The Red Sea isn't actually red

Kicked off the week by going to the Red Sea on free day!
Remember how when I was little I was obsessed with fish and the ocean? I had a fish poster, fish bedspread, fish pillowcases, the shared fish tank with Elise, and I wanted to be a marine biologist. Well, I don't really do that anymore. But that interest was totally validated when I went snorkeling in the Red Sea. It was seriously magical. There were tons of jelly fish and brightly colored fish. There were clown fish, Dory fish, a bright teal fish and it was just great. There was an octopus/squid thing too and beautiful coral! Plus, it was cool to think that God split that sea and the Israelites passed through on dry ground.

On the way home we stopped at a Kibbutz which is a community where a group of Jews settled together and shared a livelihood. This Kibbutz was dedicated to raising cows and selling dairy. It doesn't really seem that cool. But it was! They had really good ice cream, a comical video about the Kibbutz's soul, and this adorable cow bench.

Also, I might add that I was so proud of myself for not getting sun burned in Egypt. I definitely got burned at the Red Sea, but not too bad. I think the white and the red in this picture provide some nice contrast. 

The next day we went on an awesome field trip to the place where David killed Goliath. He had an incredible perspective. He really did understand that temporal things don't matter if God is on your side. Look at Jenna sling that rock. 

Another cool thing about pictures of Jenna besides it being a picture of Jenna is that we look pretty much the same so you can just pretend it's me. 

During the same trip we saw an olive press from Christ's time. The bitter olives are crushed with a huge stone and pulverized until they produce  a sweet pure oil. Through the Atonement Christ was able to take bitter parts of our lives and turn them into our greatest blessings and learning moments.

Some of my favorite moments on the trip have been being able to sing hymns in Sacred places. We found this huge cave that had been made to quarry limestone. I guess that wasn't holy (although it was HOLE-Y haha). But it did have great acoustics and it was awesome to sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic there. Sidenote- maybe sing that at my funeral. I want I Believe in Christ too. 

Also, this picture is a good example of what happens when you have an old camera and you forget to take your camera off panorama setting. I kinda like it this way though. It gives it character. Speaking of singing, Dr. Muhlestein is a pro at changing the words of famous songs to fit the places we are going to. In this rendition of "My Boyfriend's Back" we sing "Shphelah" instead of "Hey La". Shphelah is the valley were the David and Goliath story took place. Not a great video but you get the idea.

This week we also went to a light festival in Jerusalem. It was cool because we usually aren't allowed to go into the Old City at night so it was fun to go! 

You can't see much. But these are some great people. Emily, Jenna, and Christa. 

One of the highlights of the week for me was helping with the Passover meal. It's not actually Passover right now, but we hold one during the semester for the experience. Our Jewish teacher runs it so it is totally authentic except for it being at the wrong time of the year and we drink grape juice instead of wine. One thing that really impresses me about the Jews is how good they are at remembering. The scriptures always tell us to remember and in the Book of Mormon it even says one of the reason for writing down scripture is so we will remember our fathers. The whole Passover is for the Jews to commemorate God delivering them out of slavery in Egypt. On this trip I've been reminded that not only is that the Jew's heritage, but ours also. Yesterday in the Upper Room and today during the Sacrament I was thinking about how Christ instructed the disciples that the bread and water would now represent Him rather than the Exodus. But there is so much parallel between those two things. God redeemed His children from slavery and burdens that they could not have gotten rid of themselves. When Christ performed the Atonement He freed us from our enslavement  to worry, doubt, sin, pain, loneliness, and death. 

I am so glad He did. I am so grateful to be here and understand Him better. I am learning to not only trust in the Lord but trust the Lord. He always keeps His promises. He is mindful of us and wants us to be happy. Just as He delivered our fathers He will deliver us always. I love Him for that.