DAY 5 and DAY 6 FAMOUS FISH RESTAURANT and AMAZING CHURCH

New Testament class today was one of the most amazing religion classes I have EVER been in! It is amazing how much a teacher can cram in for a three hour class and how much I learned actually paying attention and trying hard to soak up everything I could. Although I have always felt that the New Testament is easier to read than the Old Testament, I am discovering new stories and insights that I have never noticed before. After a marathon of class time, we were off on a nature hike in the Jezreel Valley to see the beautiful green plains, colorful flowers, and an incredible waterfall. We had a guide with us to lead us away from the mines that were dispersed throughout the course of our path but the funniest part about it was that I didn’t see one dangerous zone the entire time. So kind of pointless in my opinion but I guess we wouldn’t have found the waterfall if he weren’t there so I should be more grateful. The water was WAY too cold for me to feel any temptation of getting in but there were some people from my group who did jump in and regretted it later as they were shivering the entire walk home; I was dry, happy, and loving life like always. Then it was off to a memorable adventure at the “Fish Restaurant” to devour the famous St Peter’s Fish (Tilapia). I know this is going to put you over the edge Mom but the fish was nasty oily, super bland, and not excitingly amazing. To ensure that we got the full experience, my roommate Emilie and I shared half a mini pizza and part of the fish. We had fun taking pictures with our dinner and made the most of our crazy escapade. We went for ice cream and shopping in Tiberias but since it was Shabbat, none of the stores were open except for one gelato stand that had the most incredible Thai coconut flavor in the world! It was ridiculously good. The following morning I slept in for the first time since I have been in Israel and boy was it the best thing that has ever happened to me. Well not quite but it was amazing not having to set any alarm and then relaxing the rest of the morning. We quickly visited the Jordan River Baptismal Site before church at 3:30pm. Even though there weren’t any baptisms going on, it was cool to visit the place. Then it was church overlooking the Sea of Galilee which was quite distracting but the messages shared through music and words were amazing and brought me to tears at times. It is going to be so hard to go back home and have sacrament meeting without the most unbelievable views in the world! I will actually have to look at the speaker and listen...lame. To conclude the night, the teachers hosted a fireside telling the stories about how they met and fell in love. It’s funny how we have been told that dating is off limits at the Jerusalem Center, yet there has been TONS of hooking up lately as “small town syndrome” has officially kicked in. Always juicy stuff going on in Jerusalem. NEXT POST...more field trips and SUN!!

DAY 3 and 4 INCREDIBLE CLASSES and GALILEAN FIELD TRIP

Yesterday was fairly uneventful with New Testament class for three hours in the morning; we had a 30 minute break halfway through so no worries. Although I greatly cherish Brother Wilson’s Old Testament class and thoroughly gained vast knowledge unknown to me before, I am enjoying the style of teaching of Brother Huff. He has already taught us so many insane facts about the four gospels that I would never have discovered on my own in this lifetime. I appreciate his amazing study of the New Testament which motivates me to feast upon the words of Christ daily. The rest of my beautiful day I spent studying the scriptures and watching the amazing sunset with my legit roommate Christine. It is so gorgeous here in Galilee and is SO green everywhere! Last semester here in Galilee, everything was brown and during spring/summer term, it was way hot so I am grateful I came when I did; it was meant to be. We also had Ancient Near East class last night which was torturous. There was no sleeping in the next day as my class was off on another field trip (half-day at least) to two sites that connect with Jewish history. The first site, Gamla, was a focal point during the First Revolt against Rome (66-72 AD). The steep hill where the city lies resembles a camel; hence the Hebrew/Arabic name gamal. We were the only tour group at this incredible city literally set on a hill so it was nice to explore the ruins and take pictures on high places that were overlooking the valley. There were vultures hovering over us the whole time but luckily they received no food on behalf of us. Thankfully, the last site of the day was Qazrin. I know that sounds horrible to say “thankfully” but it gets old being a tourist all the time. Moving on, this “Talmudic village” contains a restored rabbi’s house and a basilica synagogue. This town has long been abandoned since the 4th-8th century AD when the Talmud was being compiled. The rest of my afternoon, I did a minor amount of homework, took an incredible run along the shore, had a contemplative walk alone on the beach, got some sun, and have been getting caught up on my journal which I have successfully accomplished. NEXT POST...more three-hour classes and the FISH RESTAURANT.

DAY 2 SEA OF GALILEE FIELD TRIP

Today was amazing as we visited sites along the Sea of Galilee which provides the context for the base of the Savior’s Galilean Ministry where he taught profound messages and performed miraculous miracles (attempt at astounding alliteration). We were off at 7:30am sharp to catch our boat at exactly 7:45am leaving two of our few male members back at the hotel. Don’t worry though they made it just in time at the dock after being dropped off by our other teacher. I guess they weren’t kidding about that promptness thing were they. Anyways, it was extremely cold and windy this morning which for the first time in my life, didn’t frustrate or annoy me in the least bit. I was actually quite happy to experience the raging tempest that day as we sang “Master, the Tempest is Raging” and drifted (or should I say tossed and turned) across the actual sea where Christ calmed the billowing waters and caused his disciples to wonder, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41) Luckily we made it to the “blessed harbor and rested on the blissful shore.” We saw the Ginnosar Boat, excavated in 1986 after a fatal drought, which is believed to be similar to New Testament boats built at the time. Some people call it the “Jesus Boat” because He and His disciples used boats often for transportation, fishing, and even as a pulpit for preaching in large crowds. Next was the Mount of Beatitudes where the essence of Jesus’ expectations for His disciples was spoken and recorded as perhaps the most important text for defining the New Testament or Covenant in the Sermon on the Mount. The weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do since it was cold and rainy and then the sun would shine brightly through the clouds. It seemed to be centered on our righteousness and spirituality; it was quite strange. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone but we didn’t actually sit on any mount. We sat in a fenced ruin of a 5th Century Byzantine church that has been completely renovated into a small amphitheater. I just had to throw that out there so you aren’t disappointed like I was when you all make your future trips to Galilee. The Latin beatus is the basis of the English “beatitude”, meaning to be fortunate, to be happy, or to be blessed (directly from the KJV footnote chapter 5, verse 3a). These specific blessings were given to Jesus’ disciples as “the blueprint of perfection” as stated by President Harold B. Lee. Although it is totally and completely impossible to become perfect in this life, we must always be striving to live the commandments of the Lord and continually seek to live righteously. We then visited two churches in Tabgha (meaning 7 springs if anyone cares) which honor, respectively, the loaves and fishes miracle and Peter’s mandate to “feed my sheep.” St Peter’s Primacy is a chapel built as a shrine to the resurrected Christ’s appearance to His apostles and where He shared a meal with them. In this church, the natural rock (on which the ancient meal allegedly occurred) functions as the mensis Christi or the “table of Christ.” We sang “All Creatures of Our God and King” to a fellow tour group who greatly appreciated our gesture. Last place, I promise. We crammed in so much in one day that it was absolutely exhausting and overwhelming. Capernaum was the base of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and was the perfect place to end an incredibly busy day. Although Peter was born in Bethsaida, he resided mostly in Capernaum. Jesus made Peter’s house his headquarters where he preached from its very door. Peter’s house, sometimes called “the house”, became Christianity’s first church. There are too many incredible miracles performed by Christ at Capernaum to recount so check them out in your good old Holy Bible. NEXT POST...classes along the beach and breath-taking views.

DAY 1 GALILEE FIELD TRIP

Here is the scoop on the first day of my unforgettable excursion to Galilee! We were supposed to leave bright and early at 6:30am but had a bit of a late start since the teachers were running around trying to finish up last minute things so this time, it wasn’t our fault. I was so exhausted from a very late night of packing (I’m such a procrastinator) and cleaning the apartment so we didn’t have to come home to a dirty home. Our first stop was Caesarea Maritima which is a beautiful city built by Herod the Great along the Mediterranean Sea and became Judea’s Roman capital after his death. Before Paul was taken hostage by the Romans, Caesarea was a missionary land mine for Philip, Peter, and Paul where they preached to many people and even baptized Cornelius, the Roman centurion. Pretty cool stuff. Next we stopped at Megiddo which Joshua defeated after which he gave the land to the Israelites. Brother Brown, our Academic Director, rambled on and on about some excavations that have occurred there and the process of some filming there that he was a part of and blah blah blah. Bless his heart, but I really didn’t have a care in the world about all of that. I wanted to learn more about the great and final conflict that is to happen at the End of Days and is referred to as the Battle of Armageddon. We ran out of time and had to move on which was frustrating but it was still so sweet to stand directly in the place where the battle is to blow out when Christ returns once again. Our last site was Nazareth where a majority of Jesus’ childhood was spent and where he announced his Messiahship during a synagogue service but the congregation rejected him so he left for Capernaum. It was amazing to sit in the “Nazareth Synagogue” (clever name, I know) and sing hymns that brought the spirit so strongly into the stone cold room. It was incredible to imagine the Savior standing at the head of the room declaring that he was the Son of God who was sent to save all his Heavenly Father’s children. It makes me sad to know that Jesus Christ, my Rock and my Redeemer was unwanted by those he loved so dearly. If the people only knew who this great figure standing before them really was, we may be reading a different story. NEXT POST...RAGING WATERS on the Sea of Galilee.

BETHLEHEM!!

At this very moment I am in the richly green land of Galilee practically living on the Sea of Galilee. As you can all imagine, it’s absolutely INCREDIBLE! It’s impossible to describe how absolutely beautiful it is here so before I get you all rallied up about how amazing Galilee is, let me catch everyone up on my trip to Bethlehem last Tuesday. I know it’s totally pathetic that this is so outdated but it was finals galore for me last week so please forgive me. To start off my unforgettable experience, we visited the ARIJ Applied Research Center (which means absolutely nothing to you or me since I don't even know what the first part stands for). An expert on the Palestinian refugee problem spoke to us about a plethora of things but it was a total wash for me as I struggled to stay awake the entire time. I sat directly in front of him, which I realized later is the worst spot EVER, but I wanted so badly to sit in this huge comfy office chair that was most definitely the best seat in the house. After that, we visited the Bethlehem University where my Palestinian Modern Near East instructor, Dr. Musallam, teaches full-time. We watched a renowned documentary film on three Palestinian cities that were taken over by the Israeli Army after the Six-Day War. I honestly have nothing else to say about the film because I was out cold for a full 40-minute nap. I’m sorry to say this, but I’m becoming more and more like my constantly sleepy father as the days pass. I felt so refreshed and was extremely happy afterward though so nothing to complain about there. After the incredible film, we had an open peer discussion with four of Dr. Musallam’s students. I was so impressed with their knowledge about the current Israeli conflict and learned a ton about what is really going on that is disguised by the media. There is too much to reveal now so let’s just say, the Jews aren’t the only ones who have suffered a fateful massacre. The best part of the day was when we visited Shepherd's Field, located right inside the checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Although it was March 17th, which is St Patrick’s Day in case you weren’t sure, we had CHRISTMAS in Jerusalem. As we sat on that hill overlooking my beautiful home in Jerusalem and looking back at the city of Bethlehem singing Christmas songs and reading Christmas stories, I began to ponder about the miraculous birth and glorious mission of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I was sitting at the exact midpoint between the places where He was born and where he was later crucified for the sins of all mankind. I realized then that I was in the very land where my Lord performed many miracles, taught in the temples and synagogues, bled from every pore so that I may never have to suffer alone, and then died for me that I might live. I knew at that moment that my Savior lives and that he loves me so very much that he took upon himself all of my pains, trials, and weaknesses so that I may find peace through his infinite and eternal atonement. Although I have always known that my Savior cares for me and that he is always there for me when I need him, I received such a stronger witness of his continual presence and selfless sacrifice that chilly night in the peaceful land of Bethlehem. I know that is one of the many reasons I have been given this opportunity to study here in this holy land and for that I am truly grateful.

I am sitting outside the Jerusalem Center right now on the grassy area located on the 7th floor taking pictures of the beautiful flowers and writing in my journal. It is the first day of spring here in Jerusalem as well as the Palestinians Mother's Day so it's a special day. The flowers are blooming and it is perfect weather outside so life is wonderful! We had the most amazing sacrament meeting today with marvelous messages shared about trials, the resurrection, and the keys of the gospel. The Spirit was so powerful as it manifested to me of the truthfulness of the things that were being said. What made the meeting the most incredible Shabbat here thus far was the FOUR musical numbers which were all so awesome! The BYU Student Choir, in which practically everyone is a part of here, sang "This is the Christ" for prelude and "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee" which is about Joseph Smith when he was imprisoned in Liberty Jail. We basically sing every Shabbat which is wonderful but I love hearing other people share their talents too. Aleni, an amazing pianist, played a gorgeous piano arrangement of "I Stand All Amazed" which I might just have to get from her. The final musical number of the meeting was a 6 person duet of all girls singing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" in which I accompanied on the piano. I don't want to be biased or anything but I believe it was a perfect way to tie together all the talks and other music shared. I am so grateful for the influence of music in my life and thank you parents for pushing me through those horrible years in junior high when I absolutely HATED anything that related to the piano in any way, shape, and form. I am so glad you forced me to continue lessons until I graduated high school since it did provide much income for me all four years of high school. Music is such a wonderful blessing in my life and can be an extremely powerful witness in all aspects of the gospel. I am so happy to be living here in the Holy Land and experience life outside of America. These past two weeks since being home from Jordan have been way busy with midterms and finals in all of my classes. I am officially done with Old Testament class and my Old Testament Field Trip course (which is seriously a graded class), Arabic, and my Israeli and Palestinian Modern Near East classes. Although it is sad to not interact with my teachers who actually live here and learn first hand from them about the constant conflict in this sacred land, it is a great relief to only have two classes to worry about now until my time is finished here. I have learned so much on my journey here and have been introduced to different perspectives of life in the Middle East that I would never understand unless I was witnessing it with my own eyes. I know I say this a lot but I truly feel privileged to be a part of this incredible program and learn about the life and ministry of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

SERVICE - JUST DO IT!!

So I know it’s been a super long time since I last posted, which is probably a relief to many of you, but it’s time for me to catch you up on all my happenings whether you like it or not. This week was filled with some wonderful opportunities to serve right here in Jerusalem and provide relief to children not too far from my current home. Although it was crazy with finals in four of my classes, one of the favorite parts of my week was getting the chance to do Humanitarian Service as well as work with children in the community. For Humanitarian Service, we make hygiene kits for children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It’s an ongoing project that happens once a week and it’s great fun!!! We have races to see how many bags we can make in a certain amount of time, which is totally lame I know, but we try to bring excitement into the process in any way possible. The following day, a group of us went to the Gypsy Community Center where we were able to teach English lessons to Palestinian children one-on-one. I worked specifically with this 13 year old girl Laila who was absolutely hilarious! My job was to come up with simple sentences that had the words who and which in them and you wouldn’t believe how hard it was! We played Hang Man also, after helping her finish her homework first of course, and we laughed a ton about the ridiculous words we both came up with. I am definitely going back to spend time with Laila (and the other children too) because it was awesome to be amongst the kids in the community that have such a sweet spirit about them. It made my week less stressful and it was better serving others than being wrapped up with my own concerns. I LOVE serving and believe full heartedly that it makes everyone a happier people.

So I'm combining a post about the Jewish Purim holiday (celebrated in Jerusalem on Tuesday) and the Separation Wall Field Trip from yesterday even though they have absolutely no connection with each other. Just bear with me as I begin with the Purim celebration. A group of us went to a Jewish synagogue nearby to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from Haman who tried to exterminate the Jews. As we all know, or I hope everyone knows, Esther interfered and saved the day! Men and women read each chapter of the book of Esther in Hebrew and every time the name Haman was said, everyone hollered and screamed with noise makers or any other annoying thing that causes headaches. It was fun for about 45 minutes until I started to get super tired and eager to get back to studying for midterms and finals this week(weird I know). Everyone dresses up in costumes like Halloween but the Jewish people don't celebrate Halloween at all; the customs are similar to our pagan holiday with lots of candy for the children and a lot of drinking for the adults. I didn't really have anything to wear so I threw a soccer jersey on from Egypt and wrapped a scarf around my head and then asked my roommates what I looked like. They both said Rambo right away so that was that. I seriously had no clue who Rambo was or who Sylvester Stallone was for that matter but whatever. It was a way fun experience! Yesterday afternoon we took a quick outing to go see the Separation Wall (which resides in our backyard). This barrier was built in 2001 by the Israeli government in an attempt to keep the terrorist groups out of Jerusalem. Essentially, it separated the West Bank from Israel. There is tons of graffiti all over the wall where people have expressed their sour feelings in every way, shape, and form. Let's just say, it's not so pleasant. It is really sad to see the people so divided and to see families being torn apart because I have learned to love both people. I pray for a solution to be met in the future but neither side is willing to compromise in order to form a two-state solution so who knows if it will ever happen. As of right now, the Palestinians and Israelis are living together peaceably (or should I say) tolerating one another to the best of their ability.

HERODIAN Field Trip

Hello again everyone! Life has been extremely busy here like always with a trip to Tel Aviv Friday and a half-day “Herodian” exploration. Yesterday was an inspiring field trip that was informative and quite a humbling experience. We visited the David Archaeological Park which was the main public access to Herod’s Temple Mount and was most likely the setting for Jesus’ various visits to the Temple. It was amazing to see the remains of Jerusalem’s main streets along the Western Wall and touch the actual stones hurled off the walls of the Temple complex by the Roman soldiers in 70 AD after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. We also walked up the steps to the “Double Gate” and “Triple Gate” where the Jews were to enter and exit the temple. Among Jerusalem’s many archaeological sites, I can now say I have walked on the exact streets the feet of my Savior touched and stood on the threshold where he and his disciples would have entered and exited into the holy grounds of the temple. It was an incredible experience and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life because I was able to stroll along the roads of Jerusalem where the pulse of life echoed through the streets once upon a time. What an amazing opportunity I have been given to see the stories of the Bible come to life and how grateful I am to be here in this Holy Land walking exactly where the footsteps of my Redeemer trod.

TEL AVIV Field Trip

After four extremely long days in Jordan, we spent a hot winter day in Tel Aviv visiting the Diaspora Museum, Independence Hall, and Old Joppa. Our tour guide at the Diaspora Museum was so cute and had such a wonderful spirit about her. We learned about the different kinds of synagogues established around the world as Jews began to flee Israel and the lands of Europe to escape the brutality of the various nations that had ruled their land over the course of its existence. The diaspora or dispersal of the Jewish people to America has caused many to establish their own way of life in the different corners of the world. How amazing it is to me that amongst so much persecution in the Jewish nation, they have stayed strong as one nation to create a unified religion. We visited the Independence Hall next which was way cool since it would be like touring Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Honestly I have no more to say about this building since I was dozing off through the entire introductory movie and the informative seminar about that marvelous day on May 14, 1948 when Israel finally became its own sovereign country. Our teachers let us lose after that and we were giving the choice to explore the Flea Market, the Sukk (Jewish Market), or go to the beach. You’ll never guess where everyone rushed off to...the MEDITERRANEAN SEA!! It was so funny to me to watch as everyone sprinted off to take a dip in the ocean as I was strolling along and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Thank you parents for raising me in Southern California!! After 10 minutes of skipping rocks and taking some pictures, I convinced some people to come explore the Flea Market. After finally figuring out what direction we were supposed to go, we were all so exhausted and sweaty from walking around so much that we found a Smoothie/Ice Cream Shop instead. It was an incredible experience and definitely became the highlight of my day. We met up with our teachers once again in Old Joppa to see the gulf of Jaffa, the oldest port in the world, where Jonah fled from the Lord and where historians think he may have been swallowed by the whale. Tel Aviv was quite the adventure and after many hours spent in the draining sun, I was ready for some peace and quiet.

DAY 4 Mosque of King Abdullah and the JORDAN RIVER

If you are just signing on to read about my marvelous trip to JORDAN, you might want to start at Day 1 so the sequence of events could flow much nicer (just a thought). Our final day in Jordan started off with an amazing experience visiting the Mosque of King Abdullah, a memorial to the late King Hussein's Grandfather, which was a beautifully ornate building. The girls got to play dress-up as we were required to wear scarves covering our hair and these long black Harry Potter ropes. The guys didn't get so lucky as they could wear short-sleeved shirts. It was an informative experience to learn more about the Islamic faith and I was actually lucky enough to see a Muslim man recite his morning prayers and see with my own eyes the faithful conviction displayed. We then went to the Temple of Hercules which is larger than any temple in Rome itself. There really isn't much more history behind it so we all just took tons of pictures pretending to be ridiculously strong like Hunchules himself (By the way...this site has nothing to do with the Disney movie which is quite unfortunate). Our very last stop before it was time to go back home was the Jordan River which was the site I had been dying to see all week long (figuratively of course). Before I even got a good look at the place where Jesus Christ was baptized, I had a funny incident with the bus that must be shared. So I have this huge scab on my elbow due to some intense soccer matches and as I was walking carefully off the bus, I some how slipped on the step and fell flat on my butt on the ground. My elbow hit the stairs while on my trip downward, and my scab just busted open with it hanging by a thread as all the teachers and the lucky students that saw my clumsy act started freaking out and surrounding me. It was totally not a big deal to me and did not tarnish my pride in the least bit but some people made such a scene about it that it ended up being a traumatic experience. I think some people thought it was my skin that was scraped off so it was funny to me. It was quite an entrance unto the site of the river Jordan so it made for a unforgettable memory. Visiting the place where my Lord and Savior set the example of baptism for all that would follow after him was quite an incredible experience and left a lasting impression on me. Although no one is exactly certain where John the Baptist actually baptized Jesus Christ, I honestly don't care. All that really matters to me is the understanding I have gained over my years in primary and beyond that my Savior, although perfect, performed this ordinance that I may have the glorious opportunity to return to live with him again if I stay faithful to the covenants I have made and continue to follow in the footsteps of my Savior. Now that I am done describing my happenings in the beautiful country of Jordan, my next posts will be about my all-day field trip in Tel Aviv yesterday and about our half-day "Herodian" Field Trip tomorrow which I have no clue what that means but stay tuned, and you will know what I mean soon enough.