Time seems to move differently here, especially as the reality of just how long we are in Jerusalem is beginning to really set in. It’s almost been a full 3 weeks since we left Salt Lake and it feels both significantly longer and shorter than that. So the day after my last post we went to Tel Aviv. It’s a coastal city, and since it was a student initiated and planned trip, we all had to split the costs of the bus rides there and back. It was so worth it though, I’m very glad I went. I’ve now been in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Mediterranean Sea. It is beautiful. I could wax poetic on the color of the water and the different gorgeous aspects of it on end.
We spent the majority of the day there, and I came back early with roughly half the group. I’m so grateful that I did because I didn’t have to pay for dinner, and I got to shower. I also had previously committed to help usher at the Sunday Classical concert. Here at the Jerusalem Center there is a concert series of classical music on Sundays and jazz music on Thursdays. It was a neat experience handing programs to and greeting the different people coming to listen to these wonderful, world-renown musicians play. I did have homework, laundry, and was exhausted so I didn’t stay the entire performance.
Many of us got sunburned on Sunday, some more than others, and so that made our long field on Monday under the intense hot sun in the south very unpleasant. Both buses even ran out of water to refill from towards the end of the day. It was a solid 2-hour drive to our first location, which may not sound like that long or far (especially to my fellow Texans) but in a small country like Israel it is quite the distance. We went to Beer-Sheba, Tel Arad, Negev, and Avdat (not in that order. It was so fascinating learning not only about the excavation processes involved in such ancient places but also the history, both biblical and extra-biblical. There are multiple pictures below in no particular order of the different locations and their surrounding areas.
One of the places we went to was simply an overlook of the Judean wilderness. It was by far tied in how hot it was and how dry. We read some verses in the Old Testament concerning the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, and then sang Redeemer of Israel. It was really eye-opening and even humbling to realize that as forgetful as the Israelites often were, it wasn’t Canada or some nice shady forest that they left Egypt for. It was a harsh desert.
Tuesday and Wednesday were classes and studying and more classes and food and games. Honestly, I can’t remember much that was out of the now-ordinary happening on those days, except for the forum address. Most every Wednesday we have a guest speaker come and address us and this past week was the first time. It was the international correspondent Matthew Kalman, and he used some volunteers as part of a social experiment to teach us about journalism. I was one of the volunteers. There were four of us, and he split us up into two groups. He had me and my partner take pictures and post them on a specific Facebook page to make him look good, as if we were on a job for an editor. The other two volunteers were to make him look bad—they had it easy. There were so many people sleeping or on their phones which made it hard for my partner and I after a certain point. It was very fun, nonetheless.
Thursday was a day with only a few classes. After lunch, a group of us went into the Old City to walk the ramparts. On the way there I got sick (it was a combination of eating too much fried food at lunch and the extreme heat of the day) but I did the rampart walk anyway. I probably shouldn’t have but I did enjoy the view, despite the steepness of the stairs and lack of shade. I took a bus back with some others and it was pretty nice to just come back and rest in the cool indoors.
Friday I took it easy for the most part. We only had Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern studies, which was nice. My plan had been to knock out all of my homework for the upcoming week (which is going to be insanely busy) but I ended up doing a ton of socializing instead. Someone brought their Nintendo switch so video games were played, as well as card games, volleyball, and Murder in the Dark. Overall a very nice way to start the weekend.
Today has been a good Sabbath. I woke up very aware of my need for alone time, and time spent with just the Lord. I got up later than I intended but mostly well-rested, and made it choir close to on time. In sacrament meeting today we sang Redeemer of Israel and it was beautiful. I can only imagine what it was like listening to us with the view of Jerusalem framing it all. The Branch President spoke and I really enjoyed what he had to say. He spoke of what it means to really come unto Christ, and the following steps of perfecting ourselves and then denying ourselves of all ungodliness. He spoke about the woman with the issue of blood in the New Testament, which is one of my favorite stories. Her faith and the Savior’s healing power brings a lot of comfort to me in my life. Sabbath School (not Sunday school here lol) was good. We focused a lot on the question posed to the Savior, “What lack I yet?” Something that came to my mind was how when we ask that question, what we are at times really asking is “How dost thou see me? What is ahead that thou needs me prepared for?” especially because so often we can only see some of our flaws and weaknesses, not the ones He needs us to be turning into strengths. I also had a lot of introspection that was guided by the Spirit during class. I more or less felt the Holy Ghost teaching me to be humble and while it was hard and uncomfortable in a few moments, I was grateful for it. Change is preceded by and accompanied by the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
After church was over I went straight back to my room and did some more studies, which were very enlightening and uplifting. I also accidentally ended up taking a nap right up until dinner. After dinner my Come Follow Me group discussed what we learned at church and the insights we had taken from our own personal studies leading up to today. There were awesome comments and great bonding moments. We played a get to know you game after that, and then some other people showed up and some of us played Apples to Apples. I’m now back in my room and not planning on leaving again (lol) if only because I want to pack for tomorrow and go to bed early. We are all traveling to Eilat to go snorkeling and it is a 4-hour bus ride one way. Hence our very early departure time. While it is crazy to think we have been here 18 days, it is equally crazy to think that in just 8 more days we’ll be heading to Greece! So excited.
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