Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Had they remained on the Nativity Trail, Ruben, Dusty, and the squirrels would have arrived in Bethlehem that night. Instead, after nine days of hiking over rolling mountains and arid deserts, they reached their final destination in Ein Karem: a small house on the grounds of the Church of the Visitation.

"This is lovely!" Pearl commented as they entered the grounds. Ruben tied Dusty to a hitching post outside the house and headed up toward the church. "Wait here. I'll be right back." "I'll try not to wander off," Merle joked from inside the locked birdcage on Dusty's back. "Dusty, what is this place?" Pearl asked once Ruben was out of earshot. Since Dusty had spent a long career as a tour donkey, he knew as much about Holy Land history as any guide. "This church was built on the site of the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist— Jesus' cousin." "Ooh! Tell me more..." Pearl pleaded.

"Zechariah was a priest in the temple in Jerusalem," Dusty began. "He and his wife, Elizabeth, were very old and had never been able to have children, though they had prayed for a baby for years. "One day, while Zechariah was in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him."

"Wasn't that the same angel who appeared to Mary?" Merle asked. "Yep. Same one." Dusty continued, "'Don't be afraid, Zechariah, God has answered your prayers!' Gabriel announced. 'Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord!'" "Zechariah must have loved hearing that!" Pearl noted. "Especially since he was a priest!" "You'd think so," Dusty said. "But Zechariah doubted Gabriel. 'How can this be possible?' he said. 'My wife and I are super old!'" "Makes sense," Merle said. "It was probably a little hard to believe."

"But Zechariah knew better," Dusty said. "When an angel shows up directly from heaven with a message from God, believing your wife can have a miracle baby shouldn't be much of a stretch. So Gabriel gave Zechariah something to think about and took away his voice for a while." "How long?" Merle asked. "Hold on, I'm getting to that," Dusty said. "Anyway, boom! Elizabeth gets pregnant, and six months later, Gabriel shows up in Nazareth to Mary and tells her that she's also going to have a miracle baby, and about what's going on with her old relative Elizabeth. Mary then leaves Nazareth and travels the same route we just took to this very spot. At the sound of Mary's voice, baby John in Elizabeth's tummy leaps for joy." "Elizabeth must have also been happy to see her relative, right?" Pearl asked. "She was!" Dusty replied, "She told Mary, 'God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.' Elizabeth had faith that God would do the impossible." "With God, anything is possible," Pearl said. The thought was comforting to her. Being rescued was beginning to feel impossible. "So, what happened with Zechariah?" Merle wondered.

"He got his voice back after baby John was born," Dusty answered. "Oh good," Merle replied. "I can't imagine not being able to talk for nine months." "I can, and I love it!" Pearl teased.