Arab Night

So one day we went looking for Arab outfits for our Arab dinner and we went to Shabon's and he dressed us up and it was so great. This is Me, Adam, Ashley, and Andrew
This is Me and Sniffer at Arab night, in the Oasis we had REAL Arab food and there was a little picture section where it was set up to take pictures... needless to say we had a hay day taking pictures.
These are my three BEAUTIFUL roommates Ashley Wilkinson, Julie Rencher, and Erica Clark, three of the most beautiful girls here. oh my gosh they are fantastic, our room is clean, none of us our high maintanance and we all go to bed at like 1030 it's FANTASTIC!!! Erica and Ashley are soon to be engaged and Julie... Beautiful Julie all the men love her.
This is Me and Matt Holbrook, we found out that we have a mutual friend... Daniel Willey and we've been bff's ever sense. He is such a cutie so nice to everyone and all the girls just love him to death.

So Arab night was soo much fun, we had it last Wednesday. The night started out with us all dressing up looking so cute. Then we all went into the fourm and a father and his son came and read some of the Qur'an for us and recited the call to prayer. These men have had the privlage to do the call to prayer over the loud speakers (which we hear 5 times a day) for over 500 years. Listening to them do this was incredible so beautiful.
Next we filed into the Oasis which was set up all "Arab like" and we ate a delish meal, we piled food on our plates it was a tad bit rediculous. We ate and enjoyed each others company.
Lastly we went into the Gym where 4 girls taught us an Arab dance, all I can say is that it was hard and most of us were dying of laughter trying to imitate the steps these girls were doing. It was just so fun.

J-Rew

So this is at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Me, Sniffer, and Jacey. Two incredible girls Sniffer (Jennifer; we have 3 Jennifers so I have made names for them all) she is so incredible, so determined to do whats right and to learn all she can. Jacey is Gorgeous so small and pettite, with BEAUTIFUL blue eyes she is wonderful!!!
So I don't really take my camera around when we're just out walking in the city because Adam always has his really nice camera and snaps shots like this.... This is my favorite shot he has taken, we were walking in West J-Rew I think to get some gilato or something and we saw these guys playing "I wanna be like you" oh my I just fell in love with them and thier retro clothing and am so glad Adam got this picture.

I had more pictures but it takes so bleeping long to upload so I will do more pictures tomorrow!!!

Mucho love

T T T T TURKEY!!!

Me and Angela in Ephasus
Me at the hot pots in Ledocia (spelling way wrong just sound it out)
We took a river cruise from one side of Istanbul to the other BEUTIFUL
Chris, Adam, Me and Canton at Ephasus again

So one time I went to Turkey... It was amazing. Here I am thinking that Turkey is this ugly 3rd world country.. Guess who didn't pay attention in Geography. This place is BEAUTIFUL like take the most beautiful place and times that by... 6 (only a few of you will get that) We started in Istanbul which was by far the most incredible then went to Miletus, Pergamum, Ephasus, (I don't think I'm spelling these right) and we did this by spending on the upper hand 8 hours (usually minimum) on a bus a day needless to say we got to know each other REAL good. There is so much I could say about this place the beauty it portrayed, the ancient ruins we walked around, the mosques we went in but the one thing that stood out to me on this trip that was the most in a cliche way of putting it "life changing" so first off let me set the scene, we are basically living out of our suit cases at a new hotel every night, I don't believe these people believe in AC so we slept in basically nothing every night with no sheets on our bodies, the food.... lets say I ate a LOT of bread like at least a loaf each meal, we weren't really supposed to drink the water so we couldn't brush our teeth with tap water we had to use bottles of water... But it was all right. so day three of the trip my body started telling me that if i didn't take better care of it it was going to basically kill over, which it almost did I just felt up set to my tummy every day but not bad enough to stop me from walking and enjoying every minute of everything. Not only that but when ya don't feel good all ya want is your mom, so yes I was super home sick this trip. Friday night we pulled in to our hotel and were told to throw our suit cases in our rooms and come down for sacrament. We get down to the hotel lobby and are filled into this small bar (I know :)) we all sit down some at tables but the majority of us were on the floor, it was super hot in there. We decided that while waiting for Bro Muelstine to start church we'd sing some hymns. As soon as we began with nearer my god to thee the spirit hit me like a bag of bricks, I openly began to cry while watching these people that I have grown to love sing praises to God... In a bar.... In a hotel.... In Turkey (do you see where I'm going with this?) I was homesick for something familiar, my family, my friends, my home, a familiar street to walk down, a familiar language, anything to set me at peace...... and I found it... the spirit of God and the Truth of this Gospel is the same everywhere, it is the only familiar thing that I can carry with me where ever I go. Where ever any of us go. The love God feels for me is familiar, his spirit is familiar, and the truth it speaks is also familiar. It was a testimony to me then and there the truth of this gospel and how it is "home" I am so privileged to have that knowledge, sadly it took me going to Turkey to realize it but now that I have it I won't let it go.

Through the Valley Of the Shadow of Death

(This is call Saint Georges Monestary: This is the place where Joseph and Ana concieved Mary after all this time that they didn't think they'd have a child. It's built into the Mountain side of Wadi Quid)
This is Wadi Quid aka The Valley of the Shadow of death ANND the where we were standing is thought to be the back side of the mount of temptation (where Christ was tempted) BEAUTIFUL!!
(Harod's Winter Palace: Don't worry those weren't the official columns but you get the idea.)

A long description but highly appropriate for the view and the biblical lessons learned today. Today was our Jericho field trip, we started off at the Winter Palace of Herod, this is the Palace that the Hesmoneans built and were taken over by the Romans and Harod gained control. Now Harod I don't like him very much he is what we'd call paranoid. He had such a fear of the Jews revolting against him that he took GREAT measures to ensure that wouldn't happen. This included, Marrying Marianne (A Hesmonean) later killing her little brother who had just been ordained a high priest and after that killing everyone of his Son's so that he would maintain power. In the midst of doing this he built temples or "holy places" to try and gain Jewish Favor. Although he was kind of a scum bucket he did construct some of the most BEAUTIFUL palaces and fortresses. Harod also died in this same "winter palace" and was taken to be burried 24 miles to Herrodian.
Next stop was at Tell Jericho, we looked at THE OLDEST archeological discovery in the world. The wall of Jericho. We not only saw the wall but we saw where the wall had fallen and our ancestors had climbed through the over take the city. Interestingly enough there was Grain found imbedded within the walls of Jericho... WHY? well because the Lord told Joshua not to take anything from the city so he was true to what the lord had asked.
Lastly we stopped at Wadi Qelt, this is where Christ did his last physical walk from Jericho to Jerusalem before he was crucified. Just thinking of that alone, was a testimony builder, of Christ's love for me, as he wandered through the "wilderness" contemplating the trials and pain he was going to face, thinking of me individually and knowing when he thought of me that it was all worth it.... As he did the same for each of us. I have come to realize that the atonement is such a thing of hope, it is what is missing in every religion. It makes me feel like I have reason to live when I think of it. These different religions I have been studying only see the death and destruction. We see the life and the light of Christ; it's something I yearn everyday for people to understand. I want them to be as happy as I am and it only comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is also where the parable of the good Samaritan comes from. If you look in I think it's songs of solomon chapter 3:4 it is the shepherds song, from David. He talks about crossing the valley of the shadow of death, this was that valley. It was given that name because it was a long stretch with no people, this is often where robbers would come to take people rob them and leave them for dead. Just as the man who was helped by the good Samaritan. Think for a moment about the story, A levite and a Priest walk by him..... A great point was brought up about this, the Levite and Priest did not stop because they were on their way to the temple to do holy things, so they were essentially going to do good. It was believed back then that if you saw someone with an open wound and oozing from that wound was any type of fluid, if you stopped to help them you were considered unholy/unclean. So if that priest had stopped to help that man he wouldn't have been able to preform his "good Duty." How often do we think that we are off to go do something good, such as a church calling, or delivering a meal; something of that nature, but we do not stop to help the "man along the road" although we are doing something good, we aren't doing the best. Remember that God said, if you do it unto the least of these my brotheren ye do it unto me. it also is reversed if ye do it NOT unto the least of these my bretheren ye do it NOT unto me. We then stood atop that beautiful mountain contemplating and Sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" never have words penetrated to deeply into my soul.

Shabbat Shalom

Navi samwell: A beautiful fortress built by the crusaders within the 3rd crusade where Richard the lion heart tried to over take Jerusalem. (this is as far as he got) on this sacred site there is a building that in the basement it's a synagogue, on the top floor it is a mosque, and it was also a chapel for Christians, it was amazing. Beautiful!!
This is the actual stone at Gibeah of Saul, the palace where David came to play his harp. The building was excavated and these stones were just thrown down the hill and there they have stayed since the 1940's. BEAUTIFUL!!!
Funny Story. We were in West Jerusalem, which is the safe part of town where we're allowed to stay out at night and everything. It's very westernized. But we were sitting down eating a chocolate filled crepe (delish) and the store owner came out to me and said get out of here.. I just looked at him then he started yelling and said get your friends out and go, go go go.. So I just got up and ran. The reason he got us out was there was a bomb scare in the center right next to us.... It turned out a lady had just left her bag of groceries out in the street and the bomb squad came as did the police... Goes to show how much people care for our safety.
here is that palace I was talking about at the Gibeah of Saul. From this hill we could see so much, we looked at the land of our ancestors. And we could see Beth-el which means house of God. This was the place Jacob saw God in his dream which we call Jacob's ladder dream. And this would also be the spot where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. INCREDIBLE!!!
This is Erica Clark she is one of my roommates, we met in the air port on the way here and became FAST friends. This is our First Sabbath and we were so jet lagged.

NOW FOR THE MEAT OF THE POST!!!
Last Night we celebrated by welcoming the Sabbath day with the Jews at the Western Wall. You would think that at such a holy site the welcoming of the Sabbath would be reverent with a lot of praying? Well wrong, the Jews usually arrive at the wall at sunset so around 7 then until the sun sets and it is dark there is just straight celebration. Dancing and singing in Hebrew. So when we got to the wall the girls split from the boys and went to their separate sides of the wall. 4 of my good friends went down to the wall and we each submitted a prayer for each other (if you put someone elses prayer in that isn't yours it's believed to be good luck) so we did that then walked out never letting our backs face the wall. It was so packed so that proved to be a tad difficult. As we stood there I we saw a bunch of girls our age singing, then it just turned into a song and dance. the girls held hands and got in to three circles all encompassing each other and started singing and jumping while spinning in circles. I was standing there watching and 3 Jewish Girls the only one I can spell is Barbra came and grabbed my hand and pulled me in and just told me to sing along as best I could. We did that for about 45 minutes. And then the girls asked where we were from. They were so wonderful they explained that they were on a "gap Year" for their religion where they are sent away for the year after high school till college where they come here to spend a year learning about the torah and their religion. It was a testimony of how the spirit can be felt anywhere. One Jew (Mandi) talked with me and asked if I was mormon and said she respected my religion so much and that she love me, that no matter what religion people were if we all just loved each other as being children of God that we would never have strife within the world.

This is Joy

Jenny and I at the Wailing wall!!

It's day four in this Beautiful city and I am already deeply in love with the culture and the people. I've been out in the city everyday, every minute I can. The people around the old city know the mormons, we will walk by the shops and they will say "MORMONS???" and we will smile and say yes then they will invite us in the store and show us their merchandise, telling us they give good price to the mormons' because they are honest good people.

Today we went on our "Geography" field trip. We went all over the place always pointing out the things on the North, South, East, and West as it states in Genesis 13 where it's promised to Abraham that he will be given the lands round about from everywhere. We have been learning so much about the Abrahamic Covenant. We've already learned so much and I don't feel my brain is large enough to contain it all. Our professors, INCREDIBLE and so renown archeologists that just are so brilliant. Oh and let me tell you about the food, only one word, AMAZING. I will be gaining so much weight. It's a joke around here that we came with baggy clothes but may go home with tight ones.DELICIOUS

I feel like there is so much to say but I can't even express everything I have learned. Like today we looked over the hill to Bethlahem and saw where Christ was born, We've seen the desert where he wandered for 40 days and the tower of his ascension. We went to the palace of Samuel where David came to play his hard, we stood on the ACTUAL stone of the palace. Oh just so much and in one day, this is such a rich cultured city. I don't think I will be able to leave. Every night I go out side to sit and look over the whole city, sometimes I try to make it out there to listen to the call to prayer. (which comes on 5 times a day including 4:00 am.) It's wonderful, it is such a beautiful thing to listen to.

OH and we went to the wailing wall the other day, so reverent, so peaceful, these Jewish people are so devote and my heart yearns for them to come unto the truth but I know that it won't happen. We also went to Gethsemane on our Sabbath (Sunday) which is on Saturday, I was just filled with the spirit I can't even describe it.

This is what REAL joy is