July 19, 2008
Post the Old Testament final exam (Kelly I got minus 6…what did you get…oh and I posted that pic of Draper in the tunnel for you…classic or what?) we had the privilege of attending a Jewish Synagogue to welcome in the Sabbath. In all honesty, it does not come close to the Western Wall, but it was rad. The Rabbi is from New Jersey and moved to Jerusalem by himself in the seventies right after High School. Now, he is a Rabbi. This city means a lot to a lot of people. The service was cool. It was all in Hebrew, which was cool for 10 minutes, but then I wish I would understood. They sang just about the whole time. All the songs were really cool, they were Shabat welcoming songs. That were really cool. A Jewish girl I sat next to was really helpful and translated a lot for me, but not enough to really understand what everyone was saying. The Rabbi was really impressive. Could have given Bishop Carter a run for his money when he was in his glory days as Foothill Ranch Bishop, but as I stood there and watched, I realized that as far as leadership goes Carter is just a gem. Oh what that synagogue could have done if they had Carter running the show and leading the Shabbat hymns! The line would have been out the door to get in. I am glad he is on our team. Anyways, so yeah the synagogue was really cool. Like the Western Wall, it was a great experience to worship with other people and see their devotion to Jehovah. My favorite part was how excited they were for the Sabbath. It has changed my perspective. The Sabbath should be celebrated as a great opportunity to worship the Savior and feel the Spirit.
July 20, 2008
Shalom Shabbat. Happy Sabbath friends. I love Shabbat here in Jerusalem. The church meetings are always so great! It is kind of hard for a meeting to be bad when you have the entire city of Jerusalem displayed behind you through enormous windows. Oh it is so cool! Funny thing actually, after helping bless the Sacrament (I cannot tell you what a privilege that is) I went and sat down on the second row. Big mistake, the people on the stand block your view of the city and especially the Dome, my obsession. So, as soon as the first speaker finished I got up and AWKWARDLY moved to the top of the seating where the whole city was in view. I kind of felt like everyone was looking at me and it was weird. I sat down and the girl in front of me looks back with like a, what is your deal face, so I leaned forward and whispered, “I couldn’t see the Dome down there.” She’s like oh should have guessed that one. I seriously arrange my seating to ensure that the Dome is always in vision. The church meetings were really good, I felt the Spirit really strong the entire time and there is honestly not a better feeling. After church meetings, Rusty, me, Lindsey and Tricia flew these Spiderman Kites that Rusty and I bought in the old city. Now, that was awesome! We enjoyed a wonderful Shabbat afternoon flying kites over the Eternal City of Jerusalem. Check out that picture. Yeah, me, flying a kite, with the Dome of the Rock and entire city behind me. Dad, I must admit, after all that practice with your kite out at the river, I was humbly the best kite commodore out there. That thing was flying. A huge spider man kite flying over the Jerusalem Center until it crashed into the roof. That was okay though, I got it back.
After we wore ourselves out flying kites we decided, hey why don’t we jst cruise on down to the Garden Tomb before dinner? Quaint isn’t it? Just an afternoon Shabbat stroll to the Garden Tomb. The best part was just the three of us, Me, Tricia and Rusty, all went together and when we got there, there was like no one around the tomb. The Garden property is pretty big, so there were a lot of people inside, but we got the Tomb all to ourselves! All three of us were like, It’s a Miracle! Seriously, last time I could not have even taken a picture without another tourist in it and this time, I could not have found a tourist to be in it if I wanted to. We took all the pictures we wanted and then were even able to just stand in it for awhile and just be still. I know what you are thinking, and the answer is yes, the Tomb is still empty. Yes, yes yes! Oh is that not glorious news. Here is where I have to give a huge thank you to the person who put all the Music on my ipod (yes I still have the Dellpod, but I accepted the ipod as a very very generous gift). Heaven knows I am not good with technology, but as I scrolled through the songs that were put on there, I was so grateful to find the Hymn, “I know that my Redeemer Lives”. I sat there quietly and listened to it, while staring at an empty tomb. Choice. Simply choice.
Do you know what the word conquer means? What do you think of when you hear that word? Overcome, surmount, get the better of, annihilate, defeat, beat, overpower. Those are the synonyms that come up when I right click the word on my word processor. Well, all of those words, that is exactly what Christ did to Death. He beat it. He annihilated it. If you think about any fairy tale, or magic story, or adventure, what is typically the quest? Immortality. That has been the quest since the beginning. How do we obtain Immortality. Well guess what adventure fans and dreamers..That is exactly what Christ did. He won. Eternal Life and Immortality, are not found in Magic Rings or Sorcerers Stones. They are found only through Christ.. I am so grateful for the precious gift of the Resurrection. I am so grateful for the opportunity that the Savior has given me to qualify myself for Eternal Life. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but my Faith in the Savior leads me to believe that if He can conquer death, I will follow Him anywhere and do anything He asks of me. He did it. I know He did. He really did. He broke the bands of death. O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory? Those are the words I whispered aloud today as the three of us stood there alone in that tomb. Three of us. Just me, Rusty and Tricia. The Tomb was empty, except the three of us.