Well, it’s all over. We left Jerusalem on Thursday night (Aug 12th) and flew into Atlanta. Then we flew from Atlanta to Salt Lake the next morning. After Jordan, we did a bunch of random stuff in the Old City. We went to the Western Wall to bring in Shabbat again, have been doing a lot of shopping and wandering, and just enjoying the last few weeks. I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher again, and actually went into the sepulcher this time and saw the place where many people believe Christ was laid for his burial, and also where they believe He was transfigured. I also went to the YMCA again, but this time instead of just playing the bells for the 12 o’clock hour, I actually played a song on the bells!! Brother Whipple, the organist who plays the bells, doesn’t care which songs we play. Sometimes he even plays patriotic American songs, and once he let someone play the Harry Potter theme when a new book or movie or something came out. Anyway, since it doesn’t matter, and most people don’t know the song anyway, I played We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet. It was so neat that a song that I played was playing so that everyone in Jerusalem could hear it! :)
Burial stone of Christ in Holy Sepulcher
On Monday, August 2nd, we had another field trip day. First we went to Masada, which was a fortified place on the top of a huge mesa. It was first fortified by the Hasmoneans and then Herod the Great rebuilt it and had palaces there and stuff. It also played a role in the first revolt against Rome. After that we went and swam in the Dead Sea. It was soooo cool!! You could literally just float in the water like nothing, but the salt kind of burned any cuts that you had, and your eyes, and… yeah. We swam for just a little bit, and then went and found some nasty smelling and looking mud to give ourselves little Dead Sea mud baths… haha. It was such a hot day, so it was nice to be able to go into the water. They also let us wear shorts for once on our field trip instead of long pants!! Later that afternoon we went to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve that is where David would have hid from Saul and then found him in the caves. There were a lot of sweet waterfalls and cool springs and stuff. Then we went to Qumran where the Essenes lived and probably where the Dead Sea scrolls were written. We also saw some of the caves where they found the scrolls (we couldn’t go up to them though). It was a hot, long day, but it was really good.
Masada
The Dead Sea, rock salt, and mud exfoliation
Ein Gedi
Dead Sea Scroll Caves from Qumran
The next day we had some students from the BYU Arabic program come to the center for a few days, so that was fun. They have lived in Cairo, Egypt for the past few months, and then were just touring Israel and Jordan before they fly home. We also had finals that week, so that was nice to not have to worry about classes the last week or so of our trip. On Thursday, August 5th, I went with a small group to the Russian Monastery of Ascension. This is where they believe Christ ascended into heaven, and there was also a church there with mosaics from the floor of an ancient Armenian church where they say the head of John the Baptist was found in a jar. Later that night I went to West Jerusalem with a group of people and we got desert waffles and walked around the outdoor mall area. The desert waffles were really good! I split one with a girl named Stacie and ours had a yummy hot fudge chocolate sauce and we got two scoops of gelato on the side. It was soooo good!! Then on Friday, we had a couple more tests, and then in the afternoon I went out with a small group of people to paint the mural that we are making at a kindergarten for disabled children that is just up the road from the Jerusalem center. It should turn out pretty neat, so I’m excited. Once we got back, I went with a couple of friends to the Old City and then to West Jerusalem. It was a great day and it felt good to be done with classes. That Saturday was an AWESOME Sabbath. I went out to the Garden of Gethsemane in the morning, went to church, and then went to the Garden Tomb after church. It was the first time I had gotten up early to go before church, and then went after church as well. It was really great. Later in the evening we had a Triclinium last supper dinner where we read from John’s account of the last supper, and there was a set up of how it may have looked. After that, we had the final Messiah video. It was just a really great day because I had a lot of time to focus on the Savior and do some great thinking.
Russian Church of the Ascension
Painting the mural
Last supper reenactment
On Sunday I went with a big group to go to Tel Aviv. It was such a blast. It was just a good day on the beach, and we also went to St. Peter’s Church that was there and we tried to go to Simon the Tanner’s house where Peter stayed (Acts 9 & 10), but it was closed so we just saw the outside. The beach was just great though. It was a good relaxing day. Later that night I went out with a group of friends for our last night trip to West Jerusalem.
St. Peter's Church
Tel Aviv!
Randomness in West Jerusalem
On Monday and Tuesday (Aug 9th and 10th) we had our last two field trip days. They were focusing on the last week of the Savior. It started at Bethany at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11). Crazy thing is it is probably the real one!! It has a different entrance now, but the stairs going down and the tomb are probably the real ones. Bethany is also where Mary and Martha were from (Luke 10:38-42). There was also a little church there. After that we went to Bethpage, and went to the Sanctuary of Bethpage there that commemorates the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt 21:1-9). Then we went to Pater Noster which is the traditional ascension site (and the one that our Professor Brother Brown thinks is probably the correct place) and it is also a place where they commemorate the Lord ’s Prayer and where the Olivet discourse may have been given. Then we went to Dominus Flevit which means the Lord wept. This is where Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-42), so the church is supposed to remind you of a teardrop. We also went to the Orson Hyde Garden that is on the Mount of Olives and a traditional site for the Upper Room where the Last Supper was held. It was a great day of field trips. I quickly stopped by a beautiful church called Dormition Abbey (now known as Hagia Maria Sion Abbey). This is the traditional site of the death of Virgin Mary, or where she fell asleep for the last time. Later Monday afternoon I went over to paint the mural again. That night we had a going away final party thing with pizza, karaoke, and dancing.
Tomb of Lazarus
Dominus Flevit
Inside Dormition Abbey
Mural progress
On Tuesday we started our fieldtrip by walking over to the Garden of Gethsemane in silence, and then we talked there for a while, read scriptures, sang, and had some free time. Then I quickly stopped by the Church of All Nations before I had to get on the bus, which is a Roman Catholic Church with bedrock that is supposedly where Christ prayed in the garden before His arrest. After that we went to The Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu which is a traditional spot for Caiaphas’ house where Christ was brought after he was betrayed and where Simon Peter betrayed Christ three times before the cock crew. After that we went to the Pool of Bethesda, where Christ healed the man with the infirmity and told him to take up his bed and walk, and St. Anne’s church (mother of the Virgin Mary). Then we went to the Church of the Flagellation and Church of the Condemnation and Imposition of the Cross which commemorate where Christ was whipped by the Roman soldiers and where he took up His cross. This is probably not the real place, but they are still nice churches. Then we went to the Garden Tomb and had a little scripture reading, singing, and testimony meeting thing.
Church of All Nations
Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu
Traditional steps of Christ's walk to Caiaphas' house
Pools of Bethesda
On Wednesday I went to the Garden of Gethsemane in the morning again, then in the afternoon I just did some random things like going to Omar’s (Olive Wood), Aladdin’s (money exchange), and the old city on our way to the mall in West Jerusalem. We went to the Shuk (Suq? not really sure how to spell it) too, which is a shopping area market thing in West Jerusalem. We did some other random things that day and had a going away barbeque and slideshow that night. After that a big group of us played murder in the dark in our gym (which by the way is almost 100% pitch black with the lights off). Unfortunately another girl and I totally collided. I yelled for them a few times to turn on the lights, because I knew that the other girl was really hurt and wouldn’t be able to really yell for them to turn them on. It took ‘em a while, but they finally got the lights on. We were both just lying on the floor in pain. I didn’t cry at all because I wasn’t really all that hurt, but the other girl was definitely crying and like dying on the ground. There was a pool of blood on the floor where she was at because she got like the worst bloody nose of doom. I actually even got sick to my stomach because of all of the blood (and I usually have a pretty strong stomach). I felt really bad for her. I don’t think it is broken, but it definitely looked like it because it is so swollen and there was so much blood. I think her teeth hit my check, and her nose hit my forehead. She looked pretty beat up, but I just have a cut on my cheek that we just super glued closed, and a pretty massive headache. My cheek hurts, but I just feel really bad for the other girl.
Results of playing murder in the dark...
Thursday was our last day in Jerusalem. My group went to the Garden of Gethsemane one last time, and then we went into the Old City and went to the temple mount and took more pictures of the Dome of the Rock. We almost didn’t think we would be able to go again because Ramadan started on Wednesday, and we were worried that it would be closed, but it just had different hourse. Anyway, after that we went to Shaban’s one last time, and got some shawarima and came home. It was a nice chill day. Then after packing, eating, and taking a few last pictures of the center, we were off for the Tel Aviv airport. We flew from Tel Aviv to Atlanta, Georgia, and I was so happy when I finally saw the lights of the US. I was even happier when the wheels hit the ground. I am definitely ready to be back. We are on the plane from Atlanta to Salt Lake City right now, and I am super excited to be back with my family and other friends. Also, I am really excited to drive and be able to go places by myself and not in groups of three!! It will also be nice to be able to talk to people about the church again! :) It is so hard when people ask you what you think or believe about something, and you can’t tell them. I don’t know if I already mentioned this, but in order to build the Jerusalem Center, we had to promise that we wouldn’t proselyte (because a lot of people were freaking out thinking that the Jerusalem Center was a missionary endeavor). Anyway, so we aren’t allowed to talk about the church at all, and they even got rid of their Hebrew copies of the Book of Mormon so we didn’t get accused of anything. Almost everyone still knows that we are LDS though because we are all about the same age, and we are practically the only tourist people there who are dressed with long pants or skirts, and long sleeved t-shirts. And they can probably just tell because of how comfortable we get to feeling in the city. Whenever we walk through the city, all of the shop owners yell “Mormons! Mormons!” trying to get us to stop and buy something from them. Some of them sing this goofy song that goes “Oh Mormons we love you, all the way from Jerusalem!” It is really funny. So most people know who we are, and that we don’t drink tea and coffee and little things like that, but they don’t really know much. Often they will try to talk to you about it and get you to tell them a little bit, but we can’t. It is really hard for a lot of them to understand why we can’t, especially the Palestinians, because everyone else is allowed to say whatever they want about religion there, and everyone else is just so open and free about it. It has been really hard not to share what I know to be true. Anyway, it was just a really great trip. I am definitely grateful for this wonderful opportunity that I had. I have learned so much about myself, the gospel, and the Savior. One thing that really stuck out to me this trip about Jesus Christ is how selfless He is. Everything that He did in his lifetime was for other people. The love that he showed to others through his caring interactions and sacrifices for them truly are a great example to all of us. He gave everything He had for our Heavenly Father, including His own life. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that he suffered and died for all of us, so that we might be forgiven of our sins if we choose to repent and turn to Him. The power of the Atonement is amazing. It not only enables us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again, but it also enables us to do great things that are far beyond what we could ever do on our own. I know that not only did our Savior die for us, but He is risen! The tomb is empty and He lives! I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and for His great atoning sacrifice. I am grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the power that it has had in my life to change me. It really is the way to true happiness in this world and in the world to come.
Souvenirs and gifts that I bought
Signs around the Jerusalem Center
The finished mural that we made (it's actually wrapped around three walls...)
Final Dome of the Rock pics
