July 17, 2008
Today was rough! Yesterday all we did was stay inside and study. Horrible. Today was another full day of studying, but we went to the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum. They had the real Isaiah scroll on display. How cool is that? They just displayed it at the beginning of this year for the first time in 40 years. It was really really cool. It was just an old scroll, but I loved it. Man, I was glad we went and saw that.
July 18, 2008
Finals. We had finals in our Jewish and Islam classes and they were tough. In all honesty I was a little disappointed with those classes. I was so excited for them, and they were good, but I was a little disappointed. I am still not an expert on either Judasim nor Islam, but I honestly do not think that will affect my salvation. Still, there is insight and light that was interesting to learn. To celebrate the end of finals we went into the old city and had dinner on the roof top of the restaurant. Again, it was one of those times. There I was surrounded by good friends, a lot of whom I have recently met, and surrounded by one of the most historic and beautiful cities in the world? Does life get better than that? Of course it does. I could have used my family, I could have done without the knowledge of an impending Old Testament test the next day, but nevertheless, I really enjoyed it. We also walked home from the Old City as the sun was setting. We saw a whole part of the city we never usually do. The shop keepers were cleaning up, the families were coming out, the kids were playing tag in the street. There is still so much life in Jerusalem, the Eternal City. There I was walking through the streets of Jerusalem with the sun setting. Like how many before me? The list is a long one. There I was. Wow, yeah, another moment to remember. I am so grateful for the experiences God gives me. He loves me.

This is David's look out spot.

July 15, 2008
Today was ridiculously sweet! Today we went into the tunnels of all tunnels. Today we went into Hezekiah’s tunnel. This tunnel was built by Hezekiah when invaders were approaching to conquer Jerusalem. The tunnel was built from the Gihon Spring outside of Jerusalem to the Pool of Siloam. The same pool that Jesus healed a blind man. The tunnel is so sweet. It goes for like 1/3 of a mile. The water in the tunnel is so cold and refreshing and reaches almost to your waist at times, but mostly just hangs out around your knees. Considering my new obsession with tunnels, this was like the king of tunnels. The water just made it that much cooler. It would have been way more Indiana Jones if we would have found the tunnel ourselves but I loved marching through it with the class just the same. Also on that field trip we visited David’s city which is basically a portion of the original city that David inhabited. Also we saw Area G, which is this really phenomenal archaeology site. The cool thing about that site is that this lady originally came there who was a notoriously “unbiased” atheist archaeologist that came and declared that there was no evidence of David ever living. Well, despite that fact that her being atheist actually makes her just as biased as a Christian, she made an error. She stopped too soon. Had she have searched just a little farther to the right she would have found what she was indeed not looking for, circumstantial evidence of David’s existence, proving that he indeed did exist. What is the lesson there? Keep looking. There is always proof of God, in one way or another. Keep looking. The other cool part about the field trip was going up and seeing a sight that would have been equivalent to the size of David’s palace and about the exact location. This is where things got cool. You see, from that place, it is actually really really easy to see into other people’s houses and rooftops. Had there been a young lady bathing on her rooftop, you know what? It would have been really easy to see more that I wanted to. David did not have to necessarily been looking for trouble. He could have just stumbled upon it. That was not however, the error. The error was when David acted upon his temptation, kept looking, eventually called for Bath-Sheba, and etc etc from there landing himself in the Telestial. In the same way, we all come upon sin and temptation, like David we may just even stumble upon it on the rooftop. From there, it is up to us. It does not matter what righteous acts you have done in the past, consistency is the point. It is consistently fleeing temptation. Constancy. David gave in to temptation on that rooftop. Flee temptation.
After that we broke into groups and went to the Church of Holy Sepulcher. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the other traditional site of the Crucifixion and tomb of Christ. Well, I like the Garden tomb better personally, but there is a lot of cool artwork and mosaics. Then we climbed a tower and saw the whole city from it. That was also awesome. Another successful day in Jerusalem.

July 13, 2008
July 13, 2008
I have been to Gethsemane and back again. I hope that perhaps the retelling of my journey there can be a parable for everyone in search of it. You see, it was not the easiest place to find. We talked with some center kids and got directions on how to get there, but were not exactly sure about every turn, I guess you could say we kind of just walked in the general direction and hoped to figure out the way as we went. We live on Mount Scopus which is actually just adjacent to the Mount of Olives where Gethsemane is located, so it is basically we were right by it the whole time. The Church was asked by the City of Jerusalem a few years ago if they would be interested in helping form a park on the Mount of Olives, they did and it is now called Orson Hyde Park in memory of Orson Hyde who first dedicated the Holy Land in this last dispensation. So, there is now an entrance to the Garden through Orson Hyde Memorial Park. So, in order to find Gethsemane, we needed to find the entrance to Orson Hyde Park and then make our way there. Well, I actually loved the fact that this proved to be difficult. As we did not have the exact directions, we kind of got a little side tracked and lost, which was not a huge surprise because we did not really even know what exactly it was we were searching for we just kind of started by putting one foot in front of the other. We came to a big black gate in the road and knocked on it, thinking that it might possibly be the way. A Muslim lady came to the gate and soon after began scolding us in Arabic. We realized it was not what we were looking for. So, we climbed up a dirt hill and took a couple crazy paths, but eventually found our way to the Orson Hyde Memorial Park. We were at the top of the Park that has a beautiful rock switchback path winding down the Mount of Olives to the Garden. It was what we had been searching for, but of course, the sprinklers were going in the Garden full blast. We took turns running down the path and pretending to be James Bond avoiding laser rays (you know at least I was) stopped at safety checkpoints along the way, but we were all just getting soaked. It actually turned out to be really fun, but not what were expecting, we were kind of all in like a spiritual mood. After a ways down the hill of getting totally blasted with water, the Gardener shows up and turns off the sprinklers. His name is Muhammad and he has been the Gardener there for nearly 20 years. He was really interesting to talk with. It was a lot more pleasant of a walk after the sprinklers were turned off, but it was definitely not as exciting. The view of the city was amazing though. Finally we get to the Garden, or a part of it that lets in tourists and it is closed. We walk up to the gate and the man says, come back at 2:00. Just perfect right? Here we are, about eight kids trying to visit a very special special place and it is just hard. Well, we wandered around looking for something to do and ended up at the cemetery on the Mount of Olives that has like seriously one bijillion graves. That was really cool. I am really glad that we went there. It was just neat to see all of those graves, there were so many! Okay so we go back at 2:00 and wander through the Catholic Cathedral that they have and the whole time we are hoping that there is a place to sit and study, but all the gates to the Garden areas are closed. We were really bummed. I asked the Catholic priest if he would let us go into one of the gardens and he told me to ask the guards. At first, the guards were not very helpful and then they found out we were Mormons. Now, because of the reputation the students at BYU Jerusalem Center have had in the past, the people around here really like the Mormon students. Well, he goes and lets us in this like private part of the garden across from the Cathedral. He unlocked the gate, let us in and then locked it behind us and left. It was just 8 of us BYU students alone in our own part of the Garden of Gethsemane. It was amazing. It was just so peaceful. Definitely worth what we went through to get there. And definitely worth what it takes for anyone to get there, both metaphorically and literally as obviously both can be difficult.
I found myself staring at the trees. Those crazy olive trees, and just thinking to myself, those trees are real. They are so very real. I do not know why that struck me, but it did. Those trees were real, the Garden of Gethsemane as a place, was no longer a place that I needed to decide was real or not. Like China, it does exist. There was only one question that I needed to answer in relation to that Garden, did it really happen? Did the most infinite and eternally significant event in the Universe really actually happen somewhere amidst similar olive trees somewhere on this hill? This question came to me really fast as I stood staring at those trees. It seemed to me as though the only question that I really needed to answer. Did it really happen? Did the person I have called Savior, brother, and Friend, really ever enter there? Did he really depart about a stone’s cast from his friends; fall on his face and find himself in agony praying more earnestly unto the Father on my behalf? Did he really suffer somewhere amongst these olive trees, for me? Did that really happen? Is that real? Those trees are. Those trees are definitely real. I went up with my own hands and felt them. Yeah they are real.
What happened next was really cool. As we entered this private part of the Garden, almost immediately we slowly separated. It was amazing to watch this small group of 8 slowly trickle apart like raindrops on a window go their separate paths down the glass. We did not say anything to each other, we all just knew. We all spread out among the trees finding little stools, benches and rocks to sit on. Each of us with our own tree, our own scriptures, and seeking our own special experience. You know the cool thing? I got mine.
I found myself actually alone. In the Holy Land, this is very very rare. It seems as though there are tourists everywhere, jammed in at every site. Here, we had the whole Garden to ourselves. I could not stay put. I kept getting up and wandering around throughout the Garden. I finally decided on one spot under a tree in the corner of the Garden and pulled out my scriptures. I read the accounts in the Gospels of the Saviors time in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke’s account has always been my favorite; however, it was Matthew’s account that particularly touched me this time around. I read in Matthew 26:37… “And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.” That scripture has never ever struck me before. But it just hit me. I saw it. I imagined it in my mind. The Savior, with three of his best friends in the Universe, walking toward through the Garden, looking sorrowful and very heavy. Wow. That was a lot for me. My eyes actually filled up with tears. I really do not know why. I just looked at the ground that I was sitting on and imagined the Son of God walking across it, with heavy and sorrowful steps. Did he kick a couple of stones as he went? Did he look at his feet as he walked, focusing on the trail? Or did he look upwards towards heaven seeking strength? Picturing his footsteps was for some reason easier than picturing his face. I do not know why that struck me so bad, but it did, it really did. I stared at the ground now and I perceived for the first time, the weight thrust upon the Savior that night. I felt it, just like I felt those trees. I knew it was real. Yes, I knew that long before I came to the Holy Land, and definitely long before I entered into the actual Garden, but I will still be forever grateful for my experience in that Garden. It was not like today was the first time I ever answered the question, did it really happen? But, today it did become even a little bit more real. Oh how grateful I am to a loving God who continually grants me experiences that help me feel his love. Oh how grateful I am for a loving God that continually strengthens my testimony and desire to become like Him. Oh how grateful I am for my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, who walked into that Garden of Gethsemane with heavy footsteps. Walked through those real olive trees, and full of sorrow and burdened with weight showed me forever what it means to be courageous. Showed me what it means to really love. Savior may I learn to love thee, as I know though lovest me.
Guys, I got tears in my eyes again, so I gotta go, but I just want to tell you that I am so happy.

July 12, 2008

We had to be on the bus and leaving back across the Sinai at 5 am. Seeing as I am the chair of the travel committee here in the center, I was supposed to be there at 4:45 collecting everyone’s room keys. Well, I woke up at 4:43 sprinted over there and was there by 4:45. Got all the keys, woke some other people up who slept in and were on the road by 5:15. After another treacherous journey across the Sinai, we reached the Egyptian border, where the fun began. You see, I was attempting to bring a weapon across the border. I went through the Egyptian check out and the guy pulls out my sword from my bag and I gave him a big smile and tried to pull the idiot tourist card. Yeah my fellow students all thought I was retarded. Well, he started walking around looking for a superior official and then came back and suddenly just put the sword back in my bag and was like okay. Well, as we got up to the Israel border, Professor Draper comes up and goes, Tyler you might be in trouble up here at the next border, because quite frankly I had to bribe the guy to get you through that last border. I started laughing and was like ha ha okay sure Brother Draper. Then when he walked away another girl was like, no seriously Tyler I saw Brother Draper literally bribe the guy. He reached into his travel pouch and handed the guy 5 bucks! Ha ha My religion professor had to bribe the guy to get me across the border with a weapon! Come on that is hilarious! So when I went through the Israeli border I just had the sword slung over my shoulder and the guy was like do you have any weapons and I was like yup! He laughed and they gave me a hard time about it for awhile, but I just was like come on guys! Eventually the let me pass through, but made me promise to keep it in my bag until the States. Yeah, like that’s happening.

The best part of the journey was the Red Sea. No, it didn’t part, but we swam in it. Snorkeled in it actually. I have always imagined it to be kind of gross, but actually it is beautiful. Like beautiful. They have sweet coral reefs and the brightest blue water. Moses and those guys could have set up a resort if they did not have to pass through it on the way to the Sinai. The snorkeling was not bad. Yes, Park I found a sweet tunnel to swim through under the water in the coral. It was fun, I had a bunch of people follow me through after I did it a couple times. I felt bad because a lot of the girls got cut up on the reef, but they did not listen to my specific instructions, which were to take baby strokes. But, you get a little short on breath and you kind of freak out I guess. That was way fun though, the fact that I did tunnels in the Holy Land both under water and in the hills is just cool to me. I really am obsessed with tunnels now. Tunnels and the Dome of the Rock, and Pyramids. All of these things are very good. I really liked just sitting there at the Red Sea and staring at it. Again, I don’t know what it is, but sacred spots really just have a feel to them. Moses parted that Sea. I know that he did. I really loved just staring at it. That thing parted. Crazy. Crazy. But real.

Anyways, I loved Egypt. It was amazing. I wish I had more time for insight instead of just travel log, but I did not have my computer with me the whole last week, so this was all just done in like two hours and I am tired. The End of Egypt…Back to Jerusalem.

July 11, 2008

That morning was a rough one. All day swimming in your sweat, several dance parties and then a night train followed by another day of sightseeing. We went to Citadel & Mohammad Ali Mosque, Cairo Museum, lunch at Hard Rock Café, and then a Bazaar. Of course, I bought a sword. I got a pretty good deal. I walked in and told they guy I really liked statues. I looked at his statues for awhile then I casually hinted toward a sword on the wall with a camel bone handle. I challenged him to a sword fight and winner gets the sword. He considered it for a moment but realizing that a dead customer was no good to him began to negotiate a price. We negotiated awhile I finally said my last price called him my brother and gave him a hug. He accepted and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was amazing. Oh yeah I also bought a “real” Rolex that is ridiculous and takes up my whole wrist. I will definitely not be late to the bus anymore with that clock on my wrist and it’s a Rolex so you know it’s good.

That night we had a sacrament meeting in the hotel and my elder’s quorum responsibilities basically consist of organizing the Sacrament each week. It was cool. I brought water cups, but stole 8 plates from the dinner line, cut four pieces of bread, and asked some people to help. We passed the bread and water using the plates. I helped passed. These kinds of meetings are always special. Here you have a small group of a little more than 80 who desire to take the sacrament so bad, that while in Egypt they rent the hotel banquet hall, steal plates and bread from the hotel restaurant, tediously fill up water cups with bottled water and hold an hour long meeting. Why? Because they desire to keep their covenants. Because they love the Savior. Because they desire the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Oh it is all about the Holy Ghost. I just love that feeling. It really was a neat sacrament meeting. And best of all, I did not spill the water that I was balancing on a plate. You can bet my tongue was out and I was in full concentration the whole time as I passed it to the presiding authority. It sure was neat.

July 9, 2008

Woke up early again, but this time instead of hoping on a smelly old bus, we boarded one horse carriages to ride to the Karnak temple. Well, you see, lots of people like to sit in the back of the carriage and take pictures out the side and just enjoy the sound of the hoofs on the road and bells on the harnesses. So, obviously I jumped up on the front seat next to the driver and eventually talked him in to handing over the reins. So, yes, I piloted a one horse carriage down the streets of Luxor, Egypt screaming at the top of my lungs “Hi Ho Silver!” Yes Shellie, I thought of you the whole time, if I could have had anyone next to me instead of that Egyptian man it would have been you. The guy later turned on Notorious B.I.G. and we bumped down the streets of Luxor, blaring rap music in a one horse carriage. It was amazing! (side note: I am sitting in the hall of the Jerusalem Center and the security guard just walked by and said what’s up Mr. Moustache! Ha ha ha His Arabic accent on Moustache was awesome) So, we did the Karnak temple, and the Funerary Temple of Ramses III and then back to the hotel for some categories and Marco Polo in the hotel pool before we organized the dance party of all dance parties. So, we rented a motor boat this time with a top, kind of like a ferry. There were 20 of us and we had it for an hour. Naturally, we got on the roof of the boat and rolling down the Nile River showed the viewing tourists and Egyptians how big wheels really keep on turning. It was ridiculous. Seriously, we had a walk off up there, Rusty and I did Michael Jackson moves, it was so fun! The last 20 minutes consisted of Tricia and I talking each other out of jumping into the nasty green waters of the Nile. You see, the Nile is gross. One girl jumped in last year and had to wear depends on the bus ride back across the Sinai. It took a lot of convincing but we both eventually talked each other out of jumping in, even though it was going to be sweet.

The night ended at the train station. We flew from Cairo to Luxor but we took a night train back to Cairo. The train was a step up from India trains on the niceness level, but that was only cause we all road first class. And of course we added to the experience by throwing a dance party in the train lounge. Like 30 of us all piled in the lounge car, Rusty grabbed his Ipod and there was a legitimate dance party in the train car. It got really awkward at the next stop because everyone from the whole station came to check out the car full of dancing white people. The dancing lasted for about 15 minutes before the guy at the counter finally realized that we weren’t going to buy any drinks and killed the music. It was sweet until then though.