The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

these pictures are off the internet and not mine- the internet can't upload them. sorry! you will have to hold your breath in anticipation for my own killa shots!

Today we went on a Christian churches field trip in the old city and I had a blast! I have been to most of these places aleady, but going as a group, with a purpose, with a professor who knows everything really made it worth while. (The church of the holy sepluchre is where all other Christian denominations venerate the crucifition, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.) It is one of my favorite places ON EARTH. Ok imagine a small Hogwarts: super old, kinda creepy, dirty, stone, random doors, balconies, pictures, crazy people, people in all sorts of robes and hats speaking all sorts of languages and words and making interesting sounds. It is dark in there with candles and intense incense smells. Golden things are hanging from the vaulted ceilings and there are random nocks, basements, and crypts. Yes it really is that awesome and exciting! It was originally built by Queen Helena in the 390’s, then destroyed in 1009, then rebuilt in 1049, then changed, added to, partly demolished, etc. aka AAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOMMMMMMEEee.

Then we went to Herodian- Herod’s summer palace near Jerusalem. He literally built a mountain. It looks like a volcano and there are spiraling tunnels and cisterns throughout the coned mountain. There I bought my first magnum bar of Jerusalem(a DELCIOUS European icecream bar treat that everyone always buys here but I haven’t gotten one here yet-too many calories and sheckels!) it was white chocolatre and strawberry icecream. SSSSSSo good. American white chocolate has never quite done it for me, but Euro/ ME white chocolate is a different breed!

Abu Goush!

On our first day back after the Galilee (which I hope to later report on), a group of 12 of us got a taxi to Abu Goush, a suburb of Jerusalem, which houses an incredible Crusader Chapel, and best of all: the largest Elvis Restaurant outside of Tennessee. WOW i know. haha this place was SPECTACULAR. After passingthe gas station it was ajoined to and 2 epic, larger-than-life scupltures of the king himself, we entered THE Elvis Diner where I treated myself to a mightily delicious milkshake in an Elvis of Jerusalem souvenir mug. The experience was well worth the 25 sheckles! Afterwards, we found the Church of the Resurection, the Crusader chapel built in the 12th century. This place was incredible and we took full advantage of the acoustics as an good mormon would. There is just something about singing silent night in a vaulted, stone cathedral. There are surviving frescoes on the walls and the place felt like all churches should (and how many in this land don't).

Cats and Geckos!

Among other things, the city and center are crawling with cats and Geckos. Some cats are affectionately named, for example Diseasey, and others come and go. Recently, A big black cat gave birth to a liter of 7, all black but one grey. The cat has been learning some tricks lately and today she was the star of the lunch half-time show! She had caught a gecko and ripped off its tail. I have seen lizards' tails twist and twitch for a while after violent removal, but this one was OUT OF CONTROL. it was flipping and spinning, lashing and whipping, and driving the kitty crazy! She had the gecko in her mouth, then would go catch the tail,then chase back after the escaping lizard, then catch both with her paws, then fling one across the balcony. She was having a ball playin with her treat(s). It was NUTS! We watched, cheered, screamed, and gagged for a good ten minutes during this wild display.

Pumpkin Hour!!

this is the outside of Damascus gate, but I have never seen it this abandoned. Multiply the number of people by about 14 and that is the least crowded it gets.


SO we are not allowed in the Old City or West Jerusalem after dark, so come 4:12, you will see groups of mormons sprinting through the city, out Damascus gate, down the hill, and back up the hill! It is rather comical and we are known for it throughout the city; no one is surprised and we are cheered on by the various shopkeepers. To make it even more amusing, and frustrating, there are always thousands of tourists/pilgrims lining the Via Delorosa (the Christ crucifixtion walkway), gathered around a preacher or tourguide. We plow our way through like any good middle easterner (it has taken some time to learn that trick!), but there is also always carts stacked 8 feet high with Pitas, dome of the rock alarm clarks, cinnomon sticks, or hundreds of other things. These carts don't stop either! I bet the death toll by goods-cart exceeds that of any other within the Old city. Welcome to Jerusalem!

Just call me Guru

I have been an exercise buff for years, and I have found my calling! I aspire to be an aerobics instructor of some kind. You think I joke, but nay! I have even started a little following here... Yoga! 6:30 am, every day! I promise you a flawless downdog in 3 days. Bring your smile and tuck in your shirt! It is a blast and even Enya with her Orinoco Flow joined us this morning!

Halloween!

Panoramic Pictures!

My teacher took amazing panorama pictures. I am in lots of them!
http://www.360cities.net/image/abdullahmosque
check it out!

Jerash

Jerash, Jordan is the best preserved Roman city. It was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis and was a major urban center during the turn of the millenium. It was incredible to walk down the Roman, paved walk-way, which was half a mile long, and pretend to be a Roman noble. Passing fountains, shops, and hundreds of sky-high columns. I loved this city, especailly the reinactment at the hippodrome... The hippodrome is where they used to have fights and chariot races! They partly restored this one, which is a mini mini-version of Circus Maximus (but still sat 15,000 people), ir order to do these reinactments and beleive you me, that was the best $10 i have ever spent!!!! They had a roman legion come out and do weapons drills and prance around, then had gladiator fights where the audience determined the ultimate fate of the loser: " La mort! La Vie!" as the little french boys were chandting and screaming behind me. Hilarious! One of the gladiators was a BIG boy struttin around in a little skirt down in the sand and i obviously took an instant liking to him. haha i whistled and yelled at/for him and in return, he would raise his sword at me and flex his pecs, sending them a'bouncin. HAA!!!!! I nearly died. Afterwards, I took a picture with him. He said "Can I see you later? Come closer? Green eyes? Goddess. Can I see you later?" haha i swear those are the only english words they teach these arab boys.
I also got a ride in a chariot, nearly trampled by said chariot driver, and a jumping picture with a hord of old, armed Arabs :)

Petra!

Ok if anyone told me they had one day in the Middle East and asked what they should do, I would say, without hesitation, to GO TO PETRA! It is the most amazing city! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade shows the treasury of this city, huge pillars and sculptures carved into the rock cliff face. Petra is sooooo much more than this though! There are dozens and dozens of tombs, temples, buildings, caves, etc carved into the rock everywhere in the canyon and valley. Various niches and shapes carved into the walls. It is soooo cool! One of the best parts is you can just hike up and around the mountains/valleys and just find these things everywhere! Egypt was amazing, but you really felt like a tourist. Here, I felt like an adventurer, or a Persian Princess on my white horse too to visit the Nabateans in my silky, gem encrusted outfit. AH!!!! The structures were built by the nabateans between 600bc-200ad and in their later years they had a lot of Roman influence. Consequently there is a huge ampitheater, originally Nabatean but expanded by the Romans, reinactment markets, and all kinds of stuff.ah. I can't even express how awesome it was, especially since I'm pretty sick of relating all the stories. On the way back up the canyon, I got to ride a horse! I asked the horse leader for the reigns and he let me just take off through Petra! Petra=Exceeded Expectations. Pictures to come!

Elder Holland came to Town!

SO yesterday I had a really awesome, really hard, really rotten day. But it was LIFE ALTERING! SO Elder Jeffrey Holland came into town... and the place was in a bit of an uproar. But first, the beginning of the day. (O and background; I have been in charge or organizing a trip to a cool cave and the churches/birth place of john the Baptist and it has been quite the undertaking. NOTHING went right in the planning of it) ok I have made a goal to do my scripture study in the morning, the early morning, every day before ANYTHING. Breakfast, working out, class, you name it. So obviously I have not been getting a ton of sleep, but it has been so rewarding. So Sunday rolls around and it didn’t occur to me to do my scripture study in the morning because I was going to church you know. BIG mistake. I just felt like I had a rock on my soul throughout the entire meeting. I was trying so hard to feel the spirit and be teachable and to listen, but every time I had a cool spiritual thought or insight, someone would come up to me and say how they decided not to go on the trip I was organizing and were super rude about it, even though they were the ones who had previously committed to going. I was really stressed about it and it made me so frustrated! I wanted to have an amazing spiritual day! It was even the day of the primary program. Ha-ha hilarious. 14 kids in the primary, and it was everything a primary program should be. Loved it- when the kids sang "Families can be together forever" and "I love to see the temple", it made half the audience bawl- myself included. I’m so excited to have a family. Not in a rush- just excited ;) .So the rest of church was like that: almost spiritual high, then a crashing stressor. Bah! Then came dinner. I walked up to the line all nonchalantly, and was told that elder Holland would be joining us for dinner. What?! Ah! ha-ha we all kinda freaked out. It was like the Christmas anxiety you know. Like "SANTA!!! SANTA'S COMING!!! SANTA! I KNOW HIM!!!!!" but when he walked in the room, this beautiful peace distilled over everyone and even though the room completely revolved around him, it felt calm. Neat experience. Then we had a fireside where he spoke. The beginning musical number was a rendition of "Master the tempest is raging" (which is one of my favs ps) and was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL NUMBER EVER. It was seriously haunting. We have some of the most talented people here I swear. Then after Elder Porter (first quorum of the 70), his wife, and Patricia Holland spoke, Elder Holland hit the podium. Literally. One of the first things he said to us, after kissing his wife's hand and publically thanking God for her existence and daily effect on his life (so sweet), was "Don't you dare go home the same person." his talk stemmed from two things: 1- the scripture in Luke from the end of Christ's sermon on the mount when he says 'be ye merciful, even as your Father in Heaven is merciful. IN all the other accounts of this, the apostles say he said "be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect". Elder Holland then took this to mean that perfect and merciful are synonymous, giving us a conceivable goal and reality of perfection. Wow. k then 2- he took " the most powerful day in the entire BOM", where Christ visits the Nephites and talks about how, when he told the Nephites he was going to leave, the Nephites' eyes welled up with tears as if to beg him to tarry. Christ's "bowels were filled with mercy and compassion".
Some powerful conclusions were: MERCY ALWAYS TRUMPS JUSTICE, and we must all be a little more merciful: say thank you one more time, say I love you one more time, one more kind word, one more smile. It was amazing! I recorded it, but the recording isn't the best. O well! Then after, I got to give he and his wife a hug! Special experience.
O and the field trip thing I was in charge of today turned out fantastic and I know it was 100% by divine intervention. Phew!