Last Full Week

I can't believe how quickly time is going!

Let's start with last free day. Cody, Jenna, Ashlin, and I took a taxi to Ein Kerem which is the village where John the Baptist is from. We went to a cool church commemorating his efforts and ate some of the best ice cream in the Holy Land. 

We also went to the hospital which is run by a Jewish women's organization called Hadassah. We learned more about their group which was inspiring. At the time they founded the organization women didn't have the right to vote or open a bank account but they created an organization to provide medical services to those suffering from the effects of the violence. It impressed me how they treated people in pain regardless of what side of the conflict they were one. 

Also at the hospital are 12 beautiful stained glass windows. Each one represents a different son of Jacob.

This one was one of my favorites. It was meant to symbolize Benjamin. There are 11 circles to represent the support Benjamin needed from his brothers after his mother died in childbirth. It makes the people seem a little more real.

That was also an adventurous day because the journey from the hospital to the church was kind of a long walk (read: 2 hour hike). So here's the real deal of what we did that day. Candid photos by Jenna. It consisted of being lost a lot. But it was an adventure.

We had a Harry Potter party for his birthday! I was Trelawney. It was the best.

Faculty Pic. 

Jenna and Voldemort (aka Dr. Allred)

To the Ministry of Magic. 

Then on Monday we went to the Dead Sea! Which was so cool. It was bizarre! If you jump while in the water you don't come back down! It was magical. And slightly terrifying when you are floating and then you start going towards your stomach and have no control over where you are floating towards. Picture Andy from the Office in a sumo suit drifting off on the lake.



 And then began the reading days and finals. Fun fun. On Friday we went to the Western Wall probably for the last time.

Saturday I took some time to read and think at the center and go to the Garden of Gethsemene. I feel so blessed for the time I've been able to spend here. I was thinking about how when I was a freshman at BYU my tentative plan was to do three years of nursing and then go on a mission. Turns out I went on a mission after one year of school and then I switched to Dietetics. And then I got to go to Jerusalem, which hadn't even been on my radar! The point is, I'm not that old, and my life has already gone a lot differently than the way I had planned. But it has been way better for me than my plan would have been. I'm so glad my Heavenly Father who loves me also happens to be a master architect. It gives me peace about the future. Which I've also been thinking about. I don't really have everything figured out, but that doesn't really matter anyway does it? Even if I did have a comprehensive plan, it would be off. So it feels good for now to just trust that it's going to be great. I will miss the Holy Land but I'm excited to see what a new semester has in store.

I've also been thinking about how when everyone comes here they always talk about the experience changed their life. I haven't received an earth-shattering revelation here or anything. But it has been a tender mercy to be here and receive small but influential promptings and lessons. Technically, everything changes your life. But by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. And interestingly enough, the more time that passes since I leave, the more the Jerusalem Center experience will continue to change me, because the greatest change that will occur is as I apply what I've learned here through all my life. At the end of my life, this summer will have had a huge influence on my life as time after time I more fully apply the scriptures to myself and understand them better because of the time I've spent here.

I don't know if any of that made sense.

Yesterday we also read the scriptures associated with the Last Supper. I love how Christ washed his disciples' feet even though He was their leader. The best leaders are those who serve others. There was a really cool set up to help us visualize it right there. I didn't really have any profound insights, but it just seemed more real than before, which is maybe the best thing I could take away from it I suppose.

Then today! We went to a Greek Orthodox service at Church of the Holy Sepulchure in Arabic. It was fascinating to watch! Even though we understood nothings. Lots of candles.

Another highlight was the Tower of David Museum where we got to see remains of King Herod's palace. And we found all this dress up stuff where we had the opportunity to perpetuate stereotypes about Middle Easterners which are not always representative.

Okay I feel like that was a ton to cover! Hopefully this made sense. I can't wait to see you guys! Love you tons!!

Hey guys!
I love you a lot.
This week has been crazy! We celebrated Harry Potter's birthday on Monday. And then Tuesday and Wednesday were reading days. Thursday and Friday were testing days! Today was the Sabbath which was most welcome. I went to the Garden of Gethsemene and got a lot of time to think about my time here. I'm so grateful I've been able to be here. We had a musical program tonight and I kind of ran out of time to write. So I'm sorry. I will post a better blog post- hopefully tomorrow or the next day. I love you!!

All Roads Lead to the Jewish Bakery

Last week began with free day! I walked the via dolorosa with Jenny and Cody. According to Catholic tradition, the via dolorosa is the pathway the Christ carried the cross-from where He was condemned by Pilate to Golgotha. Along the way there are stations where they say certain things happened. Some of them are according to tradition, some are scripture-based. It was pretty cool.

I was also able to go back to the Western Wall which is one of my all time favorites. I miss the temple a lot. But when I go to the Western Wall I think about how it's the closest thing to Solomon's temple, which was a legitimate temple. It is Jewish tradition to write a prayer down and stick it into the cracks of the Western Wall. I did that this time and it was cool to write a prayer. It made me be deliberate about what I said and it was a nice way to process my thoughts. 

There are so many notes crammed in every crack. It was kind of hard to find a place! 

On Wednesday we did a cool field trip in the evening. We went through these tunnels that go underneath the Western Wall. I learned that the Western Wall goes way below ground level, and it horizontally it goes on for much longer than it appears, it's only covered up by houses and shops that have been built in modern times. There is a tiny synagogue down there that is even closer to where the Holy of Holies would have been in Solomon's day, so there were some Jews praying there when we passed by. 

On Thursday we went on an awesome field trip. We went to all these cool churches! I had been to the Church of the Holy Sepulchure a few times before, but it was cooler this time with our teachers to explain the significance of things. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchure is built over places believed by many historians to be the place of Christ's crucifixion and burial. There is a little cave (inside the church- it's a massive church) where supposedly an old cross was found. Many Catholics believe it to be Christ's cross because tradition says they used it to bring two people back from the dead. Whether that is true or not, it is cool to admire the devotion of pilgrims who have come to be there. Look at all the crosses they have carved into the walls over the years. 

It was also cool to admire the artwork. A lot of it is more gruesome than we are used to looking at, but I admire their ability to depict the suffering the Christ would have experienced. I think sometimes in an effort to focus on what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane I don't think enough about what happened on the cross. In class this week I learned that some leaders of the church have suggested that Christ re-experienced everything He experienced in the garden on the cross. 

I was reading in Jesus the Christ this week and I am blown away by the physical, spiritual, and mental exertion necessary to drink the entire cup. Just one detail I liked from the book- While on  the Cross Christ was offered the vinegar, which may have really been sour wine. According to Jewish tradition, people being crucified were offered the drink to numb the pain to some degree. Jesus put that to His lips but discerning what it was, He did not drink. Christ gave us everything- He even made sure He would be totally cognient and able to sense everything He would suffer through. 

In the Church of the  Holy Sepulchure there is a depiction of Christ shedding blood on the cross and that blood running down into the ground and hitting the skull of Adam. Again, that may be more traditional than scriptural, but it represents an important idea- that Christ's sacrifice overcame the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve (physical and spiritual death). In this picture you can see the skull underneath Christ. 

After thinking on this, I enjoyed walking out of the massive, incredible, but dark church into the light. It reminded me of the triumph of the resurrection.

 We also visited a church that claims to own a piece of John the Baptist's skull. Maybe not the actual skull, but it was nice to think about the sacrifices he made as well. 

One of my favorite churches was a beautiful Fransiscan church. St. Francis was the bomb. He came from a super wealthy family but tried to be a true disciple. It was super controversial at the time but he started helping the poor much do his father's embarrassment. To show his dad, he ended up giving up all his possessions and clothing. 

Also on this field trip I saw the most beautiful cat. I realize I haven't been posting enough cat pictures. 

We went to the Jewish Bakery again. Another time, we were headed somewhere else and Jenna claimed to know the way so she led the way- to the Jewish Bakery. Accident? Hmm. But like she says, all roads lead to the Jewish Bakery. 

Speaking of Jenna, we thought it would be fun to try and trick everyone by dressing  up as each other. We wore each other's most iconic outfits and tried to do our hair like the other. I was walking up the stairs that day and Sam said to me, "Woah. You and Emma switched places today! Wait". Mission accomplished. 

And then I also did a bunch of less exciting stuff. We've got finals this week so I started writing a paper and am looking forward to those finals and hoping I strike the right balance between studying and going out into the city to enjoy the last few weeks I have here. 

Throw me on an anthill and spread my ears with jelly

Is the phrase Dr. Skinner used when he accidentally skipped over an important detail of our lecture.

Wow! We have a lot to catch up on so buckle up.

Let's start with the free day before Galilee because I didn't mention that in my email. We visited the Israel Supreme Court and their Parliament. It was really cool to see how much they encourage the public to get involved in politics.

They also include women in government so yay! They have about 25% of their legislature made up of women representatives, which obviously isn't 50/50 but it's better than America. Actually, fun fact (but not so fun), Afghanistan and Iraq have higher representation of women in their legislature than America does. 

We then went to Galilee. Some of this will be repeat from my email but plus pictures! 

We went on some amazing field trips. 

 On the Mount of Beatitudes (which means Mount of Blessings) we talked to this awesome nun who gave us all these pearls of wisdom. She told us that we are the pen and God is the hand. On our own we are useless, but as we do God's will we are able to reach our true potential. She also said that if we are one with the Lord we will never despair.I love faithful people like this, who haven't received the fullness of the gospel yet but are doing amazing things with what they have. 

I loved visiting a town called Bethsaida, which is where Christ did many miracles. Unfortunately, they became accustomed to these miracles, and they fell away. This caused me to ponder a lot. I have experienced some wonderful manifestations of God's hand in my life, and I wondered what I need to do the rest of my life to ensure that I never fall away from the Gospel and the Church. I can share with you the answer I received there but I'd invite all of you to ask the same question for yourself, because there are different things we all have to work on at any point in time. One thing I was reminded of was Elder Christofferson. He came to the center a couple of weeks ago and encouraged us to turn outward and serve. I'm still working on that, but I'm glad for a perfect example to follow. 

One of my favorites was also the Mount of Transfiguration. See my instagram post for the peacocks and Grandpa Davis moment! I loved that. 

It was just cool knowing that Christ really lived, and that He did it there in Galilee. He loved Galilee and performed so many miracles there. I love all the miracles He did with casting out unclean spirits. Satan has power and sometimes we feel that power more strongly than at other times. But I know that Christ's power is infinitely stronger and available to us if we ask for help.

I also loved learning about the apostle Paul in particular. We went to the Syria border and looked out to Damascus where Saul was visited by Christ who asked him "why persecutest thou me?" and asked how long he would kick against the pricks. Pricks are pointed sticks used to prod cattle, and kicking against them infers resisting guidance or prodding. We talked about how we sometimes feel promptings that what we are doing is wrong or that we need to do something, but we put it off because of the difficulty or because we don't feel like it. Saul put off the Spirit for a little while, but once was converted, he didn't kick against the pricks any more and was super devoted. 

We then went to an old sea port city called Akko. Paul was likely there when he recieved the instruction to return to Jerusalem. I like the scripture in Acts 20: 22 "And now, behold I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem not knowing the things that shall befall me there". I loved that. So often I feel that we are led to a certain place or action but we don't know the specifics that lie ahead. I hope I can be like Paul though, and that if the Spirit tells me to do something, I will be bound by that. 

Akko was also fun because they had some cool Medieval ruins. There was an eating hall, which looked suspiciously like the Great Hall, which had an orange and red banner with a lion on it. Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking?

Dueling. 

We also saw some cool Roman ruins. 

We also went to Nazareth. We talked about Mary there. I had never spent much time thinking about how incredible she must have been. It makes sense though, that if God sent His perfect son to us, He would send one of His most humble and pure daughters to be His mother. 

More Roman ruins. 

Pretty waterfalls. 

A really cool (modern, not ancient) hanging garden built by the Bahai religion. 

Fish eating. 

Really so much! This blog post is overwhelming I don't even know what all to say. 

We rode on a boat on the Sea of Galilee. For a lake it really does get wavy in the afternoon. And the wind in Galilee is incredible. With the right wind, I can see how the apostles could have gotten into a dicey situation. I am so grateful that Christ is always nearby waiting for us to call out for His help. Let us not take counsel from our fears. We should never make a decision based on fear.  

Megiddo was also really cool. Aka Armageddon. A final battle will take place there before the Second Coming. One thought I liked from that site was that sometimes we feel fear about the things that will happen before the Second Coming, but the one who would want us feeling scared about Christ's coming is the adversary. Truly, if we are doing our best we will be okay. My teacher said, "If you have God on your side, you will never be outnumbered"! 

I also loved some ruins we went where we saw homes built out of basalt. When a piece of basalt stone chips off it is called a mote. They're tiny. And the beams used for the ceilings are called, well, beams. Basically don't judge other people because we have enough stuff to work on ourselves and we can never understand everything someone is going through that influences their actions. "Treat everyone you meet as if they are in serious trouble (as in they need your help) and more than half the time you'll be right". 

 Beam.

Mote.

I also got to sit on Moses's seat, which is the chair in synagogues where you sit and expound scripture. 

Basically, we saw so much! And it's too much to write and synthesize all of it! But these were the highlights for me. I hope you guys are super duper. I love you! 

Bethlehem

What a great week!
Kicked off the week with my favorite free day so far. We went to the Western Wall which was a nice way to start off the day. When I go pray at the wall I feel a similar feeling as when I am in the temple. At least similar enough for now.

We also went to the Temple Institute which is a museum where you can see all the things Jews have built for the temple they hope to rebuild someday. This sect of Jews are fixed on rebuilding a new temple, but believe that it must be rebuilt where the Dome of the Rock currently stands, which presents a problem. Despite this, they are totally ready to move in. Everything in the museum is ready to be moved to the temple at any moment. 

We also revisited Hezekiah's tunnel which was super fun. This time we did it with just a lighter and some times in the total dark to get more of a feel for what it was like back in the day. It was super fun. 

We also visited the artist's colony and had some amazing falafels. And we just explored the Old City and found fun stuff! Like Christ's Church, which was cool to sing in. And these cool lions. 

 That night we got back to the center and enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs for fourth of July! That impressed me a lot. A lot of the workers in the cafeteria are Palestinians and they could have a lot of reasons to dislike Americans if they wanted to. But they threw us this American party and were so kind to us. They are always kind to us, but it struck me then how amazing the Jerusalem Center is. It provides an atmosphere for Israelis, Palestinains, Americans, Jews, Muslims, and Mormons to get to know and love each other!

So cool. 

Monday we took a field trip to Bethlehem! We visited the Church of the Nativity which is where a lot of Christians believe Christ was born. This picture includes a silver star on the ground, which many claim as the exact site of Christ's birth. 

My favorite part though was going to these fields overlooking Bethlehem where the shepherds likely were. We spotted the first star of the night there and sang Christmas songs. The spirit was so strong and I was reminded of the reality of Christ's birth. I am so grateful that Christ was born of Mary. Being born of a mortal woman Christ was endowed with the capacity to feel pain, fatigue, sorrow, and be truly tempted. Although He lived life as the son of God, His life was in no way easy. It was so difficult and that was made possible by His mortal birth, which I am so grateful for. 

It was amazing to sing Christmas songs and realize that I was so near to where the events they proclaimed took place. I got a little glimpse of what it would have been like for the shepherds to see the first start of the night. A highlight was singing Silent Night and hearing the words "with the dawn of redeeming grace". Those words struck me. With Christ's birth, the world finally saw a dawn. All of us who were in spiritually darkness were finally given a light, the possibility to receive redeeming grace. 

Sunset over Bethlehem, although we can pretend it's a sunrise. 

The next couple of days were mostly class/homework days but we did take a fun little walk to Hebrew University and saw their gardens. I saw some really cute cats, a frog, and some leeches. Fun. 

And then....BYU JERUSALEM APOCALYPSE TIME. Out of 78 students, 35 were struck ill on Thursday. It was a dark time. I think everyone is better now though.

Thursday we went on a field trip to the ruins of Herod's temple. I gained an appreciation for how huge and splendid it was. It was also cool because it's a place where Christ would have gone to teach and throw out the money changers. Also the Old Testament became more real for me then as I thought more about the destruction of Jerusalem. They were literally burned to the ground. Even the temple, their most magnificent building was reduced to ruins. 

Just #candidly reading my scriptures on the temple steps

And then Friday we had a midterm in the evening so that was kind of a less exciting day.

Today has been a wonderful Sabbath. One of the girls in our program unexpectedly lost her sister a few days ago. Today in the garden tomb I watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZqTRSVA1YA and it was so powerful. Christ truly changed the world. I am so grateful that death will not permanently separate me from people I have loved, and that I will be reunited with my earthly and heavenly family. The gospel is true, and Christ truly is at the center of it. I am so grateful for Him- for His reality, His mercy, and His grace.