I have been hit-on by many men and 'bounced' several others but the last thing i expected was to be proposed to by the gardener of Gethsemane- Fayez, the same man who was supposed to have seen Jesus Christ.

And don't ask me what my answer to him was.

Ever since my last article I been asked a lot of questions regarding my interaction with Fayez and  what exactly he saw at this place where Jesus Christ prayed and shed tears of blood while his disciples slept.

Well you may or may not believe Fayez actually saw Christ, but here are his words "two years ago I saw the shadow of Jesus. I saw Jesus and when I closed and opened my eyes, [there was] nothing."

However the conversation shifted a bit off gear and frankly I didn't know where it was going until the 'bombshell' came. Fayez asked me if I had any children. I said no, not yet. He then plucked an olive branch which he gave to me for the blessing of fertility. He shot another question at me. Are you married? Before my answer would come, he had offered his relationship status and to my utter shock he proposed marriage to me. At this time I was dumbfounded. I didn't know how the whole marriage process is consummated in Israel but in Ghana I knew Fayez had gone beyond what was acceptable or perhaps normal.

I quickly looked around me and realized my colleagues were all gone. I blurted out a faint thank you and took to my heels to track them so I didn't get left behind.

The thought of returning to Ghana from Israel with a 40 plus year old fiancé was a bit of a nightmare, Lol. Enough said about Fayez!

Let us continue with our tour of Israel and make a quick stop over at the Yad Vashem, the National Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust.

The holocaust is believed to have seen the annihilation of some 6 million Jews in Europe, 1.5 million of whom were said to be children. The visit allowed us access to presumably the most horrific videos of  Nazi led killings through starvation, hard labour, mass executions, diseases and gas chambers.

Some Jews believe there is a connection with Africans or people of African descent because of the anti Semitic killings and racism against coloured people. Yes please have your say!

From the museum we headed to Palestine amidst tight security including rigorous border checks with armed personnel, sniffer dogs. Even our Jewish tour guide had to stay behind because that part of the tour had to be done by a non-Jew guide.

At last we arrived in Bethlehem, where Jesus- The Messiah was born in a manger in the absence of a crib.

The Church of Nativity being renovated, stands over Christ's birthplace. The entrance to the Church is a small rectangular opening, known as the door of humility where you must bow (assume a humble position) in order to go in.

The door was originally made smaller over the years to prevent raiders from entering.

The underground cave where He was born is the Grotto of Nativity. Inside this place is the Alta of Nativity, on the floor is a 14-point star marking the EXACT spot our Saviour was born.

To the right of the altar is the nursery of baby Jesus. Oh what joy filled my heart to be in such a magnificent place.

Now this church has a room where it is believed mother Mary breast fed her baby and droplets of breast milk which fell to the ground were preserved to date.

Women in Israel and abroad travel here to get their hands on some of this powder for the blessing and breakthrough of childbirth.

 

NEXT ON ISRAEL DIARIES- the unreligious man in a very religious town.