egypt: just a start

Hello from Khufu, the biggest of many of the great Pyramids.

More to come!

P.S. I am alive, back at the Center and soo happy to be (not that Egypt didn't rock; it's just nice to be home after an intense vaca). Egypt was incredible. I can't wait to document it via e-mails and the blog. In case of questions concerning the violence in Cairo this last week - yes, it riots definitely ensued while we were there but we were more than protected. We were never in the "line of fire"; rather we seemed to just miss them. It was very humbling to see the conflict escalate in places that we had been in just the day before. For example, when we left Cairo yesterday morning for Sinai (to hike the mountain), there were only 6 deaths from the conflicts - today there was a report of 100 plus. 

The Pyramids were closed today.

The Cairo Museum was targeted by looters.

Had our trip been one day longer, we wouldn't have been able to hike Sinai, coming straight home from Cairo yesterday morning.

When driving through the city to leave, we saw some remnants of the protests - overturned, burned cars, people looting a mall, and army tanks filing in - but like I said, we didn't see any of the problems until we left. 

We were safe the entire week.

My thoughts are many, the first of which is "why me?" I'm feeling very fortunate to have had the Egyptian experience, seeing as how subsequent groups at the JC may not be able to. I also feel to ask, "what's next?" I needed to be in Egypt this past week for a reason - for many reasons. I have an idea of what some of those may be, such as having a greater sense of gratitude for my home, family, and country (Egypt is the poorest country I have yet visited), but is there more, considering that I was in what may be the last BYU group to go to Egypt...? 

I'll keep thinking about that question, but for now I do know this: 

I am grateful for 

freedom

America

an ever-growing education

the gospel

cleanliness

opportunities to progress

the love of God for the world

D&C 101:16

I'll be back!

my first view of the tomb

Last Sabbath (Saturday), we all went to the Garden Tomb for the first time. Like so much of what I have experienced here thus far in Jerusalem, the site was a surprising find. Still amazing, but not what I expected. The Tomb is definitely a tourist destination today; it is kept up very well by a Christian church. We were guided through the area it encompasses and told the story of Jesus by an elderly Irish man. There was the most vivacious, jubilant group of African Christians just ahead of us taking a tour - I wish you could have heard their praises to Jesus! Deep, deep moans and tones, hands in the air, "amens" echoing throughout the whole place...I loved it. However, I am glad we can return there as much as we want; I'm anxious to get better pictures of it and to do a bit of peaceful pondering.

(weekly visits to the Garden Tomb, are you serious?...just another perk of living in Jerusalem!)

A few of my besties. Cute girls, huh? I love them all.

This is Golgotha - "the place of the skull." 

Can you see it - the skull? It looks more like Voldemort's face, in my opinion.

But that is for real.

Christ's cross was just below the skull's face, actually, where a parking lot now is. I always imagined Him to have been on a hilltop, but no, He hung at ground-level and this was His backdrop.

Oooh I get the chills with this one.

Here is the Tomb. And that is a line of sweet African saints waiting to see inside. I post this pic because I want you to see what Jerusalem is really like today, as much as I want to convey its ancient sacredness. I never imagined seeing the supposed site of my Savior's burial like this for the first time; incredible peace and quiet was my mental schema. Isn't that great, though, that long, long line? 

I'll go back and get some more pictures, but for now this will do.

Final thought: real faith is everywhere, in every land and among every people. 

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World.

jerusalem friends and finds

I wanted to post just a little something before I leave for Africa (totally love that I can say that - dream come true)! We are encouraged to leave the Center and explore the city - both East Jerusalem, the Old City, and West, the more modern half - these are just some of the finds...

Isn't this pretty? Reminded me of the Europe that I have not yet seen. 

It's a typical little front yard for people in the Old City - their homes are built atop the buildings and streets. This neighborhood is just outside the Christian Quarter. I love finding "real life" in foreign places.

Quaint, no?

You know how in some places you can ride elevators to the top of their skyscrapers for an aerial view of the city? Well one day we found a little side staircase in the Jewish Quarter that took us up above the street for such a sight, and this is what we came upon: this, another residential neighborhood. Serious! There were a lot of Jewish people coming to and fro, in and out of these homes. Yes, I said homes. I wish we could have seen inside one of them. 

And yes, that is the Dome of the Rock in the distance. Sweet. 

Clearly there are just a few people that want to be buried in Jerusalem. There are lots of cemeteries here. This one is on a hillside above the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. It faces Mt. Moriah to the West, and it extends across the highway. I'm pretty sure there's room for me in there somewhere...

Yum. This is my kind of candy stand.  This is the beautiful dried fruit that I indulged in for our excursion to Egypt. We ventured to East Jerusalem's outdoor market last Friday - the Shuk (pronounced "shook"). People everywhere. Food everywhere. It's just one long street with pretty much anything you want on either side - clothes, movies, butchered meat, spices...it is Costco gone Israeli. 

And, finally, this is one of the friends! Sweet Kelsey and me posing with the golden raisins. Precious. 

More of my besties: Mark, AJ, Maddi, me, Kels.

We were trying to do homework in the computer lab, but Mark's PhotoBooth on his Mac was too much fun to not play around with. The theme of this pic was "Awkward Family Christmas Card." I think we did a fine job.

I am loving loving loving it here. I have two wishes in this moment: 1) that uploading pics didn't take as long as it did (our internet is a little slow, especially when we're all blogging for the homesteads), and 2) that I had more time to wait for more pics to load. My pictures are a plenty more than this and my stories many, but I must be heading to bed. For now just know that I am grateful for my friends - they are already some of my best - and I live for finding the little gems of Jerusalem. More to come!

the wilderness

So we take weekly field trips to cool sites near Jerusalem. This last Monday we ventured to down to Jericho - down to -850 feet below-sea-level Jericho. We saw Herod's temple site, the spring Elisha healed, and the Judean Wilderness after walking along what is believed to be the ancient highway Christ walked along when traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem.

That behind me is one of Herod's temples mid-excavation. It was at this temple that he murdered Aristobulus and, eventually, died of anything and everything you wouldn't want: stomach cancer (probably), boils, body odor, a "gnarly rash" (as just said by my friend Stephen sitting next to me)...bless Herod's heart.

This I really love. It's the Judean Wilderness. It was fascinating to walk along an old, dusty trail to a lookout that provided this view. Looking at this (I just wish you could see it in real life - it's incredibly vast), picture being out there all alone - all alone and fasting. Then, after having fasted for over a month, imagine the one and only adversary coming around to chat.

Bleh.

Such a simple setting, really, but one that had a powerful affect on me. The wilderness had a sacredness to it, which makes sense, considering it was a place of retreat for the Savior to commune with His Father. We all have places like that, too, no? Temples, mountain tops, front porches, bedsides. I am just grateful for Christ's example in finding solitude to be with God, and in overcoming temptation.

A wilderness symbolizes perfectly the dreariness that is associated with temptation and sin, but clearly Jesus Christ triumphed over Satan, and because He did, no matter how alone we may feel in the face of the adversary, we will, too.

I love finding Him here. 

I know He lives.

a cathedral and a garden

Last Sunday a group of us took a pleasant outing to the city. Sundays here are like Fridays with the Sabbath being honored on Saturdays, so we don't have classes and instead try and get out as much as we can. The Church of All Nations is just a ten-minute walk away, and it houses this:

Supposedly it is the rock upon which Christ knelt as He suffered in Gethsemane. Of course it's a subjective claim, as are most of the historical sites and relics here, but the church is beautiful nonetheless. 

Pretty grand, eh? This is one of my favorite things about Jerusalem thus far - it has incredible churches, cathedrals, and mosques - establishments of so many different faiths. Not all are this European, but the religions that have sought to gain a presence here through construction have done incredible things (our church included - the Center is pretty amazing and loved by everyone in Jerusalem).  

Yet what I love most about this site is this:

That is the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Can you believe it? Its area is small and clearly manicured now, but simple and peaceful. It isn't quite what I imagined, but I still love it. So much of Jerusalem has changed since the time of Christ, of course, so it isn't that easy to get an "overwhelming" sense of the Spirit at all of the sites - that is, if you're hoping to be touched by the physical senses alone. In just these first nine days I have learned again the importance of the Holy Ghost - the gift of the Holy Ghost - in having your testimony solidified by places and things. I mean, this could just be another side yard next to an impressive chapel, but I felt more here. 

Maybe the actual place Christ paid for my sins is under that church, but what I saw here is a simple, beautiful finishing touch my personal picture of the Garden.

welcome to my home

these are the stairs I climb 

these are the halls I walk

...kitchen on your left...

this is my backyard view: 
heaven

I'm serious. Beauty at its best. In writing my family an e-mail this week, the first thing I wanted to tell them about was the Center. I felt immediately warm and at home upon arriving; Galatians 5:22 gives the reasons as to why the best, I think: "The  fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." I sure hope the home I make for myself in the future is like this place! Good thing it doesn't hurt to have high aspirations. 

come fly with me

I love to fly. 

Even though it took a day and a half to get here, 

I loved every 

boarding

take-off

landing

and layover. 

Serious.

I mean, please, how often do you get to be a bird?

Here's proof that I spent some time in the clouds

the jumbo-tron that took me 'cross the sea

if this plane were a bird, it would be an albatross

proof that I ascended above some Austrian mountains

one day I'll see the actual Alps

as well as more of Vienna than its airport

the receiving area in the Ben-Gurion Airport

from its design and the many dark eyes and faces that waited there,

I definitely felt I had arrived in the Middle East

Besides the thrill that flying is, it is one of the best, most exciting opportunities for missionary work. One the flight from D.C. to Vienna I sat with a Ukrainian couple that spoke with the thickest Russian accent I have ever heard. We spent a lot of time together, this couple and me. By the end of the flight they had a lot of questions about the Church. "Mohrmon...uh, uh do you haf many mom?" and "Uh, why - why you uh drink no coffee? Is bad to drink de coffee?" Their questions made me smile. I loved them all! Missionary work is one of the best catalysts to happiness.

When I offered them a pass-along card and a Book of Mormon as we waited to de-board, they kindly declined. Of course I wasn't too mad about it - planting seeds is more than necessary - but I did say, "No problem, but will you let the missionaries in when they come by next?" The husband replied, "Oh oh, okay I uh see dem - dey come by on da bikes, and we uh give dem drink." Good, kind people are everywhere you go. 

For small experiences like this and the wonder it is to be in the sky, again let me say: 

I love to fly.

the knapsack

the finished product: 11:00 PM, January 2, 2011

just finished packing

and this knapsack is plum full.

probably more than fifty pounds full, which is the maximum amount I am allowed to take to IL.

(p.s. the abbreviation for "Israel" is IL and not IS, as I assumed - weird, eh? Thanks, Google, for educating me)

but all I have in there are t-shirts, some skirts, running shoes - clearly a blow-dryer (to my chagrin, actually, but I have to remind myself that I'm living there, not just dream-vacationing, for four months...I'll probably have to try to do my hair for real sometime) - not a whole lot for four months of living, really.

three cheers for simplicity.

hope you're ready, IL! I'm on my way.