Galilee 4

These are just some pictures I liked. :) We went home the next day, following the coastline and going down with Paul to Jerusalem. I didn't have my camera charged, so I'll get the pictures from Emma later. 

The classic Caesarea Phillipi picture. It was lovely there. 

The map at the Syrian border. 11000 km from Washington DC!

Yes Jenna, the Syrian border is that way. Don't look so doubtful. 

Me in the judgement seat, or seat of Moses, at a synagogue. I have no comment. 

A beautiful alley in Akko. 

The very blurry picture I took on my phone of the lighthouse at Caesarea. :)

I love you all!

Galilee 3

These next few days were all field trips. So many tuna sandwiches in a row. They fed us the same sack lunch everyday, so Cody, Emma and I would splurge on pringles and cookies whenever we had the shekels. Above is Emily and I at Hazor, where we talked about watchmen and how the prophets can see storms coming from years off and give us warnings on how to prepare now. It has a special impact when you are sitting on a watchtower talking about it. 

Hazor was one of the only places we ran into the other class, whom I was pretty sure I imagined after a week or so of not seeing them. I love Jess so much! Look how cute we are!!

Next we drove up to the northernmost edge of the ancient kingdom of Israel, Tel Dan. It was actually a nature preserve, with lots of shady paths and springs. It was very green, and I felt like Indiana jones, trooping through the bushes looking for ancient buildings. ​Dan is actually where they made a huge altar with a golden calf, which directly led to the downfall and scattering of the northern kingdom and the 10 tribes. This pic of Nate and I is at the judgement seat in the gate, basically where all the business was conducted. We reenacted the story of Ruth, and Nate and I did our best judging. Those are our judging faces. 

We stopped at some other sites, but they were mainly sites mentioned once in the scriptures. The best place was Castle Nimrod, which was not mentioned in the scriptures at all I think, but which was an actual castle! We split into classes, and my class took our place on the wall to defend as the other class attacked. Dr. Mulestein did the speech from the 3rd lord of the rings movie, which was amazing because he had it memorized, and I smashed Colin in a sword fight by leaping down from a rock at him. Attack from above always. 

The next day was our last day at Galilee so we went to all the cool places. Like Caesarea Phillipi, which is totally in the scriptures pictures! Actually, I have been to most of the places in those pictures. That's a cool thought.

We took advantage of the shade to talk about Christ as the bedrock, and appreciated the word play of the scriptures. Just another day with Dr. Skinner, loving the Greek and Aramaic puns in the scriptures. Emma and I sat on the antiquities. Shame on us. Here we are looking guilty. 

We also went up to the Golan heights, which is technically Syria. Yay! Check that off my dangerous places to visit list. It was a blurry day, so we couldn't see far, but we did our best and talked about Saul on the road to Damascus and some more modern history. 

We also went to Akko, which was the base camp for the Crusaders. They built an entire underground city, so we did a scavenger hunt. 

Galilee 2

After Capernaum we took off to the Mount of Beatitudes, where we sang Primary songs and listened to the sister at the chapel give us some pearls of wisdom. Afterwards, we went down to Tabgha, the traditional site of the miracle with the loaves and fishes. They were selling these cute fish and loaves stones, but I had no money, so I took a picture instead. We went over to another church close by called Peter Primacy, which was the traditional location of the post resurrection meal that they have on the beach. Dr. Allred bore an amazing testimony, and read from Elder Holland's talk the First Great Commandment. I think that it was my favorite place of that field trip. 

We worked our way over to Magdala, where we looked at a synagogue and a first century boat they dug from the bottom of the sea when there was a drought. Finally, we hopped on a boat of our own, and took off across the sea back towards En Gev. Here's my lovely sea picture. :) I loved sitting in a boat, and smelling the water and feeling the wind. It was like Lake Powell! We stopped in the middle and had a devotional and sang Master the Tempest is Raging, which means a lot when you sing it on location. :) In the afternoon a wind will kick up that gets the whitecaps going, and during a storm they can up to 9 feet tall. I felt like the Lord took the opportunity to remind me that he can calm the storm inside me just as easily as he does the storms on the sea. 

We had another day of classes on Thursday, and we took the chance to go swimming!! It was so nice. I read a book as well, which is my favorite beach activity. That night we went to dinner at the fish restaurant of the kibbutz, where we got our own fish called Peter's fish. A whole fish was laid on my plate, and I had to disassemble it myself. That was a little gross. But I did it! Afterwards, we went to Tiberias, which is the biggest town around the Galilee, and went to their shopping street. I bought a lovely dress, and an even lovelier ice cream. Vanilla with sprinkles. Sometimes you have to go back to the basics. It was so exciting to walk along the boardwalk, eating melting ice cream and laughing with friends. It was a scene from a book, that's how perfect it was. 

Another field trip on Friday took us to Gamla, which is a fortified city on a hill in the middle of a valley, and hiked around. Mind you, I was wearing my new dress, which was great temperature wise, but not so great for hiking around. But I did it!! Afterwards, we went to Bethsaida, where Laurel sang Come Thou Fount. We talked about how to make this experience last past when we go home, and we took some time to think and pray. I had an amazing experience, where I said a prayer telling Father how much I wanted this to stay with me, and asking how I can. Lo, a wind blew and flipped one page in my scriptures--which were open from our discussion--and I looked down and BAM! There it was. If you have a light, you don't put it under a bushel. If you have a testimony and experiences that changed you, you share them. It was pretty amazing. 

Saturday my class drew the good lot, because we got to go have sacrament meeting with the lovely Galilee branch members. All the speakers were our students, because I imagine the branch members need a break sometime. I cried the whole time. Sometimes the Lord reaches out and reminds me things that I need to know. It was a beautiful experience. Afterwards we went out on the balcony and took pictures. Here's Emma and I, looking like we are in Italy. 

We had another day of classes, combined with a nap and some good scripture study, then took off the next day for another field trip!! We went to one of the traditional sites of the mount of transfiguration, called Mt. Tabor. It was so high up, and we had an amazing view. We sat in that church, which was so beautiful, and talked about Christ. I really loved it there. :) Next we went off to Megiddo, which was the traditional site of Armageddon. It was really interesting to talk about the second coming, and we got some great study time there. They were really good about giving us lots of time to sit and think. I think that was my favorite part actually, because Galilee is the best place to sit and think. This photo was taken at the spring from the Gideon story. We are so cute! It was so nice to sit in the park there and read that story, because we got to reenact it! Yay for role plays!

Galilee

Pre Galilee free day we went on a tour of the government: the supreme court and the Knesset. Both were pretty interesting, but I liked the supreme court best. Emma and I copied a picture that we really nailed. :) That free day was a long one, but we got ice cream, and that makes everything better. We had a lot of fun!

The next day we took off to Galilee!!! YAY! It only took us all day to make the maybe 2 hour trip, because we made it a field trip! Our first stop was at Bet Shean, which is so not how you spell that, a Roman city that was so big! We wandered down the cardo, climbed the tel, and took a pit stop in the public latrine. Almost all the pillars were knocked over by a huge earthquake, so we took some pretty fun pictures. Yes, I did knock this one over. With ONE punch. I am the earth quake. 

We stopped afterwards at Nazareth, and hiked up to the Church dedicated to Mary. It was really beautiful, and also the biggest church I've ever seen. Many countries from around the world submitted art of Jesus and Mary to display at the church, and so they've put them all up with the country labels. I liked the Korean one a lot, and the Nazareth entry the best. We also went over to a little synagogue, which was built on the foundations of the synagogue that stood during Jesus's time. It was a special place, and so we sang some hymns. 

We ended our field trip up on Mt. Arbel, which gave us a great view of the Galilee. I was so sweaty by that point, because it was so humid! Luckily, it was so windy up there, all the sweat was just blown right off. We took a moment to ponder and pray up there, and I asked that I may have many experiences that would draw me closer to Christ. Fun facts: the sea of Galilee is 12 miles long, and 8 miles wide at it's widest point, which is about the size of Utah lake. It's also fresh water! Wow! We stayed at a resort called En Gev, which was a lot of fun. I stayed with Emily Clark, Emily Mangleson, and Kelsey, which was an interesting group to say the least. We all are very independent, and yet we could hang out if we wanted to. 

We split into our NT classes everyday, with one class going on a field trip and the other taking classes. Luckily for me, I started out in the classes group, which meant I had a glorious 6 hours of scripture study and journal writing with this beautiful view. I loved the time that we had to sit and think there. There was a certain spirit that never left while we were there, like the land was saturated with the spirit witnessing of the miracles that happened on its shores. So here I am, looking all windswept because it was very windy that day. 

The next day we went off on our first field trip, which was a full day traveling up on the ​north side of the lake and visiting all the sites mentioned in the scriptures. How many times do I get to say that? We went to Capernaum, which was good, up until I was stealthily informed by my roomie that I had two largish holes in the seat of my pants!!!! AHHHHHHHH! I was so embarrased!!! Luckily I was wearing my an pants, so they sort of blended in with my garments, but a few tears were shed over the shear ridiculousness of the situation. Luckily Sister Whitchurch came thorugh and bought me a scarf to wrap around my waist. It even matched my shoes, which was so funny to me. I pulled myself together in time to take this amazing picture along the seashore. 

Bethlehem and the Jewish Quarter

Sit yourselves down and strap on your seatbelt because I went to the Bethlehem in the West Bank this week, and I survived the experience. In fact, it was my favorite place of the entire trip! 

We went to the church of the Nativity, which is actually 3 churches built over the cave where Jesus was born. I loved this church a lot, and I really felt the spirit there. Once again, I'll have to collect pictures from a lot of people. I love this one because of how filled with light it looks. I love the high arches and ceilings in these churches.

We went shopping, and I bought a nativity and a baby blanket in Bethlehem. How sweet! We also went to dinner in a tent restaurant which was so fun! 

The last place we went was the shepherds fields, where we sang songs and had a devotional. It was so spiritual, and I loved watching the stars appear over head. 

This pic has Bethlehem in the background, with the sunset. Some A+ photography right there. 

The next few days were spent in a school and food poisoning haze. We ate some bad falafel at the center, and almost half the center went down. It was very sad, but also really funny in hindsight. 

On Thursday we went on another field trip, this time on a tour of the Jewish quarter. Most of our time was spent looking at 1st century ruins under buildings, which were cool, but I most loved the archaeological park south of the temple mount. We sat on the steps that Jesus ascended to go to the temple. It was profoundly beautiful. We saw the enormous cracked stones from where the Romans threw down the enormous blocks of the temple. It was so, so amazing, and really humbling to think of the temple. I really missed going to the temple after that. 

Sabbath day we went to the Garden tomb again, and I really loved sitting and feeling the spirit again. There weren't many people there, so we got to sit in quiet and watch videos and feel the spirit. 

Jordan

I just returned from Jordan, and boy it was more fun than I thought it would be. The problem with going to Egypt was that I've always wanted to go, so Jordan fell to second place. But it was amazing in it's own way, and I'm glad I went, as you will soon learn.

First off our visit to Tel Aviv. We spent the day swimming, biking down the boardwalk, shopping, and finished off with the best Mexican food Israel had to offer to celebrate Aubrey's birthday. It was a long hot day, and it was amazing. The Mediterranean is perfect for just swimming around, and I perfected the art of body surfing. Next up, actual surfing. Anybody want to fly to Hawaii? 

It was Dad's birthday that day, so here's a message in the sand for my papi!!

The next day we headed off to Jordan. I sat next to Emma everyday. We are best buds. We sweat together, eat each others food, I steal her toilet paper every time we use a horrible restroom that doesn't have any, she listens to music on my ipod. The marks of true friendship. I probably have more pictures of Emma than anyone else. Our couple name is Jemma. 

After waiting 3 hours to cross the border between Israel and Jordan, we took off for Mt Nebo. It had a great view of the surrounding country side, but unfortunately it was too hazy to really see anything. But we had a good spiritual thought to start us off. We really busted through a couple small sites, prepping for our three hour trip down to Petra to see if we could get in at night. 

Well, we did make it. Amazing right? I did some star gazing since it was so beautiful as well. They fed us tea and played music and it was cosmic. 

The next day we got up early to see what the canyon looked like in the daytime. They had horses and camels and donkeys available to take you down, but we walked. This poor man is an actual pooper scooper. 

 The canyon was really really beautiful. We did all our instruction from our tours guide as we walked, and then they set us free for 7 hours of uninterrupted free time in Petra National Park. 

The first place we went was the high place, where they sacrificed for whatever religion they practiced back then. Ashlyn was my hiking buddy, and so I sacrificed her. 

Then we hustled back down and across the park to hike to the monastery on the other side of the park. Now that was a hard long hike, but the view at the top was absolutely worth it. These buildings are just amazing. 

An up close of the beautiful marbling on all the rocks around here. 

We slowly made our way back up to the buses, taking time to eat some of the best food ever for lunch, partying at the great temple, and laying down a music video in the Byzantine church ruins. I really need to get pictures from a lot of people this trip. We saved our aching feet by taking a camel ride for part of the way. Here's Ashlyn taking a picture of me on my mighty steed Shadowfax. I read the entire Lord of the Rings series during our bus rides. We are professional camel riders now, so they went galloping up the canyon with us clinging onto the saddle horns and almost bouncing off the saddle. We finally learned to grip with the thighs, but not after a group of tourists got pictures of the sweaty American girls bouncing off their camels and screaming. 

We drove up to Amman and checked into our very nice hotel, and that is the last thing I did that day. I was so tired!!!

But the next day we went to go see the best preserved Roman city outside of well, Rome, called Jerash. It was stunning, and we got to sit in a theatre and listen to people sing and play bagpipes for us. We also had a wonderful distracting time in the hippodrome, or chariot racing arena. Dr. Whitchurch was trying to give a thought, but I was a little busy with the horse that was really interested in what I had in my hands and pockets. We bonded. 

There were two old temples that were so cool!! Here's a group photo by the temple of Artemis. Those pillars were beautiful and would sway slightly when you pushed on them as many people were too willing to demonstrate. 

I saw an opportunity and I took it. 

We visited this old castle, which was super cool, and a place called the citadel of Amman. Doesn't this pic look so cool? That last night was spent out on the city, at the mall where everything was closed for the breaking of the fast, and then on Rainbow road, which is not just a mario kart level, but also a sort of sketchy shopping street. Finally we just gave up and I watched a movie with Christa and Emma. 

The next day, and our last day in Jordan, we took off to the King Abdullah mosque. We got all dressed up with scarves and cover ups, and sat inside this huge mosque for about an hour. It was really cool, in an experience way, because it was actually really hot in that robe. Too many layers, much respect for the ladies here. 

We went to the Jordan Museum, which was fun. Emma and I partook in our favorite form of museum learning: copy the statues. We got some good ones. This museum actually had some of the dead sea scrolls for viewing, including a copper scroll of a list of treasure. Let's Indiana Jones this. 

Our last spot was one of the traditional sites for Christ's baptism in the Jordan river. It was a truly special experience. There were people being baptized on the Israel side of the river, but we had our own spiritual experiences with our teachers. Also, Dr. Whitchurch said we couldn't touch the water. 

Jerusalem

The main difference I have been struck by is that I don't know the language. There's nothing like walking through the Old city, where it is always loud and full of people, and knowing that I have no idea what's going on. It gets my senses going, especially because I'm so used to listening to other people's conversations. I feel like I must not be hearing things correctly because I don't understand. You feel very out of place when you lack a fundamental aspect of the culture. 

The thing that is interesting about Israel specifically is that there is a very clear split between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Palestinians are almost like second class citizens here. The conflict itself is very distant from day to day life, though we all feel that shadow of what could happen. One day there could be a stabbing in the crowds around the gates, or the bomb sirens could go off, or a fire could get out of control. It's a feeling of inevitability, that one day there will be a collision and we are just passing the time until it happens. 

However, I am very safe. Israel is very protective of Jerusalem because of all the religious sites, so there are army people everywhere with guns at hand. They don't play around here. I personally live in the Palestinian side of town, technically in the West Bank. They son't attack here. West Jerusalem with all the Jewish communities get hit every couple weeks though. You probably heard about the attack in Tel Aviv. We are also protected by our dress and our reputation. We dress very modestly, pants and high necklines, so that we avoid the stereotype of foreign women being sexually loose. Groping is a big issue with that, but no one in our program has had to deal with that. But never fear. I've been honked at, people slow down to look at us as they drive by, followed once, been hit on, and had someone propose to me. There's a lot to love, but also some things not to love. We are known as the young Mormons, and people like us. The shops give us discounts, and people will yell "Mormons" after us. We try to stay in their good books. 

The city itself is divided Jewish and Palestinian. The Jewish sides are generally cleaner, with more houses packed on top of each other. There are a lot of people in nicer dress, very conservative and mostly black clothes in the Orthodox areas. The Palestinian sides are dirty, lots of trash and broken glass everywhere. The ground is stained with the juices from dumpsters. The traffic is incredible. Everyone speeds, and everyone honks. If you have to press your brakes, you slam on the horn as well. Same thing if you have to wait at a light. Pedestrians stay on the sidewalk, but if you want to cross, people will stop and wave you across. It's an interesting dynamic. Every building in Jerusalem is made of Jerusalem limestone, this white-cream-yellow-gold stone that turns the color of the sky when the sun sets. 

The business areas, and the old city especially are packed with people and with shops. They sell to a lot of tourists, so lots of the same stuff in every shop, the classics like china, crosses, scarves, etc. They also sell spices and food, so it always smells very interesting. I love the smell of spice shops, and I dislike the smell of butchers and fish markets. Little old ladies sell fruits and green almonds from the ground, wrapped in grape leaves. The men run the shops, and they speak a little bit of every language. The crowds are intense, because no one here waits in line. They walk up and force their way to the front however they can. It makes getting out of the Old city at dinner time a hassle. Jews and Muslims and Christians mix in the Old City, but they generally stay separate in their neighborhoods. It's a very religious area, and the call to prayer rings out 5 times every day. 

Mary and I by the sign. Look at my cute new shirt!!

City of David

Wednesday we went off to the city of David, the original Jerusalem that was so amazing! We saw some of the oldest parts of the city, and took a walk through Hezekiah's tunnel, which was probably one of my favorite parts. The coolest part of the city of David is knowing exactly where things happened. It's on of the sure spots where you know that Christ walked on those steps, that Solomon was anointed king at that spring, that invaders tried to crash through those walls. It was too amazing to stand with my hand on those stones that may have surrounded the city that Melchezidek might have ruled from behind. 

​Emma, Cody and I in Hezekiah's tunnel!! My favorite part of the field trip. 

Me on the lookout of the city with the view south east behind. It was a beautiful hot day.

The pool of Siloam. We had a beautiful lesson here, letting our pants dry after the tunnel and listening to the stories. What a beautiful place to sing Amazing Grace. 

There was something beautiful and serene about that moment, with the wind and the sun and the water all at once. I really feel the spirit there. I think I'll go back. 

Our classes finished up these last days of the week, but we still found time to go to Ben Yahuda street to eat and party with Mary. It was such a night life, and I really loved it a lot. I want to take a guitar and go see if I can make some money with all the other street performers there. 

Me eating my delicious chocolate croissant happiness. I have a problem. I can admit it. 

Sunday I got to give a wonderful talk on fatherhood. It was full of the spirit, and I was so nervous!!! I don't remember giving it. But I have my notes, and I have the wonderful feeling of love that I got when I got to talk about my love for my dad and for my Heavenly Father. Everyone who was there, including a lady who knows Scott and Liz from Colorado, told me they felt the spirit and that my dad must be a pretty amazing. I agree completely. :) My dad is amazing, and I am so glad to have him in my life!

I love you all. So so much. This week was hard in other ways, but hey, I can do hard things. It is not the people around me who decide my worth or how I feel. I do, and I am very happy. I feel your prayers and your love from across the sea, and I send some back!!