Living in Jerusalem!

I have almost been here for a month! I have absolutely loved it! There is so much to say so forgive me for just spewing out anything that comes to mind. Also, tons of my friends are posting pictures on facebook so you should check there as well. The BYU center is a gorgeous building that is on the Mount of Olives that overlooks the city of Jerusalem. The building is 8 floors and is built into the hillside. There are “service music couple missionaries” here who coordinate weekly concerts in which we have already seen several soloists from the Philharmonic here in Israel. This is one way we get to open up to the community and let the locals come tour our beautiful center. Mostly Jews come, but sometimes we have some Palestinians that come as well. They love our Christmas concert that we’re preparing for because they don’t celebrate Christmas like we do.

I LOVE discovering a new culture, learning a new language and seeing how things work in another country. This place reminds me of France in many ways. I have run into several French speakers since I’ve been here and basically MELTED inside because I love their native accent and it’s just so fun to talk to them.

LAYOUT

The first four floors are where we all sleep at night. They are dormitories. Our teachers and some of their families live here with us. They also have a very strong security system run by Israeli and Palestinian locals. They are very kind people. Our classrooms are on the sixth floor along with the auditorium, and the library and concert hall/sacrament meeting room is on the eighth floor. The latter is by FAR my favorite room! There is a giant organ and the seats are built into the hill so it slants down to the podium. THE BEST PART: There is no back wall as you are watching the speakers each Sunday—it’s just a window that faces east and allows you to look out over the beautiful city of Jerusalem. You look right out onto Dome of the Rock and can see the city walls. Getting distracted during Sacrament Meeting is easy to do. . . J

FREE TIME:

Sometimes we have free time to walk about 20 minutes in the humid sunshine to the Old City of Jerusalem. There are many things to explore there. We’ve seen the route that is believed to be where Christ carried His cross to Golgotha and markings which explain what happened at each place, the Gate of Damascus, and many shops where we barter with merchants to purchase leather, scarves, spices, authentic shawarma or falafel, and many other things.

MATERIAL:

We have classes Monday through Friday, with Monday being our field trip day. We are taking religion classes, Near Eastern Studies, and a Palestinian and Israeli class. They are so interesting!! I have loved learning about other religions and their devotion to God. It’s cool to see how their history makes them who they are today. In the Old Testament Class we are able to literally visualize the places that it takes about in the Bible. The City of David, the temple of Solomon, Bethlehem, Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, Garden Tomb, Beer-Sheba, Shechem, Bethel, Nabi Samwil, Arad, Russian Orthodox Church of Ascension and many more are places we’ve studied about, discussed, and contextualized. It makes me appreciate everything our early prophets did for us. The phrase the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” and the “God of Israel” have so much more meaning to me now! Or to understand the use of Tabernacles and Temples in their day and how it applies to us today has really impacted me. I understand more about my purpose in the House of Ephraim. We have a lot of work to do to preach His gospel! Or when I pull out my book of Mormon and read about Nephi going back to Jerusalem with his brothers, I can picture exactly what it would look like for Laban or Lemuel to wait outside the “walls of Jerusalem” for Nephi, or what the allies or streets that Nephi walked up as he “was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand” what he should do. IT’S JUST SO INCREDIBLE! J

Well, that’s enough for today! I’ll try to get better at writing in this! Love you all!

Garden of Gethsemane:

In the middle of the city, right next to the road, you can hear honks honking and people talking and laughing, and this is where the Garden of Gethsemane is found. You wouldn’t expect it to be like this. It’s not very big, and it’s just a gated area. The olive trees do look very old. There is a Church of All Nations Cathedral right next to it. I went with three other girls here. I went prayerfully, waning to experience what He wanted me to. Of course, this place was where the most important event of all Human history had occurred. Christ suffered here as the first part of the atonement. As a general authority describes it, he thinks of the Garden experience as “a long line of people,” that Christ saw our faces one by one as He atoned for our sins here.

We went into the chapel and ended up staying there longer than anticipated. There was a beautiful mosaic just inside with an angel coming to comfort Christ as He prayed. I was able to read in three of the four gospels about this incident. Christ was so kind, and asked the apostles not to “enter into temptation” so that they could support Him. As He performed the most powerful act for all of us, they slept. He had to ask them three times to stay with Him. They did not. And all He had to say afterwards was, “It is enough.” “It’s ok, I have done this for you. Here is my love.” I love seeing His character here. Soon after He was arrested on spurious charges, the mob not even understanding or realizing the great act He had just finished. For them.

On the sweaty hot walk home, I truly enjoyed my conversation with Rachel. We talked about Christ, and EFY, and what we had felt there. It made me so grateful.

As I left the garden, I felt a powerful peace. His atonement allows us to overcome the natural man. He literally saves us. We all have need for a Savoir. We are fallen. Through Him, we can repent and put our will in better alignment with His. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” According to Elder Bednar and the definition of “grace” in the Bible Dictionary, through Christ’s atonement, He understands what we are going through and with that knowledge can help us do and become more than we ever could if left to our own means. This is the Enabling Power. I have experienced this in my life as I have seen Him enable me to be a tool in His hands and overcome temptation.

Even though it was in the middle of the city and had a lot of distractions and tourists, that’s kind of how life is. It’s up to you to find your quiet times with the Lord and let Him help you to understand. If you just do the bare minimum, you won’t get the full experience. The Lord is always there, it’s just up to us to meet Him half way.

 

September 5, 2015

The Wailing Wall.

This has been so incredible to watch these different cultures and their devotion to God. Tonight we were given one hour to go observe the Jewish faith as they start their "Shabbat" or their Sabbath, that goes from Friday night to Saturday night. At the heart of the Old City, the Wailing Wall or the "Western Wall" is the only remains of the original Jewish temple that existed in Bible times. Jews from all over come to pray, sing praises, dance, and worship. Some men have tall dark hats with ringlettes of hair framing their faces, and some have the little Jewish "kipah" covering for their head, depending on whether they are an Orthodox Jew or another have another set of Jewish beliefs. All are dressed in very modest clothing with high neck lines, long sleeves and long pants or skirts they show their respect for God and their religion They have their prayer books in Hebrew that people of all ages read as they sit faces the wall. The wall is separated, with a place for men to worship of the left, and women on the right. People line the wall to wait their turn to touch the wall, say their prayers that they have written on pieces of paper, and then stuff their prayers into the cracks of the wall. Some even believe that as they face the wall, they are facing God.
I was in awe as I watched them. It was clear that they were serious about their worship, and that they loved God. I wanted an inside scoop, so I tried to talk to a girl who was reading from her prayer book. I knelt down next to her, smiled and said, "Bokair Tov," Hebrew for hello. The language barrier was obviously very thick and communication was rough, but I learned how to say good night and that she was 11 years old. I motioned for her to read in Hebrew from her prayer book, and she proudly read them to me. That language is fascinating! At this time another girl overheard the english I was speaking and chimed into the conversation. I wish I could remember her name. I asked her a few questions about what was going on. From what I could make out of her broken English, I understood that she was asking me why I was studying, and why of all places I chose the Holy Land. I told her simply that like her, I love God and want to worship Him. I told her that I admired her belief and I wanted SO bad to tell her about how God is so important to me and why I knew so. But, we cannot share our beliefs due to BYU policy. The girl made mention of our modest clothes, and started asking more questions that I wasn't allowed to answer. This girl was such a light! I could tell that she knew who she was, and that she had value in God's eyes. She was asking me inspired questions! She was trying to be a missionary to me! She should be a missionary! A sister one. When she's 19. After she's read the Book of Mormon. :) I was so impressed with her, and it made me think of my little sisters at home.
I left the wall with a feeling of appreciation. Even though it's hard for me to not share my beliefs to help these people, I am grateful that there are other people in this world that love God and are devoted. They have so much good about them, and will one day be prepared to receive more.