The Holy Land

Well. Here I am sitting at home after A LOT of traveling. After finishing up finals in Amman we crossed the border and spent 2 weeks in Israel. We saw SO much! Every day was packed with sites and lectures and stops. It was incredible. I can't recount everything because that's not even possible, but here are some highlights of my 2 weeks in the Holy Land...

1. Tel Aviv.

After 3 months in Amman, pulling into Tel Aviv was quite the shock. The city is very modern and European. People follow traffic rules. It's clean. While in Tel Aviv we visited Independence Hall and learned about the creation of Israel. We also had time to wander around and talk to people. But of course my favorite part was that night - after checking in to the hotel we had about an hour and a half before dinner, so Adam, Logan, and I put our swimsuits on and ran to the ocean. The weather was beautiful, the water felt good, and we just played in the water under the lights of Tel Aviv. It was GLORIOUS.

2. Caesarea & Akko

Caesarea is an old port city built by Herod the Great. We explored the ruins and played on the beach. 

 That night we went further north and stayed in the old Crusader town of Akko (Acre). Our hostel was near the old city and it was for sure the biggest, nicest hostel I have ever seen. That night Adam, Zack, Matt, and I went out exploring. The streets were pretty quiet. We found some cool lookout views over the water. But then we met this awesome family and hung out with them for about an hour. It was a big group of Arab women sitting in a circle and their husbands and kids would come and go. They were SO nice and fun to be around and just so happy. We asked them about life in Akko and relations with other religions and they said everything was great. It was awesome to just hang out with them and chat in Arabic. I loved it.

3. Nazareth.

The childhood home of Jesus Christ.

The Arab capital of Israel. 

Nazareth was BEAUTIFUL. Being there put a totally different image in my head of Bible stories. We stayed there for 2 nights in a Catholic Convent. We were encouraged to get out and talk to people and ask them questions about life in Israel and relations between Muslims and Christians. I was surprised at how open, friendly, and overall happy the people were in Nazareth.

We had a lot of free time to explore and talk to people but also visited all the churches in Nazareth. I especially liked the Church of the Annunciation where Mary was supposedly visited by the angel Gabriel, announcing that she would be the mother of Jesus.

"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:28)

 What an incredible women. I hope to be like Mary.

4. The Sea of Galilee.

I now know why the Savior loved the Galilee.

It was so beautiful and peaceful and we got to stay there for 2 nights.

We swam where Jesus walked.

We visited the Mount of Beatitudes and the synagogue where Jesus taught.

 

We went on a boat ride.

While on that boat ride we sang one of my favorite hymns - "Master the Tempest is Raging."

"Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, Or demons or men or whatever it be, No waters can swallow the ship where lies, The Master of ocean and earth and skies."

  Also that afternoon one of my professors took a few of us students and we went on a run up a mountain near our hotel. It was UNREAL. Pictures or words will never do it justice, but it was so beautiful! At one part I let the others keep going and I sat by myself and read the Sermon on the Mount. The sun was setting and it was so powerful to think of the Savior teaching on those hills. It was an experience I will never forget.

6. Jerusalem.

Where do I start... So we stayed in Jerusalem for a week at the BYU Jerusalem Center which was pretty incredible.

Looking out over the city was pretty crazy. Just look at it...

 

We did a lot in Jerusalem!

Much of our time was learning and experiencing the political chaos of Jerusalem. For example, we had a lecture and tour by an Israeli activist who wants greater rights for Palestinians. Then right afterwards we went on a tour of the Old City with a Jewish woman who supports Israeli settlements in the area. It was quite the juxtaposition of opinions.

We definitely got an up-close perspective on the Arab/Israeli conflict. We had lectures every day and really got to see all the different players in the conflict. It was shocking to stand at the dividing wall in Bethany and see what Arabs describe as "an open-air prison." They are essentially trapped within their city with no Israeli services provided.

But then later it was an incredible experience to stand at the Western Wall in a circle of Jewish young women dancing and cheering for Israel. I felt their goodness, their unity, and their desire for a refuge of safety.

It was all quite confusing which is exactly what our professors wanted us to feel. Things are never black and white, and people aren't politics.

On a different note, we also got to visit all the churches and important sites of Jerusalem...

Lazarus' Tomb

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The City of David

Hezekiah's Tunnel

The Pools of Bethesda

The Temple Mount

The Old City Gate

The Garden of Gethsemane

And the Garden Tomb

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. My whole life I have wanted to visit the Holy Land and walk where Jesus walked. The sites were not what I was expecting; they were touristy and a bit gaudy. I was surprised when the most spiritual moments of my time in Jerusalem came when I was sitting on my bed reading the scriptural accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. The places were still sacred, but a place is only as spiritual as the reverence and spirit you bring to it.

I still don't know exactly where Jesus Christ was born or where He rose from the tomb, but I do know that He is my Savior and greatest Friend. He lived a perfect life, walking the beautiful streets and hills of Palestine, teaching of love, peace, and salvation. I know Jesus Christ is real - and not from visiting the Holy Land but from feeling the Holy Ghost testify to me of His reality. 

Merry Christmas!

A Few Observations

Some interesting/weird/difficult/awesome things about living in Jordan...

1. One thing I really love about living in a Muslim country is the importance of religion and remembering God on both a societal and individual level.

Muslims pray 5 times a day and I love hearing the call to prayer throughout the day. Just not at 6 am in the morning.

There are mosques EVERYWHERE.

One time I went into a fruit stand and all the workers were in the corner praying. They didn't even acknowledge me, and I just waited until they were done praying to pay for my fruit. I just love that it's normal to worship God in public. Also, I've had several experiences hanging out with friends and they stop to pray. It has really made me reflect on my daily worship and the time I give to God each day.

This is my friend Nour. We stopped at the university prayer room so she could pray.

Also there are signs all over, at intersections and on buildings, that say things like, "Remember God," and "God is Great," and "Praise be to God."

I love it.

2. One thing that has been difficult about living in Jordan is the lack of water. It is very evident. We have a certain allotment of water each week in our apartment so showers are very scarce and short, especially because there are 7 of us girls that live together.

Also, water is not complementary in restaurants and for those who know me, I drink a TON of water. It has not been fun to always be buying water.

3. As I am writing this, I am deliberately not at home. Why? Because it is absolutely freezing. Turns out the Middle East does get cold. Actually, it's not even that cold outside, but our building has no insulation and our landlord refuses to turn on the heaters. It's pretty bad. We can see our breath. It's all good though, we only have a few more days left here and I think we will survive.

 

4. Amman is a beautiful city. But, it is also really really dirty. We walk through this trash pile every day to get home...

 

Just so picturesque...

 

5. In Arab and Islamic culture it's not common for girls and boys to be friends and hang out. Some of our Arab friends have been really surprised that we hang out downstairs in the boys' apartment. They've gotten used to it though.

Also, men rule the streets here. I've had many moments when I'm out and about and I realize that I'm the only girl on the street or the only girl on the bus. It's a strange feeling. One of my friends told me that since it's not really acceptable for men and women to hang out together, it's the men that are always out on the streets.

Speaking of the streets, people don't smile! It's been really strange. My returned missionary self always wants to smile at people, but I constantly have to remind myself not to. Especially since smiling at a man basically means that I want to marry him. But even if I smile at women, they don't smile back. And according to my Arab friends, smiling at strangers is awkward and socially wrong.

 

I struggle with that.

6. Like many countries outside of the US, people love smoking and don't really care where they are when they smoke. In the taxi. In the restaurant. In the mall. Don't really matter. Even though these signs are everywhere...

 

7. Another thing I've noticed while living in Jordan is that everyone knows about politics and has an opinion on everything. I would not say that's true in America. In our classes we've had to discuss a lot of political topics and most of the time, all of us students have no idea what to say about the topics or we don't really have opinions on them. However, all of my teachers and all the people I talk to outside of class seem very well informed and are not shy in sharing their opinions.

 

8. When I imagined coming to the Middle East, I did picture women wearing the veils and men wearing traditional robes, but I don't think I imagined it to be almost everyone. How people dress is quite different than in America and every once in awhile it kind of startles me.

 

 

Most of the women in Jordan wear the hijab or niqab coverings. I've had many discussions with friends about their decision to wear it. To them, it's a personal commitment with God and a choice to focus on their inner selves rather than their outward appearance.

 

Of course, there are also women who choose not to wear the covering. There's also women who wear the hijab along with skinny jeans and tight shirts. And other women who wear the full niqab and black robes. It's been cool to see the variety.

 

 

Just a few observations.

 

 

The Middle East is amazing. It sure is different from America though. 

I have really enjoyed it and learned so much from the differences in culture and lifestyle.

 

I really believe that we have so much to learn from each other.