Saying Goodbye to Jerusalem...

View from the BYU JC.

"Myrrha, Jerusalem Incense, Frank Incense, Zmirna, Night Flower Incense, Mixed Incense." Just a little something I found in the city. Haha.

View from my apartment balcony. Last night in Jerusalem.

One of the shops in Jerusalem.

The murals we painted at an Arab children's school nearby the center.

"BYU Winter 2010"

Sister and Brother Jackson. The medical people that took care of me when I was throwing up all night after snorkeling in the Red Sea.

President and Sister Brown. Sister Brown was our camera lady. She always tried to take the WORST pictures of all the students. President Brown is the MAN!

 

Jonathan Arnell and Brittney Palmer and me. Last day in Jerusalem.

The day we departed Jerusalem was the day they decided to get a SIGN for the tourists. Perfect! Haha. We were pretty annoyed about that...

Last trip to the Western Wall.

Prayers in the wall.

View of the Western Wall.

Jonathan Arnell (tall blonde) being weird... He said he made a cape. Haha.

Brother and Sister Whipple and me. The service couple at the BYU Jerusalem Center.

Brother and Sister Jackson and me. Right before we left the center.

View from the center.

Where we had sacrament every Sabbath (Saturday).

Dome of the Rock in the distance. The room where we had sacrament.

The Emmett Family! They were AWESOME!!! Sarah, Joel, and Will. Cutest family ever!!

Driving away from the center.

Goodbye Jerusalem...

View from my apartment balcony.

BYU Jerusalem Center.

Standing on the sixth floor of the center. Saying goodbye.

Entrance of the center.

Library.

"The Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, Brigham Young University"

Eighth Floor of the center.

"Pray not for Arab or Jew for Palestinian or Israeli, but pray rather for ourselves that we might not divide them in our prayers but keep them both together in our hearts."

Speech! Speech!

The following speech was given by our very own Stella Nickerson and Kate Thompson. They are two of the most awesome girls I've ever met. They wrote this particular speech in order to prepare all of us students for the trip home. I loved it and wanted to include it in my blog. Enjoy!




Hello everyone. We thought we would begin with a list of predictable in-jokes. Remember when the fire alarm went off all the time? Ha ha ha ha ha. Remember when we actually called the Dan Jones the Dan Jones all semester? Ha ha ha ha ha. Remember when Brother Whipple played the organ and the fireworks went off? That was so awesome!

But really guys. We've had a good semester. You all know what happened, you all know where we went, and you all know that we love you. So here's some parting words of advice from Kate and Stella.

There is a phenomenon known as performer's letdown. After months of a play consuming all your time and energy, and just after a very high point of performance, suddenly it's all over. You have all this spare time and energy and you're not quite sure what to do with yourself. You miss the people you used to see everyday, and you fall into a period of depression. We predict that you will go through performer's letdown. Don't worry. It's natural. There's nothing wrong with you. Read your scriptures, say your prayers, and keep yourself anxiously engaged in a good cause. Remember, the Savior understands everything, including post-Jerusalem letdown.

You have built a great experience here prayer by prayer, lesson by lesson, stone by stone into a metaphorical tower, citadel, or cardo of some kind. Reuse those stones—reuse them in your families, future wards, and careers. We talk about going back to real life, but guys, this was real life. We each had the idea to come to Jerusalem, and we made it a reality. Real life for the past four months has been amazing, and we can continue to strive for amazing in the reality that comes next.

One more point. We committed to build Zion. Our Jerusalem Center Winter 2010 community can continue to build Zion even if we're not living together. Just so you know, we are still committed to building Zion with you and will be for as long as it takes.

I am going to tell you a story. Last semester, we lived together. All of our guy friends left on missions. All of our girlfriends got new boyfriends. Many a time Kate said to me,. “When we go to Jerusalem, we'll have friends again!” You are those friends. We came here to meet you, and we don't want to let you go.

That being said, the quality of a friendship is not determined by whether you “keep in touch.” Even if we don't talk every day like we do now, or even every month, or even every year, we are still friends, and because of that we have all been changed. Never hesitate to wave to us on campus, or at Smith's, or in fifty years at General Conference. Also never hesitate to actually come hang out with us. In short, Let's be friends!

Zion....

The following speech was given by our very own Stella Nickerson and Kate Thompson. They are two of the most amazing girls I've ever met. They wrote this particular speech in order to show us all that we can truly build Zion as we carry our Jerusalem experiences with us throughout the rest of our lives. I loved it and wanted to include it in my blog. Enjoy!


We want Zion. Before we left for Jerusalem, we were told, “This experience will be the closest you will ever come to Zion.” However, we feel this statement is misleading and needs clarification.


First, it would be a tragedy if this was our only Zion-like experience. We, personally, plan on creating Zion in our future apartments, homes, and communities. Second, it makes Zion sound too easy. It limits Zion to a physical place, as if as soon as we step within the magical walls of the Jerusalem Center, our hearts will align and we will be nigh unto taken up. Conversely, it sounds as though as soon as we leave we will give up Zion to the next semester's students. We submit that Zion is not inherited, but built. If we want Zion, it's up to us to build it.

One of us has been writing this treatise in her mind since that first orientation meeting. Her thesis—Zion is built upon principles of unity, charity, and purity. It was, essentially, a harangue on how we needed to shape up and build Zion. But as the semester progressed, she saw us individually growing and changing and building. Where she wanted to see more unity, suddenly there was unity thanks to things like Diana's Judge-Free Zone and long road trips. Where she thought we needed more charity, we found it in Galilee; as we made goals to understand Christ, we became like Him and developed His love. As for purity, perhaps we could step it up a notch, perhaps not; we each know where we stand. But that is no longer the focus of this paper.

The problem with the original thesis is that we assumed we knew better than you the way to bid farewell to Babylon and come to Zion. But as we watched the growth of everyone here, including ourselves, and saw those basic principles of Zion flourish, we were humbled. Instead of calling the Center to repentance, we would like to share some thoughts.



We want to spend our last little while here building Zion.

Recently, we have had drama. Even now, we can't use the Internet to look up quotes about Zion. In the past two days, the beautiful feelings of unconditional love that filled the Center have been replaced by ugly feelings of resentment and conflict. We believe that the Adversary is trying to set back our progress in building Zion. By filling the last two weeks with contention, he hopes to taint our entire experience.

We have reason to be angry or annoyed with our leaders and they have reason to be angry or annoyed with the students. But are these reasons reason enough to forget the cause of Zion? We need those leaders and they need us. We need to be unified with our leaders as much as with each other. Let us not be Us and Them. Let us not attack and counterattack. Instead, let's create an environment where everyone, students and leaders alike, can present their side and try to understand each other. Instead of getting our dander up, let's approach it as Christ: hear what others have to say with charity towards each individual. Seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Refocus on the goals you brought to Jerusalem. In the months this treatise has been evolving, we learned that we can not tell you how to build Zion. You know better than we do what you need to do. We know better than you do what we need to do. We have been humbled by your example so far, and so we will leave you with this:

We commit to building Zion and everything that entails.

Love,

Kate and Stella

My Talk

So... as you all know, I've been home from my semester abroad for about a month and a half now. All I can say is that I can't believe it. I can't believe I had the opportunity to study in the Holy Land. I can't believe I met so many awesome people (whom I'm still staying in good contact with), and that I felt so much closer to the Savior there. I'm missing Jerusalem more than ever now. All I can do no though is share my wonderful experiences with those around me. I've already helped my grandmother put together a nice book of all my e-mails I sent while in the Holy Land. I'm still working on a photo book. I flew back to California very unexpectedly in order to help Marie with a fireside she was putting on for the Napa Stake. I think it turned otu to be a success. She and I put together a powerpoint of LOTS of pictures and explained each one. Marie and Mei-Ling also did a musical number which was absolutely beautiful. Marie arranged pictures of Christ on a powerpoint and synched it with a beautiful piano song called: " ." I also gave a "talk" that I had put together WAY last minute. And you can find that talk below. It seems like no matter what we say though, people are hungry for me. Which is so awesome.

I'd like to share with you the talk I gave at the fireside and in the singles ward out here in Californa. It's not very polished, but it's what I have for now:

I want you all to imagine sitting in a big beautiful room. It is the most beautiful room you’ve ever been in. On the opposite side of the room are expansive windows with a vista that goes for miles. A view of the buildings and places are where some of the most important events have transpired. You look at these every single day. For the next four months, you will spend each day visiting and studying the events that made these sacred places. Among these buildings is a beautiful golden edifice, called The Dome of the Rock. Now you’re glancing over to a little town called Bethlehem. And then Gethsemane. Now you’re looking at the spot of the Garden Tomb, just a few miles away. Just imagine what it would be like to live every day for four months in a place where EVERY day would be the best day of your life. You learn something new every day. You meet amazing people every day, and you GROW as a person every day.

As one of our fellow students at the BYU Jerusalem Center mentioned, it was my original thought before I embarked on this amazing “once in a lifetime” trip that I had the expectation for my faith and testimony to suddenly magically blossom “into a big huge beautiful tree.” I expected all this, especially as we visited amazing places (one after the other), such as Gethsemane, Mt. Sinai, the Mt. of Transfiguration, Mt. of Beatitudes, and Bethlehem; but much to my surprise, I was very wrong. As I visited each one of these places, I felt that instead of my testimony instantly growing into a magnificent tree, it was the ROOTS that were deepened more and more with each visit to a sacred place. As you can probably imagine, as I sat at places like the Garden Tomb and the church in Nain in Galilee which commemorates the widow’s son being healed, I tried so hard to grasp the idea that Christ had in fact set foot there, and that I was “walking where Jesus walked.” Yes, I did feel that overwhelming Spirit, but in much different ways than I ever would have imagined or expected. I found that when we sang those special hymns such as “Silent Night” in the Church of the Nativity, or “Master the Tempest is Raging” on a boat on the Sea of Galilee, or “Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King” right there in Nazareth, or (one of my favorites), when we sang “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth” at the Garden Tomb, those times when we heard the beautiful hymns were when I felt that wonderful Spirit the strongest and I was able to feel of His love. I also found that in my quietest moments where I would just sit and ponder and LISTEN to the Spirit and picture what sacred event had happened there so long ago, I definitely found that those times were ALSO most sacred to me.

Now, when I first came to the Holy Land, I was definitely ecstatic and excited, but also absolutely terrified at the same time. My parents were feeling that way, that’s for sure. More on the terrified side though… One thing I really came to realize more and more as the trip went on, (and we had the privilege to explore our overwhelmingly beautiful surroundings day by day), was that we as LDS kids were being watched over, without a doubt, AND that it took a great deal of faith to make that journey, on both my parents’ and my end. Although that area was MUCH safer than I imagined it to be, I felt that we as BYU students had an extremely good reputation and (whether it was the nerdy fanny packs or the BYU Jerusalem Center backpacks that gave it all away), as I heard shopkeepers and locals yell out “Mormons! Mormons! I felt that we were being provided with protection from a higher power, and I am so thankful for that.

I am so incredibly thankful for my Savior and all the suffering He did especially for me, to atone for MY sins. As I studied the beautiful life of Christ and went more and more into His amazing miracles and saw and felt where they happened, I saw more and more that Christ was a symbol for GOOD. Of course, I had already known that before and I knew that everything good comes from God and His Son, but I had it confirmed to me that Christ walked those streets and He loved those people. He showed them the correct way to live and provided them with those simple steps to return to our Father in Heaven.

I would like to just close with a couple of quotes that I heard from very special people that came and visited the BYU Jerusalem Center to give talks. I even loved these quotes so much that I included them in my e-mails home to my family while I lived there in the Holy Land.

“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely; though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly; though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.”

“Though the memories here in the Holy Land will fade a bit, your testimony does not have to… Your experiences here and the stronger testimony you’ve gained here can bring COLOR to the black and white pages of the scriptures.”

I love my Savior. I am SO thankful for the opportunity I had to live in the Holy Land and to partake of His Spirit. I walked where He walked, I saw where He lived, and I had the privilege to meet SO many amazing people that really showed me what the light of Christ meant. I am so thankful for my family and for this wonderful gospel.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.



“Truth is obeyed when it is LOVED.”
Dress code (not being able to wear any army insignia, having to wear longsleeves

Men yelling out various proposals

update! 4-15-10

Shalom!

This week was so AWESOME. I did a lot and saw a lot, and looking back on this entire experience, I just cannot believe how fast these past four months have gone.

I will try and give you an update about the wonderful week I had this past week though. Last Sabbath, there was a group of three of us that decided to go out after church and just wander through the Old City and see what we could find, anything that was open that day. I had heard about a couple of churches that were worth going to, so we went and visited Church of St. Stephen (where he was supposedly stoned I believe). This church was absolutely magnificent. It had such beautiful artwork and amazing gardens surrounding the area.

Jews walking through the streets of Jerusalem.

Church of St. Stephen.

Church of St. Stephen.

 The next church we visited was Church of St. George. This one was also very beautiful. This one was probably one of my favorite churches, again because there was no one there and it just seemed to be so peaceful. We also visited the Sisters in Zion Convent, and went through a self-guided tour. We saw a huge CISTERN (woo-hoo!) and also some games and things carved into the floor that were played back in the time of Jesus. It was pretty cool.

Sisters in Zion Convent.

Sisters in Zion Convent. Original streets of the city.

SO excited to see another cistern!!!!! Woot woot. Haha.

CISTERN!!

We then went to Church of the Redeemer Tower. This is something that I had been dying to go do ever since I arrived in Jerusalem. I had just heard so many good things about it and how it was totally worth it. We climbed up what seemed to be a thousand stairs up a spiral staircase and finally got to the top. It was SO worth it. We could see a panorama of the Dome of the Rock, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Dormition Abbey, and basically the entire old city. It was SO beautiful, and definitely worth it.

Church of the Redeemer overlook.

 

Here are some pictures of Dormition Abbey (place where Mary's remains are located):

Basement of Dormition Abbey.

Here are some pictures of St. George's Cathedral:

Organ in St. George's Cathedral.

Baptismal font in St. George's Cathedral.

This last week, we also went on another field trip, our Herod/Essenes field trip. We got to go explore Masada (which was awesome) and also got to see the largest cistern in Israel at this place (again, WOO-HOO!). It was kind of interesting to hear about the battling that went on there.

On our way up to Masada. We had to take an electric car type of thing... Kind of scary.

TONS of stairs.

 Blowing bubbles at Masada

Showing how they got water.

Beautiful mosaics.

SO excited to finally see the largest cistern in Israel!! haha

Model of Masada.

Diana Lewis and Elizabeth Barrata being silly in the gift shop.

Distant view of Masada.

We then made our next stop at Ein Gedi, where we got to swim in the Dead Sea!! I still don’t really know how I feel about this experience. Right when I got into the water, my whole body basically burned. That sea was SO saturated with salt, so much so that everyone floated VERY easily. It was pretty hilarious to see everyone floating on their stomachs with their legs all the way up in the air. I really could only stay in the water for about a half hour though. It hurt really bad.

We then made a stop at Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. It was so beautiful there! We saw a lot of wildlife and saw a few pretty waterfalls. We then hiked back down and left for Qumran and actually got to see some of the Dead Sea Scrolls!! It was pretty cool.

Dead Sea view.

Flip flop tan after four months in the Holy Land.

Dead Sea.

Dead Sea Scrolls.

A couple of nights later, we had a man come in and speak to us at our forum address about the second temple. He showed us the model he had built and spoke for awhile on the layout of the second temple and told us all about the function of each part of it. It was interesting.

Also, I don’t know if I told you this, but we just finished the last of our finals last week. We only had three. I’m sure I did fine on two of them, but I’m not so sure about the other one. We’ll see I guess. It feels really great to be done though. Now all I have to do is worry about fitting all my souvenirs for you guys in one little duffel bag. I’m really excited to give them all to you guys though. I hope you like them.

We also had our student choir concert last week. All of us students were given permission by the JC to hand out invitations to this event to people in the old city that we had become friends with. Don’t worry mom, we were careful about who we handed them out to. It was really fun to see everyone that we had invited there at the concert, and it was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever been to. The music was all so well prepared and everyone sounded awesome.

Jill Wood, Brother Emmett, Megan Greer after the choir concert.

Jill Wood and Brother Manscill after the choir concert.

I don’t know if I told you guys, but we had a volleyball “tournament” here at the JC. The sports committee let us make our own teams and give ourselves names. There was a group of about six of us that made a team and called ourselves “The Passover Seders.” I don’t know if you guys will understand the joke but we thought it was pretty clever, and we ended up winning the tournament. It was a lot of fun.

Anyway, it’s been kind of crazy over the last couple of weeks as everyone here has been realizing that we really don’t have much time left here in the Holy Land, and that we needed to cram as many trips to the city as possible within these last days. It’s been kind of crazy. But WAY fun. It has been super nice to be done with all our finals though, and I’m relieved that they’re out of the way and we can now focus on packing and more important things. Ha.

A few days ago, there was a huge group of us that got up around four and drove down south for about four hours to Eilat. We all hopped out and went snorkeling in the Red Sea!!!! It was completely amazing! There were SO many fish, and we even got to see tiny jellyfish and octopus. What a dream! There was also coral reef everywhere so we weren’t allowed to go down very far. I can honestly say that that trip was definitely one (of the many) highlights of my experiences here. It was AWESOME.

However, the next day (as some of you may have heard from other family members), I had some health problems. I was up all night vomiting and having other bodily issues. It was one of the most miserable nights of my life, and the doctors here at the JC said it may have been because of a mixture of “sun poisoning” and food poisoning. The kibbutz we ate at on our way home from Eilat didn’t have the best food and she said that that may have been a cause of it. I really think it may have been a 24-hour flu though. It was a terrible night, and the next day I paid the price even more when I missed one of our field trips that had to do with the last week of Jesus’ life. I was SO disappointed that I didn’t get to go. I really was physically incapable though.

The next day, we had our other field trip that pertained to the last week of Jesus’ life. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to make it to any of the places that we were scheduled to go to as a class. I was SO weak and just physically exhausted from vomiting all night and having such a terrible night the night before. I prayed and prayed that I would just be able to make it walking to each place so that I could participate. As we walked to Gethsemane in silence (so we could contemplate), I thought more and more about how this must be a TINY fraction of what the Savior must have felt as he went and suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and then was judged by Caiaphus. By the time we got to Gethsemane, I felt so incredibly miserable. I was so exhausted. But I was determined to keep going. Marie stayed by my side the entire day, especially as we walked up to Church of St. Peter In Gallicantu. The entire way up, I couldn’t stop crying, and I really think it was a mixture of my pain but also my realization that Christ suffered SO much more than I did. It was truly an experience that will forever stick out in my mind. I never imagined I would feel the Spirit so strong when I was feeling so miserable.

My last trip to Garden of Gethsemane.

That day, we also walked up to Church of St. Anne’s. Once again, I was feeling miserable, but as I listened to our class sing hymns and all the solos that were being performed, I realized that things were okay. I just needed to trust that I would be able to get over this terrible sickness. Here at this place, we learned about how Christ healed on the Sabbath. It was a really unique experience for me to be able to be there when I was feeling like that.

Madison Rowe, Jill Wood, Leslie Smith. Matching outfits.

We also visited Church of the Flagellation, when Mary saw Jesus suffering, and then we went to the Garden Tomb. We had a class testimony meeting there and it was amazing. Our teacher also basically said his farewell to us and wished us the best in the future. He told us about how there would always be something in the future that would remind us about our experiences here in Jerusalem, whether it be roommates or smells or experiences. I can totally see that coming, and it almost made me cry. It’s been really hard to even think about leaving this place.

My last trip to the Garden Tomb.

A little while ago, we had our “Triclinium Last Supper” in the upper auditorium. What an amazing experience that was. Our teachers spoke to us a little bit about what the Last Supper may have been like and there was a set up on the stage of what it may have looked like. There were also a few musical numbers, and we got to hear the account of the Last Supper read by some of our own students. President Brown also gave us some insight and then individually shook our hands basically telling us good luck in the future. He is such an amazing man, and I feel so privileged to have been associated with him for these past few months. I have learned so much from him.

Triclinium set-up.

Triclinium set-up.

Last night, we also had our combined class program. Basically, it was somewhat of a farewell meeting, where a handful of people gave talks and shared some of the things they’ve learned while here in the Holy Land. It was so touching to hear all of the things that they had learned.

Also, I don’t know if all of you know yet, but I got a job in Yellowstone at a restaurant in a lodge right next to Old Faithful and I’ve decided that I’ll be living out there for the entire summer on my own. That means that I’m not going to be able to come out to California between now and the summer. The only time I’ll get to come visit California might be between summer and fall, maybe for a few days. I’ve been really nervous about it lately, and I’ve been praying a LOT that it will all work out. Hopefully things go smoothly and I will be able to do well out there by myself.

How are Kelsi and Dayvisson doing with getting ready for their trip to PERU?!?!?! And how are Ryan and Rachel doing with getting ready for their trip to India?? What the! How did I not get included on these little shindigs?? I’m offended. Well, hopefully I’ll be able to hear more about the details of all your adventures for this summer.

Here come the last days of my time here in the Holy Land. I definitely did not see this coming. I’m preparing myself emotionally and physically, but I don’t know if that’s possible. I know I’m going to cry a LOT when I leave. And it will definitely start tonight with our Memories night program, especially when I say goodbye to everyone here, and it will kick in even more when I get on that plane to Atlanta en route to Salt Lake.

Anyway, sorry for being all emotional, but I really am excited to see you all. Hope graduation goes smoothly and things don’t get too crazy with all these ceremonies going all at once. Yes, I heard about the schedule for you all. However, I AM praying that I will not get left at the airport.

Thanks for all your support and love. I appreciate you all so much individually, and I’m still praying for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Love,
Jill