Arab Culture Night

At the Jerusalem Center we had an Arab Culture Night. It was so much fun.  We had two Imam's come (people who say the Call to Prayer). It was so cool.  One of them said he started working at the Call to Prayer since he was seven years old. They said the Call to Prayer, recited parts off the Quran for us, which took one of them about five years to memorize, and demonstrated how they pray.  After this we had a huge feast.  I say feast because there was SO much food. It was all authentic and wonderful.  I definitely ate too much.  The night was completed by having people come and teach us some traditional Arab dancing. I LOVED it!

The buffet table.  The Jerusalem Center has such good cooks. 

My plate of food!  I got a stuffed zucchini,carrot, and chicken breast. I got shawarma, and lamb.  And we cannot forget about the pita and hummus. Yummmmm.

Soccer In the Old City

There are kids all over playing soccer. A group of us stumbled upon some kids playing.  We played with them for a little while and they are all good soccer players.

Shephelah- David and Goliath

The Shephelah, also known as the low hills, was the next area we got to go on a field trip to.  We got to visit many sites including Beth Shemesh and the Sorek Valley, Azekah and the Elah Valley, Mareshah and the Guvrin Valley, and finally Lachish and the Lachish Valley.  It was all so beautiful and very green.  In a month or two everything will be brown, so I am very glad that I got to see it in its green season. 

My favorite part of the trip was visiting Azekah and overlooking the Elah Valley.  The Elah Valley is where the famous biblical story of David and Goliath took place.  We had a devotional on this site and Brother Judd, my Old Testament teacher, quoted something by President Hinckley. President Hinckley taught that we all have Goliaths in our life. Goliath is not just a man who was killed by David.  He can also stand as a symbol.   

There are many things that are scary, intimidating, or that seem impossible to overcome.  These stand as Goliaths in our lives.  We all have our own Goliaths that seem near impossible to go to battle with and come out alive. But I imagine a young David who goes up to Battle with this huge Philistine that is 7-9 ft tall and demonstrated faith and trust in the Lord.  This faith and trust helped prevail.

In modern times, Goliaths can stand as peer pressure, drugs, or addictions.  Goliaths can also be within us.  Perhaps we struggle with self- esteem, or having a strong testimony.  No matter what the Goliath is, we can always prevail over it with the Lord’s help. I learn more about this each and every day.  

 I doubt I will ever have to fight a 7-9ft man to save my people.  But I know I will have to fight “giants” nearly every day.  We must have faith and trust in the Lord and then we too, like David, can overcome these Goliaths. 

Spencer and I's reenactment. 

Fun Fact. The rock that David used to kill Goliath is around the size of the rock that is in my hand. For some reason I always thought it was a small pebble-like rock. 

Beth Shemesh and the Sorek Valley

There was the prettiest red flowers all over.  Interesting enough though, it is against the law to pick wild flowers in Israel. 

The Sorek Valley is where Samson grew up. 

Mareshah and the Guvrin Valley

The limestone here is super soft.  You could scratch off pieces of it with your nails.  People would carve these bell shaped caves to live in and use as taverns. 

An old olive press. 

 Lachish and the Lachish Valley

Judd's class devotional.  Lachish is talked about in the Bible.  There was a famous siege here where the Assyrians came and conquered this Judean town.  

Life In the Holy Land- I Adore People

This study abroad to Israel in a lot of senses has opened up my eyes to the world.  I have always been genuinely curious to what the world holds.  However I do not feel like I have put in sufficient time to really discover the world beyond my sphere of life.  I have read and learned about other people, religions, and countries since I was little. Despite this, things are definitely put in a different context when you are fully immersed in a new world with new cultural norms, and ways of living. This whole new sphere of life that I am in that was, and at times, is so foreign to me, is a reality to many others. This is so exciting to me.

One of my favorite parts by far, is learning and watching other people live their lives.  Something that has been magnified to me while being here is the goodness others possess.  I have had the wonderful opportunity to study specifically about Islam, and Judaism.  These are two religions that I have not had the opportunity of learning a lot about previously.  I live in East Jerusalem.  Around me there are many religions including Muslims.  This was only solidified, when upon my arrival, I heard a man’s voice booming over speakers that could be heard everywhere.  This experience happens five times a day when the Muslim’s call to prayer is being said.  I live by many mosques, and five times a day, a call to prayer will go off which is when many Muslims will pray. On few occasions I got to witness someone, who does not go to a private area to pray, pray. It is such a wonderful thing to see them worship God with such love and devotion.  When they pray they always face Mecca, which is also known as the Qibla, which is a very sacred place for them (In hotels and public places they will have signs or stickers pointing which way Mecca is.)  At the Jerusalem Center, we also had the privilege to have two men who do the call to prayer, recite the call to prayer and parts of the Quran.  They also showed us how they pray. It was very educational. But I really do love when the call to prayer goes off because it reminds me of the goodness and devotion of others.

Living in Jerusalem, you discover really quickly that you are surrounded by many people of different religions which also include Judaism. I have learned in my class that being Jewish can mean very many things, a lot of which doesn’t necessarily regard religion.  However, in this blog post I am referring to Jewish people in a religious context.  A very tender experience I had was visiting the Western Wall. Jewish people believe that this is as close as you can get to the temple mount without trampling sacred ground because they do not know where the Holy of Holies was. 

The first time I went there they were getting ready for their Sabbath.  There were hundreds of people surrounding this wall all worshiping.  Some people were reading the Torah, praying, and writing prayers on papers that they stick in the wall.  There were also people I noticed who singing and dancing in big groups, with elation beaming in their faces.  They separate the men and women, so I was only with the women.  But you could see such love and emotion in their faces as they worshiped. When they are done, a lot of them will walk backwards so they never turn their backs to the wall.  Many of them are dressed in symbolic and religious items as well. It is so fascinating and awe inspiring.

In a lot of ways, my life is very different than those of whom I am surrounded by.  But at the very same time, we have so many things in common.  Obviously we hold some different beliefs, and embrace different ways of worshiping. But that is the thing.  We are all worshiping. We love God, and we are all trying to be the best individuals we can.  That is one reason why it makes me so sad when people are prejudice, judgmental, or when people take it upon themselves to degrade others who are different from them. If they would only take the time to look, they could see how similar we all really are.

Goin to Jordan Baby!!

Jordan was our first field trip where we stayed away from the Jerusalem Center. It was so much fun. We were there for four days and three nights. We also stayed at two hotels.  The second hotel we stayed at Megan, my roommate, and I had the biggest room.  It had to of been a suite.  We had two beds, a living room, T.V., and bathroom.  Other students had to share one bed... We definitely lucked out!

Mount Nebo

Mt. Nebo has had several biblical events take place at, or around it.  Mt. Nebo is most known for being the location where both Moses and Elijah were translated. Mt. Nebo is also where Moses saw the Promised Land, Canaan.  It was beautiful.

Petra

Petra was the next big destination.  Petra is literally packed full of adventure.  Everywhere you turn you see incredible rock carvings, caves, and architecture.  I felt like a child in a jungle gym.  Everything looked so fun to go see and explore.

The Treasury is so cool. I don't know how else to describe it. You may notice this is in Indiana Jones.

That's right!!! There are camels in Petra.  "This camel is about to bite my face off" may or may not have been  what I was thinking in this picture. 

If you look close at my facial expressions, it narrates the experience of riding a camel perfectly.  You feel like you are about to fall off as it is standing up. When you get up you feel success, and undoubtedly cool.  However when it randomly sits down the fear of falling off  returns.  But once you are on the ground, you again feel successful and cool!!

I am on a camel. In front of the Treasury. In Petra. Is this real life? 

What? Is that Indiana Jones emerging out of the monastery saving a beautiful girl?...

Oh wait, it is just Preston and I messing around. He does look a lot like Indie though. 

The view point in Petra by the Monastery.  It is so beautiful.  Surprisingly Petra, aside from the cool architecture, reminds me a lot of Zions National Park. 

To top the trip off, we rode horses back to the buses.  

Citadel and Museum in Amman 

The Citadel is covered with ruins that date back to the Early Bronze Age. At Citadel we talked about the fall of David in the Bible.  We can learn a lot from the story of David. Ultimately our choices lead to our ending.  We must conscientiously decide to make good choices everyday. Even if they seem small and simple. 

The museum. 

Jabbok River 

The Jabbok River is a dividing line between the tribes of Rueben and Gad. The Jabbok River is talked about in the scriptures, especially with Abraham.  Near the Jabbok river is where Abraham dwelt right before he was about to face is brother Esau.  He was especially nervous to be reunited with his brother due to past experiences that he felt Esau would still be angry about.  Abraham also had a very sacred experience with God near this river. We learn from these stories in the Bible that the covenants we make can give us the strength to proceed through anything. 

Me, Jenessa, and Sarah.

Jerash

Jerash is famous because it use to control the north part of the King's Highway. It would make profit by taxing items that passed through. It is possible that Abraham could have passed through this city on his way to Canaan. 

Me and Lindee

The cutest little boy I saw playing in the sand. 

King Hussein Automobile Museum 

We were able to go see King Hussein's Automobile collection.  HE HAD SO MANY CARS. 

The Jordan River- "Bethany Beyond Jordan"

Are last stop of the Jordan trip, was seeing the Jordan river.  I was so excited to be able to go there. We believe that this could be where (or near) where Christ was baptized.  Christ got baptized, not because he needed to be cleansed of his sins, but to set forth an example.  Christ is an example to us in all things.  We should look to him and his example always. I am so grateful for Him!  

Touching the Jordan River!