Day Eight Hundred Sixty Nine #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

I find myself warming to our erstwhile friend Jezer. I begin to think that he only acts the scoundrel to acquire what others need. With only minimum thought to himself.

And I also understand better the reason for our call to Damascus.

There are scatterings of Hamashiachites throughout the city. Late comers to belief after the Great Appearance. Living lives in fear and persecution when found out. And sorely in need of a leader.

And Elijah shall fill that need, willingly and most gladly. I shall help, of course. But unlike with other groups we have gathered in the past, we shall lead them ourselves to Jerusalem, and not hand them over to others to direct.

And time is short.

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Day Eight Hundred Sixty Eight #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

During the daylight hours, the constant din of construction assails our ears. I find myself longing for the relative quiet of the night.

Jezer welcomes the noise. To him it means, that for the time being, the authorities have chosen to ignore the goings on in this quarter, one in which can be found a multitude of those not bearing the mark.

As to himself he is currently basking in plenty, having sold off all his camels. And is contemplating his next investment.

I just hope we do not end up part of his calculations.

Meesa has praised him to Elijah and said his aid has been pivotal to the needy in this quarter. We passed the afternoon with her.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty Seven #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Over night Elijah and I separately received confirmation that today was our day to enter. We timed our arrival at the gateway to coincide with the morning rush. However, we were intercepted on the way by Meesa and our guest at the desert well, Jezer.

She had been on the way out to our spot to introduce us, and to inform us about the best strategy for entry.

A few awkward moments ensued, then we were talked into entering later in the day as part of a labor crew bringing scraps from outside for reuse.

The stratagem worked. This evening we are within Damascus. And thankful for the Spirit’s timing, for without Meesa’s intervention we would have been turned away.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty Six #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We got in for closer views of all three entrances, but we kept on the move to avoid scrutiny of ourselves. And as a consequence, we became quite familiar with the paths connecting the two motor roadways with the footpath entry.

The whole area is filled up with rubble that must have been carted out of the city after its destruction.

I sighed to think about all the new buildings beyond, and the people within them, facing the destruction of destruction in the day’s ahead.

We learned that very few on foot went through the motor road entries. And the central path was exclusively for those on foot. Even many not bearing the mark, by all appearances doing forced labor.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty Five #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Our observations of the last day and a half have brought up something very curious. The two main roads are often backed up at certain times as the vehicles are checked before entry. A third way into the city lies between them. A steady stream of people on foot depart the main roads on either side to join the path to this gateway.

So, to my mind without a vehicle ourselves, this looks to offer the best way in, leaving the only decision as to the morning or the evening busy times.

But Elijah hasn’t ruled out one of the vehicle only entries. In fact he rather prefers it.

In which case I think it calls for a closer look.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty Four #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

We have Damascus in sight. Meesa led us off the road to a ridge above its outskirts, where we have a commanding view of the road and a neighboring one to the west. We can see where each enters the city. And are in a good position to evaluate our options.

Meesa had listened to our explanations with avidity, and peppered us with questions. Before leaving she had proposed another solution by offering to affix a mark like hers upon our persons – an offer we both declined.

We shall not stoop to subterfuge, but we shall oppose Stan and his ilk face to face.

That being said, we shall stay put until we have clarity as to when and how.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty Three #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

This time Elijah wasn’t the only one to notice. When the young woman overtook and passed us by on the road, I saw that she bore a mark, and I could tell it was very much like that of Jezer. Phony.

For her part when she looked back at us, shock registered in her face. And I knew that her surprise was due to the absence of the mark on either of us.

She stopped in her tracks, not knowing what to do.

Elijah rushed forward to reassure her. The fact that she was alone on the road, I believe, made her even more apprehensive, so I held back.

Elijah was able to calm her.

It was a propitious meeting.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty Two #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

The villages we passed through yesterday and today were quiet and almost empty, for their inhabitants were out laboring in the fields. The requisite posters of Stan increased in number as we grew closer to Damascus.

And as we were getting closer, Elijah and I strategized about our entry.

We decided that we would hold up at a distance and observe the patterns of movement into and out of the city.

It would also need to be an out of the way site, the better to seek the Spirit’s direction.

We have noted already that at certain times of the day the road traffic slows due to an increase in vehicles and backs up. This may prove an important factor.

The Disneyland Booklet for 1975

As per my promise from my last Memories post, here is the Disneyland booklet from 1975, which describes all the sights, rides, restaurants, and amenities, etc. within the park. And since it was the bicentennial for our country its theme celebrates the founding of the nation.

You can see below our calculations for deciding just which book of tickets we needed to purchase, for the remaining items we wanted to see.

Hopefully these pictures will give some researcher somewhere some much needed information.

Day Eight Hundred Sixty One #DiaryoftheEndoftheWorld

Town police rousted us from our sleep this morning. We had chosen a place too close to the town for their liking. Thus we were a little earlier on the road than planned.

It worked to our advantage as we made good progress being the only ones on the road at that hour.

Ahead we could see a series of villages nestled along the road surrounded with fields under cultivation.

I debated with Elijah whether or not to leave the road and go around them. He felt no need or compulsion to do so. I wanted to avoid anything like yesterday that could hold us back again.

We concluded that walking in the fields would bring unwanted attention to ourselves.