Boker Tov!

It has been a while and I apologize, but then not because I have been having too much fun! A lot has happened and so I wont be able to tell about everything. We went to this biblical park, crushed our own olives and eventually get our own oil, went to the Dead sea, and went to Jordan!

So the Dead Sea was pretty cool, but I honestly loved hiking and swimming in the near by waterfalls much better. We had to pay like 6 Shekels (a little less then $2) to get into this park and we just hiked up to these waterfalls. I climbed up the waterfall and jumped off and it was so much fun! I wish we spent more time at the waterfalls and then less time at the Dead Sea, but it was still super fun. This park is also part of several tour groups, so we had an audience while swimming and it was kind of funny. They probably thought we were idiots, but we didn’t even care. So after we were in this park for a couple hours we walked over to the Dead Sea. First off, it is really gross. Second, it was the weirdest thing ever! I could sit in the water and raise my hands and feet our of the water and not have any problems at all. That was a lie. I had problems getting out of the water because it took some work to get my feet under the water to stand up. The rocks on the side of the “beach” were coated in thick layers of salt. So there was a big group of us that were all just hanging out and talking in the water and all of a sudden we see this guy just covered in mud. So Jeremy and I decided to go find where his source was because we wanted the full Dead Sea experience. He ends up leading us to it and handing over piles of mud. I can not even begin to explain the odor that was coming from this sometimes expensive product. I almost threw up several time, but I got the pictures and the experience! I swear I could still smell it after several showers, but I knew I was just making it up. So overall, Dead Sea experience was good and we are going back!

Now JORDAN!!! I LOVED Jordan. I liked it better then Egypt just because it was a lot more relaxed, but Petra and Jerash was just as cool as the Pyramids. First we drive to Petra and we get there pretty late so it is already dark. We went and walked around the streets and talked to the shop owners and we ended up dancing with a bunch of Jordanians and tourists in the streets outside a restaurant. We had just had our Arab dancing night so we knew all the dances and everything. It was way cool, but not as cool at PETRA!! We get up pretty early the next morning because our tour guide wanted to get there first. Great idea because there really wasn’t that many people there in the morning. I have tons of pictures without others in it and the weather was awesome. I don’t really know what to say about the famous treasury in Indiana Jones, except it really is that awesome. I would love to be able to verbally express the grandness of it all, but I know I cant. The details and the idea of it all being carved out is just amazing. We also hiked up to the Monastery which is just as huge as Petra and I had never heard or seen pictures of it before. Petra was huge and there are caves everywhere and carvings and theaters and just awesomeness. The colors of the rock are also indescribable. I think I got a few good pictures of the colors of the rock. So moral of the story: PETRA WAS AWESOME!

I had never heard of Jerash either and this was also pretty dang cool. It is an ancient Roman city and it is huge! This girl in our group went to Rome not too long ago and she said that Jerash blew all of that the pieces. There were remains of hundreds of pillars, a theater, fountains, and churches.

The last big place we went to in Jordan was the River Jordan. First off, it was really gross. I took a picture with my finger in the water and I had to hanatize it right after. Second, it was really skinny, probably seven feet. And Israel is right on the other side of that river.

I know my blog entries get long, but I just get so excited about everything I get to see and do and I don’t want to leave anything out. So if you don’t want to read details, I am doing great, having a blast, and I am not returning as the person I came.

Grandpa Elder Holland

I felt like this topic deserves a separate post because it was so amazing and this experience alone will make me a changed person. I had the wonderful opportunity to spend 48 hours with Elder Holland. He came two weekends ago because he had some church business in Lebanon. He was in charge of the Center and he always makes a stop here. He came on Sabbath (Saturday) and we got to eat dinner with him before he gave his fireside. The fireside started with a musical number given by 8 people in our group. They sang Master, the Tempest is Ranging. It was the most beautiful musical number I have ever experienced. I have never really been a huge fan of the song, but the arrangement and the voices were all just too perfect. I started crying at this point and I knew I was in trouble. Elder Holland, as we all know, is amazing. He spoke on mercy and how is the Christ’s main attribute that we all need to work on. The ultimate example of his perfect mercy is the Atonement. Before he got into the heat of his talk he spoke on the Center and his love for this place. Then in the Elder Holland tone he commanded us to never return as the person we came. He said if we did we would be a disappointment to this church. I mean, I was always motivated to be a changed person, but now it is on a different level. I don’t mind the extra encouragement. Everyone I spoke to thought that Elder Holland was speaking right to them during his fireside. But they are all WRONG, because he was talking to me! J He influenced us all and we all needed to hear it.

Elder Holland was staying in the Center so we got the unique experience to see him several more times. We saw him later that night and got a picture with him. We also got to see him the next morning. A bunch of us were going to the Dead Sea so we were all upstairs waiting for our taxi and all of a sudden someone grabs my neck. Lo and behold it is Elder Holland. He just stood there for a few minutes and talked about going to the Dead Sea and told us to have fun. I feel like he could be my grandpa or something. He is very kind and very funny. His wife is very cute and little. I received hugs from both of them. I know that this experience alone was awesome. Combining it with the fact that I am in Jerusalem just makes it that more unique and that more amazing. I am definitely a changed person. 

More Pictures!

Me really happy about the sunset

Steve, me, and Derrick happy about the sunset again. 

Leanna, me, Kaylie, and Taren in the ocean.

This is the morning of the last day of Sukkot at the western wall. Dome of the rock in the background. 

Matisyahu. We were closer at one point, but none of those pictures turned out as well. 

Me and Hailey before the concert. 

Jerusalem, If I Forget You

Lea Bea the Great (aka Leanna Davidson's blog which is better then mine)

The Ballad on Stairs

Morning light to setting dusk
climbing stairs is a must

Top to bottom, bottom to top
the merciless stones is a must

Sweating 'n Panting as I climb
If it does not stop I'll lose my mind

Weak calves, complaining toes
this is a hell I have not choose

Right left I can't escape
They haunt my dreams and when i wake

When will it stop when will it end
the wrath of the stone will not bend

If your reading this hear my plea:
Drown my sorrows and send cookies to me.

Leanna Davidson

btheholyland.blogspot.com

Jerusalem, if i forget you...

During all the anticipation of coming to Jerusalem I was going through all of my stuff because I had to move out of my apartment and organize things at my mothers house. One of the things that I did was go through some of my old journals. I am not going to lie; I think the most I had written in one journal was about 30 pages. I have about 6 journals and they all start “I know I have been really bad about writing in my journals before, but this time it is different.” I was shamed. So I found an empty journal that I bought so long ago I can’t even remember (probably a New Years resolution that never happened) and I made it one of my main goals to write in it everyday during this semester and hopefully develop a life long habit. I am happy to report that I have not missed one day! It makes writing this blog a little easier because I have forgotten what has happened already!

Naturally, a lot has happened but I will only tell some of the highlights. Sukkot and tensions, Jericho, Journey of Faith movie, General Conference, Heziekiah’s tunnel, and MATISYAHU!!

Ok, so Sukkot is a Jewish holiday and it lasts a week. They build these booths that they eat in and some children will sleep in them at night. They can decorate them with lights and fruit and all kinds of different things. It is to memorialize the journey from Egypt to Caanan and they give thanks for harvests and they pray for rain. This holiday has caused a lot of tension between the Muslims and Jews. Not really the holiday itself, but the Temple Mt. has been shut down and that has caused tension. It should open after Sukkot though. Lots of riots, rocks being thrown, and most everything has been shut down for us. We can only go to West Jerusalem and we have to pay for a taxi there and back so it gets a little old. But being here during Sukkot has been so great. We got to go to the Western Wall this morning for the last day of Sukkot. We were allowed to take pictures and I got some pretty cool ones (pictures coming within the week). They have their willows and their citron and they shake them and bang them while praying for rain. It was a really neat experience.

Jericho was pretty awesome. It was really small and the oldest known manmade structure is there.  Got a picture, don’t worry. Jericho is also below sea level and it was really hot. Right outside the walls of Jericho there was this guy with fruit and I bought a mango. I ate it a few days later and it was the most heavenly thing I could imagine. I want to go back and just buy lots and lots of fruit!

I don’t know if anyone has seen or heard of the movie Journey of Faith but we got to watch it here. It is a history thing about the archeological evidence that supports the Book of Mormon. Brother Brown is the head guy here and he was the one to find this evidence! That is so awesome! He is in the movie and my Ancient History teacher is in the movie as well. I would watch it sometime, I have been to most of the cites they talk about, and it is just pretty cool.

General Conference. Not much to say about this except that is was amazing as usual. I was one of the dedicated ones who stayed up to watch it live. They were on at 6:00 and then 10:00. They are playing them again tomorrow for those who missed them. I would have to say that Holland’s was my favorite talk. I just love how forward he is and just says it how it is. His whole talk was his testimony and man it is a powerful one. As for the rest of conference; basically we all need to love each other!

Hezekiah’s tunnel was so awesome! It is this tunnel that they built so that they could get water into the walls of their city. We got to walk through it and the water got above our knees. It was pitch black and it was just a lot of fun. I want to go back sometime with fewer people because they were kind of pushing us through with so many people.

Last, but not least MATISYAHU!! First off, it was the strongest base I have ever felt in my life and it was awesome! Second, it was right outside the Old City wall. I cannot believe I had the chance to see Matisyahu in Jerusalem. I have heard a lot of his music before and I liked it. I never owned any of his music, but this concert was so awesome! I have been to concerts before and everyone just mind their own business. This concert everyone was talking to everyone. This one guy found out that we were mormon and everyone was yelling for the mormons. At first they though it was weird that we were there and then he said it don’t matter what religion you are, Matisyahu is awesome! He was drunk, but pretty funny. We were pretty close and I got some pretty sweet pictures and even a video of him singing the Jerusalem song.

IT IS SO AWESOME HERE!! Hopefully, we will be able to break free of the center next week and hit some more cites. Sunday we are going to the beach in Tel Aviv again and I am so excited! It is the last day we can go because the beaches close in a week. It will be a blast, so ill post some pictures of that as well. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to come here, and I don’t regret any of it, even when we are stuck in this center. I am meeting some amazing people and seeing some amazing things and I am trying my hardest to soak in everything that I can. 

PICTURES!!!

These are some pictures from Egypt. They are in random order because i am in a hurry. Egypt was so much fun, i wish i could post all my pictures! Enjoy!

Veiw of the Nile from out hotel room.

In front of the big pyramid, which i went in!

This is a pretty good picture of how green egypt is, and in one step is pure desert.

Hiking down Mt. Sinai. 700 stairs was the last part of the hike. 

This is Dave and I on top of Mt. Sinai.

Kyle and I at sunset, i look pretty weird in this picture. 

Right when we got to the top. Best part of the Egypt trip!

At the pool in Cairo. These guys in our group like to through us and this is me doing a backflip.

Kaylie, me, Tess, and Leanna at the Oasis Hotel.

EGYPT!

Leanna and I outlining the pyramid!

This is our camel right at sunset by the Nile. 

Walk Like an Egyptian

So I went to Egypt this past week. It was pretty much the most amazing thing ever!

Day 1

Wake-up call is at 5:30 am for breakfast and loading the bus. We start our drive and stop every 1 ½ hours for field trip stop or bathroom breaks. We stopped many places but I think my favorite of the day was this lookout place overlooking the Wilderness of Zin. It had this Grand Canyon feel to it, but it was all one color, gray. We stop at this Kibbutz close to the boarder to sleep. A Kibbutz is a small socialist community. We got a tour of the place, they fed us dinner then we got to go to bed.

Day 2

Wake-up call is at 6:00. The Kibbutz feeds us breakfast and we get sack lunches as well. Then we head to the boarder where it takes about an hour to cross. At one point we could see Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan all at once. We also got to see the Red Sea and it was so beautiful. After we crossed the border we drive the Cairo with a few pit stops on the way. They take us to the Oasis Hotel and we see the Pyramids for the first time on the way. They were amazing! Later that night we got to go to the sound and light show. It was really cheesy, but I am glad I got to go.

Day 3

Wake-up call is at 6:00. We went to the Pyramids first because we wanted to buy tickets to go into the big Pyramid. They only sell 200 a day and each person has to be there to buy the ticket. Oh, I forgot to mention that every tour bus is required to have armed guys on the bus for our protection. We are in line to get these tickets and all these people try to cut us. Our bodyguards form this line around us and it was awesome. We all ended up getting our tickets and I went to the biggest Pyramid!! So cool, and so different then I thought. The place where they found his actual body was this black room with smooth walls and that is it. We also saw the sphinx. We saw lots of pyramids, and walked a lot, and it was a long day. We then went to this papyrus factory and that was pretty cool. After that we took a plane to Luxor. We stayed at this Sheraton Hotel and it was so nice.

Day 4

Wake-up call is at 6:00. First thing I do is open our balcony door and there is the Nile, looking big and beautiful. It was so great! This day we went and saw lots of temples and tombs. We went to the valley of the Kings and I went inside King Tuts tomb. His body was in there and I was not expecting that at all. His mummy is the smallest thing ever. After dinner, we got to ride a boat on the Nile to go ride a Camel. Our group got to go at sunset and it was so amazing! This night we also had free-time so we decide to take a carriage to do some shopping. These carriage guys are paid by shop owners to bring us to their shops, so it was an interesting night. I did get some cool stuff though. 

Day 5

Wake-up call is at 6:00. Today we get to go to the Luxor temple and Karnack temple. We go in style though. We take a boat to the Luxor temple, then a carriage to the Karnack temple and then a carriage back to or hotel. So awesome! Karnack is my favorite temple so far. It  was just so cool, and most of it was still standing. A lot of the temples I have seen you only have the outline of what was there. This temple had these huge pillars and statues and markings and it was just awesome. Then we had the whole afternoon free. Leanna was really sick this day and I was really tired already. So I went swimming in the pool, which is right by the Nile. It isn’t a good idea to actually go swimming in the Nile so I had to pretend a little. Later that night we load an overnight train to take us back to Cairo. Haha. I don’t even know what to say about this train. This room for two people was so small I could touch all four walls at one time. I ended up sleeping pretty well though.

Day 6

Wake-up call is at 5:00. Train arrives and we go back to the hotel for breakfast. We went the most beautiful Mosque. I took a lot of pictures of it, but none of them do it justice. I just wanted to sit in it all day and look at everything. Ill post pictures eventually again. We got to go to the Museum. This was pretty awesome as well. Saw all of King Tut’s belongings and lots of statues. Our tour guide read some hieroglyphics to us as well. He was a really smart guy. After the museum we got to go to Hard Rock Café! American food! It was like a whole new world in that place. I almost felt clean for a split second. They also took us to this market and I did some pretty awesome shopping. I really enjoy bargaining. I am not very good, but I had some moral support with me.

Day 7

Wake-up call is 9:00! We leave to drive down to Mt. Sinai. We make a few pit stops along the way, and make it to the Morganland Hotel. I had to kill about 9 cockroaches in our room, but it was nicer then any place I expected to stay while in Egypt.

Day 8

Wake-up call is 2:00. This was my favorite day by far. We wake-up early and we drive 10 minutes to the base of the mountain. It takes about 1 ½ hours climb. I make it up there before sunrise and it was unbelievable. We were also able to hold an Old Testament class up there and a testimony meeting. We sang hymns and wrote in our journals. I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to climb this holy mountain. We leave Mt. Sinai and head for the border. It takes us about 2 hours to cross because they are a little strict with who they let in. A couple of my fellow students were asked some intense questions but we all eventually made it through. We finally made it back to the Center around midnight and I felt at home. It was kind of weird, but I liked it. I am no longer living our of a suitcase, so I guess it is my home for now. I live in Jerusalem, the place where Jesus Christ walked. Who would have thought?

Now it is time to get back to real life. Study, study, study. Paper due in a few days, but I could not be happier right now.