Words Fail Me

Pure Happiness. My Cup Runneth Over. Four Cups of Grape Juice. Dayenu.

These were all possible titles I considered naming this post. You see, yesterday I woke up thinking I would have a typical day. It started off great. I woke up around 6 and wrote a paper for Old Testament while sitting on my balcony looking at the city as it became light. The weather is heavenly right now. Then after a morning of (really insightful) classes a small group of us walked to the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives near us.  The wildflowers and almond blossoms were in bloom, there was a beautiful male peacock walking around, a field of olive trees, and the bell tower in the middle of it all. We took some beautiful photos and ate sack lunches in the grass. It was another of those moments where I had to ask myself, “Does life get better than this?”

Then, after an afternoon of Old Testament reading and Arabic class, we had our Seder meal! It is what you do on Passover (the day is called Passover, not the meal). Our Judaism teacher Ophir Yarden led us through it. We did it all very authentically-- with the nicest white tablecloths, absolutely delicious food, all four cups of grape juice (instead of wine. The four cups represent the four different verbs used in Exodus referring the God’s deliverance of the Israelites. And yes, we poured a cup for Elijah, too). I was a narrator and was part of a group that sang a song in Hebrew. We did all the readings and rituals. One of my favorite songs of Passover is called Dayenu. It means, “that would have been enough.” It names all the times God delivered Israel and after each time, it says how that would have been enough, and yet they were blessed again and again. Isn’t it the same in our lives? Anyway, all three hours were very interesting and fun. I plan on doing Passover with my future kids and family. They will love it (at least, I will love it…). Everything said meant so much to me now, after studying the Old Testament and Judaism so intensely. I could write three blog posts on the Sedar alone but time is of the essence.

Neal, Martin and I at the Seder meal.

Ophir breaking the matza.

Then, to top off my night I got an email from my sister Hope who just got accepted to BYU and is planning on going this summer term! I live vicariously through her, but I was probably more excited than she is...ha.  It made me think of the day I got accepted to BYU two whole years ago, and the tremendous blessing it has been in my life every single day since. I am so proud of and excited for her!! I called and talked to my parents and that made my day (for about the 5^th time).

I’ve been thinking lately about the peace the gospel brings. Yes, it brings peace in hard times. While I’ve had hard days here, I’ve also felt so much peace during the happy days, like today. I am so thankful for the large doses of the spirit that I’m spoon-fed on a regular basis. Someone in Church this week quoted President Hinckley who said, “You will have peace and happiness as you live the gospel.” How simple it is. We don’t have to be perfect, just righteous. I know that as we live the gospel we will find peace, no matter what comes our way!

To summarize, I’m so happy and blessed I can’t even begin to express it. Heavenly Father has given me more than I could ever ask for. If He had given me only a fraction of what I have, that would have been enough. 

Almost Buried Alive

Today we went on another of our little study breaks where we discovered some tombs right under one of the streets we go down all the time. We paid 10 shekels (around $3) for a guy to let us in (I'm pretty sure it was just a random guy who took advantage of tons of naive students who didn't know how to get in....he made bank) and at first just saw some pretty arches. I thought we had got really ripped off.

But then, Nathanael had the guts to go into an excavation site and found a hole with bars and construction blocking it. He climbed down inside, and even though I felt as rebellious as I've ever been, I followed. That's where the real tomb was. It was more fun because felt we discovered it on our own. It was huge and we got to lay where dead kings used to lay. I really don't know which kings were buried there, or if anyone knows. But it was a great afternoon and I got to feel pretty Indiana Jones-ish.

Was Blind, but Now I See

The field trips just keep getting better and better. Today, even though it was cloudy and cold, we went to the City of David, which is just a part of Jerusalem next to the temple mount.

                                                        Ashling and I with David's Harp!

We saw the site and the large stones of David's Palace. There are few places that are more historically rich. Here David saw Bathsheba, composed psalms, repented, prayed, fasted. Here is where Bathsheba and Nathan consulted with him about Adonijah being the next king. Isaiah also walked those very stone floors.
We saw the quarry where the stone was cut out to build David's palace and the surrounding buildings.

Then we walked through all  1770 feet of Hezekiah's tunnel! I had never fully understood the significance of that tunnel, but now I really do. It brings the waters of the Gihon spring (the water of which enabled the settling of Jersualem in the first place) inside the walls of Jerusalem to the pool of Siloam. It was built in 701 B.C. by the righteous King Hezekiah as preparation for possible Assyrian attack.
The water was actually not very cold, and it only came up to our thighs in a couple places. It was so much fun to walk through it, I could do it again right now. And mom, we did sing a couple songs for fun, but not out of clostrophobia. This is us just outside the tunnel.

The pool of Siloam is at the other end of the tunnel, and is where Christ sent the blind man to wash after putting clay on his eyes. Can you imagine seeing for the first time? I know that each of us, no matter how much we think we see, can let Christ open our eyes even more. With faith in Christ, we all can have our eyes opened to better see the goodness in people, our vision enlarged to see what is truly important in life. Even though I had a strong testimony before coming here, I can feel my eyes being opened more with every spiritual experience.

"One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."



Study Breaks

You know how, during a regular semester in Provo, if you have a 2-hour break between classes you submerge yourself in the Harold B. Lee Library and just do homework? Or, if you have a free afternoon you do laundry, or disappear in the library again? Well, this is what I do here when we manage to carve out a couple free hours (or manage to procrastinate):

Yesterday we went to a nearby church of Mary Magdalene, a Russian church. We affectionatly call it the "gold onion" church.
We also went into the city and climbed to the top of the tower of the Church of the Redeemer. It was an excellent view of the city! This pigeon describes my contemplation perfectly.

Sometimes we don't have study breaks, but our studies often take us out of the center. The other day we had an assignment to write about Hezekiah while looking over the city. These are some of my besties and I near the 7-arches outlook. It's so much more fun to compose a paper while not sitting at a desk.

Lovely Day

This Valentines Day was perhaps the best I’ve had. The night before, Susie and I watched “While you were Sleeping” and made Valentines for a lot of our friends here. That put us in the mood.

         We went on a great field trip. We herded sheep and goats! You all know how much I love goats. It made my day to be with such curious, sweet little animals. Herding them is a lot more difficult than I would have expected. Those shepherds knew their stuff.

       We also ground up hyssop, a plant mentioned in the Bible that is also symbolic of cleansing from sin. Then we made pita bread and built a fire and cooked it, and ate it with olive oil and the ground hyssop. We also made parched corn, which is a food Boaz prepared for Ruth. This field trip made me realize how helpful it is to learn about the geography and flora and fauna of the Bible to truly understand it. We saw some wheat fields, almond trees, a water cistern, lots of olive trees, and date palms. We also found a chameleon! It was pretty cute! It was a fun and beautiful day. By far the warmest Valentines day of my life.

        Throughout the whole day we would randomly burst into songs like Natalie Cole’s “L is for the way you look at me,” or “Love Shack, baby.” Then we had a dance that night at the center which blew stake dances out of the water. Laurel, who served a mission in Greece, taught us a Greek zorba dance, which was a lot of fun. Although, yelling "opah!" at the end of anything would probably make it fun.

Fifty Camels

Roomate bonding!

These are my wonderful roommates and I Saturday afternoon at the Garden of Gethsemene.

Sunday we went to the YMCA bell tower where our branch president plays the bells each week. We were able to play them, too. Jessica and I played "God Speed the Right" for all of Jerusalem to hear. Maybe we can't proselyte here, but our hymns can ring out every Sunday!

We also went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, (believed by many to be the site of Christ's burial place and resurrection), saw some art galleries and did some shopping. 

Every shop keeper tries to flatter us. As we walked away, one called out, "Hey, mormon! You dropped something." We turned around, and he pointed to the ground and said, "You dropped my heart." Or, they say, "Hey, mormon! Special price for you." Or, they offer 50 camels to be their wife. Ha. I've always wanted 50 camels...

I live for our wonderful weekends.

Come Thou Fount

This was my view today. We had a wonderful lesson in class and read the dedication prayer of Solomon's temple. Solomon prayed "that the Lord may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments...that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else."

It's the not the Jerusalem air I breathe or the streets of the Old City I walk that have inclined my heart to Him, but the Holy Ghost. I know that each of us, no matter where we are, can incline our hearts to him, so that we will only want to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments. "Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it."

Just like God has been with the people of Israel throughout history, I know He continues to be with us. He guides the future as He has the past. There are things that will change in our lives beyond our control, but our faith in God and His guidance, help  and comfort can always be a constant.