weather and snow here in the Holyland. And that got me thinking about how sometimes we need this "cold treatment" to wake us up and flower. Its a wonderful reflection on Lent that's just coming round the corner. So why not start a little gardening - even if its just a pot. Gardening helps your spiritual life. Believe me! Even the weeds have a lesson to teach you. Don't believe it? Come and join my pilgirmage and I'll let you in on the spiritual lesosns of the biblical plants as we walk along the streets of the Holyland. You're not going to get this from a normal tour! And on the topic of gardening, the Amarellis and Spider-lily bulbs that I brought from my HK garden have shot up to almost a foot high. Hope they'll flower in Easter. Meanwhile the Cattleya orchids (also from HK) died because of the cold. Too bad becasue I was really looking forward to a touch of Asia - missing it terribly.

I bought 6 Snowdrop bulbs last week and they're already pushing up the soil from my pot. I have 3 flower pots on my window sill and I hope they'll all flower at Easter time. But first they need this cold and wet weather to get them started. How about you? Complacent in your warm, cosy security zone - go get a cold shock. You'll be surprised at what you can achieve when you start flowering.