Ein Kerem--October 23

Ein Kerem-- According to Christian tradition, this is the birthplace of John the Baptist. Our first stop was Mary'sEin Kerem is a neighborhood in the hills of southwest Jerusalem. Spring. This village fresh-water spring is the traditional location where Mary and Elizabeth met. We walked up a hill from there to see the Russian Orthodox Mission, but it was closed. There was a really funny sign there, so we took pictures. Then we went to the Church of the Visitation. This is the traditional site where Mary visited Elizabeth when both of them were pregnant. There was a church there that we visited where some of us sat in on a Catholic Mass. It was a really interesting experience that I really enjoyed. Then we visited the Church of St. John the Baptist. The church supposedly houses the cave where John the Baptist was born. One of our final stops of the day was Les Soeurs de Notre-Dame de Sion Monastery buried in its garden. 13 nuns from the order of Les Soeurs de. This monastery was founded by the Jewish convert brothers Theodore and Alfonse Retisbon of France, as an orphanage. Alfonse himself lived in the monastery and is Notre-Dame de Sion (Sisters of Our Lady of Zion) now occupy the site. There is a church on the site, but we couldn't go in because a group was meeting there. We did walk the grounds and take some beautiful pictures. We couldn't leave Ein Kerem without getting ice cream. I got German Chocolate and Coconut, and it was absolutely amazing! It was a good day!

Olive Picking and Crushing in the Biblical Gardens

On Wednesday October 17th, we picked the olive trees on the grounds to prepare for the olive crushing the next week. It was very dirty, but fun work! Several people were up in trees and we got in a couple olive throwing fights! Good times!

After a couple more olive picking sessions over the next couple of days, we participated in olive crushing on October 22 using the tools in the Biblical gardens. We each took turns pushing the large wheel to crush the olives. The crushed olives were then put in large flat baskets and placed underneath a press. It was really a neat experience and we all had a lot of fun!

Update (Part 2)--Tel Aviv

Sunset over the Mediterranean

October 12

After classes Friday, a group of us decided to take a trip to Tel Aviv and go to the beach. Our group included Spencer, Tim, Annalisa, Tasha, Risa, Lynn, Holly, Erin, Nichelle, and I. It was really nice having a small, intimate group. It allowed us to really get to know each other better.

We went first to a restaurant that served American food! It was absolutely amazing! I got Chicken Parmesan on a huge bed of pasta--it was wonderful! Afterwards we went to the beach. We spent the rest of the day swimming in the Mediterranean and playing in the sand. A group of us built a sand castle and I actually got buried in the sand. There were a couple of Israeli guys who came up and started flirting with us. They were actually kind of creepy, but luckily we had people there to protect us. After watching the sunset over the Mediterranean, we went and got gelato. I had coconut and oreo in a waffle cone--it was wonderful and tasted divine! We drove back soon after the gelato and were able to get back for dinner. It really was a fun day and I got to know the people in our group a lot better.

Update That's Been Too Long Coming (Part 1)

Sorry for not posting on my blog for so long! It has been a crazy couple of weeks, and I just haven't taken the time to update on all that is happening here in the Holy Land. It would be too large a task to go into detail about everything that has been going on, but I will attempt to give some highlights.

Conquest Fieldtrip--October 3, 2007:

We went on what was called our "Conquest Fieldtrip", since we are studying the conquest of the land of Israel by Joshua and the Israelites. We first visited the tels (archaelogical sites) of Old and New Testament Jericho. While at the Old Testament Jericho, we talked about Joshua and the famous battle that occured there. Being in that place made the story all the more real to me. We also went to the Quruntul Monastery, which is carved into what is called the Mount of Temptations. It is traditionally where Satan tempted Christ to turn stone into bread. The view from the Monestary was gorgeous! It was a very interesting and enlightening field trip! Pictures--Right: Meg and I at O.T. Jericho; Left: Me at Mt. of Temptations overlooking Jericho.

Judges Fieldtrip--October 5, 2007

We moved on in Old Testament to studying the Book of Judges. So naturally, we went on a "Judges Fieldtrip". Our first stop was Beth Shemesh, one of the residences of the Ark of the Covenant for a time. We also went to Azekah, which has a beautiful overlook of the Elah Valley where David slew Goliath. We then went to a place called Bet Guvrin, and explored some ancient Greek caves and ruins. Close to that area, we visited the Bell Caves. These caves have great acoustics, and we sang several hymns. When we sang "I Am A Child of God", we actually had an audience. We all felt it was a great way to share the gospel (indirectly of course;)). Tel Lachish was our next stop, which was a major defensive city during the time of the Judges. Then we made our way to Micha's Cave, where many people would live for a time to escape from foreign invaders. I tried going into the caves (which were extremely narrow and tiny), but my claustrophobia got the best of me, so I didn't actually explore them. I was told they were pretty cool though. Our final stop of the day was the Valley of Elah, where David slew Goliath. Members of our class did a re-enactment of the battle, which was extremely entertaining. We also collected stones from the now dry riverbed where David selected 5 smooth stones for his sling. Brother Ludlow helped us find ones that would be similar to the ones David used. We were able to practice throwing our stones with actual slings. Many people got pretty good at it (needless to say, I was not one of them). It was a very fun and informative day! Pictures--Top Right: Laura and I overlooking Beth Shemesh; Bottom Right: Me at Azekah, overlooking Elah Valley; Top Left: Me at Bet Guvrin; Middle Left: (L to R) Jocelyn, Archie, Spencer, Tasha, Tuni, and I at the Bell Caves; Bottom Left: My attempt at slinging a stone in the Valley of Elah. It may look professional ;), but the stone actually only went about 10 yards. :)

1st Galilee Field Trip--October 7 and 8, 2007
We left early on October 7 for our first Galilee fieldtrip. We will be going there again for a longer fieldtrip in November. Our first stop on the 7th was Megiddo. This is the traditional site for the future Battle of Armageddon. There were really neat ruins there, including a really neat underground water system. Following Megiddo, we stopped in Nazareth and went to the Church of the Annunciation and the Church of St. Joseph. The Church of the Annunciation is the traditional site where Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her she was to be the mother of Jesus. The Church of St. Joseph is supposedly built over the site where Joseph had his carpenter's shop. We then went to some Roman ruins at Sepphoris, where we ate lunch and explored. After Sepphoris, we went to Mt. Arbel, where we got our first look at the Sea of Galilee. It is so beautiful! That night we stayed at Ein Gev, a large Kibbutz on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. Due to some negotiating, we were able to go swimming in the Sea of Galilee. This was so much fun, and we got to see a beautiful sunset. That night after dinner, I walked along the edge of the Sea of Galilee. It was so peaceful and beautiful! There is such a spirit about the place that is hard to describe. While I was walking, the image of the Savior walking upon the waters came into my mind. It was a wonderful experience! Pictures--Top Left: Kendra and I at Megiddo; Top Right: Me at the Church of the Annunciation; Bottom Right: (L to R) Laura, Amy, Me, Lauran, Kendra, and Nichelle at Sepphoris; Middle Left: Karey and I at Mt. Arbel, overlooking the Sea of Galilee; Bottom Left: Nichelle and I at the Sea of Galilee.

We left early on October 8th for another long, but wonderful day! Our first stop was the Fortress/City of Acco. It was a major fortress during the time of the Crusaders and had a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. We then went to Mt. Carmel, where Elijah had the conflict with the priests of Baal. Brother Ludlow recounted the story and gave some really amazing insights into the story. Our final stop of the day was Caesarea Maritime. It was absolutely beautiful! We walked along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the wind was blowing really hard. I love the wind coming off the ocean--it was amazing!! This field trip has to be my favorite so far! Pictures--Top Right: (L to R) Carlee, Me, Kendra, and Emily at Akko overlooking the Mediterranean Sea; Left: Me at Mt. Carmel; Bottom Right: Liz, Kayla, Jessica, and Me at Caesarea Meritime.

Since this is a major undertaking to update on recent happenings, I'll be splitting it into a couple sections. Stay tuned for more updates!

Egypt!

Egypt was an absolutely amazing experience! I loved seeing all the sites that I've only ever read about in books and online! Here was how my week played out [with pictures of course:)]:

Sunday, September 23: Israel

We left early Sunday morning for Egypt. We stopped at a Tel Beersheva, which has connections to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. The ruins were neat, and we also got to explore the city's underground water system! After the Tel, we went to an overlook over the Zin Valley. It is one of 7 deserts the Israelites resided in during their 40 years in the wilderness. It was really neat to think about! A couple hours later we visited and got a tour of a Kibbutz--an Israeli communal society that practices socialism. We spent the night at that Kibbutz. (Pictures: Left-->Me in my cool hard hat at Tel Beersheva; Right--> My roommates Brita, Annie, Stephanie, and I at the overlook of the Zin Valley)

Monday, September 24: Border Crossing/Egypt

After a very long bus ride, we made it to the border crossing between Israel and Egypt. After several security and passport checks, taking about 2 hours, we were on our way again. We had to drive through Cairo to get to our hotel. Right before we got to our hotel we got our first glimpse of the Pyramids! It was really cool to finally see one of the 7 wonders of the world! We got to our hotel and pretty much our entire group went swimming at the hotel pool. (Picture: First Look at the Pyramids)

Tuesday, September 25: Cairo

Today was amazing!! We started our day at the Pyramids at Giza. We went inside one of the Pyramids, which was really tight, but really cool! After some picture taking we all got to ride camels! It was really fun! Then we went to see the Sphinx--it was smaller than I thought it would be, but really cool! We then went to Memphis (the capital of Old Kingdom Egypt) and the famous Step Pyramid of King Zoser. After dinner we made our way to the train station to take an overnight train to Luxor. It was a pretty amazing experience and I slept really well! (Pictures: Left-->Kendra, Me, and Lauran at the Pyramids; Right--> A Pyramid At the Pyramids (Top to bottom: Amber, Laura, Me, Greg, Lauran, and Daniel))

Wednesday, September 26: Luxor

After arriving in Luxor (5:30 AM), we went to the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut's tomb. We also went to the Funerary Temple of King Ramses III and the Colossi Memnon. Then we went on a Faluka ride on the Nile River, which was absolutely amazing! We got to dance and sing, and just have fun relaxing. That night a group of us went to the Luxor Museum. It was really neat to see all the artifacts and read about all the history. (Pictures: Left-->Me at King Tut's Tomb; Right: Mcall, Stefi, Me, and Emily on our Faluka ride.)

Thursday, September 27: Luxor

Today we visited the famous Karnak Temple. It is the largest temple complex in the world, and probably one of the favorite places I visited! We also took a carriage ride to the other famous temple in Luxor, the Luxor Temple. This was also a wonderful experience. I learned so much history at both temples. That night we took a late night plane back to Cairo. We got back to Cairo around 12:30 AM, and went to bed soon after that. (Pictures: Left-->Me at the Karnak Temple; Right-->Gorgeous Sunset on the Nile)

Friday, September 28: Cairo

We started out the day at the Cairo Museum. My favorite exhibit was the entire section of the museum devoted to King Tut. It had almost all of the treasures found in King Tut's tomb. There was gold jewelry, statues, the mask of King Tut's Mummy, and the coffins, one of which still contains the mummy of King Tut. After the museum we went to the Khan al Kalili Bazaar. Though I didn't buy anything, it was fun to explore. We went to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was so fun! That night we went to a sound and light show at the Pyramids! We had a lot of fun. It was a neat show, with a recounting of a lot of aspects of Egyptian history and some cool music and lights on the Pyramids. I really enjoyed it! (Pictures: Left--> Laura and I at the Hard Rock Cafe; Top Right-->Me and my camel at the bazaar; Lower Left-->Nichelle, Jason, and I at the Sound & Light Show)

Saturday, September 29: Cairo

Saturday morning we checked out of the hotel to begin our journey to Mt. Sinai. We went to the Cairo Citadel and visited the Muhammad Ali Mosque. It was a beautiful building! After this we went to Old Cairo. We visited a church that is a traditional site where it is thought Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stopped as they were fleeing from Herod to Egypt. We also went to a beautiful Jewish synagogue called Ben Ezra Synagogue. There was a really pretty statue of the tablets of the 10 Commandments and I loved the woodwork inside. We then made the trek to Mt. Sinai. After we reached St. Catherine's Monastery at the base of Mount Sinai, we had dinner and a short sacrament meeting before going to bed. (Pictures: Right: Me at the overlook from the Muhammed Ali Mosque; Left: Me and Katie at lunch on the Nile)

Sunday, September 30: Mt. Sinai

Two hours later (1:00 AM) we were awoken and began the trek up Mount Sinai. Though it was early, I'm glad we started in the cool of the morning. I was alright at first, but then the hike got more and more difficult. My ankle was also sore from having re-sprained it two weeks before. I was so grateful to have such a wonderful group with me who was willing to stop with me until I was ready to go again. When I really began to struggle, the boy in our group, whose name is Lance, insisted on carrying my bag for me. He was my biggest support on the hike--I don't know if I could have made it to the top without him. The last part was the hardest, with about 40 minutes of stairs, but we finally made it up. the hike was definitely worth it. The sunrise was absolutely amazing! We had a class program on the top of Mount Sinai where we sang hymns and read from Exodus about the giving of the 10 commandments. It was a very spiritual, inspiring experience. After the hike down, many people went swimming and we had lunch before leaving for Israel. We crossed the border, and reached the Jerusalem Center around 10:30 PM. We all went to bed soon after that! (Pictures: Top Left-->Lance and I at the top of Mount Sinai; Middle Left-->Me, Mikell, Lance, and Kira; Bottom Left--> Me and the gorgeous sunrise; Top Right-->Sunrise; Bottom Right--> Laura and I)


So ended our tiring, but wonderful experience in Egypt! I learned so much, and established some really good friendships! I love being here!Love You All! If you would like any more pictures posted, let me know. I just wanted to give you a small taste of what I experienced in Egypt. Thank you for all your love and support!