Galilee

Wow 2 weeks in Galilee were probably the hottest, most amazing, testimony building weeks in my life! I loved being in all the sites that I read about in the scriptures. Here are some of my favorite memories:

At the Jordan River- there were little fish that bit the dead skin off your feet- it kinda tickled:) beautiful area that has the picture in the back of the Bible- we were able to sing primary songs and I love to look for rainbows which made me reflect on my own baptismal covenant.

Sunday devotional- Jeff and Amy sang as I played the violin a pretty arrangement of There is a Green Hill Far Away. Then we had some students bear testimony about Christ and what a strong spirit I was able to feel that one of the reasons I am here is to gain a stronger testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and then to share it!

Me and McKenzie at the Mount of Tabor- where Elijah had a duel with the priest of Baal

Castle at Nimord where we climbed up and look down

Prickly pear moment- Jungle book came to mind, Rachel tried to pick one and had a prickle moment

Me and Jamie after we picked out a mustard seed from a plant- they are kinda spicy and TINY! the parable comes to life of how small it was.

This was our cool guide Eric- who was 58 and a guide from the Kibbutz, he was a character

Waterfall on the hike

One of the first missionaries in the Holy land- he died after a year teaching here and was buried in this cemetary- the cut off column represents life cut short

Bahai gardens- beautiful! They believe thier leader was buried in that building at the end with the gold dome on top, they have 7 million members of their church and their center was in Haifa here we were.

Christmas in July!

Bethlehem- What a special city this is! Only 5 miles South of Jerusalem it is in the infamous West Bank area, but it was one of my favorite places we have been so far!

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was , that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered .

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes , and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Under the Church of the Nativity there is a cavelike room that is traditionally believed to be the "manger". We were able to listen to Brother Huntsman read from Luke and then sing Away in the Manger. What a special Spirit was there in the place that is thought to be where Jesus Christ our Savior was born! 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night.

In a field similar to the one where the Shepherds were visited by the angel of the Lord. What an experience to sing Angel's We Have Heard on High! 9 And, lo , the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid .

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes , lying in a manger.

We ate lunch at "the tent restaurant" which served us a staple Israeli meal of wheat pitas with a bunch of different humus like sauces, BBQ meat and watermelon for dessert- delicious! The restaurant itself was open air and had a fun lounge like feel where we sat on couches and ripped pitas with our hands. Maybe something more like what Christ would have done?

What a joy it is to know that Jesus was born and he lived a perfect life, performed the atonement but also that "his life, which is central to all human history neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary" but that He lives! I am so grateful for him and to be here studying his life and coming to know him better. I know that along with studying, the way we come to know him is to be His hands here on the earth, to serve like he did and to love those around us. I am trying to remember that this week as I meet others from all different faiths and try to love them as Jesus would.

I love it here and am so blessed to be here in  a land that is loved by so many of different faiths there really is a special Spirit here.

Kenzi and I outside a Greek Orthodox church where they believe the Shepherds would have been when the angels came

                                                 

Shalom from the Holy Land! 

4th of July!

Even though we did have to go to class on the Fourth of July, we had a great celebration afterwards! First we went and did Hezekiah's tunnel all in the dark- NO LIGHTS AT ALL! it was the darkest I have ever experienced in my life but so much fun. After we had a special American dinner of hamburgers, corn on the cob, fruit salad, and of course ice cream and apple pie! It was super yummy and I forgot how much I like American food! After dinner we played outside for a while then we had a Minute to Win it competition in FHE families and a dance party after. Sister Ludlow was great and made a special flag cake we lit with sparklers and sang the star spangled banner. Altogether it was a very patriotic day and I realize how blessed we are to live in a country thats focus is on freedom and the emphasis that it really was supported by God. I was reminded of the book 7 Miracles that Saved America that Grandpa Bob recommended. It reminded me that there were so many times where America should have not been able to break away from Britain but with the Lords help anything is possible!

Nate really happy about his hamburger

the oasis decked out in style

YUM!

Fun table

FLAG CAKE:)

Making our "USA"

The Ludlow's littlest daughter Melia and I

Having fun out on the grass

Kenzi and I! She has some pretty sweet red pants...

I love my life:)

Free sabbaths we enjoy the peacful atmosphere of the Garden Tomb

Fun day biking in Tel Aviv- Maddie and I got the "cruisers" and needless to say go with the mountain bikes- they are much more reliable and comfortable!

Helpful gardening group with Father Sebatian in the middle


Yummy meal that father Sebastian cooked for us to thank us for all our hard work


Helping out Father Sebatian plant his garden



Mt Nebo




Maddie, Hailey and I on Mt. Nebo- where the Lord took Moses to show him the Promised Land


On top of the roof at Amman Jordan eating ice cream and playing Mafia- what a fun night:)

Hezekiah's tunnel and Miracles in the Holy Land

Hey Family and Friends!

This week has been one of blessings and learning!

 On Sabbath the area 70 Brother Catcher came for Branch Conference from Abu Dabi. He brought such a special spirit with him as he invited some random people from the audience to share their testimony as well as asked for an impromptu Choir number Nearer My God to Thee. I was able to sing in it and what a neat spirit as there in the chapel as he got up to speak. He spoke of his own conversion in his early twenties when he came to the Y as a nonmember. After he was baptized he said he would invite his friends to come over to his home and bear their testimonies to him almost weekly so he could build his own. What a neat idea huh? He then spoke of the miracles of the countries around the middle east and how the church although small in many places is growing and miracles are happening.

 The Branch presidency here was reorganized because President Player and his family are moving to China for his job. A man who lives in Bethlehem and is Palestinian was called to be in the presidency and knows Arabic which is kinda a big deal- he was baptized last year after he had a friend who was Mormon and said he could see the light in his eyes and asked him about it but wasn't able to find out about the church until he went to the States on a trip a little while after. He then looked it up and talked to the missionaries and gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He then came back to Jerusalem and was baptized in the Red Sea with his close family. He spoke of how hard it is for him as a publicity manager as his occupation to keep quiet about he church and how much it has blessed his life, but how it is a commandment here and important. Brother Ludlow (our ANE teacher) said the next day in class that we are living in a very important historical time here in the Middle East. This is the first time the church was had a member who knows Arabic well in church leadership and who's family and friends will be able to realized the example of his family even if he cant directly share what he knows- the work is moving forth here!

After church we went out and watched the sunset on the grass after going to the church of Dominica Levet- where Christ was traditionally thought to have wept over Jerusalem. We met a cool priest while there at the church named Father Sebatsian who wanted us to come help him with the garden so we got his number and called him back so a group of us are going to go over tomorrow morning and see if we can help out somehow- his english isn't very good so we will see how it goes:)

Ok we went on an amazing field trip to the City of David on Monday- we went over outside the Old City to an excavation site where they are digging out what they think is David's Palace. Also under there is the tunnel of Hezekiah that was built when the Assyrian's were trying to conquer Jerusalem in 722 BC and laid a siege around the city. However Isaiah prophesied that they wouldn't even shoot an arrow through the walls that Hezekiah had built which proved to be prophetic. The Israelites needed water but didn't want to have to go outside the city to get it so they tunneled underground and made a path for the Gihon Spring to end up in the Pool of Salome. The Pool of Salome is where Jesus told the Blind man in John ch9 to wash the mud off his eyes and healed him so he could see. We sat at the pool and read in John Chapter 9 about this story and how even after the miracle the Pharisee's tried to fault Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. They really missed the mark, something we need to be careful not to do. Also next to the pool are the steps leading up to the temple where Christ would have walked for sure, it was neat to sit there as Brother Harper testified out the importance to keep trying each day to become more like Christ and to never give up because he will never give up on us.

 We were able to walk through the tunnel which was pitch black and filled with refreshingly chilly water that was about thigh deep. It was soooo cool, we had flashlights and head lamps- mine is actually out of batteries to it was cool to have to just rely off the light of others and made it kinda exciting! It kinda reminded me of going through the crack because if one person stopped in front of you, you were kinda stuck. It went about a mile long so we walked through it in about 45 minutes- we decided (Dwight, Kenzi, Devry and I) that we want to come back and go through completely in the dark for an adventure! (it was kinda funny at the beginning Kenzi and I were towards the front of our 40 students in our class and we stopped to take a picture and then went to follow and thought that it was a dead end- there was a gate you went through- so we turned around and had everyone go back and tried 2 different ways hat really were dead ends so everyone was starting to get a little worried when we went back and realized the gate opened. we told everyone that we were just trying to make it more exciting!)

Sunday we went to the Biblical Zoo and got waffles for Kenzi's 20th birthday- it was fun to see signs of animals with Scriptures next to them (like next to the snake something about Satan being the serpent) and then a huge Ark that was something like the size of Noah.

Kol Tuv!

Melinda

The Ultimate road trip... Jordan!

I just got back from Jordan- by far Petra was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life! Here are some pictures and descriptions that show some of the trip but honestly the memories cant be described and some of them like singing the baptism primary songs at the river Jordan, acting out in an old Roman Theatre with Dev, Kenz and Dwight and eating ice cream out of a tub with spoons on the top of the hotel are things I will always remember but cant show:)

PETRA!- The Nabateans were a people in the 4th century AD who cut out over 800 rock cut tombs and built these temples right into the red rock. We hiked around the site for a couple hours and still didn't see even close to as much as was there. So far only 1/20th of the city has been excavated. There are native Jordanians all over offering necklaces, camel, horse and donkey rides and all sorts of trinkets. Although it was pretty steamy hot, there was a nice mountain breeze and you were so amazed it was worth the heat!

Yep here is my camel- he was pretty great

epic jumping picture in front of the monestary- Amy, Geoff, Dana, Pricilla, me and Rachel

Hailey and I

Jerash- who knew there were cool Roman ruins in Jordan?

Kenzi Me and Alecia

Going to the Jordan River was such a neat experience, we were able to sing primary baptism songs and feel the spirit so strong witnessing to us that Christ really was baptized near there and were reminded of our own baptismal covenants we had made. 

Finally going to the Jabbock River where Jacob "wrestled" with the Lord reminded us of the importance of having personal prayers that are meaningful and coming to the Lord often.

 

The Picture Game

Here are some pictures- I dont have time to write the captions yet so enjoy trying to guess what/where they are until I do:)