So today was about the perfect balance between field trips and studying. We're having midterms this week and next, so everyone is feeling a little stressed which makes it hard to really enjoy what we're seeing - so that's why days like today are about perfect.
We set out for Jericho first, which was really neat because we got to see one of the oldest stone structures in existence - well that is if archeologists are dating it correctly. Supposedly it goes back to 8000 BC! It's a stone tower that
is pretty large! They've excavated all around it so you can see it pretty well too! Another stop we made was at the ruins of the Winter Palace of Herod the Great. We talked a lot here about Herod and the type of person he was, and how the things he was best at were killing and building large structures. It was actually pretty neat to learn more about "Herod the man" as opposed to "Herod the King". I got some pretty sweet pictures here too. Another stop we made, this one was pretty quick, was at the spring of Elisha, and the tree of Zacchaeus. One interesting thing about the Holy Land is there is a site for every event you could imagine in the scriptures. It's kind of neat, and almost comical at the same time. We stopped at both these places, and took some pictures and read our scriptures, so that was all very good.The last place we stopped was the Quruntul Monastery - a church built literally on to the side of a cliff. The location is some caves where supposedly Christ went up to commune with God, and was tempted by the devil. Monks have lived in these caves for a long time, even before the monastery was built, and so it was interesting to see their quarters and the lifestyle they had, and still have. The church happens to be Greek Orthodox, and it is absolutely beautiful. They had magnificent paintings of Christ and Mary, as well as the apostles all in front of an altar on one side, and on the other, framed right on to the side of the natural rock, was one of Christ triumphing over the devil. Everyone got really quiet - our entire grou
p - and we were allowed some time to just ponder over the events. It was interesting because while I don't usually feel the spirit so strongly in places like this, it was very powerful today. In an FHE lesson we had this past week, one of the students was talking about spiritual envy...or something like that, I'm not sure exactly how he worded it, but basically he said it is really a neat experience when you are able to feel the spirit around other religions, and be inspired by their method of worship, even if it's not exactly what you believe. I think that is so important to remember here, because we're learning so much about all these other religions. This is most definitely what I felt today - so that was really neat! After we were even allowed to sing hymns outside, what a great day!Afterwards it was mostly just studying and getting ready for cleaning checks tomorrow! I was also able to go running around the center which is always inspiring because of the incredible view! Well thanks again for always reading - love you all!
Speaking of how there's a site for every event in the scriptures, and how it can be almost comical, when we visited the tomb of Lazarus, our tour guide, Daniel Rona, saw some acting talent in Uncle Evrett.
ReplyDeleteBefore our group entered the tomb, Brother Rona asked Uncle Evrett to hide in a small room at the bottom of the stairs to the tomb and act like Lazarus, so Uncle Evrett sneaked down to the side room before the rest of us entered the tomb.
Then, Brother Rona took us all down the stairs to the tomb and told us the story of how the Savior raised Lazarus from the dead there. Just when he finished the story, on cue, Uncle Evrett started moaning and wailing in the side room of the tomb, and walked out to the main room where we all were standing, and for special effect, he was walking like a zombie or a robot would walk.
We all busted up laughing!
We hope the people in the scriptures had a sense of humor too.
Keep writing lots. We love it!
Hermana Cheryl benton