Tel Arad, Beersheva and then Jericho!

Wooohooooo! It's been a great week!  I don't have any pictures, but this week we went to the Garden of Gethsemane for the first time. It was beautiful and spiritual and incredible.  I loved how beautiful it was.  I hope we can go again soon and I can take pictures.  It was a really, very sacred place. We were there just before sunset.  It's hard to describe in words.
Hmmm. What else happened that I don't have pictures of?  Ah. Yesterday I went to the beach at Tel Aviv! We stayed basically all day.  It was really fun and the water was so warm!  And blue-green!  The waves got super intense for a while and they made us all swim back to shore.  Don't worry about me though, Mom.  It was only up to my waist, I took a million years of swimming lessons and I'm the most cautious person on this trip. haha(:
 I went with some friends to Old Jaffa (Tel Aviv is fairly new, established in 1920 ish I believe, but Jaffa is the port city that's ancient. In Jesus' time it was called Joppa).  We got to eat calamari and shrimp at a restaurant on the docks, and watched the sun set over the Mediterranean.  It was super pretty.  But I liked Gethsemane better (: And the Western Wall...and all of Jerusalem.  There is a time for the beach, and a time for Jerusalem.  But they both are super fun (:
Here's the part where all my friends start to get bored of reading my posts about ancient historical places (: Hahaha but now I will know who my friends truly are (;
So! Arad and Beersheva!
Here's a little history.  A tel is the location of a city that has been destroyed and rebuilt from the rubble many many times until it's a sort of hill.  Jerusalem is a tel, and so are Tel Arad and Tel Beersheba.  They're both in the scriptures and they're totally cool.  They are located south of Jerusalem in an area called the Negev, or "dry place". Basically desert wasteland/awesomeness. (Haha only a select few people get this excited about going to the desert.) It was the best day to go because it wasn't anywhere near as hot as it usually is! I wore my floppy hat and was perfectly content.
Beersheba is the well that Hagar found when she was wandering in the wilderness after she and Ishmael were cast out by Abraham.  She prayed and the Lord "opened her eyes" and she saw the well.  Awesome, right?  Tel Arad is also pretty cool because it is the place where archaeologists have found ruins of a temple that is very similar to the temple at Jerusalem.  They have even discovered a room that is like the Holy of Holies. It's a really amazing place.  The voices whisper out of the dust! You better believe it.

Oh here's a great story.  I thought I left my camera at Beersheva....I thought for sure I just left it on the bus, but security checked it three times and it wasn't there.  So I assumed it had been left behind at Beersheva, and it was a horribly sad day (I've never actually had a sad day here until that day...so it was extra terrible) and it took me a week to get over losing my precious camera. I sorted it out with the Lord and learned my lesson and told Him I would still be happy living my dream without it.  And then this morning the security guys were super excited to show me that they found it!! On the bus, just like I thought it was!!  The Lord must love me so much I can't even believe it. Aaah I still can't get over it. That was this morning.
Anyways. So today we went to Jericho! And it was only a half-day field trip, and we don't have any more classes!! So I can do something besides study! Wahooo!!  So here's the update on Jericho.  You know, it's the city where Joshua made the walls come down. Anciently, it was known as the City of Palms, and it is definitely not a desert (Speaking of which, do you all think I live in a desert? Because the Holy Land is definitely not a desert. This place is beautiful). It's an oasis, and it's one of the greenest places I've ever seen, next to New Zealand. haha.  It's gorgeous.  Palm trees and fruit and things everywhere.  It also claims to be the oldest city in the world, and the lowest elevation at 1300 below sea level.  Jerusalem is like 2600 above sea level, and they're only 17 miles apart.  Isn't that crazy?  We chewed gum so our ears would pop on the drive down.  

This picture is of me climbing a tree like Zaccheus did in New Testament Jericho. He was short like me (: He's got a pretty cool story! Look it up (;
and one more for the road: We went to the Augusta Victoria church a while back, and they have a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. pretty sweet huh?  And we just watched Indiana Jones on movie night. it was pretty fun.

That's all for today folks! I'm glad you stayed with me this long hahaha. I can't wait to go to Turkey in two weeks and take a thousand pictures! And I need to take a million pictures in the city streets in Old Jerusalem. I don't usually take pictures there, because you kind of have to be on the lookout all the time. So I'll bring my camera soon and you can see some of the shops and their wares.  It's my favorite place to be (:
Love and miss you all to pieces!
Love always,
Rapunzel.

Garden Tomb and the Via Dolorosa!

Hi everyone!! It's been another incredible week!! and this time...PICTURES!! Yay! haha. They're low-quality because of the internet, sorry.
Sabbath was wonderful (: But very very busy.  We celebrate Sabbath on Saturday here. We had a marvelous day and took the sacrament just yards away from where the Atonement took place. Of course I cried (haha like I do every day here) and then after church most of us went together to the Garden Tomb!  It was a perfect thing to do on Shabbat.  I read John 20:1-18 there and cried (again). and took pretty pictures!  There are two places where Christians think Jesus was crucified and buried. There is a peaceful, but powerful feeling in the Garden Tomb.  I personally feel that it is the place where Jesus was buried and resurrected. The feeling there is so different from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is busier and filled with pilgrims wanting to touch the holy spot where Jesus was crucified.  I love both of the places, but there are different feelings and emotions that i associate with each place.  We only went to the Tomb for a couple hours or so, since we had to get back for dinner. So i was still fasting (it was fast Sabbath).  But it was worth it, even though I could have passed out haha, I was soooo hot and thirsty.  But we made it back home just fine.

I love this picture i took of the Tomb because the flowers remind me of springtime. It makes me think of the song my Grandpa used to sing to Grandma... "and their hearts were full of spring."  And how he's going to be resurrected someday because of our Savior.  and it will be springtime for Grandma and Grandpa again (: And Alvin will be resurrected too.  I could feel him and Grandpa near when I was at the tomb.  Oh I love the gospel! Families are together forever, because of what happened in this place!  And Gethsemane. I'll get there soon, i promise.

Sunday (it's like Saturday here. We switch holy days because we live in a different culture) we spent ALL DAY in the Old City!!  Every single day here is the new best day of my life!  We went from 9am til 6pm in the city today.  it was gorgeous.  So much to take in.  There were five of us in our group.  i bought a scarf so we could walk near the Dome of the Rock, since it is modest for girls to cover their hair in Muslim synagogues.

The inside of the Dome has been closed to non-Muslims since 2000, but every so often they will let people in.  if they're dressed appropriately, so i packed my skirt too. The scarf is blue and awesome! My first purchase in the Holy Land.  

So, we first went to the Western Wall, the most sacred site to the Jews. The last of their precious Temple.  I can now say that my tears have run down the Wailing Wall (even though we're not really supposed to call it that).  I even said a little prayer in Hebrew. "Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai eloihanu Adonai ehad."  it means Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord.  It was so special.  I can't believe it.  My whole world has revolved around this stuff since i was 14...and now it's all coming true.  This was most definitely my favorite place. We just went there again at sunset for Yom Kippur last night. It's the holiest day of the year in Judaism, the Day of Atonement where God writes about each of us in the Book of Life.  After Yom Kippur, He closes the book. So hopefully you've repented of your sins.  So I went to the holiest place in all of Judaism, on the holiest day of all of Judaism.  Words cannot describe how happy I am about everything every day.

Then we went to the Dome of the Rock.  It was gorgeous.  We also saw the spot that may be the location of the Holy of Holies.  It's on the Temple Mount.  The Dome covers the altar of sacrifice, but the Holy of Holies is somewhere else, and we know it is located over solid bedrock.  The only place like that, that we know of, is this little circle covered by a cupola on the temple mount by the dome.  It was so cool.  I didn't step on it because...you know. it's just too sacred.  Some of the other kids did though.  Nobody got struck by lightning or anything though haha(;

After that we went and did all 14 stations of the Via Dolorosa (where Jesus carried His cross. From Pilate's judgement hall allll the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that I talked about before, where many Christians think He was crucified and buried). I attached a picture of the streets we were walking (:

 it was amazing and so fun.  we only got kinda lost once.  We did pretty good because i have my uncle Jim's book, with all its maps and I already highlighted the Via Dolorosa.  That took a long time and it was so great!  If the Catholics go to all 14 stations, they receive indulgences for their sins.  So that's cool haha.  We ate lunch above a Coptic monastery...on accident...haha. it was fun though.  We walked the ramparts after that, which is a self-guided tour walking along the walls of the Old City.  i adore the city. my feet hurt like craaaaaazy at any given time hahaha but this is good for me. I LOVE THIS PLACE!! The stones sing beneath your feet, and the voices of the people who lived here just cry from the dust.  They want to be heard.  There are so many stories, and i only know a few. I love it.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THIS!

Shalom from Israel everyone!
I am here in the holiest city on earth!!  So excited to finally post.

Where do I begin?  The plane ride was long, I got about four hours of sleep even though it was like a 12-hour flight.  And of course I watched Tangled.  I mean this is when my life begins! Haha but who cares about the plane ride…The important thing is, I am here! Not only am I in a place where I have always dreamed of visiting, but I LIVE here.  Right now I can see the Dome of the Rock outside my window—the location of Jesus’ temple, which was Solomon’s temple before that and the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, and sacrificed the ram instead.  The Muslims believe that it was Ishmael instead of Isaac.  They also believe that Muhammad ascended to heaven on this location and that his footprints are on the rock.  Over this spot they built the beautiful golden dome.  All of that is right outside my window.  The Garden of Gethsemane is just a short walk away.   

            We arrived in the late afternoon Jerusalem time and we were all exhausted.  They didn’t want to let us sleep because we need to adjust to the time zone.  So far I haven’t had any jet lag at all!  I haven’t even been tired except when it was time to unpack and go to bed!  I just am on fire haha.  Everything has so much meaning.  Thanks to Jim and Bekah for giving me that awesome book, it really has helped make everything come to life for me already.  I love when the other people sometimes come up to me and ask questions…I’m used to being a total nerd when it comes to the scriptures, but now it’s really coming in handy! And there’s finally people here who appreciate it (: haha.   Sometimes they ask if I know Hebrew, which I don’t, I just know names of places and stuff.   I just love everything about the history of the New Testament and so it sticks in my mind.  Like I will flip out and say “OH look! It’s the Ma’ale Adummim!  That means the Way of Blood in Hebrew.  It’s the setting for the story of the Good Samaritan.  There used to be lots of highway robbers there.” And people look at me like what?!?  Hahaha but they like to learn stuff too and this is what I love.  If someone doesn’t care, well they shouldn’t be here. haha.

            So as soon as we got there we did a lot of orientation stuff, and then went to bed…and then we got up and went on a 4-mile tour of the Old City!!  It was the most amazing day of my whole life.  I think I’m going to have a lot of those coming up though (:  Let me just tell you some highlights.  We weren’t allowed to bring cameras the first day so no pictures… I think it’s because they wanted to give us an overview with no distractions.  So a group of eight of us (plus our professor) walked from the Center into the Palestinian neighborhoods that surround us.  The streets were mostly quiet because it’s Rosh Hashanah week—Jewish New Year—and all of the Jews are at home (it’s like the Sabbath).  We walked from there through Damascus Gate into the Old City of Jerusalem.  The streets are a few feet above the stones where Jesus walked… But nonetheless.  The feeling there is incredible.  There are many street vendors and people selling their wares, and pilgrims like us walking the streets (:

So, there are four quarters in the city.  We did a lot in the Christian quarter because it was busy and exciting.  We were very very lucky—the day we went was the day when the Greek Orthodox Church brings the icons of the Virgin Mary from the Mount of Olives back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  We stood back while a man swung incense all around and the clergy sang a song and chanted.  They wore black robes and carried flowers.  Some of them had cell phones, it was really interesting.  The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was amaaaaazing.  It’s all dark inside, and beautiful and ancient.  There are candles and stained glass but it’s mostly dim hallways.  In the center is a place where you can touch the very ground where many Christians believe that Jesus was crucified.  There was a long line so we didn’t get too close.  So many churches lay claim to this place, and people from all over the world come see it.

Oh and we had a security guard with us.  I totally felt like Princess Mia when her bodyguard Joe follows her everywhere, you know? Hahaha.   He had the shades and the earpiece and everything.  He just walked behind us and kept us from going into certain crowded places.  It was pretty cool.  We bought bread from a vendor and ate it as we walked. In Jerusalem. Incredible. Haha.  The cool thing about bread is that it’s sacred to these religions.  They don’t ever let it touch the ground.  So even small pieces are set on benches and railings and around the edges of garbage cans—so that they can be eaten eventually, either by birds or animals or those who are very hungry.  It was something I had never heard of.  You see it a lot.

We only stayed for a couple hours but it was so cool.  We went to part of West Jerusalem, which was silent since it’s Rosh Hashanah. On the last day of Rosh Hashanah is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  It’s a week of repentance and renewal.  Such a beautiful tradition.  I can’t wait to go out into the city by myself (well with like three other people) and explore.  I want to weep at the Wailing Wall and mourn for the temple which was lost so many centuries ago.  And write a prayer and put it in the stones there.  And walk the Via Dolorosa—the “Way of Sorrows” where Jesus carried His cross to Calvary.  It ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which I would like to investigate more.  There are 14 stations along this path through the City where you can see what happened there—like where Jesus was arraigned before Pilate, where He fell and Simon the Cyrene carried the cross beam for Him, things like that.  Such a spiritual journey.

Today was a class day, and a security briefing day, and we did a billion things but didn’t go to the city.  Tomorrow is Shabbat, so we’ll have church on Saturday. And it’s Fast Sabbath too because it’s the first Saturday of the month. Hahah.  It will be a fast of gratitude (:  and then maybe I’ll go to the Garden Tomb!!

Oh and the food! It’s so good.  Every day there’s something exotic that I’ve never tasted or heard of.  Although today we had apple strudel—well it was kind of an apple baklava but it was delicious.  And we eat while we look at the Old City and the Dome of the Rock.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.  Every day I look out one of the millions of windows and think, “How am I even here?”  I keep singing hymns like Praise to the Lord the Almighty…and Oh Savior, and anything that pops into my head.  It’s so fun.  I just pray a lot and say thank you.  I can’t believe this is happening.  AHHH it’s totally bedtime so I’ll send this off. I’ll try to post once a week or so.  Except when I go to Turkey and stuff. Love you all to the moon and back!

Love, Rapunzel.