So first off before I get into the extremely condensed
version of my life in Jerusalem since my last post I just want to apologize to
everyone who sent me an email in the past month or so and to whom I haven’t
responded. My hotmail wouldn’t send emails but I have since gotten a gmail
account so I will write you soon! Also I want to apologize for being the
biggest blog slacker ever...but we all knew that I would be so maybe I am not
that sorry. Anywho here is the fast forwarded version of what I have been up to
for the past few weeks, or at least the parts I can remember.
1. We went to JORDAN! We were there for four days and got to
see a lot of really cool things. Among my favorites were Petra—a super cool
archeological place with sweet rock formations...Indiana Jones anyone?—and the
Jordan River. I say this almost every post but probably the most intense heat I
have ever experienced was at the Jordan River. We walked down to the site where
Jesus was supposedly baptized by John the Baptist, and man crazy monkeys was it
sure hot. Besides that, though, it was really special. We sang some hymns and
read about Christ’s baptism...really powerful. So Jordan was a great trip all
around. Actually it was probably my favorite trip thus far, and not only
because we got to see really interesting places. The people that I was with
just made it great...I just love everyone here!
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| In Jordan at the place where Moses overlooked the Promised Land |
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| Petra! |
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| Donkey |
2. A few days after Jordan we had a day field trip to
Bethlehem if I remember correctly. It was fantastic. We saw some really
beautiful churches, including the beautiful Church of the Nativity. My favorite
part of the Bethlehem field trip, though, was when we were sitting in a shepherd’s
field. Dr. Harper talked to us for a little while, but then he gave us time to
just sit there and ponder. That is kind of where my thoughts are stemming from
for this post. As I was sitting there contemplating Christ’s birth and what it
meant to me in my life, the phrase “wise men still seek him” kept coming to my
mind. I thought about the ways that I try to seek for Christ in my life, and
came up with the obvious and familiar seminary answers. But then I realized
something that I really needed to be reminded of. I can find Christ in
everything that is around me. I can seek him by looking for the good in others,
and recognizing that his hand is guiding almost everything that we do in this
life. I can seek him by striving to be like him. As I mentioned earlier I just
love the people that I get to associate with here in Jerusalem, and I really
feel like I have come closer to my Savior just by associating with the people
here because they all have such Christ-like qualities. It is often through them
that I am able to feel of Christ’s love, so in that sense I truly believe that one
of the best way to seek for Christ in our lives is to recognize all the many
things that he has blessed us with. I definitely needed to remember that.
3. After Bethlehem I don’t really remember specifics on what
has happened. All I do know is that it has been a lot of fun! I am basically
becoming a regular at a Jewish bakery in the Old City...super delicious. I have
seen a lot of cool sites including Tomb of the Kings, Hezekiah’s Tunnel (that
was before Jordan), Tomb of the Prophets, more churches etc. A few days ago we
went and got a tour of the Kotel Tunnels, which are underground tunnels that
expose almost the full length of the Western Wall, and are very possibly streets
that Jesus himself walked. Neato! Something that the guide said that I thought
was cool was that “there are people with hearts of stone, and there are stones
with human hearts.” Going to all of these sites and places with such extensive
histories behind them reminds me of just how much we can learn from the past. Especially
being in Jerusalem, “the stones” can literally tell us the stories of what happened
here so long ago. I love it!
Ok enough of the longest blog post of life. I have a few
more thoughts that I wanted to write but I will have to save them for another
day. Also...my camera broke in Jordan. So the only pictures I have are the ones
from Jordan that I took before that. Yay. Luf you all and congratulations if
you made it to the end of this post!
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| More pictures from somewhere in Jordan |
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| Beautiful Sunset |
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| Natalie! She is no joke probably the sweetest girl I know |
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| Getting ice cream for Dana's birthday! |
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| Touching Hercules Hand :) |
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| Doesn't Alvin look great in my sunglasses? |
