Pictures: A contemporary mosque in old Joppa; On the beach at Tel-Aviv with the Mediterranean Sea behind us (Becky, Moriah, Dan, Lis, Emily); Tel-Aviv; In a Sidonian Tomb at Maresha with the painting of musicians; Practicing with slingshots (Moriah, Becky, Emily); a field in the valley of Elah where David might have fought Goliath; Looking down on the Valley of Elah from Azekah (actually the tel where Azekah was); Tower of David Citidel used by everyone from Herod, Suliman the Great in the 1500's, to the British Army in World War I.
My Goliath this week has been figuring out how to balance my time to get the most out of everything. This week has been a whirlwind of experiences. (I don't think it is going to slow down, so all of us are just hanging on.) Besides being fully immersed in classes, we have had a little time to explore the city. After going to the Garden Tomb last week, I wanted to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site that Helena, Constantine’s mother, found was Golgotha, the tomb, and other sites associated with the Savior’s death. She built a church around these sites, and they have all been made into a type of shrine with incense and candles everywhere. Different churches own different parts of the church, and it was interesting to watch how they each took ownership of it. It was a very interesting comparison with the Garden Tomb the day before. No one knows the exact location, but I love the simple beauty and peace that come with trees and flowers.
Even though this is only the second week of classes, we had midterms just yesterday for the classes that end after a month. (We are having finals the week after we get back from Egypt. We leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. and will be there until next Sunday evening, so I don’t know when I will be able to add to the blog next.) That has meant a lot of effort trying to stay balanced with everything that I want to have happen. I feel like I need to spend time on school because the sites we see mean so much more as I study what has happened there, but I don’t want to spend so much time on school that I miss the experience of being in Jerusalem. I have taken time every day to go see something, or experience something. It truly is a balancing act. It’s been great to walk places with people and quiz each other on names and dates that we need to know, thus utilizing the time for studying, and not feeling like we are taking too much time seeing things, but having time to experience things. I went to Tel-Aviv with a group of people on Thursday, even though we had midterms on Friday because it was one of the only times that we had enough time to go. I studied all the way there with a friend, and then we went and explored the old city of Joppa and went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea afterwards. It was so beautiful. I feel like I am taking time for the most important things, and somehow or another Heavenly Father blesses me to be able to get things done.
This week we also went on a field trip to the coastal plains (where the Philistines lived). We visited quite a few tels (archeological mounds) where ancient cities were. We saw Gath, the city Goliath was from, but only from a distance. However, we did see the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath. He had such strong faith in Heavenly Father. It reminds me of the description of the armor of God described in D & C. David wasn’t wearing physical armor, but he was wearing this armor, at least at that stage of his life. We practiced throwing rocks from sling shots while we were there. It is definitely harder than it looks, although I got mine to go pretty much where I wanted it.
Last night, after finishing our midterms, we got to go to the Western Wall and participate with the Jews as they brought in the Sabbath. It is amazing what a joyful experience the Sabbath is for them. However, as I was there I thought about the happy memories I have on Sundays, and that even though I do not approach the Sabbath singing and dancing, I do approach it joyfully. I think that joy, which comes from the Savior, and the faith I have in him are truly the things that have helped me overcome so much.
Even though this is only the second week of classes, we had midterms just yesterday for the classes that end after a month. (We are having finals the week after we get back from Egypt. We leave tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. and will be there until next Sunday evening, so I don’t know when I will be able to add to the blog next.) That has meant a lot of effort trying to stay balanced with everything that I want to have happen. I feel like I need to spend time on school because the sites we see mean so much more as I study what has happened there, but I don’t want to spend so much time on school that I miss the experience of being in Jerusalem. I have taken time every day to go see something, or experience something. It truly is a balancing act. It’s been great to walk places with people and quiz each other on names and dates that we need to know, thus utilizing the time for studying, and not feeling like we are taking too much time seeing things, but having time to experience things. I went to Tel-Aviv with a group of people on Thursday, even though we had midterms on Friday because it was one of the only times that we had enough time to go. I studied all the way there with a friend, and then we went and explored the old city of Joppa and went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea afterwards. It was so beautiful. I feel like I am taking time for the most important things, and somehow or another Heavenly Father blesses me to be able to get things done.
This week we also went on a field trip to the coastal plains (where the Philistines lived). We visited quite a few tels (archeological mounds) where ancient cities were. We saw Gath, the city Goliath was from, but only from a distance. However, we did see the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath. He had such strong faith in Heavenly Father. It reminds me of the description of the armor of God described in D & C. David wasn’t wearing physical armor, but he was wearing this armor, at least at that stage of his life. We practiced throwing rocks from sling shots while we were there. It is definitely harder than it looks, although I got mine to go pretty much where I wanted it.
Last night, after finishing our midterms, we got to go to the Western Wall and participate with the Jews as they brought in the Sabbath. It is amazing what a joyful experience the Sabbath is for them. However, as I was there I thought about the happy memories I have on Sundays, and that even though I do not approach the Sabbath singing and dancing, I do approach it joyfully. I think that joy, which comes from the Savior, and the faith I have in him are truly the things that have helped me overcome so much.
5 comments:
Em,
It sounds like you are doing amazingly well at balancing everything. You have such self-discipline to even study at all. I'm glad you are making sure to have some fun too.
We all love and miss you!
Liz
Absolutely gorgeous Em. I'm super jealous.
Hope the food agrees with you as much as all the sights. WE are anxious to hear aboutyour experiences in Egypt. Hope you bought some wonderfuly remembrances. Did you ride a camel? TEll us about the people, their clothes, the smells, the weather, everything!!! We love you! Mom and Dad
Everything looks so cool! Do they feed you authentic food at the Jerusalem Center? How's it treating you? I am so excited to think that you are in Egypt now. That is so awesome! My cousin went to Jerusalem spring of last year and he said the same thing...it was super busy! But you'll do just fine. Enjoy the sites and the learning as much as possible :)
Love ya!
Emily, you are a babe. I am jealous of the sun you seem to be monopolizing. We had an awesome day today, but two weeks in seems to be quite a wait to see it. I may have gotten sunburned a little on the face. We went to the ice caves- they rocked. I've been running about 4 miles every few days up here. It's not bad b/c of the no elevation. Hopefully the weather will last. Sounds like you're having a blast. Way to go! You deserve it! Love, Mer
Ps. I'm so jealous.
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