Last Day in Jerusalem

Saying goodbye to the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall

Saying goodbye to the Western Wall

Beautiful weather for our last day

Absalom's pillar

First and last shwarma at Damascus gate in the Old City

Photos

Blogger decided that I had reached my picture limit and that I cannot upload any more images to my blog a couple of weeks ago. Therefore I have been majorly slacking on the blog. I did figure out how to post some things via Flickr. I don't have time to go through and attach the proper shots to the right blog posts but here are some photos from a few of the things I have (and have not) talked about.

Church in Tiberias

Jordan River

Sea of Galilee

Northern Israel

Bonfire at the Galilee

Michael and Mary after "the act"

New Testament teacher Bro. Judd

Haifa, port city in northern Israel

Caesarea Maritima aqueducts, Mediterranean in the background

view of the Dead Sea from Megiddo

The Dead Sea is the saltiest: 33% salinity while the ocean is about 3.5%. It is also the lowest place on earth at almost 1400 ft below sea level. I don't know if my lungs will be able to take the altitude of mountain air when I return.

The Dead Sea was magical. The way I just floated on top of the water felt so cool. Afterwards my skin was super oily and some salt crystals condensed on my eyelashes and face.

Wonderful experience. Check that one off the bucket list.

floating

cave where Dead Sea scrolls were discovered to my right and roommate Mckenzie to my left

all dressed up for our last Sunday of church

Garden of Gethsemane

All in a day... (Nov. 29)

My blog posts are not always in chronological order and I have not finished blogging about everything I did in the Galilee but I just decided I that I want to talk about the events of Nov. 29 because lots of things happened.

We drove back south to Jerusalem down the coast instead of through the Jordan River valley (the way we went up to the Galilee). First, we went to Mount Carmel, the traditional spot upon which the prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a "sacrifice contest". Today there stands a Catholic monastery at the summit operated by Carmelites (Lauren told me about them!). The views from the monastery were spectacular. Green fields and mountains all around. Members of the class performed a Baal skit. We have some clever people and they rewrote the story with a Princess Bride twist. 

Side note: As is to be expected, living with 82 of the same people for four months leads to the development of some interesting social dynamics. We live, study, eat, worship, travel and everything all the time together. There is a significant female majority, only 23 guys. I am pretty sure there are at least six "official" couples. If a girl starts to talk more to a guy then people start thinking that there is something going on between them... 

Perhaps with good reason. After all, there is a couple here that got engaged after the first three weeks. They are getting married in December. 

Naturally I am closer to people that are in my religion class core group because I spend more time with them. I am so grateful I was placed in the group I am in. 

It can be easy to get comfortable in one's little social circle at the center. Being happy and social all the time is exhausting. So I don't do it. I admit to retreating to my room and being rather quiet sometimes. But I have formed some wonderful friendships here. I have met so many people that I respect and admire. I have learned a lot about how to interact with others and find connections even when I doubt the existence of common ground between us. But we always have our shared beliefs. This can be a very unifying factor. 

It will be interesting to see everyone in the "real world". 

Now back to the Baal skit. Back at the beginning of the semester... when no one really knew anyone Liddy and I totally called it. Michael and Mary... all the way!

Michael is a Biblical scholar/ all around genius. When I asked him about how he knew so much about the Old Testament he said he doesn't have Facebook, never watches TV, rarely watches movies... okay I guess that kind of explains it but the intellectual level of this guy doesn't come simply from abstaining from these things. He is incredible.

Mary is a sweetheart. The first day at the airport I stayed with her because she thought she had lost her bag. She is extremely smart and I don't think anyone studies at the center more than her. And she has the best sense of style. 

Now, back to the Baal skit. Michael and Mary are in the Baal skit. Michael cast as the handsome Wesley  Elijah and Mary as Princess Buttercup/ Israel. 

At the end of the skit when the priests of Baal are defeated by the God of Elijah Michael took the blindfold off of Mary. Awkwardly dipped her and then proceeded to kiss her in front of the entire class. 

This was completely uncharacteristic behavior. At this point in the semester everyone had an inkling that something might be going down between them but this was so dramatic. Michael will never reveal anything about his romantic life. At the beginning of the semester he wouldn't even let a girl touch him... now this!

They have not stopped holding hands since, no, not even for meals. 

Anyway... Liddy and I were pleased with the fruition of our predictions. 

We are going crazy. The end of the semester and everyone is cracking. 

The day continues:

We went to an overlook of Haifa, a large Israeli port city. The overlook was in the Baha'i gardens which are above the headquarters of the Baha'i faith. Baha'i beliefs seem to have originated from Shiite Islam but they are more universalistic and syncretistic. They believe that there is only one God, that all world religions have been progressive stages for the revelation of God's will through the Baha'Ullah (their messenger), and all humans are of one universal race. Therefore, they accept Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Really interesting concepts. 

We then went to a Templer cemetery in Haifa. I like cemeteries. Something about being in the presence of stones representing lives once lived is very thought provoking to me. The contrast of the green gardens to the bones laying in the earth. I felt strongly as I sat amongst the trees in the cemetery that God is so aware of each and every one of His children during mortality. But this individualized care and understanding does not end in death. 

After the cemetery we went to Caesarea Maritima. A splendid city built by Herod the Great, Caesarea was a field of missionary labor for Philip (Acts 8:40), Paul (Acts 9:29-30) and Peter (Acts 10). The historian Eusebius lived here. 

Caesarea was the base for the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who traveled from there to jerusalem to keep watch over the Jews during Passover and thus became involved with the trial of Jesus. 

The Mediterranean was absolutely glorious. The sand was very fine and covered with shells. 

Then we hopped back on the bus to head back to Jerusalem. Bus rides create a very interesting dynamic. Sometimes one sits for hours next to the same person. Talking and sleeping. I have learned a lot about others from bus rides. 

I was happier than I thought I would be to come back to the Jerusalem Center. I felt the excited shivers work their way through me as I carried my heavy backpack down the flights of stairs to the fourth floor where I live. Christmas decorations and lights were all around. A beautiful nativity was set up at the end of the hallway of the eight floor. I was so happy to be back with my usual roommates and cozy bed. 

Since we were at the Galilee during Thanksgiving our wonderful chef Achmed decided to make a Thanksgiving meal for us. It was amazing. I walked into the Oasis (the cafeteria) and my jaw dropped. They had Turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce and rolls and yams. And asparagus! my favorite. 

Everything with an Israeli touch. It was a very thoughtful meal and we gave the chefs a standing ovation for the work they did. 

After dinner I went and chatted with Paul, Quin, Liddy, Jackson and Rach in the fourth floor lobby and we spoke of many a silly wonderful thing. 

Since coming here I have been telling Liddy that I want to cut my hair. She has haircutting scissors. I told her I wanted to chop it off tonight so we went and I put my hair in a ponytail and I told her to cut it and she did. She took the four or something inches of thin, dark Rachel hair in her fist out into the lobby to see the reaction she got. I wasn't there to see it but apparently it was a good one. General disbelief and "what did you do?" Then Quin's dream came true and he wrapped my hair tie with his own and turned it into a ponytail. 

After things calmed down Liddy and I cozied up in her room with blankets and watched the documentary of a Japanese sushi chef Jiro Dreams of Sushi which I recommend to everyone because it was fantastic. And we salivated for sushi for the entire film. Liddy is half-Japanese and when we get back to Provo I am going to her house where her mom is going to make some tasty rolls. 

I went to bed at around 11pm. What a day. 

Church in Tiberias

There is a small branch (LDS church congregation) in the city of Tiberias that meets in a refurbished home. I really enjoy attending church in Jerusalem at the center but it was an awesome feeling to be amongst this small yet diverse group. By diverse I mean this:

The opening prayer was in Spanish I sang all the hymns in Spanish as I sat next to two ladies from South America. The sacrament prayer was in Hebrew! Not every day one gets to hear God addressed as Elohim. Not to mention the young man saying the prayer had a deep, melodic voice that sounded like the voice of God (not that I have heard it, but imagined). The closing prayer was offered by an a Palestinian woman in Arabic. Probably the most beautiful sounding Arabic I have ever heard.

Wonderful spirit of devotion from this meeting.

Muddy

Weather at the Sea of Galilee was pretty unpredictable. Especially at the beginning of our time there were some really heavy but short rainfalls. After a morning of rain we were scheduled to go on an optional hike.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go out and hike at first... I mean sitting in a hammock next to the sea was pretty tempting but I am so glad that I went on the hike. One of my favorite experiences.

Eric, our hike leader was a local from the Ein Gev Kibbutz. A kibbutz is a collective Jewish community in Israel. They originally were a combination of socialism and Zionism. Many such as Ein Gev ascribe to a communal lifestyle. Eric grew up in Vermont in the capitalistic society of the United States with "socialism in [his] veins". He came to Israel and met his wife who actually grew up on a kibbutz. Children growing up in a kibbutz used to not even sleep with their parents. Now kids go to a care center on the kibbutz during the day while their parents work but they spend the evening and night with their parents. At around two or three months of age children are left to be cared for by others. Sometimes the mother will take breaks to return and nurse the baby.

People can choose to work on or off the kibbutz but their paychecks go into a communal pot and are then redistributed amongst the members of the kibbutz. The Ein Gev kibbutz in particular makes profit from the resort that we stayed at, milk production and banana plantation.

Those are just a few things he told me about the kibbutz lifestyle.

The hike was really green and everything looked fresh and glistened from the recent rain. There was a pleasant chill in the air so I got to wear a raincoat (thank you Quin).

It was the muddiest hike ever. The trail started off with a steep descent into a valley and many people just slid through the mud. The mud had a clay-like consistency so inches of mud would stick to my shoes as I walked and make my feet heavy. I don't think I would have enjoyed the hike so much had it not been so muddy--- it made it more of an adventure.

We stopped at a waterfall site and jumped into the water. Well, some people jumped in. The water was freezing... maybe some of the coldest I have ever swam in. I just decided to jump in all the way first because I figured if I was going to get in... I would go all the way. The water was so cold I lost my breath but after my body was numb it felt pretty good. Full body ice bath.

Then we continued on our hike and the sun was setting. All of a sudden I heard this crazy sound... like a pig screaming/screeching and we looked down into the ravine and there were a couple of wild boar running around. I am glad that they weren't any closer to us.

I loved the exercise and fresh air and the excitement of being out and about.

At the end of the hike Eric said pointing to his mud splattered socks, "after this hike I take my socks and put them in the laundry room and they may be on my neighbor's feet next week".

Tabgha Churches and Capernaum (Nov. 20)

There are two churches at Tabgha. One commemorates the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, the other honors the Savior's command for Peter to "feed my sheep" (John 21:16).

The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes commemorates when Jesus fed the 5000 from a few loaves and fishes. There was a beautifully preserved Byzantine mosaic of the fish and loaves.

The Church of St. Peter's Primacy was built in 1933 on the site of an older Byzantine church. In front of the altar there is a large flat rock, the traditional site where the resurrected Christ served his disciples a breakfast of fish (John 21:1-13). While they were eating, the Savior asked Peter three times, "lovest me thou?" to which Peter responded affirmatively and then Christ commanded "feed my sheep".

We ended the day at Capernaum, the base for Christ's Galilean ministry. This unwalled town is located right on the northern shore of the Galilee.

Archeologists have found remains of what is believed to be Peter's home and thus the place where Jesus frequently met with his disciples. There are also the remains of a large white limestone synagogue which contrasts with the other dark basalt buildings on the site.

Mount of Beautitudes

This mount is the traditional location where Christ gave the "Sermon on the Mount" found in Matthew 5-7. The nine statements found in Matthew 5:3-11 each begin with the phrase "Blessed are.." and are traditionally called "the Beatitudes" from the Latin word beatus meaning blessed or happy. Professor Judd gave us time to think and share which beatitude was our favorite if we so chose.

I didn't share anything that day... I don't know that I have a favorite but the line "blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" resonated with many of the thoughts I have had lately.

Professor Judd gets super stressed out at field trips because he is always trying to keep us on schedule...

But throughout the time at the Galilee he was more relaxed and calm because we had plenty of time at most sites.

We had at least an hour to sit on the grounds of the Roman Catholic Church of the Beatitudes and privately ponder. The weather was perfect. Sunshine with a bit of a breeze. The gardens surrounding the church are very well maintained with colorful flowers. I sat and wrote down some thoughts and drew a picture as birds chirped in the trees above me. I know, it was picture perfect.

Speaking of perfect, in Matthew 5:48 the Savior commands his disciples to "be ye therefore perfect". But before you stress out about this insurmountable task of attaining perfection know this; the Greek word "to become perfect" means "to become whole or complete". This semester has given me a lot of time to pause and reflect on the nature of Christ and His expectations of me vs. the expectations I have for myself. Hooray for the knowledge I have that through Christ I can achieve the level of completeness He desires for me.

Oh Galilee!

The resort we stayed in was great. We had four people to each little apartment located right on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. My roommates for the trip, Jaelyn and Katie, are a couple of cuties and I was really happy to live with them. Halfway through the time we spent at Galilee our ceiling started to leak because it was raining a lot so we had to move to a completely different room which was nice because it was clean and fresh.

The Sea if Galilee is about the size of Utah Lake, only shorter and wider so don't picture anything huge here, but it is a decent size.

Just so ya know... There are a total of 83 students on the study abroad but for field trips we are divided by religion course. Therefore I spent the majority of my time at the Galilee with Professor Judd and the forty-two people in my class. So when I say "we" I don't mean everyone, just this group of 42.

Ok, so, after the first night at the resort we went on our first field trip. Started off the morning early with a boat ride across the sea. The water was extremely smooth and the light reflected from off the surface creating a monochromatic color scheme with the fog covered mountains and the light blue sky in the background.

Liddy let me listen to her friend Caleb's rendition of the hymn Master the Tempest is Raging which is not available online as far as I know but it is so good. I wish everyone could hear it. I looked out across the water and tried to imagine the Savior walking towards me. Beckoning unto me. I hope that I can have faith like Peter, to descend from my boat and put my faith in Christ (Matt. 14:22-33).

After a devotional from Brother Judd the ship captain played some awesome Christian gospel music and we sailed into a harbor. When I got off the ship the sun was very bright it reflected off the water and everything looked white and the wooden ship was a dark silhouette behind me.

After we docked we went and watched this great little old-school film about the Ginosar boat. Which is an ancient boat named after the small Israeli village it was found by when the sea water receded during a time of drought. The fishing vessel is typical of those used on the lake around 1st century AD so some have dubbed the ship the "Jesus Boat".

Start of the Galilee

 As we left for the Galilee 12 days ago the scene outside my bus window changed dramatically from the rocky, dry and desert landscape of the Jerusalem area to the lush, green forests and farmland of the Jordan River valley. Northern Israel is beautiful. We started off by visiting the chief city of the Decapolis (group of ten cities on frontier of Roman Empire) city of Beit She'an. Known in Roman, New Testament and Byzantine eras as Scythopolis. It was at this city that the Philistines displayed Saul's armor in the temple of Ashtoreth and hung the dead bodies of Saul and Jonathan. During the reign of King David the Israelites probably controlled this city. I really liked this city because it was pretty big with nice ancient toilets and a beautiful cardo (north-south oriented street from Roman times lined with shops).

Then we went over to Nazareth which was anciently a little village but now it is a bustling city that felt similar to parts of Jordan to me. The Gospel of Matthew says that Jesus "dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene"(2:23). There are many churches commemorating the life of Jesus throughout the city. The Church of Annunciation is currently a Roman Catholic church, the largest church in the entire Middle East. This was probably one of my favorite churches. Outside on the grounds and inside the church there are  Madonna and Child mosaics from all over the world. I could have spent hours looking at the variety of depictions.

Then we went to the church of St. Joseph which is built over a grotto that is the traditional site of Joseph's carpenter shop and the home for his family. We walked a little farther north in Nazareth to the traditional site of the "Synagogue Church" (1st century) the likely place where Jesus announced his Messiahship (Luke 4:16-30) but today on the site stands a small one-room Crusader church.

Before we arrived at our hotel/resort in Ein Gev on the shores of the Galilee we went to a scenic overlook point on Mt. Arbel. It was at this point as I looked out across the landscape in front of me that I was struck by the fact that so much of Jesus' life and ministry occurred in this place.

Better than the Moon

When American astronaut Neil Armstrong, a devout Christian, visited Israel after his trip to the moon, he was taken on a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov. When they got to the Hulda Gate, which is at the top of the stairs leading to the Temple Mount, Armstrong asked Ben-Dov whether Jesus had stepped anywhere around there.

“I told him, ‘Look, Jesus was a Jew,’” recalled Ben-Dov.
“These are the steps that lead to the Temple, so he must have walked here many times.”

Armstrong then asked if these were the original steps, and Ben-Dov confirmed that they were.

“So Jesus stepped right here?” asked Armstrong.
“That’s right,” answered Ben-Dov.
“I have to tell you,” Armstrong said to the Israeli archaeologist, “I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”

-Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem

This is the spot Armstrong's guide took him to, the steps leading to the temple

Going to the Galilee

Well tomorrow I am off to spend two weeks at the Sea of Galilee. My studies will be focused on the life of Christ while I am there. I am not going to have much, if any, access to the internet and my laptop is breaking so I am not going to bring it with me.

Blogging has been a strange experience for me... I know I want to do it so that I can remember things but I never want to devote the necessary time to it.

I probably won't blog much in the next two weeks. But maybe I will have better internet access than expected.

Anyway...

Christ gave his Sermon on the Mount near the Sea of Galilee and many other beautiful events from the Bible occurred in this place.

I am so excited. My New Testament teacher knows his stuff and I look forward to our lessons.

The Galilee trip has loomed ahead of me at the end of my calendar. Something I looked forward to but wasn't ready for because it meant the end was coming.

Here I go.

The Galilee.

Tomb of the Kings and Slacking the Line

Today I went out into the city after breakfast with a group of wonderful people from the Center. We started off by visiting the Tomb of the Kings which is this incredible site on private property in East Jerusalem. The spot is thought to be the burial site of Queen Helena of Adiabene. We played sardines and sang using the amazing acoustics in the tomb.

Then we wandered around the Old City and visited some shops and churches.

After that we set up a slack line outside of the New Gate in West Jerusalem. Slack lining was awesome. We had so many people stop and laugh as we took turns trying to walk the line. Then we had Jews and Palestinians alike try it out. It was neat to see the two groups together in the same spot having a good time.

ghost in the tombs

the tomb was huge with multiple rooms and burial sites

outside of the tombs, just an average archeological dig site in someone's back yard!!

stealing kisses

this young girl bravely tried while her friends watched

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Today after my New Testament Midterm (around 10am) I went with Rachel, Liddy, and Quin to the Russian compound in West Jerusalem. We wanted to simply see the interior of this Russian Orthodox church so we were really surprised when we entered and there was actually a service going on. Two priests led the service in very low, deep voices. A women's choir made up of nuns dressed in black sang from a balcony above. Their voices were pure and angelic.

As I stood listening to their voices I looked upward into the vaulted ceiling of the church which was painted blue with feather winged angels flying around. It was truly an uplifting experience. There were murals all around the church depicting different prophets and apostles and events in the life of Christ.

The people partook of the sacrament and it was truly a moving experience to watch so many devout people worshipping and demonstrating their love for God.

I wanted to stand, kneel and pray with all those Russian ladies.

I have been to so many churches throughout these months in Jerusalem. Some churches leave greater impressions than others. I have experienced a variety of emotions in each place of worship. I think that before I came to Jerusalem I had a fairly tolerant attitude toward other religions. Through the experiences I have had here this tolerance has developed into a deep love, respect and appreciation for the devout of different faiths.

Jerusalem has tension because the people here tolerate one another. But tolerance does not equal peace. Only when people can move beyond and coexist with mutual love and respect will resolutions be made.

At the core of every conflict is the fragility of human existence. People can point fingers at religion or race but it is harder to hate individuals.

"Human kindness can be found in all groups even those which as a whole it would be easy to condemn" -Victor Frankl

Bomb Shelter

I was sitting in Liddy's room just talking and munching on tortilla chips when we heard sirens outside. We went outside on the deck and looked out across the city because we weren't sure what they were (I know, dumb). Then we heard the BYU Jerusalem Security chief voice over the intercom directing us to go immediately to the nearest bomb shelter.

Liddy and I ran out into the hallway where students and faculty members were all moving quickly to the shelters.

We sat in the shelter. Nervous chatter. I felt calm but I had no idea what was happening.

Said a prayer.

Then after about thirty minutes the security guards came into the shelter and said we were free to leave.

Here is the deal:

Hamas threatened to target Jerusalem with missiles. They wanted to hit the knesset, the Israeli legislature.

Hamas sent one or two missiles from Gaza and they landed about ten miles south of us in an empty field. They did not even reach Bethlehem.

The sirens went off because radar detected the missiles way before they were close to Jerusalem.

I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about this situation. There were no missiles flying around Jerusalem. The security here is very competent. Threats go back and forth between Israelis and Palestinians. Sometimes with the goal of just creating uneasiness.

I pray for the innocent people that are affected by the actions of few. Especially those living in Gaza that will now most likely face a night of Israeli bombing.

The bomb shelters have been in place at the BYU Center since 1988 and we are the first student group ever to use them. That is something for me to remember.

And just so you know Jerusalem is among the safest areas in the Middle East. The safest area is East Jerusalem where the Center is located. No Muslim country or group is going to endanger the Dome of the Rock of Al Asqa mosques, the Old City or the Arab neighborhoods in the vicinity of the Old City. We are going to be leaving in a few days for the Galilee which is historically a peaceful and tranquil place. Galilee is even farther north than Jerusalem from Gaza.

Dome of the Rock

I didn't know much about the conflicts here in Israel before coming here and I would guess that many people reading this blog don''t either. One of these days I should spend some time discussing these issues that I have learned more about in a post. But I don't think that day is today.

However I am going to talk about the Dome of the Rock which is located on the Temple Mount. This is a prominent source of contention for Jews and Muslims. 

Temple Mount used to be the location of the temple for Jews in Jerusalem. The First and Second temples were destroyed and according to prophecies in the Bible there will be a third. 

But there is a caveat to this plan... this third temple cannot be built because Temple Mount is under Muslim control and contains sites that are extremely important to the Islamic religion.

The Dome of the Rock (initially built in 691CE) is a shrine covering the Foundation Stone. According to Jewish tradition this is the rock where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac. But according to Muslims it was Ishmael that was nearly sacrificed and it is the site where Muhammad ascended into heaven with the angel Gabriel. 

Non-Muslims like myself are not allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock shrine or the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

The Dome stands as a prominent building in my picturesque views of Jerusalem from the BYU center. I am so glad I was finally able to get up close and see the exquisite detail of the tiles covering the shrine.

Pure gold menorah, all set and ready for the Third Temple (which does not exist P.S.)

Rainy day in Jerusalem

The Dome was not open when we tried to get in so we wandered around

Found some kids

got in a fight

attacked by ninjas

Quin, Paul, Alex

Dome of the Rock

notice the rainbow

super rainy and windy

taking refuge

beautiful tiles cover the entire shrine

If you look closely you can see the BYU Jerusalem Center where I live. The rainbow is right above it.

storm faces

successful day, enjoyed the rainy excitement