Another Poem

I understand why Jesus wept

For all the sins I have kept.
The times when I did go astray.
Insisting that I alone could pay,
A heaping sum of spiritual debt.
I understand why Jesus wept.

He loved you and me up to his death.
He loved through pains of nail and thorn.
He loves us still, even those who scorn.
Tears for us left his cheeks wet--
I understand why Jesus wept.

"If only they would call upon my name."
Christ knew my grief and carried me,
So one day I would live with him in eternity.
I knocked and...to the door he came.
I understand why Jesus wept.

The happiness he feels as we enter the kingdom he rules
The spirit melts my hard heart,
And tells me the atonement is where to start.
"And now, behold my joy is full."
I understand why Jesus wept.

Poem of Jerusalem

I wrote this poem during a musical fireside.

Lord, I am living in the land where you once lived.
—I am standing where you stood;
I am wandering the paths you walked,
Though I cannot hear your voice teaching on the temple mount,
I can hear the testimonies of your pupils.
I cannot feel you in these erected holy places,
But I feel you in sweet hymns that lullaby my heart.
I cannot see you in the icons of lavish churches,
But I see you in the faces that surround me.
I cannot touch your pierced hands and feet now,
But your mercy touches and pierces my soul.
I will not taste the slightest of thy burdens
But you have tasted the bitterness of mine.
I cannot comprehend your tender mercies,
But I know you comprehend the paths I’ll walk.
I cannot forget you, not here, or anywhere.

Galilee

Hello! I am now back in Jerusalem to stay until I leave in 3 weeks. Which is very sad. Our two week stay in the Galilee area was wonderful. I do not know where to start. It already seems like forever ago.












First, there are so many Biblical events which took place near and around the Galilee, so I am afraid I will not be able to recount them all on my blog. I'm just going to attempt to share the most memorable ones. On our drive up to the Galilee, which is in the north eastern most part of Israel bordering Syria and Lebanon, we stopped by Caesarea on the coast. It is a very beautiful place. There are mostly Crusader ruins there, but we sat on the ruins from one of Herod's palaces and read about Peter and Paul and some of their ministry. Caesarea was a huge port in Christ's time which was built up by Herod for trade and also to win the affection of the Romans. I love the Mediterranean. I was sad to think that I would not see it again until I fly out from Tel Aviv on December 17th.

I was also able to spend a brief hour or two in Nazareth. It is a decent sized little city. I wish we had been able to spend more time there to wander and explore. I went to several churches there; there are two churches which claim the Annunciation. One of the churches had artwort depicting Mary holding the Christ-child from countries all over the world. The architecture of the church was...unusual. It was basically all cement...and seemed very cold to me compared to so many of the gaudy over-ornamented churches and shrines made on Holy sites. I would have to look in my journal to remember what exactly this church was for, if it was the site of where Joseph lived, or where they believed the annunciation actually happened. I believe it is the latter. We also visited St. Gabriel's church which was the Greek Orthodox version of the Annunciation and had a spring/well within it, which was a main source of water in the 1st century for Nazareth.

We stayed in the Ein Gev Kibbutz Holiday Resort for our entire trip. They did a fairly good job accomodating our large group, though I do not know if I would stay there again. Only 9 students in my class did not get a stomach sickness while we were there...which many believe was due to food poisoning or something related. But the change of food was refreshing from the Oasis at the center. I shared a bungalow on the beach with three other girls.

Some of my favorite spots include Tel Dan, Banyas Waterfalls, Capernaum, Nain, and the boat ride on the Galilee.
Tel Dan is possibly the most Northern you can get in Israel. While we were there we looked across the valley to a city in Syria. It is lush, green, and almost tropical there. Sometimes I felt like I was in Kauai again. There were streams, springs, and waterfalls everywhere. If I had a choice of which tribe to be in in ancient Israel, I would most definitely pick Dan, though they were always battling to keep their land. It is there that many of tributaries to the Jordan River begin. It was also incredible to see the ancient site where the temple area was in Dan, which is referenced in the Old Testament frequently. For example when Jereboam set up a golden calf there after Israel had split from Judah. When I think of Dan I think of the phrase "From Dan to BeerSheba" which is the expanse of the Kingdom of Isreal. The Banyas Waterfalls were just a short way from Dan and was just a small little hike to some beautiful water.

Capernaum is on the northern edge of the Galilee. It is simply ruins now, which is not at all surprising because it was one of three cities that Christ cursed, though it was as his second home. Peter was also a resident there, and archaeological projects have uncovered one they think is Peter's home. There is a synagogue there (The picture is the back of our Bibles) where Christ most definitely would have visited. I watched one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life just down the road from Capernaum.

We had a boat ride from Ein Gev across to the Northern shore of Galilee. We were able to read the parts of the New Testament which took place on the Sea of Galilee. Like when the tempest was raging and Christ calmed the seas, showing his power over the elements. And also how Peter, Andrew, and John were fishing, and Christ came and asked them to be fishers of men. Or when Peter walked on water then sank, and Christ pulled him up.

Mt. Tabor and Mt. Carmel were in the area too. Mt. Tabor is where Peter, James, and John were transfigured and received the keys from Elijah and Noah. (i think that's right?) Mt. Carmel is the site where Elijah showed up the priests of Baal in 1 Kings 18.

Friday (yesterday) we met with Danny Seidemann, who was an amazing speaker and informant. He knows everything about Jerusalem. Politically, I suppose. We visited part of the separation barrier this morning. I feel like his two or so hours of lecturing and answering our questions was almost more informing than my two "modern near east" classes. The barrier serves as a beneficial tool according to Seidemann,though the Israelis find ways to abuse tools such as these. The news of Israel freezing settlements in the West Bank was good news he said, though I just read online they were building 20+ news schools there.

Pictures
top to bottom:
1.Me at part of the separation wall in East Jerusalem.
2. Turkey with sparklers in it for our Israeli version of Thanksgiving.
3.Fish head at the fish restaurant in Galilee. This was not my fish. It was my friends. I ordered pizza. Don't judge me.
4. View from Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus taught the 12 apostles and some of the 70.
5. Me at Banyas waterfalls near Tel Dan
6. My class picture at Tel Dan at the "Winnie the Pooh Tree". Really, that is what the park called it.
7. Me on a boat out on the Sea of Galilee.
8. Thailand depection of Mary and baby Jesus at the church in Nazareth.
9. Inside the church in Nazareth, the supposed spot of the Annunciation.
10. Entrance to Capernaum, Jesus 2nd home, home of Peter and location of the synagogue he taught at and the Centurion funded.
11. View at Caesarea of the Mediterranean.

Sedar Dinner, Gethsemane and En Gedi

Within the last week, I have been extremely busy. More so than usual. Is that possible? I'm not sure. I am almost finished with horrid finals. We take our Palestinian final in 30 minutes. And since I am updating my blog...I think it is indicative of what I think about this Palestinian class/test. So I'm taking the no-stress route.

I visited Gethsemane several days ago for the first time. Many students have already visited several times, but this seemed to be the perfect time to go. It is only a 5-10 minute walk from the center through the Kidron valley. Because Mormons frequent the Garden of Gethsemane so often, we were able to get access to a private part which is not accessible to the busloads of tourists in their yellow hats. This was wonderful, because I was able to sit under the trees and spread out my scriptures and hymn book and read. It was much more peaceful than the small plot of a garden which is kept up. I am grateful that the denomination over the garden did not build a church ontop of it. This is the case so often in Jerusalem. I think it takes so much away from the original place and event.

We also had a Sedar dinner within the last week. It was such a different experience. Very different from the Ramadan dinner we had. This was very organized and specific. We had to wash our hands over a basin. Then we read from the Hagganah. I was one of 10 narrators for the night, so I sat right by our professor, Ophir, in the middle of the head table. We ate matzah, bitter herbs = horseradish. The horseraddish was absolutely disgusting and I had to force my mouth to swallow. We also dipped celery leaves in salt water and ate those, which symbolize the tears of the children of Israel. By the time we go through the story of the Exodus and rabbinic commentary, we ate our dinner around 7:30. Our cooks served so many courses. Fish. Soup. Salad. Stuffed chicken with broccoli. Fruit bowls. Chocolate desserts. We didnt leave until after 9pm and it started at 5pm. The festivity and longevity could be compared to Thanksgiving dinner. Though I am glad that at Thanksgiving, we only eat delicious food.

Yesterday I took advantage of the opportunity of going to En Gedi instead of sitting in the center and stuyding hopelessly for this Palestinian test. En Gedi park and beach are right on the Dead Sea. Which is quite fragrant. In a distasteful way. There were 16 students that went and we all split up into smaller groups and hiked to waterfalls, springs, and pools located in different wadis all day. There were several hundred Jewish school girls clogging the pathways...and screaming and yelling while splashing in the waterfalls in their full uniforms of black skirts, stockings, closed-toe shoes and blouses. Because of this, I opted to hike to the very top of Wadi David, where it was more secluded. It was a very nice day. We left and walked down the highway to En Gedi Beach which is on the Dead Sea. There were a surprising amount of people there. And there isn't sand one can lay out on on the beach. Just rocks. The sensation was crazy. You couldnt stand up in the water. I was either on my back or stomach, floating. It looked like there was a layer of oil ontop of the water. It also burned. Like unquenchable fire. On cuts and other areas. There was a mudpit and we all covered our faces and bodies with it. Onced it dried we washed it off in the sea. It actually works. Our skin was very smooth afterwards. It was so odd. The rocks and fences along the beach were covered in layers and chunks of salt. Showering in regular water afterwards was glorious. Though we had to pay 2NIS to use the bathroom/showers. I will not miss that in the states. Paying for bathroom usage.

Kingdom of Jordan!

Hello! It's been a while since I've posted.
We arrived back from Jordan several days ago. I was able to spend nearly an entire day exploring Petra, which was stunning. Petra is about 4-5 hours away from Jerusalem, not counting the hours spent going through the border. We stopped in Madaba on the way to Petra. This city has the oldest map of Jerusalem in the form of a mosaic on the floor in a church there. It was pretty cool.

The Petra Palace Hotel we stayed at...was not a palace. And if you ever plan or dream about going to Petra...I would say go with the Marriott or Crown Plaza. It was the craziest place ever. To get to my room I had to take the lobby elevator to the third floor. Then I would walk through the third floor out to the pool/outside area and on the opposite side I would walk into another building and take an elevator..4x4 dimensions with only three sides (if it was even working) up another three floors. Where the hall proceeded to smell like a barn and our bathroom even worse. Thankfully we stayed only one night.

We began early and arrived at the beginning of the walking path around 8:15am. You have to walk a little ways (maybe more than 1/4 mile) before actually seeing parts of Petra. They had a water system that ran from the entrance up to the Treasury. At one point our guide made us form five lines and look down at the ground and walk a little ways. When we looked up, the Treasury was infront of us. It was almost breathtaking, because I was not anticipating seeing it already. The ability of acient peoples to make such detailed and perfect monuments never ceases to amaze me. They made this tomb out of stone, with its perfect dimensions and smoothness. The Treasury, like many of the remains at Petra is first and foremost a tomb, but it was said that the King/Pharaoh kept his money in the urn on the second story. You can tell that it is the spot, from random holes in the rock resembling shots.

From the Treasury, we walked through more of the mountains until it opened up to hundreds of tombs. There was also a Roman/Nabateeaen Theater, which was not used for plays, but religious ceremonies.
Bedouins are the natives of the area and some even live in the old tombs at Petra. They reinacted a Nabateeaen market and sell many of the touristy souvineers as you walk through Petra. (The typical stuff = jewelry, books, pictures, sodas, chips, and little carvings or statues.) Some very little children were selling rocks on the sides of the monuments.

I hiked up the mountain to the Monastary, which was worth the wonderful view of the country. (It was around 800+ medieval-like steps to the top...and also dodging donkeys coming up and down so they dont run you off the path) It was hazy that day, but supposedly on a clear day you can see into Israel. Petra is in Southern Jordan and is near the border which we visited when we stayed at that Kibbutz Yatvata on the way to Egypt. Sometimes Israelis would sneak into Jordan in that area to get a quick peak at the ruins in Petra. After lunch at the "Basin" restaurant in Petra I wandered around with my friend Kellie, who also goes to Provo and is from Oregon. We bought some earrings and a nice cold drink while exploring more tombs on our own, mainly the Tomb of the Kings, Urn? (i cannot remember the name).
There was this book that I wanted so badly, but it was so pricey at Petra. It is called "Married to a Boudin" and was written by a woman who married a Bedouin man and they lived in a cave near Petra I believe. She was not Bedouin, T think she was from New Zealand. Anyways, she sells copies at Petra. But this book is famous in the area. Maybe I will purchase it later online.

After visiting Petra, we drove to Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Amman is a beautiful, relatively clean city compared to Egypt, or even Jerusalem. Jordan was overall cleaner, which was very nice.
Down the road from our hotel in Amman, The Ambassador Hotel, was a little mall with a actual grocery store. Many of the students and faculty visited a movie store that sold pirated movies for 1 Jordanian Dinar. ($1.50) I may have bought a couple.
We ate dinner there one night at "Texas Chicken" but really the logo and everything was the same as Church's Chicken. I couldnt bring myself to eat at McDonalds, even here. From Amman we drove to Jerash which has very well preserved Roman ruins, nearly an entire city, which was the ancient city of Jerash. At the South Auditorium there, we had some girls sing opera and hymns. It had wonderful acoustics. There as a reinactment which we had to pay $10 to see, but it was hilarious. There were "Roman" soliders dressed in supposedly authenic garb as well as gladiators and chariot races. Pretty cheesey, but hilarious and fun to see. I think Chad would have loved it. There were little French kids who were yelling at the gladiators the whole time and giggling like mad.

In Amman we also visited their second largest mosque, King Abdullah mosque. It was there that us women had to put on a black robe with a hood and wear a scarf around our face so we did not show any of our body while in the mosque. It was so strange to see, because the boys were in their blue jeans, t-shirts and ball caps.
After that we went to the ruins in downtown Amman, where the ancient Roman city of Philadelphia was.

We were also able to visit the Church's "Educational Center" aka the branch meeting house for members in Amman. It was so neat to actually see the church in the Middle East and its leaders. The Branch President in Amman was Pres. Hoffmire, from Norman, OK. He works for the government. I think there are service couples in every Middle Eastern country. One of the service couples that came to district conference in Jeruslame this weekend was serving in Afghanistan, but his wife was not allowed to go there.

This was pretty much our trip to Jordan. It was very short. We only stayed a total of three nights. On our way back to the Israel border, we stopped at Bethany and I stepped in the Jordan River in the area where Jesus and John the Baptist were baptized. The state of the river is so sad. I wish that we had more time to spend there but I do not think we were at the actual site for more than 30 or so minutes. I did happen to save some of the purified water from the Jordan River in an old water bottle.

As we arrived to the border crossing near Jericho, we were detained for two hours, because the officers...police...Israeli soldiers..whatever you want to call them didn't understand that we had tourist visas and not student visas. Anyways, they refused to let us through, and wouldn't call our main director in Israel. So our teachers called our director of the Jerusalem Center, Mr. Hiyat, who called Israel's Minster of Internal Affairs..or something like that...who then had to call the border to let us back in. It was crazy. They are so protective...and I personally think many of the soldiers/workers in the borders are just on power trips. Looking back, I realize I shouldn't have been as frustrated as I was, but whatever.

The center celebrated Halloween a day early, since Saturday is our Sabbath. We had the most awesome Hallowen party and dance. I've never seen people be so creative with their costumes. With such limited resources, I think it was pretty fantastic. The little kids of our professor went around trick-or-treating at our student apartments. They're 11, 9, and 4 years old. I dressed up with my friend Lauren as ninjas.

District conference this weekend was amazing. We had several area general authorities speak and the distict presidency, which happens to consist of some of our teachers and the "Dr" in the center. We had the most amazing impromptu fireside last night, that was spontaneously organized by some of the students. It was a random program of piano pieces and singing solos, along with testimonies in between. The spirit was so strong, I do not know if I have felt it stronger in my life. I hope I never forget that night.

My Talk in the Jerusalem Branch

So I thought I'd just post my talk that I had to give in our branch last week. We watched the rest of conference after church today.

Spreading the Gospel through Good Works and Actions
What have you done for someone this morning? Perhaps you haven’t found an opportunity within the last 2 or 3 hours? Maybe you performed some act of kindness yesterday? Or earlier in the week? Are we making a conscience effort to serve others around us daily, and not just when the weekly humanitarian activity rolls around or scheduled church callings?
This is so important, because in a place where we are not able to share the gospel with our words, we must depend upon our actions. That is what will bring people to Christ. This requires us to first make ourselves worthy, second follow the commandments, and lastly express love through charity or good works.
President Monson said in his talk which we will be listening to this afternoon “How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.”
It is imperative that we realize the importance of our actions, and how those actions affect those around us, especially non-members. In Jerusalem this is particularly crucial, since we cannot proselytize. When you walk around the Holy Land, your work, school, a grocery store are the people able to notice something different or special about you? Do you reflect the light of Christ?
This topic is personal to me. My patriarchal blessing tells me to “Recognize the importance of your behavior and conduct. You are an example. I remind you to be humble but I also remind you to stand tall…and represent those things you know to be true. Truth is eternal” “and you will learn and share through your behavior the understanding that you have [of the scriptures] and you will be a light to those with whom you associate and work”
While this is specifically a way for me, it can apply to many others. All members must recognize the importance of our behavior. We are examples. Always. There is never a time when we do not represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are representatives in every country, every home, in the day and night. In the presence of members or non-members.
Perhaps you have once thought in your life, that “I can do whatever I want. I am my own person. This decision or that decision will only affect me. The places I go to, the people I associate with do not affect any others.” This kind of thinking is false. And I know that it is the adversary trying to draw that light of Christ away from us, and away from those that would be impressed or influenced by our example.
In order to be most effective in our service, we need to put our own lives in order. Then, as we live the gospel, our lives will reflect the righteousness and virtue, and we will be a powerful influence for good in the lives of others. This is why it is not enough to be righteous for the sake of our own salvation. We must let our goodness radiate to others, that through our example and reputation they will lift their lives and have the desire to follow the Savior’s pattern of living.
Elder O. Leslie Stone said ,“We should do all we can to establish for ourselves a worthy reputation, for such is of priceless worth. It is often the key to influencing others for good, and can be the means of bringing the gospel into their lives. it’s not only what we are that’s important: what others think of us is also important. In order to be truly effective as missionaries, we need to be known for our good qualities, to have an unspotted reputation in all things. We have the privilege to represent him to others, to bear his message to his children throughout the world, to be missionaries. We have the responsibility to be worthy of his name, to represent him well in every way, to every person we meet—to so live that our lives are Christian sermons in operation.”
Be worthy at all times to represent Christ and His name. When we follow all of the commandments and direction of our prophet we will be worthy representatives and examples.
D&C 90:24
When we are searching the scriptures diligently, praying to our Lord and Savior, we will always be able to remember the covenants we have made with the Lord and with others, and we will not stray when the adversary tries to mislead us. When we keep the commandments, the Lord will bless us and our efforts. As revealed in another scripture.
D&C 35:24
The greatest way to expose people, especially in countries such as Israel, to the gospel of Christ is through good works or service. In section 18 of the D&C the Lord revealed how the newly established church was to search out and find the new twelve apostles.
D&C 18:38
As disciples, can others search for us by our desires and works? We all have been taught, some since primary age, and others later that Christ’s life on earth revolved around serving the people here and by his works, showing people to the gospel.
I love this statement President Monson made in his talk this conference, “I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.”
Are we whittling away our time on things in our life that do not matter in the overall plan? It is easy to become caught up in storm which is the busyness of our day to day lives and forget. I do it all the time. I sometimes do not establish service and good works as the real priority it is. Too often in the past and presently have I put my school work, jobs, personal problems or wants before this.
Just this week I did. I found myself trying to justify my desire in wanting to leave early from our humanitarian kit project in order to get to the beach an hour earlier. But that one extra hour doesn’t matter. What does matter is that one hour which will provide the simple supplies of toothpaste, towels, combs, and soap to poor families with children all over Israel.
D&C 12:7-8
And no one can assist in this work except he shall be ahumble and full of blove, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be centrusted to his care.
We cannot assist in the work of spreading the gospel if we do not humble ourselves and make good works and charity a priority. How can we serve the Savior or others if we do not set aside time to do so?
I am so thankful I have parents who realize the importance of good works. So much can be benefitted from service. It seems since I was in primary, my father has always served in different capacities within young men’s and also Boy Scouts. Being the only girl in my family, I always seemed to find myself tagging along with my dad at the many service projects the boys were involved in and Eagle Scout projects as well. I remember picking up trash on the side of streets adopted by our ward alongside my family and seeing whose bag was the fullest. The winner got a slurpee. Or waking up early on Saturday mornings bundled up in our thickest jackets to help the scouts scrub graffiti of monuments and signs or plant flowers at the parks I played at, or restore run-down cemeteries and prisons in our area. These are some of my most favorite memories as a kid.
You cannot underestimate the power of service. Children, adults, members and non-members notice. The influence of our actions might not be revealed to us, but it is there. When we do this, we embody the light of Christ. The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. It can influence people for good and even prepare them to receive the Holy Ghost. Through good works, all members, primary age and adults can expose the light of Christ to family, friends, or strangers.
D&C 115:5
There are so many wonderful and talented people in our branch. We all have a purpose here in Israel. I know each individual can be a light to this country. In Elder Brent Nielson’s talk “A Call to the Rising Generation” He talks of the answered prayers to open borders made by past saints in countries that are now able to receive the gospel, such as parts of Russia where his son is serving.
He states, “You of the rising generation are the fulfillment of prophesy that in our day ‘the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated dry continent, visited every clime, swept every country. Sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
The Church Newsroom website reports The Church and BYU have established rapport with many in the Chinese academic and policy-making communities through educational exchanges, the entertainment of the Young Ambassadors and BYU’s ballroom and folk dance troupes, as well as BYU’s earned reputation for its sophisticated language training programs.
The LDS Church has also published a translation of the Book of Mormon and other publications in Simplified Chinese, the script used in Mainland China. Chinese officials attend the annual International Law and Religion Symposium in Utah each year, planting a seed for the Chinese government to understand the importance of liberalizing its religious laws to allow proselytizing missionaries.
Positive relations such as these between the church and countries currently closed to the sharing of the gospel benefit greatly from good impressions and charity.
The church has donated $900 million to humanitarian aid and materials all over the world. Welfare Services is the essence of the gospel in action. It is a blessing for the church to be able to help those in need. Are you aware of the humanitarian aid provided by the church at present?
Currently, the church is extending humanitarian help to the Islands of Samoa and Tonga, who were the victims of a tsunami last week. The church’s newsroom reported that a cargo plane was flying to the Pacific Islands on Tuesday containing 60 tons of food, kits, and clothing and is being helped by the Islamic Relief Worldwide to distribute the supplies.
Floods devastated the Philippines two weeks ago, resulting in many deaths and the fatality of nearly 30 members. There the church has sent food, water, hygiene items, and clothing as well. Missionaries and members there have helped to the best of their ability.
We can be a part of this. As members of the church we can contribute our time, materials, or donations which will benefit the children of God everywhere.
-We can do the kits, help and beautify the local hospitals, donate clothing to the poor, among many more things.
-Opportunity I have had to help with the humanitarian kits sent to Bedouins in Bethany, etc. and also hygiene kits in Utah.
“Who Have I helped today?” I challenge each of you, to be able to answer that question daily, and I know that if you will, the spirit will bless many in the process.


Hope yall have a wonderful Sabbath!

Sheep and Pitas

Well we are officially allowed to go into the Old City again now that the holidays are over. Yay! It's been...maybe since before Egypt that I was in the Old City, so you can imagine the feelings of joy from the rest of the students.

Sunday I went to Tel Aviv, probably for the last time on the trip. It was the last week the beaches were open. Unfortunately the waves were non-existant which was disappointing, but it still managed to be a very fun day. I didn't go shopping like last time. I just stayed on the beach till sunset. A large group of us swam out to some rocks and looked around there. Then we attempted to play a game of red rover in the ocean...which doesn't work. It was very funny to try though. There was also a mud-fight and I am still trying to scrub the sand out of my hair. That night, we found a pizza eatery for dinner and I bought a giant slice for 12 shekels. Those of us who ate pizza were pretty satsified that we didnt end up spending 30 shekels for our dinner. (Thats around $10)

Yesterday was field trip day. We visited a Bible Landscape Preserve, Neot...something or another. I have the name on my calendar...but it's downstairs. It was probably one of our top five field trips. I got to herd sheep!!! And goats. I found the trick was to just simply run alongside them so they run as well! My stick was pretty useless. It took nearly 20 of us students to round up 10 or so sheep and goats. :)
We also made our own zaatar, which is hyssop in Hebrew. Hyssop is mentioned several times in teh Bible, in Psalms I believe, and also it was the plant used to wipe blood above the doors of the children of Israel during the Passover. It's a very tasty plant. Many people here put it on bread or pitas.

We also made our own pitas and fried wheat(?). This was awesome! Some of our group went and gathered firewood, built a fire, then some of us made the dough (flour, salt, water, and olive oil) then flattened a little ball as much as possible and stuck in on the fire for 20 or so seconds onto a giant concave-like cast iron bowl. It was very delicious. We dipped our homemade pitas in an olive oil mixture with zaatar. Our park guide also made us fried wheat. He poured it into a skillet over the fire and added some oil and a couple spices. It was like eating the kernals from popcorn. But tasty.

We also met a Torah Scribe that worked at the preserve. Torah scribes must be kosher in all things. They write holy texts by hand, made with kosher ink and parchment. There at the preserve they have a Torah scroll that is nearly 200 years old that was saved from an Ashkenazi synagogue.

Hope everyone is enjoying the cool weather in the states! It's still pretty toasty here.

Hezikiah's Tunnel

This week has gone by rather fast...except we have not done much. Because it is the Jewish holiday of Sukkat here, the city has been off-limits and many of our classes are not taught. We have only had Old Testament classes a couple hours each day and one language class. Sukkat or Tabernacles is the holiday that celebrates the children of Israel's journey out of Egypt through the wilderness. It is fun to see all the little "tabernacles" built outside homes and restaurants for the Jews to eat in.

Our field trip this week was to Hezikiah's Tunnel which is located in the City of David, or South of the Temple Mount. This was amazing. This tunnel was built by King Hezikiah to direct water from the spring and bring it within reach when perhaps the city was under siege. The tunnel is fairly long...I think we walked through it for 20 or so mintues with water above our ankles and at some points reaching my mid-thigh! (although I am short...so that isn't too deep). This tunnel was dug by people thousands of years ago and it was so neat! Many of us students want to return when water levels have risen so the tunnel will be deeper. Outside of the tunnel is the Pool of Shiloh, I believe. (Or maybe not...i should have written this on Monday when I remembered the names of everything...but..I didnt)

I visited the Israel Museum yesterday. It was a very good learning experience. The museum houses some of the Dead Sea Scrolls under this strange white-looking fountain. There is also a huge replica of Jerusalem during the 2nd temple time period. It was wonderful to see what the temple mount might have looked like and the way things were situated then, because it is so hard to imagine now when other things have been built up on these places. The museum also had the oldest mask in the world (all of the students were sarcastically making a big deal about this) but it is actually 9,000 years old. Pretty neat. So now I've seen the oldest building in the world and the oldest mask.

The students put on a formal talent show last night. I was blown away by the talent we have here. All of the other students are of such a high caliber. There were piano performances and duets. Singing solos, songs written by the students and performed. After events like this, I always walk away wishing I had some sort of musical talent...and then I remember that it's probably better I didnt. The problem with liking to write is that it is not performable (a word?) and anyone can write. And I don't really write poetry..or short stories, etc. I can barely keep up this blog (though I am proud I have managed to write in it almost every week).

Tomorrow morning I am waking up at 5:30am (10:30pm central time) to walk to the Western Wall and watch the Jews beat their willows against the ground. It is a part of the Sukkat tradition. I hope to get some awesome pictures. This is the only time we have been allowed into the city in the past 2 weeks...and we have to be back before 8am and people start moving about to their work and schools. I cannot wait until this holiday is over so that perhaps there can be more peace or serenity in the city. Being restricted to the Jerusalem Center is becoming unnerving..and there is only so much to do in West Jerusalem. I hate taxis. I think I've spent too much money this week just taking taxis everywhere. (because we are not allowed to walk anywhere right now.) This adds up quick. I'll write again shortly. We get to herd sheep on Monday! We also get to see the rest of conference this Saturday during church.

Jericho..the oldest building in the world. Monestaries. Palaces.

This week has been...claustrophobic?
We've been back from Egypt for nearly one week, and so the insanity has ensued. Really. In my classes, there are 2 midterms this week and a 7 pg paper I just finished on U.N. agreements made regarding the Middle East since the 1920s. Kill me? The free time we had this week was restricted to the center, because of increased violence in the Old City and on the Temple Mt. I could hear the tension from my room as sirens echoed through the city and helicopters constantly flew above. There hasn’t been much commotion though in the past day or so. I took my Jew midterm earlier today and proceeded to barely pass it, much to my dismay. This class is very confusing to me sometimes. The Jewish culture is so completely complex and complicated. Not to mention I have a hard time finding interest in rabbinic writing, literature, etc from the 2nd to 6th centuries. Note to everyone...the Torah is not the law. (Even though our teacher has said that very sentence) The Torah is teaching.

My Old Testament midterm is tomorrow, and I hope that I do significantly better on this test. I love my Old Testament class with Bro. Emmett. We just finished reading Deuteronomy.

Yesterday we went to Jericho and visited the tell there, which would have been the Old Testament city of Jericho, where they marched around seven times and the wall fell? It was much smaller than I anticipated. We walked the length of it in just a few minutes.
The oldest building/structure in the world is there at the tell in Jericho. It is a tower…though it is probably 10-15 feet below the ground we stood on.

Jericho is unique, one because it is perhaps the oldest city in the world. There is a spring there, Elijah’s Spring, out of which flows thousands of gallons of water per minute ( I think. Or maybe hour). Because Jericho is an oasis, the agriculture there flourishes. I bought some delicious oranges (which have green peel here in Israel) a mango, and some plums. Along with sycamore nuts which are very tasty.

There was a little store next door to the fruit stand with typical souvenir things from Israel and while some students and I were in there when a younger man came up to us. (Note…this is not an infrequent occurrence. Shopkeepers usually follow us students around while we are looking...which can be nerve wracking…but one gets used to it)
Usually the men approach the blonde girls in our group…or any blondes because the women here have darker hair, so I was surprised when he singled me out and started asking where I was from. I told him America, and he asked if I was Arab. I told him no. And he asked me again if I did not speak Arabic. I told him very little. He was very surprised I suppose, because I truly think he thought I was native. I loved this of course. I love somewhat blending in here. The blonde girls always get hassled more and picked out among the crowd. Maybe by the time I leave, I will be tan enough to come close to look Arab.

Our group also visited a monastery in Jericho which was in the side of a desert cliff, called Mount of Temptations Monastery. (or Ksdjfljskdf…a word I cannot pronounce/remember in another language) We hiked up to it and us girls covered our hair for modesty. It used to be that women were not even allowed in the monastery. It was small and simple, but very interesting. They converted caves into living spaces, rooms, and even the chapel. This was supposedly the place where Christ came for 40 days, fasting and communing with God. It was “here” that Satan tempted Christ.

Herod’s Winter Palace was also in Jericho. Even though only bricks remain, it is easy to imagine how large and lavish his “pleasure palace” was. He even had 2 pools and a spa room! Really! The sites I am able to see and the knowledge I keep accumulating makes the scriptures and history so much more meaningful and personal. It’s wonderful to read the Old Testament when it references Jericho and know what it looks like…and the direction you travel from Jerusalem to get there.

My Exodus

I am finally back at the JC and home it seems like. Our 8 days in Egypt seemed like much longer. We were able to see so much. I suppose I can summarize each day, or at least try.

The drive there on our bus was very long and slightly boring. We stopped at several places on the way out of Israel. Beer'sheva. Advat. (the desert..or valley of Sin?) Ben Gurion memorial/school. and a kibutz Yatvata, which is famous for their chocolate milk. We stayed our first night at a kibutz about 45 min away from the Israel/Egypt border. The concept of a kibutz is very interesting. It is a small community which..is more or less socialist? Everyone has a job within the fenced/walled community...and they all get the same salary to support their families. They grow many things there and the ones we visited also had dairies.

We left early (thursday/friday morning...dont remember which) for the border at Eliat...which took about 2 or so hours to walk through...with our backpacks and "carry-ons". The drive through the Sinai desert is barren and hot. There is nothing...except the Suez Canal, which we saw with several oil tankers going through. Cairo is unbelievable. crowded. huge. underdeveloped. It is almost like a city that was only built half-way. Nearly every apartment building/tower is unfinished with rebar jutting from the top. Clothes are hung off the balconies to dry. We stayed at the Oasis..which wasn't too far from the Pyramids in Giza. That first night we arrived later and hurried to the Pyramid Sound and Light show. It was a very neat experience to witness such a magnificent creation by mankind. It was difficult to stay awake towards the end of the show, because I was so exhausted from the ride.

The next morning we rushed to the pyramids to get tickets to get into the tomb...or inside chamber of the largest pyramid. They only sell 200 tickets per day, beginning at 8am. So we arrived before 8am in hopes of getting enough tickets for our group of 90ish. Unfortunately 5 or so students were not able to get tickets, which was very upsetting. The climb into the pyramid and to the chamber where the pharaoh's tomb was located was much better than the crawl space at Micah's Caves. The actual chamber was not very large, though it probably fit...40 or so people. It was very hot because there was no outside air. The outside tomb was in there (emptied of the sarcophagus, etc). Many of us students crawled inside it and laid down pretending to be mummys. We also were able to see the Sphinx. The craftmanship and massiveness of these works does not disappoint in real life. I found it hard to imagine the sheer numbers of Egyptian workers "aka slaves" it took to build these massive structures of solid stone. The same day was also visited Memphis, once a capital during the early dynasties of Egypt, and later a military outpost for many pharaohs such as Ramses II. We saw many other things that day, but I really do not have time to describe them all.

After this first day in Cairo we took a flight to Luxor which is in Upper Egpyt (or Southern Egpyt). Luxor is very different from Cairo. The population is around 200,000 I believe...regardless it's not 18 million like Cairo. The majority of people there work as farmers, or in the tourism business. It is beautiful there. The drastic difference between the green farmland near the Nile and the desert of the Valley of the Kings (which are not far apart at all) is mindblowing. The Nile River really equates to life in Egpyt. With just a little water, trees and shrubs sprout out of the desert and become an oasis. We stayed at the Sheraton in Luxor...right on the Nile River. In the mornings at Luxor I got ready for the day out on our balcony overlooking the Nile and the beautiful trees surrounding it.

While in Luxor I saw the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut's tomb and mummy! The mummy was kind of gross...he seemed like a very small man. I do not think his mummy was any larger than me. The tombs at the Valley of the Kings were so intricate and detailed. I was amazed at the preservation of the frescos within the tombs, which occurred so easily because of the sand, sealing of the tombs, etc. I also saw the Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut. This was my most favorite structure/site. It is so beautifully situated in the red cliffs there in the desert. It is grand, and yet simple. She was the only woman to be a pharaoh, as she took the place of her son who was too young. She even displayed herself as a man in sculptures and frescos describing her and her actions as pharaoh.
Each night in Luxor, we went out as groups to explore the city. The carriage rides were very fun, and also interesting. We quickly learned how the system worked there with people. I got some descent souvineers.
In Luxor we also visited the Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, built by several pharaohs. I wish I could put pictures up of these wonderful structures, but I have yet to find the time to visit the Hebrew University next door to the JC, who has much better internet quality/speed.
One of the highlights of the Luxor trip was our camel trip! We took a faluca across the Nile, and afterwards rode camels for an hour through neighborhoods and the farmland.

We took an overnight train back to Cairo, instead of flying. I was anticipating this very much, since I have never ridden on a real train before. I am not sure this was the...best experience for my first train ride ever. Even though we were in "first class", it was a very primative train (which is a nice way of describing how much it lacked...in comfort..or cleanliness haha). I spent much of the night talking with other girls from my group. There are so many different kinds of students here and I am so glad we can learn from each other. Anyways, we stayed up half the night on the train talking about auras and oils. I do not think I really slept that night, which showed the following morning when we got off the train in Cairo around 5:30am. This day was very hard for all of us.

We visited some older Coptic churches, as well as a synagogue. Then we went to the Egyptian Museum which holds so many famous ancient Egyptian sculpture and artifacts. Unfortunately while we were there I got really sick. I had to sit down for a while, before I could walk again. Luckily we have several nursing students with us here. I think it was probably a combo of the Egyptian curse/dehyrdation/exhaustion. One of my professors stayed with me while the rest of the group toured the museum. I did mange to see the Mummy Room and the artifacts of King Tut's tomb. The mummys were very interesting. They were preserved so well! King Ramses II even had lots of blonde hair on his skull (blonde from the mummification process. it was gray) I also so the mummy of Hatshepsut, Amonetep (or something like that). After the Egyptian Museum they took us to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, which I had never eaten at before. Eating a burger and fries after so long, was nice, except we weren't allowed to eat fruits/vegetables in Egypt because it was contaminated by the water, etc. So we ate...dry burgers. I felt guilty listening to the YMCA...and eating hamburgers while on this trip...because we're really supposed to be immersing ourself in the culture...and we were cheating the system or something. My friends just thought i was silly.

Our final day in Egypt we visited several Mosques...the Muhammad Ali mosque which was unique and beautiful in a way very different from the other sites. After that we drove through the Sinai to stay at Morgenland near Mt. Sinai. This was probably the worst place we stayed at on the trip. My roommate Alex smashed a cochroach on our bedside table. We woke up around 2am to get to the base of the mountain to hike. It took about 2 hours to hike up the mountain and make it in time for the sunrise. This was most definitely the hardest hike I have ever done in my life. (it might have been made more difficult by the fact that i was still feeling sick). Near the top of the mountain, there were 700ish uneven stone steps to climb to the very top. At this point, I thought I might heave over and die, or roll off the moutain from exhaustion. The only thing keeping me from quitting was the fact the sun was rising fast and I was not about to miss it after putting forth so much physical effort. It was priceless. One of the most beautiful sites I have seen in my life thus far. And also very cold. We walked back down the 700 stairs and had a testimony meeting. It was probably the best testimony meeting I have been in. The spirit could be felt so strongly there, which is sensible since Mt. Sinai is a holy place, and can even be considered a temple. I am so glad I had the opportunity to hike and afterwards bear my testimony there. An unforgetable experience.

There is so much more that I saw and experienced...but I just cannot recount all that happened. I am glad I was able to visit Egypt and interact with the people there. I am also glad that we are living in Israel, and not in Egypt...because I would have had to buy several hundred bottles of sanitizer.

Hope yall are doing well! Now I'm off to get some sleep...and study for my classes this week.

Spelunking, Tells, and Underground Dove Coops

Today was field trip day. They always seem to pack so much into 10 hours. We visited 6 or 7 places today. 1st was Beth Shemash...which means house of the sun...or something like that...It's right by a valley...whose name I do not remember without my field trip manual. Anyways...after that we headed over to Elah Valley which is where David fought Goliath. We went to the "brook" and picked out stones and threw them into a farmer's field with relatively similar slingshots. I was horrible. I got my stones to go...no more than 5 or 6 feet. Supposedly in David's time one could throw a rock 100 yards with a slingshot. It was pretty neat...but also pretty dangerous since 40 or so of us were attempting to "sling" our rocks. Some when forward. Most backwards or sideways and actually hit a couple of people. I was very excited to finally realize what I should bring home as a present for one of my brothers. It's completely perfect.

Then we went to another tell...I think the largest...(tells are basically ancient cities built ontop of the rubble of the previous city. It eventually gets built up enough that it resembles a mountain or large hill with a flat top...and lots of rocks sticking out) Anyways...we went to Lachish. It mentions this city several times in the Bible I believe. You can see Hebron, and Palastinian cities in the West Bank. I believe they said that was the closest we would get to these cities that are "off limits"...they were about 25 miles away. There was a small ancient Israelite temple there which allowed us to see the layout...with an open courtyard..then a small room before entering the smallest room, the holy of holies. Lachish was captured several times over the centuries, by the Israelites, Assyrians, and Babylonians.

We also went into a national park...called Marisa I believe. It was believed that Herod the Great was from there...when his family was forced to convert to Judaism. There are series of underground buildings and cisterns and houses there. They would cut blocks of chalk out and use the underground rooms for things such as bird coops...where they would be in little notches...and use the fertilizer and birds for sacrifice. There were also olive presses and houses underground.

My favorite part of our exhausting day was the spelunking in Micah's Caves. It was the coolest experience ever. I had my little flashlight in my mouth half of the time...crawling on all fours..or on my stomach through littles holes underground..and through passage ways. I crawled through the tiny tunnels for 45 minutes until our teachers said we had to go. (tiny meaning it was the width of my shoulders and usually not higher than 2 or tops 3 feet) Everyone was completely filthy when we crawled out. Dust and chalk covered our faces, arms, backs, and obviously pants. Several people are thinking of taking taxis back on a free day to do some more exploring.

It was an awesome day.

Jerusalem Branch Relief Society Newsletter 9/12/09

(I was called to serve in the Jerusalem Branch to create the Relief Society Newsletter each Sunday summarizing our meetings for the sisters who cannot attend church, because of sickness, or they are not permitted to enter Jerusalem by the government to come to church.)

Jerusalem Branch Relief Society Newsletter
September 12, 2009

Announcements
Branch Family Home Evening at 7pm in the Oasis
Forum at 7:30pm Tuesday, Sept. 15th featuring 3 graduates of BYU
Saturday, Sept. 19th Linger-longer after Church meetings. Food assignments will be emailed.
Sis. Rebekah Jensen is the new Visiting Teacher Coordinator. Report visiting teaching or assignments to her.
Birthdays: Rebecca Peterson (Sept. 13) Guada Soriano (Sept. 15)

Opening Song: "Love at Home"
Lesson: "How Glorious Are Faithful, Just and True Friends" by Brooke Stoneman.

Personal Story by teacher: She met a woman while at a dinner who said she was "really into friendship". Usually we do not think of friendship as being a hobby.

Joseph Smith had several people with whom he had a deep love and close relationship.
Journal entries from the manual were read describing Joseph's friendship with many different people.
The first journal entry described Emma, his wife. Characteristics he used to describe Emma were undaunted, firm and unchangeable. She gave him unspeakable delight. A comment was made that "every woman craves [the ability to give their spouse such happiness]"

The next journal entry read was about Hyrum Smith, and expresses Joseph's appreciation for his faithful brother.
"Oh, may the Eternal Jehovah crown eternal blessings upon your head, as a reward for the care you have had for my soul!" This was expressed as a model of friendship to seek after. Several comments were made regarding asking blessings upon ones friends. "We should ask 'What can I pray for you this week?'" We have great power as friends to call down blessings.

Joseph Smith also spoke of Newel K. Whitney in a journal entry saying, "Thou art a faithful friend in whom the afflicted sons of men can confide..."

The question "Why is their friendship so meaningful to Joseph" was posed.
Answers included: Joseph's friends let him know he was not alone, and that they were with him. A link was also made between Joseph and Jesus Christ. When Christ was teaching people and it became hard, they walked away. He asked his disciples if they would also leave, to which they replied they would have no where to go.
Friendship is commitment, including friendshiping someone when it is not easy.

Are there ways you have been buoyed up by friends during diversity?
(Personal stories responded to this question.)

The idea of fellowship and friendshiping is true doctrine. If you cannot think of those people in your life, you can be one of those people. We need friends in joy, not just in sorrow.

Quote by Benjamin F. Johnson, personal secretary of Joseph Smith "Joseph the Prophet’—as a friend he was faithful, long-suffering, noble and true. … As a companion, socially, he was highly endowed—was kind, generous, mirth loving. … For amusement he would sometimes wrestle with a friend, or oftener would test strength with others by sitting upon the floor with feet together and stick grasped between them. But he never found his match. Jokes, rebuses...matching couplets in rhymes, etc., were not uncommon."

1. What helps you understand the prophet Joseph in this quote?
2. How can mirth loving help our family/friends?
It is good to have all kinds of friends, serious and silly.

"Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of ‘Mormonism’; [it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers." p. 463

Another question was asked: How have presidents of the church been examples of friendships with all people?
Many comments were made about President Hinckley and his sense of humor. A story was told about President Hinckley when he was at Hill Cumorah and wanted to climb it. He had the help of 2 other men, each one latched at his side to help. While climbing he was to have said "You know I can make it up to the top of the hill okay, but it's hard when I have to drag you two."

Quote from Joseph Smith after receiving a letter while being imprisoned at Liberty jail.
"...but those who have not been enclosed in the walls of prison without cause or provocation, can have but little idea how sweet the voice of a friend is; one token of friendship from any source whatever awakens and calls into action every sympathetic feeling; it brings up in an instant everything that is past; it seizes the present with the avidity [eagerness] of lightning; it grasps after the future with the fierceness of a tiger; it moves the mind backward and forward, from one thing to another, until finally all enmity, malice and hatred, and past differences, misunderstandings and mismanagements are slain victorious at the feet of hope.”
Think of the power that the gesture of friendship can have! It can rid another of vices.

Sister Stoneman read the 1st, 2nd and 5th verses of the hymn "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief".
As we give to others and serve, our own wounds will be healed.
May it be said that any sister we come in contact with will not be in want of a friend while we live.

Closing hymn: "Nearer My God to Thee"
Have a splendid week sisters!

Marhaba Dome of the Rock

This week has been slightly painful. Mostly, because all of us (the students) have been nearly restricted to our rooms from such large homework loads. We've all come to agreement that 2 credit hour classes should not be permitted to assign 100 pages of history reading each night. At some point, most of us just break and run into the city to escape the drudgery that is our Ancient Near East history class.

I love my classes, just not the reading. It is fascinating to learn about the Jewish culture (not religion...because as many of us are learning...Judaism is more of a way of life than a religious denomination) from its beginnings along with Isalm. Arabic is fun. Our first class was mainly introductory, and our teacher is outrageous. I think I will like it, if I can remember the words that we learn. We might even get Arabic names. There is a place in the old city that can translate your name to Arabic or Hebrew and make it into a necklace.

After Old Testament class with Brother Emmett (which is probably my most favorite class right now. Which has surprised me. I have never really studied the Old Testament, but I suppose it takes on a different meaning when one is living where the events and stories have taken place.) we went to the Old City again and finally were able to get onto the Temple Mount!

A group of us have tried several other times unsuccessfully to see the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount, but because it is Ramadan the hours are more restricted. Police guard every entrance to the mount, but tourists and such are allowed before 11ish a.m. during the day. We spent quite a while just walking around it. The Al Aqsa mosque next to the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount and is one of the most holy sites in Isalm. It was nearly imaginable for me to think I was standing (not on the same stones or level) where the temple used to be. Where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. The holiest place in Judaism. Where Christ would have taught the people of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it is not allowed to bring religious books or music, etc through security onto the Temple Mount. I think it would have been an even more profound experience if one could actually read the Bible there.

It is amusing to see the other tourists around the city. Usually the are in huge groups wearing matching red hats, neon colored shirts, or yellow scarves. They are impossible to maneuver around. Us students are always trying to squeeze past them while they leisurely clog the small alleys in the Old City. I am confident that we will feel more like residents here by the time next month is over, rather than tourists. Already it has been 1 1/2 weeks and I have a fairly good grasp of the Old City at least.

The food at the JC is becoming less appealing by the day. I have tried almost everything, some of which has made me feel I would instantly regurgitate my food. I don't like meat so much anymore. Pita is the best thing since the invention of a paved road. I eat it when I can't stomach the other food...with nutella it's delicious. And you can even make pb&j with it. It's a nice backup.

Well I'm off to watch at movie on Egypt since we are leaving in one week! Amazing? Yes. (Although many of us are preparing by buying quantities of packaged food so we do not end up sick.) If anyone has any purchase requests for while I'm there...just let me know.

Free Day in the City

Holy Cow. What a busy 24 hrs I may say. First may I congratulate BYU on actually beating OU Saturday evening (morning here). About 10 of us here at the JC watched the game...which happened to start at 2am here because of time difference. It was pretty crazy! (embarrassing for the big 12...but I was pretty impressed with BYU) By the time that the game finished it was around 5:30am here...and breakfast started in 1 1/2 hrs...so i took a 1 hr nap and got up for breakfast. Sundays here are our free days because we have the sabbath on Saturdays, like the Jewish and Muslim people here.

After breakfast I left with a good sized group to explore more of the old city. I was really questioning how much I would be able to survive today living on 1 hr of sleep...but I just returned at 5:30pm! And I am very exhausted and looking forward to going to bed very early tonight.

We began with the Rampart Walk at Jaffa gate in West Jerusalem. Basically it is a path that walks along the walls that surround the Old City. There were so many beautiful outlooks from being so high up! That only took about an hr or so. The steps were pretty steep at times and narrow, which was a little scary. It is so nice to see Jerusalem in a different perspective, instead of one of many in a jumbled crowd.

After we finished the Rampart Walk, we made our way to a restaurant in the Muslim quarter off the road that enters Damascus Gate. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place, but delicious. Ashkabars..or something like that. It was a difficult name. The 8 of us shared 2 chips (french fry baskets) 3 different kinds of humis with pita bread, folofal balls and coke in an arabic can. Yum Yum Yum. I was completely full afterwards. And it only cost us like...17 shekels apiece. ( so like...$4)

Several of us have been dying to visit the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock, but have never been able to thus far. The visiting times are all scrambled because they are celebrating Ramadan. I was able to hang out in the Jewish quarter, which is very clean and nice, but also more expensive.

There is a shopkeeper in off Chrisitian Quarter that has a special relationship with BYU or "Mormon University" students. Shaban at Ali Baba gives us good deals...and doesn't rip off the students like many vendors will do...so we finally found his shop today and I bought some Jesus sandals! A pretty dress and a sling over purse to haul all my touristy things I take while on our field trips. All of this cost me 95 shekels..or like $25. It's great not being ripped off.

And finally after the shopping I went over to the Tower of David Museum in west Jerusalem by Jaffa gate. We are required to go there for one of our classes, so that's one assignment partially out of the way. It was basically a citadel...that was built by the many people that invaded, conquered and ruled Jerusalem over the past several thousand or so years. The history gets so complicated.

I am officially give out after a fairly insane day. Hope everyone is enjoying the Labor Day Weekend. (which is obviously not celebrated in the Holy Land)

Shalom Jerusalem

I am officially a pilgrim. After a horrid long flight, I am finally in the Holy Land! It is so incredible to be here. We arrived Wednesday night at sundown, with sounds of the city filling our ears (mostly in celebration of Ramadan) Christmas lights were strung from buildings, twinkling everywhere. The city is much more modern than I expected.

The Jerusalem Center is beautiful. We are so lucky to actually be living here! It is like a temple. I awoke this morning to the blaring of the Call to Prayer aroud 4a.m. Since we live in East Jerusalem it consists of Palestinians, Muslims, & Arabs. The speakers sit right across from the center, so it sounds as if it is someone outisde on our balconies. (Needless to say...my first night in the Holy Land was a restless one.)

If I had to leave after spending only today here, it would have been worth it. What an experience. After an early breakfast & more orientation we walked through many parts of Jerusalem & the Old City. From the Jerusalem Center we walked all the way to the Old City and entered through Domascus Gate. The vendors crowded nearly every space. The smell of foreign spices filled the air to the point my nose burned with its scent. Trash, spoiled fruit, and cardboard boxes littered the alleyways and streets...adding to the ocassional smell of urine. (understandable though, I suppose since buildings are just stacked upon each other in so close quarters)
We were able to stop at an Austrian hospice and use their decent bathrooms. It was tucked away on a corner almost, with a fairly small door which we buzzed and it was opened...which led to another gate inside (almost like "The Sound of Music" when the children visit Maria" It was strange how such a nice little place surrounded by flowers and plants on the inside was amongst the clutter and bustle in the muslim quarter.

We followed the Via Delarosa to the Church of the Holy Seplechure (or the Church of the Reedemer). There were only a couple other large tourist groups there. While many believe this to be the place were Christ was crucified and burried, there is also the Garden Tomb which is thought to be the place as well. The controversy that has risen out of the Church of the Holy Seplechure is extensive and (in my opinion...the opposite of being Christlike) It is amazing how different churches will fight...even literally for a larger piece of the church. I have quickly discovered that many of the disagreements, fighting, and violence in Jerusalem can be linked to desire for political power. West Jerusalem is so different from East Jerusalem. It is so modern and developed compared to the small buildings and shacks in the East.

There is so much more I could say about my first day exploring Israel, but just as I will never be able to see everything here, I think it would be impossible for me to also write everything I am feeling and have experienced in just one day.

Texas...Israel

So I've just got back from my 3 week stint in Texas. It flew by very quick. And I left wishing I still had weeks left to spend there. I came down on Aug. 6th for Kara's wedding. She was so beautiful. I had very little sleep, but it was all very worth it. We ran around fixing things for the reception and finding ties. I am so happy for her and Tommy. It was nice to be able to see old faces, and hang out with Jenna & Maria. love them.

I spent the rest of my time in East Texas...at my grandparents. Their farm is completely relaxing. I spent my time with Bryce, Maggie, Ryles sitting out by the pool and going on nightly walks. We went camping at Tyler State Park for several days, surviving the heat thanks to the RV with air conditioning. It was also there where Holly discovered Skinny Cows at the little store. So began our family's obsession (or maybe just mine) with them. (Skinny Cows are ice cream treats...that happen to be ridiculously healthy for you! hallelujah. thank you to whoever invented them, I can now eat ice cream guiltlessly.)

We also shopped a lot in Tyler. I finally found some decent skirts for Israel that met the qualifications. (And now that I'm getting ready to pack...it seems I have less clothes to take than I imagined...problem? I'm not sure.) I got to hang out with Lori, Paul & Bryce in Longview. He got his braces on while I was there. Poor kid. So glad those years are over. (5 to be precise).

We saw Time Traveler's Wife, which ended up being very sad I thought, but good. Nothing like GI Joe, we saw the week before, haha.

So now that im back in good 'ole Nebraska (cough) im frantically trying to pack everything I need, do all the last minute stuff I procrastinated on, and squeeze in some time with the family. I leave on Monday for SLC, then Tuesday on Delta Flight 1672.
I'm going to really try to be vigilant about writing in this blog while I'm gone, since I will not have a cell phone.

Kauai...and other such

Well we got back from Kauai last Friday night after traveling for 24 hours straight! It was absolutely beautiful there. A perfect description of paradise. We saw over 5 waterfalls...hiked 16 miles of trails...and went to so many beaches...many which were secluded. I don't think we've ever snorkeled as much in our lives either. Any chance we got, I made them stop for shave ice, which I decided is my most favorite thing in the world. Seriously. It beats out cotton candy. One shave ice can make me pour over with joy for the rest of the day. We also went to a pretty cool luau. The food was new & a little different, but delicious none the less. The dancers amaze me. I just wish I could move my body like that. Really. I might even try. It was so nice to have Meme & Holly come with us. Our condo was perfect & had every luxury.

Now I am back in Omaha, I will start my nanny job next week. I am looking forward to having something to do everyday. My parents are still demanding I get a second job, waitressing or something. I went to my first CWS (College World Series) game yesterday with Candace. It was lots of fun.

New News

I have decided to become more diligent in my blogging, especially now that I have been accepted to study in Israel, Jordan, & Egypt this fall! I had my final acceptance interview this past week, so it is official. I be living & studying there from Sept. 1st to Dec. 17th. I feel so blessed to receive this opportunity to see the world and study other cultures. While it leaves a hefty fee on my student financial account, I know it will be a worthwhile experience. I will not have my cell phone with me to text or communicate with friends & family while I between those dates unfortunately, which is why I believe I will use this to let family, etc know of my happenings.

The winter semester ended fine. I got through finals, still recovering from being sick. I did not do as well as I would have liked, but it was a difficult semester overall, so to come out surviving was sufficient. My RA duties are officially over for life. It was a good job & I am so glad to have met and talked with all of the girls in Fox Hall. They were so wonderful. I really lucked out in having the best building ever to look after. I miss all my friends & the girls in our hall so much! It is so much quieter & empty at my family's home.

We are leaving for Hawaii (Kauai actually) soon. I am excited, though I haven't even packed yet. Probably because I feel like somebody is going to walk up to me in the next 24 hours and tell me it was all a joke or something went wrong. Meme (grandmother) & Aunt Holly are coming with us too! I love them so much, so it will be amazing to share this with them! I miss them even though I just saw them in February.

It has been torturing me that I have not been able to visit Texas this summer....at least until the beginning of August. There are just so many people I would love to visit...old friends...newer friends...family. It is funny how things work out....I move away and still all the new friends I make are from Tx too. And I am still not there. I guess i just need to keep reminding myself, like the past 4 years, that there is a reason why Heavenly Father has put me here...even if I cannot see why. At least I am guaranteed to go because my bff Kara is getting married in August...which still seems so surreal to me. He is so lucky to have her; I have been so lucky to have her as a best friend these past...15 years!

So much is changing it's hard to keep up sometimes, especially when my life seems so unorderly right now & my future undefinite. Needless to say I am not close to "settling down" anytime soon. Though I am happy for many of my friends that have already. Who knows what I'll be doing a year from now...studying...working...preparing for a mission...I have no idea. And I am okay with that.

Old Friend

I am so looking forward to this weekend. It is so busy I feel like I will not have time to actually relax. Yesterday I spent most of the day with Tyler. We went to my BOM class with Brother Merrill, whom we both had our freshman year. He took me out to lunch at Cafe Rio.

I hung out at his sister's apartment, Ashley and Tara and we watched Grey's. It was just like last year. So much fun. I forget how much fun I have when I get outside the dorms.

Today has been slow. I got lots of sleep, which is a first for this week. I went to my one class and ate some leftovers. Now I'm just basically waiting until we go to SLC tonight. It should be really fun.

I'm still procrastinating my essays. Oh well.

So it is snowing...again. I'm a little tired of the cold...though I don't mind wearing my rain boots. I just splash through all the puddles on campus. At least it's not sticking so I don't have to shovel our building's sidewalks.

I worked last night...so it was another late night...with less sleep. :/

Our apartment's shower has been fixed...courtesy of me. My roommates don't call maintenance. Supposedly it flooded our bathroom yesterday morning when one of them was showering. They thought it was because of the caulking...but really it was because it was sooo clogged...courtesy of one of my roommates who has the ability to clog a bathtub in like...2 days? I'm excited to go home when I"ll be the only one clogging our shower...haha.

I wrote yesterday...which was refreshing. Not like for my journal or anything. It was for a class, but we had creative free reign. I just sat and mulled over 2 pages for an hour or so. I wish I had time to do that more often. I can't wait for my journalism classes to start then I'll be doing it all the time!

Fun fact of the week: The grocery store forgot to put some of my stuff in my bag this week when I checked out...so i've basically been living off a package of hot dogs. It's disgusting I know. I'm such a college student.