Friday, April 16, 2010
Until September...
I"M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!! ... That is, until September. Today I took my last 2 finals and wrote my last paper. So now all I have left is a few field trips, a week full of end-of-semester events, and then a 30 hour trip home. Amazing how time flies, isn't it? I was just reviewing my first blog posts, and I wrote something like "I'm glad I still have 4 whole months left!" Oh how the time flew by. I only have one more Sabbath here, and rather than mope about it, I'm going to go have the time of my life, make the most of it, and come home ready for whatever life throws at me next. I love you all!!!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
And the decision is...
So I mentioned in my Jordan post that I was considering studying Arabic instread of Spanish. Well, I've thought and prayed about it a lot, and I've decided to add an Arabic minor to my schooling. Miraculously, it won't delay my graduation at all. I'll start this fall in 101, and by summer of 2012 I'll be doing a semester abroad in Jordan! (yes it'll be HOT!!!) I'm a bit anxious as to what is in store for me as an Arabic speaker in the church, but alongside that anxiety is a ridiculous amount of excitement. I can't wait to be a part, even a small part, of the work to bring the gospel to these wonderful people.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Us, Tour Guides? & Seder Dinner
Today was a very unique day in the city. 3 of us guys from the center ended up hanging out with this cool girl from DC named Shawny. She’s originally from Orem, UT (so obviously she’s LDS… hehe) and was here visiting on business. So we took her around to a bunch of different sites. It was cool to realize that we have learned a lot, since we were able to describe a lot of the sites we went to. As we were in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a young guy from the Czech Republic named Matt started tagging along to listen to our vast array of knowledge. He ended up staying with us the rest of the day, and we even brought both of our new friends beck with us to the center where we showed them around for a bit.
Tonight our Judaism professor came and did a Seder dinner with us, which is the traditional Passover meal. I remember doing one with Daniel Rona back in Morgan Hill when I was little. It was pretty similar, but I got a lot more out of it. All I really remember from when I was younger was that I showed up at church for a “dinner” and left hungry! Tonight we didn’t have that problem. It was also much more meaningful now that I can process that information alongside the personal experiences I have had with the Jewish people.
Tonight our Judaism professor came and did a Seder dinner with us, which is the traditional Passover meal. I remember doing one with Daniel Rona back in Morgan Hill when I was little. It was pretty similar, but I got a lot more out of it. All I really remember from when I was younger was that I showed up at church for a “dinner” and left hungry! Tonight we didn’t have that problem. It was also much more meaningful now that I can process that information alongside the personal experiences I have had with the Jewish people.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Dead Sea and More!!!
Today our field trip took us to Masada, Qumran, and the Dead Sea. Masada is where the Jewish zealots had their last stand after their revolt against the Roman Empire. Now, to be honest, its just another old site. (To be fair, I’m becoming a bit desensitized to ancient ruins… particularly cisterns!) Qumran is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and we were able to go into a museum to see some of them. But at last, the fun part of the day, we arrived at the Dead Sea. It was CRAZY!!! Let me tell you… I have never been able to float before. I think it comes from the fact that I have an abundance of fat in my torso, and none in my legs. So usually my legs start sinking right quick! But this time, my whole body just bobbed above the surface! I turned face down to try to swim, but since my legs were above the water, kicking only succeeded in making me look funny!!! I read a magazine, and even played a game of go fish! At last, I went and rubbed Dead Sea mud all over my body. Apparently that’s good for you? At any rate, it felt weirdly cool (maybe it was just fun to see all of my friends completely black!) even if it has no real value.
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Final Stretch
So today I realized that for the past little bit (a few days, perhaps) I’ve been way grumpy. Then I started to realize that everyone was acting grumpy! Today a comment made by a dear friend made it click. Opposition is working on us as a group. In the past four months, we have experienced amazing things both individually and as a group. This is the closest thing to Zion that I have experienced thus far. I have changed and become better, closer to my Savior, and more aware of the man He would have me become. How sad would it be if I lived my final two weeks as a grump, tainting the memory of this entire experience?! And so it hit me: that’s EXACTLY what the adversary is trying to do. So, here’s the game plan to have an amazing last two weeks: I will read my scriptures every day with the intent of having a personal spiritual experience. I will talk about the insights I receive with others, sharing my testimony with them and allowing them to share theirs with me. When I am tempted to think negatively, I will change my attitude and look for the positive! I am so grateful to be here!!!
Tonight we performed a concert for the community, attended by mostly Palestinians. It was quite a success! We sang four numbers from “The Messiah”, one of which I was asked to conduct! I also sang in two other numbers: a duet of “Our Saviors Love” and a sextet of “Sing Me to Heaven”. My favorite performance of the night was most definitely an arrangement of “If You Could Hie to Kolob” with a piano, violin, and flute. It was GORGEOUS!!! For the closing number, the choir sang “Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends”. It was a divine experience. Never had we performed that song so well. I truly believe that we were able to perform that piece by the Spirit, to touch the hearts of those in attendance. As the audience members left the center, we formed little singing groups and serenaded them on their way out. Many were visibly touched by the Spirit. I’m grateful for the chance to indirectly share my testimony in a land where we aren’t allowed to share our beliefs and knowledge openly.
Tonight we performed a concert for the community, attended by mostly Palestinians. It was quite a success! We sang four numbers from “The Messiah”, one of which I was asked to conduct! I also sang in two other numbers: a duet of “Our Saviors Love” and a sextet of “Sing Me to Heaven”. My favorite performance of the night was most definitely an arrangement of “If You Could Hie to Kolob” with a piano, violin, and flute. It was GORGEOUS!!! For the closing number, the choir sang “Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends”. It was a divine experience. Never had we performed that song so well. I truly believe that we were able to perform that piece by the Spirit, to touch the hearts of those in attendance. As the audience members left the center, we formed little singing groups and serenaded them on their way out. Many were visibly touched by the Spirit. I’m grateful for the chance to indirectly share my testimony in a land where we aren’t allowed to share our beliefs and knowledge openly.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Jordan
I just got back from four days in Jordan, and although it was different from what I expected, I definitely had a great time. Monday as we headed to Petra we stopped at Mount Nebo, which is where Moses got to see the Promised Land right before he was translated. We discussed the JST version of this account, which teaches us that it was not God’s punishment to Moses that caused him to not reach the Promised Land. Rather, God removed Moses from amongst the people as a punishment to them.
Tuesday we woke up bright and early to hike down into Petra, which was AWESOME!!! I liked it more than Egypt (even the Pyramids!) and it was definitely my favorite spot in Jordan. We checked out the treasury and the monastery, which were awesome architectural wonders. Surprisingly though, those weren’t my favorite part. The best part was hiking to the high place, past tombs and caves and upward where there were gorgeous views of the surrounding area. I felt like I was hiking in Zion’s National Park in UT.
Wednesday we went to Jerash, which is an old Roman city with ancient pillars and the like! The best part was in the amphitheatre, where our girls danced with a bunch of schoolgirls from Jordan. I practiced the few words that I know in Arabic, and they were SO excited that I knew even that much. Then we went to a reenactment of a Roman gladiator show, which was corny but entertaining. Afterwards we made the longish bus ride to Amman. We went to the LDS Center there and had a fireside from the Branch President, who is an American stationed there with the army. He talked about the wonderful Arab people, and the slow process that is moving forward so that one day the gospel can be openly preached to them. I got SO EXCITED thinking about these nations opening up to the missionaries. They have been prepared well, and are choice sons and daughters of our loving Heavenly Father. Now, believe it or not, I will go off on a tangent! ;) As part of the requirement for my English major, I have to study a foreign language. MY current plan is to study Spanish. However, sitting there listening to President Hoffman, I started reconsidering taking Arabic (which I took 2 weeks of this past Fall semester). I still haven’t figured it out yet, but I became SO excited as I pondered putting myself in a position where the Lord could use me as an instrument in bringing the gospel to these people. So… I’ll keep you posted. That night with our free time, we did some shopping. There was a mall with American food, so I got a pizza and a McFlurry! There was also a store that sold pirated DVD’s for $1, so I got four. A few of us got a taxi and headed over to a mosque (the name was in Arabic, so all I caught was Hussein, having to do with an old king of Jordan). The current structure was fairly modern, but the site’s first mosque was built by one of Mohammed’s immediate successors. Then a few guys watched “Night at the Museum 2”, which was actually pretty good!
Thursday was our day to travel home. The time flew by! We visited the King Hussein mosque on our way out, which was HUGE and beautiful. Right across the street is a Christian church (I think it was Lutheran). What awesome imagery, to imagine these two great religions as friends, despite often being depicted as enemies. We also stopped at the Jordan River, at the more likely sight of Christ’s baptism. We got home just in time for me to throw a load of laundry in and head for dinner.
Tuesday we woke up bright and early to hike down into Petra, which was AWESOME!!! I liked it more than Egypt (even the Pyramids!) and it was definitely my favorite spot in Jordan. We checked out the treasury and the monastery, which were awesome architectural wonders. Surprisingly though, those weren’t my favorite part. The best part was hiking to the high place, past tombs and caves and upward where there were gorgeous views of the surrounding area. I felt like I was hiking in Zion’s National Park in UT.
Wednesday we went to Jerash, which is an old Roman city with ancient pillars and the like! The best part was in the amphitheatre, where our girls danced with a bunch of schoolgirls from Jordan. I practiced the few words that I know in Arabic, and they were SO excited that I knew even that much. Then we went to a reenactment of a Roman gladiator show, which was corny but entertaining. Afterwards we made the longish bus ride to Amman. We went to the LDS Center there and had a fireside from the Branch President, who is an American stationed there with the army. He talked about the wonderful Arab people, and the slow process that is moving forward so that one day the gospel can be openly preached to them. I got SO EXCITED thinking about these nations opening up to the missionaries. They have been prepared well, and are choice sons and daughters of our loving Heavenly Father. Now, believe it or not, I will go off on a tangent! ;) As part of the requirement for my English major, I have to study a foreign language. MY current plan is to study Spanish. However, sitting there listening to President Hoffman, I started reconsidering taking Arabic (which I took 2 weeks of this past Fall semester). I still haven’t figured it out yet, but I became SO excited as I pondered putting myself in a position where the Lord could use me as an instrument in bringing the gospel to these people. So… I’ll keep you posted. That night with our free time, we did some shopping. There was a mall with American food, so I got a pizza and a McFlurry! There was also a store that sold pirated DVD’s for $1, so I got four. A few of us got a taxi and headed over to a mosque (the name was in Arabic, so all I caught was Hussein, having to do with an old king of Jordan). The current structure was fairly modern, but the site’s first mosque was built by one of Mohammed’s immediate successors. Then a few guys watched “Night at the Museum 2”, which was actually pretty good!
Thursday was our day to travel home. The time flew by! We visited the King Hussein mosque on our way out, which was HUGE and beautiful. Right across the street is a Christian church (I think it was Lutheran). What awesome imagery, to imagine these two great religions as friends, despite often being depicted as enemies. We also stopped at the Jordan River, at the more likely sight of Christ’s baptism. We got home just in time for me to throw a load of laundry in and head for dinner.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Holy Week
Well, what a week! As you know, this was Holy Week in Jerusalem, beginning with Palm Sunday, including Good Friday, and finally culminating with Easter today. I realized that I haven’t spent an Easter at home since 2005! How crazy is that?! The week was both a unique and inspiring time to be in the Holy Land. For Palm Sunday, thousands of pilgrims (religious tourists) from all across the globe came and walked together from the Mount of Olives (just a few blocks away from home) into the old city through Lion’s Gate. In a culture where Christian culture seems sparse and fragmented, it was awesome to worship in a unity of faith with pilgrims of many different denominations. For that short while, differences seemed to go away. We walked for about an hour, singing songs the whole way, both our own LDS hymns and songs others were teaching us. We marched next to some Egyptian Christians who tried to teach us a song in Arabic. We finished up at St. Anne’s church (which is right next to the pools of Bethesda and has AMAZING acoustics)
Monday we had a field trip where we visited many of the Christian sites around Jerusalem. We’ve been to most of them before, but this was the first time we did so as a class. One of our stops was the Church of the Redeemer, which is a Lutheran church right next to the Holy Sepulcher. We stopped to sit and talk in a chapel, and so obviously we had to pull out their hymn books and start flipping through. Hehe. Anyhoo... this thing was a treasure chest! It had "Come Thou Fount...", "Amazing Grace", "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" and many more AWESOME hymns!
Wednesday was an awesome field trip to the Separation Wall by the West Bank. Our guide was an international lawyer from the US who is now a government advisor here in Israel. It was mind opening, to say the least. More and more, I'm realizing that if I leave here still trying to pick a side, I've missed the whole point.
Wednesday night was also the informal talent show, which I'm on the committee for. After hours of stressing and planning, our brain-child became a reality; and if I do say so myself, it was GOOD!!! Anything that ends in an impromptu dance party is automatically a success... even if it did include me cross-dressing as well as pretending to be a piece of bread. Ahem... anyhoo...
Thursday we had a field trip to some fields overlooking Bethlehem, which are cool to picture as the Shepherd's fields. A friend and I planned a nativity program (with tons of hymns, of course). It was touching to read the Christmas story together (which in reality is the early spring story anyway, so we did it right!!!) overlooking the town of Bethlehem.
Good Friday we got permission to leave the center in the morning to participate in the Via Dolarosa walk, which is Christ's final walk to Golgatha. After 5 minutes I decided to leave... it was WAY to crowded. Remember how I talked about Palm Sunday and how everyone was happy and united? Well on Friday it was absolute chaos, with people shoving every which way. I have learned that waiting in line is an American thing not recognized anywhere else. Here, shoving prevails. I was also a bit put off by the actor depicting Jesus absolutely covered in fake blood. I am quite aware that Christ's sacrifice was a gruesome thing, but it almost seemed sacrilegious. So for the rest of the day we did church-hopping, just testing out the acoustics at different churches.
Saturday was a great Sabbath. We had a fast & testimony meeting (our last one here, in fact) without any sunday school or priesthood afterwards. I used the free time to go to Gethsemane for a while, and then went with a group to Dominus Flevit (which commemorates when Jesus cried out "O Jerusalem...") where we, what else, SANG!!! Then we got back in time for dinner, followed by the first session of general conference!
And then, we get to today. I woke up at 5:30 (I know, who would've thunk?!?!) to watch the sunrise over the city. Of course, I figured out that the because the run rises to the east, and the center faces west, I couldn't actually watch the sunrise as intended... but it was still special to sit alone, watching the city slowly brighten. I went to the 9am service at the Garden Tomb, which was more of a modern Protestant worship service, with the rock band and everything. Still, that was cool. From there we went to St. Stephen's where we came in and saw a priest leading a choir practice! So, we ended up staying for the entire french mass!!! Then we had lunch with a random couple from UT who heard us singing and wanted to take us out to lunch!!!
Sigh... life is awesome. Unexpected, unpredictable, and yet is still awesome. Friends, I am off to Jordan tomorrow to spend the week there. I'll do my best to keep an excellent journal so I can share specific experiences with you. I love you all, and I'll see you soon.
Monday we had a field trip where we visited many of the Christian sites around Jerusalem. We’ve been to most of them before, but this was the first time we did so as a class. One of our stops was the Church of the Redeemer, which is a Lutheran church right next to the Holy Sepulcher. We stopped to sit and talk in a chapel, and so obviously we had to pull out their hymn books and start flipping through. Hehe. Anyhoo... this thing was a treasure chest! It had "Come Thou Fount...", "Amazing Grace", "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" and many more AWESOME hymns!
Wednesday was an awesome field trip to the Separation Wall by the West Bank. Our guide was an international lawyer from the US who is now a government advisor here in Israel. It was mind opening, to say the least. More and more, I'm realizing that if I leave here still trying to pick a side, I've missed the whole point.
Wednesday night was also the informal talent show, which I'm on the committee for. After hours of stressing and planning, our brain-child became a reality; and if I do say so myself, it was GOOD!!! Anything that ends in an impromptu dance party is automatically a success... even if it did include me cross-dressing as well as pretending to be a piece of bread. Ahem... anyhoo...
Thursday we had a field trip to some fields overlooking Bethlehem, which are cool to picture as the Shepherd's fields. A friend and I planned a nativity program (with tons of hymns, of course). It was touching to read the Christmas story together (which in reality is the early spring story anyway, so we did it right!!!) overlooking the town of Bethlehem.
Good Friday we got permission to leave the center in the morning to participate in the Via Dolarosa walk, which is Christ's final walk to Golgatha. After 5 minutes I decided to leave... it was WAY to crowded. Remember how I talked about Palm Sunday and how everyone was happy and united? Well on Friday it was absolute chaos, with people shoving every which way. I have learned that waiting in line is an American thing not recognized anywhere else. Here, shoving prevails. I was also a bit put off by the actor depicting Jesus absolutely covered in fake blood. I am quite aware that Christ's sacrifice was a gruesome thing, but it almost seemed sacrilegious. So for the rest of the day we did church-hopping, just testing out the acoustics at different churches.
Saturday was a great Sabbath. We had a fast & testimony meeting (our last one here, in fact) without any sunday school or priesthood afterwards. I used the free time to go to Gethsemane for a while, and then went with a group to Dominus Flevit (which commemorates when Jesus cried out "O Jerusalem...") where we, what else, SANG!!! Then we got back in time for dinner, followed by the first session of general conference!
And then, we get to today. I woke up at 5:30 (I know, who would've thunk?!?!) to watch the sunrise over the city. Of course, I figured out that the because the run rises to the east, and the center faces west, I couldn't actually watch the sunrise as intended... but it was still special to sit alone, watching the city slowly brighten. I went to the 9am service at the Garden Tomb, which was more of a modern Protestant worship service, with the rock band and everything. Still, that was cool. From there we went to St. Stephen's where we came in and saw a priest leading a choir practice! So, we ended up staying for the entire french mass!!! Then we had lunch with a random couple from UT who heard us singing and wanted to take us out to lunch!!!
Sigh... life is awesome. Unexpected, unpredictable, and yet is still awesome. Friends, I am off to Jordan tomorrow to spend the week there. I'll do my best to keep an excellent journal so I can share specific experiences with you. I love you all, and I'll see you soon.
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