TURKEY... the hidden gem of the middle east!

WOW! Turkey was wonderful, here are some highlights from the trip:

• Ephesus- This was one of my favorite places that had the most ruins still intact- there was a large extensive 2 story library façade with statues that were in it as well as some temples to Diana and a large public bath house. The theatre was huge! It was so cool, we acted out Acts chapter 19 where Paul is preaching with hiscompanions to the people who are worshiping Diana instead of their HeavenlyFather. These people get mad and drag some of Pauls companions into the theaterin a mob yelling great is the Goddess Diana. Kenzie and I were the companions of Paul who got dragged into the theatre so Blake threw me over his shoulder and bounded up the steps! Itwas pretty surprising and funny to see a group of Americans booking it up tothe theatre yelling and shouting Great is Diana or don’t kill them ha ha the Orientaltour group there also were pretty shocked. Once in the theatre we acted out the rest quietly because there was a film thatwas being shot there. Afterward we all sang Ill go where you want me to go because Paul was such a great missionary and stood up for the right things evenwhen it definitely was not a popular thing to do in the city at the time he lived. It made me want to be like him and remember the covenants I have made to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places no matter who we are with or where we are.

·        Assos was one of the cities that Paul went to while on his 3rd mission (yeah this guy was pretty amazing with all the different missions he went on) – in Acts 20 it talks about how his companions went before him in the ship but he chose to walk there and then meetup with them. Our professor Brother Ludlow talked about how it is important to take time to be alone and ponder and pray ourselves especially in nature as Paul did walking back. We rode on this rickety road down to the theatre in the city and our teacher said it was the road that Paul would have walked on to get down to meet his companions at the port. The day was looming with rain cloudsand the wind whipped through our skirts and hair it was great! I loved the feeling of adventure that came as we looked out over the cliffs that were over the aquaocean. We were blessed the whole time to avoid the rain (the only time it rained we were inside a fish place and on the bus and it poured! But we didn’t get wetat all it was such a blessing especially considering I didn’t bring my coolrain jacket from Ike… oops).One thing I loved about Turkey was all the open area that was lush green hillymountains and rugged cliffs over the sea ah it was amazing
·        Funny story real quick- the first night we went to a restaurant and Kenzie, Dev, and I didn’t really realize that every meal wehad was 4-5 courses so we ate a ton of bread ah it was soooooo good and soupand salad and thought that was it but then they brought out a pastry thing anda whole plate of meat and potatoes and stuff ad then dessert afterwards so wealmost cried when they brought out the main mail thing because we were alreadyso full of lentil soup and delicious fluffy bread.  We also tried Turkish delight that I didn’treally like (its like jelly bean squares with powdered sugar), goat milk ice cream which was so good, and a ton of weird meats- they love to mix stuff in their meats and makemeatballs or little sausage things I was not a fan but some people were. Also baklavawe were served like every night- I had one that was actually pretty good butthey are just sooooo sweet it was a little to much for me.  At some hotels they would have about 30 loaves of different types of breads uncut freshly baked with aknife and a cutting board and you could go cut however much you wanted and eatit with a bunch of different jellies and stuff. (they are famous for roses sothey had rose jelly- it tasted like you were eating a flower to me…weird!) 
·        Finally we went to some amazing Mosques especially the Hagia Sophia or "holy wisdom" built in the Byzantine time period by Emporer Justian the dome in the church is HUGE and it had original mosaics all over that are back from the Byzantine Period. We were required to cover our heads with a scarf at some and take off our shoes to show respect. I reminded me that these people do have some truths (like covering their heads and taking off their shoes) andshow devotion to something they really believe in and take time to pray oftenbut just don’t have the full truth. It is amazing we are blessed with the truthand I know we need to share it with others because we do have the authority assell of the doctrine of Christ and his church
·        Also we got to ride 3 ferries – 2 our bus drove on and was carried over and one just us it was so fun to feel the wind on ourfaces and climb up on the bars on top!

All together Turkey is one of my favorite places, but I have to admit it was wonderful to come home to Jerusalem- it is quickly becoming more like a home to me than I ever thought possible! I am so blessed to be here I am trying to soak up every minute of it! Thanks to everyone who helped me have the oppertunity to be here- I love and miss you all

Shalom!

Amy and I in front of the Library at Ephesus- one of the cities Paul preached at

On the shore of Gallipoli, battle site during WWI

Camilla, Kenz, Devry and I outside the Grand Mosque at Bursa

Blue Mosque- the pillars are HUGE! Kenzie, Devry and I

On a bridge overlooking the Bosphorus Strait- Megan and Stephany and I

Just another average thursday...

Here are some fun things we have done lately- I have a sweet video of the Jewish Festival with bonfires I will hopefully put up eventually but for now trust me it was amazing!

At the Jewish festival- the men danced below around the fire while the women watch- we were in the middle of an extremely Orthodox Jewish neighborhood and were the only ones who spoke any English everyone else spoke Yiddish- amazing cultural experience!

Dormition Abbey- where Mary is traditionally thought to be buried- amazing mosaics!

Outside the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu  where they believe Christ was questioned by Caiaphas and where Peter denied him 3 times. Although a sad place it was beautiful outside with gardens and an amazing view. This is my lovely friend Amy

also same church- I love this huge purple bush with flowers so I had to get a picture here!

Jeff and I in the Upper Room- place where the apostles and Christ had the Last Supper Traditionally. Basically an empty room now but has gorgeous stained glass windows

Brooke, Kenzie, and I at a local Mosque- we learned more about Muslim worship and had a demonstration of a prayer they preform 5x a day when the Call to Prayer is heard- I hear it now in my dreams but fortunately have started to sleep through it:)

Annamarie and I on top of the roof of the tomb of David

Erev Tov! (good night) and Shalom from the Holy Land

Pictures from a Pretty amazing week

Ok stealing pictures from other peoples blogs is a beautiful thing because then I dont have to upload them! haha well it cant believe it has been already 2 weeks since I have been here- it already feels like Jerusalem is my home and I love having 58 sisters and 20 brothers- we sing songs on the bus, we tell stories and jokes, we play volleyball at night, we have dance parties, we learn, grow and testify to eachother, and are coming to know our Savior Jesus Christ better.
In Old Testament one of the major themes we are focusing on is how we have a loving Heavenly Father who has made covenants with people throughout history and that when we keep our parts of the covenants He will too. Joseph of Egypt is one of my favorite examples of this- although he was faithful and chose to exercise his faith in the Lord he wasn't immediately blessed. After being sold into slavery, then into prison for refusing to compromise his chastity and being forgotten by those he interpreted dreams for he still remained steadfast. I love the word "steadfast" and it is one the qualities I think we can all strive for, there are so many great scriptural references in the Topical Guide for it (look some up if you have time) and it pops up all through the Book of Mormon especially.
Ok so here are some great pictures of places we have been lately: 


The Old City- A beautiful limestone part of East Jerusalem that looks more traditional in the architecture and shops. Inside is the Pool of Bethesda, Garden Tomb, Church of the Holy Seplechre, and other historical gems.

Haley, Robin and Me outside the wall of the city


My Home the JC:) Yep probably as big as I will ever live in complete with the largest most beautiful organ in all of Israel!

They have the coolest spices here that make the food have a very different taste- I am still getting used to it but am starting to really like it!

Zedekias Cave- Awesome cave under the city, it is huge and water drips down in some places supposedly representing Zedekia's tears from when his people were conquered and killed above the caves in Biblical times

Tel Aviv- Beautiful City on the Coast about an hour from Jerusalem, we had a free Sunday (weird to be at the beach on Sunday I know but that is like Saturday here..) so a bunch of us took buses and came here ah best day ever:)

We found this little tiny street restuarant that the locals told us was the best and ah definately the best Pita bread I have ever had (note the empty plate by Devery and I), we had this chicken kabob stuff and humis with rice and beans all together delicous!

We built the temple mount- complete with the Dome of the Rock (Dwight, Hailey, Devery and Me)

Me and Meg at the beach- we went on a great little run in bear feet on the sand down to a pier and back, swam out to some rocks and soaked up the sun (no worries mom i wore sun screen unlike a lot of other people and came back not burned in the least! )

Field Trip over looking the City/ Augusta Victoria Church

Today we went on our first field trip mostly to beautiful outlooks of the city and the areas around Jerusalem. I was impressed with all of the places that are frequently talked about in the scriptures that are all so centrally located around the city of Jerusalem. It was neat to picture Mary and Joseph making their way over the hills towards Bethlehem- the geography here is super hilly! We went running yesterday at 6 with a group from the center and our last 3/4 mile was almost straight up Mt. Scopus to return to the center (we all decided by the time we get back we are going to have calves of steel). Anyway picturing Mary who was so expecting gave me much more sympathy and respect for her traveling in the heat of the day on a donkey!

Other neat spots we hit included:

• Church of Augusta Victoria- A christian church with a huge 200-300 foot tower that makes up one of the 3 you can see if you look east from the Old City (the other two being Hebrew University and the tower on the Roman Orthodox Church of Ascension). The church itself was built in the 1900s to commemorate Christs Ascension into heaven, named after the rulers wife Augusta Victoria. Beautiful golden mosaics are seen in the apse of the church which depicts Christ surrounded by a mandorla and is awe inspiring! We were able to climb the tower and look out over the city as well as sing Be Still My Soul in the chapel which brought the Spirit very strongly. I am learning more and more that holy places that are created to worship our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ by many different faiths have a spirit of reverence that can be felt. I know that they don't have the whole truth but it makes me understand more fully that they do have parts of the truth and are very good people who also love our Savior very much.
• We next went to the historical (Brother Harper likes to use this word when its "probable" that something may have been at a site) place that Samuel the Old Testament prophet was buried. It is an interesting building that started out as a Mosque but then was converted into a Jewish synagogue. We were separated boys and girls and went down separate staircases into the basement where there was a sarcophagus where many Jewish women were reading prayer books. It was kind of a tiny site compared to others we have been to. It amazes me how many sacred sites there are in the Holy Land for so many people of different faiths- almost every corner is adorned with some church commemorating something.

Alright had to add this random pic in here because its the first shwarma I ever had only 15 shekels in the Old City from a super nice guy named Eddie- he told us "all the mormons love me and I love all the mormon students":) IT IS DELICIOUS! ah sooooooo good no wonder people have trouble staying in shape here....

• We finally visited the Jewish cemetery that is located below the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus that contains thousands of graves of Jews who believe that if they are close enough they will be the first to be resurrected when Christ comes again. Facing this cemetery right below the old City is another graveyard of Muslim graves that were placed there "supposedly" in front of the Golden Gate that led to the temple mount back then to prevent the Messiah from entering. Both graveyards are massive and amazing to look at.

This is my bed where I sleep... its pretty comfy and cool, ha ha just kidding this is a cool underground dungeon thing left from Roman times that I think a hobo probably lives in:)

Shalom from Jeru!