Don't worry, I didn't forget to finish writing about my adventures in the Galilee... I just wanted to build up the suspense.
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| My Galilee roommates: Kari, Aubriegh, and Sarah |
The perk about going to the Holy Land with a Biblical name is that you find it everywhere. I tend to forget that I have an odd name which made it hard growing up. You see, in elementary school all of the cool kids had pencils, backpacks, magnets even with their names on them. And while Walmart always had a surplus of pencils with Emily, Elizabeth, and Emma on them, I could never find an Eden pencil! Trust me, it's a devastating experience for a third grader to go through. So I've learned to treasure the rare moments when I see my name on a street sign, or as the brand for some gardening product. But in the Holy Land I couldn't escape it! Everywhere I looked I found my name on signs, buildings, perfume bottles, etc. I loved it! My personal favorite was when we were on the bus leaving Assos in Turkey. I looked out the window just in time to see "Eden's Disco" fly by. How I wish we could have stopped the bus to take a picture! |
| Get it? ARMageddon. ARM wrestling. |
Sunday we visited Mt Tabor, Nain, and Megiddo. Most believe that Megiddo is where Armageddon will happen. An epic battle that signals the end of the world!!!!!! Just in case you were wondering, that battle already happened and yours truly participated and won! For your convenience I have included a picture.
Since we all were excessively hot and sweaty from battle we made one last stop at Gan Ha-Shelosha and went for a swim in the natural spring. It was a charming little hideaway with soft grass, shady trees, singing birds, and tiny waterfalls. The water was just the right temperature and everywhere you looked you could see all sorts of people, children, parents, teens, BYU students, and an alarming amount of extremely harry grandpas, lounging about.
My favorite part had to be the tiny fish that would come up and nibble our toes. At one point, there were ten or more of us standing on the steps into the spring, trying to see who could last the longest with the fish munching on their feet and not flinch away. And as we try to outlast each other, we are all laughing/screaming our heads off. It is such a weird sensation, yet the sight of a bunch of 20+ year olds giggling (including the men) and crowded on the stairs probably beat it. I learned a valuable lesson that afternoon: If I'm ever entered into a tickling fight against a tank of tiny fish, I'm putting my money on the fish.
That night, like the one before, we all gathered together to watch General Conference. Due to the difference in time zones, the ten o'clock morning session was seven o'clock p.m. our time. The night before we were able to project the broadcast in one of the basement rooms at Ein Gev. However, the room was booked for another group Sunday night so someone suggested that we try projecting it on one of the buildings outside. It took a lot of work to set up and the internet connection broke often, turning a two hour session into three, but if you were to ask anyone of the students there I guarantee that we would all say that it was possible the best session of General Conference we ever have or will experience.
What an amazing opportunity it was to sit along the sore of the Sea of Galilee, a place that the Savior Himself often taught His disciples, and be taught by modern Prophets and Apostles of the Lord. Imagine our delight to hear Elder Anderson say, "Can you imagine the scene of the eleven Apostles on the mountain near Galilee see the risen Lord come to them...?" Uh... YES! We were actually there! To think how long it must have been since disciples of Christ were taught gospel principles, by a Prophet of God, along those shores. And I got to be there. I got to participate in that Spirit, that moment, and let me tell you it was beautiful. The sun set melted into the waters of the Galilee, creating a gorgeous backdrop along with the palm tress bending with the breeze. A sweet and peaceful memory for all of us to share.
It was such a grand experience, even the Church news wrote about it. If you'd like to read the short article click here. It even showed up in the September edition of the Ensign.
To continue, Monday, April 8th, we traveled through upper Galilee: Hazor, Tel Dan, Banias, Nimrod's Castle, and Har Bental. The morning began with rain clouds and shivering students, but as the day progressed the raincoats and sweatshirts were shed and we ran about taking pictures in every possible location in typical tourist manner.
Following Jerusalem Center regulations, each site we went to was interesting and on most occasions, spiritual. However, my personal favorite of the day was Nimrod's Castle. After unloading the busses our teachers set us free to run, jump, and cartwheel amongst the ruins for the next hour. No lecture, historical background, or assignments to hold us back. Just our cameras and curiosity. I ran around like a three year old, climbing on anything I could with my phone blasting out classic rock. Everything sounds better with background music.
Tuesday was dedicated to visiting western Galilee: Chorazin, Sepphoris, Akko crusader Fortress, and Old Akko. I'm not going to go into much detail about these sights because they weren't necessarily places where events might have occurred, rather they helped us to gain historical/cultural background on biblical parables and the like. Akko was simply a really cool old fortress along the Mediterranean sea. P.S. I really like the Mediterranean sea.
We ended the day with another bonfire. The pig-skin was tossed, s'mores were made, and spooky stories shared. Some of my favorite memories of my time spent in Israel are when all of the students were just chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool (pardon the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference). But in all reality, I love people, and I love getting to know them. So I could never be happier then getting to spend time with amazing individuals like the ones I met in Israel.
John A. Clark was teaching school in Minersville, Utah, when he received a mission call to serve in Turkey for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He first travelled to Liverpool, England and then on to Beirut, Syria, where he studied the Arabic language. He then served in Haifa where he worked mostly with a group of German settlors who had emigrated from Germany. He subsequently contracted small pox, which was epidemic at the time, and died Feb. 8th 1896. He was, as mentioned before, buried in the Haifa cemetery.
I will admit that throughout my stay at Jerusalem I didn't feel much of an emotional connection whenever thinking about our up and coming visit to the cemetery. I was excited for it nonetheless. Don't forget that I had been looking forward to that trip for over six months. I was excited for the pictures that would be taken, for the momentous occasion of a family member visiting John's grave (considering it's distance from home I assume it's not a common occurrence), and the ability to say that one of my relatives helped enable the building of the Jerusalem Center. But no, there was no emotional connection for me. After all I had, of course, never met him. It was a very distant relationship through polygamy nonetheless. I felt justified.
As we entered the cemetery I appeared very calm, but my insides were as anxious as a beehive. There were other LDS graves to visit first, but to be honest, I didn't pay much attention to what was said about them. Despite all that, I was grateful Elder Clark was saved for last.
Knowing my connection to John Clark, Brother Judd (my Old Testament teacher) had me speak to the rest of our group concerning his background story. I was shocked to find my sight blurred with tears as I shared what little information I knew of my distant relative. Despite my original emotions in regards to Elder Clark at that moment, to my immense surprise, I felt as though we were the same person.
It didn't help that Brother Judd then pulled out a letter from Elder Clark to his sister, an item that I didn't even know existed, and asked me to read it to the class. It was a simple letter, nothing earth shattering enclosed, just a brother wishing a sister well at school. She was attending Brigham Young University, a school that he had desired to go to but gave up in order to serve his mission.
Only a week or so before this moment had I come to the decision to serve a mission myself. A decision that I had struggled immensely over. While the words Elder Clark wrote to his sister concerning mission work could probably be found in any letter from a missionary, his pierced me. He was family, and he gave up all, even his life, to serve a mission. To stand at his grave and ponder my own resolution to serve... words cannot express. And while many other thoughts ran through my brain, the significance of that precious slice of time I will never forget. Haifa did not disappoint.
My favorite part had to be the tiny fish that would come up and nibble our toes. At one point, there were ten or more of us standing on the steps into the spring, trying to see who could last the longest with the fish munching on their feet and not flinch away. And as we try to outlast each other, we are all laughing/screaming our heads off. It is such a weird sensation, yet the sight of a bunch of 20+ year olds giggling (including the men) and crowded on the stairs probably beat it. I learned a valuable lesson that afternoon: If I'm ever entered into a tickling fight against a tank of tiny fish, I'm putting my money on the fish.
That night, like the one before, we all gathered together to watch General Conference. Due to the difference in time zones, the ten o'clock morning session was seven o'clock p.m. our time. The night before we were able to project the broadcast in one of the basement rooms at Ein Gev. However, the room was booked for another group Sunday night so someone suggested that we try projecting it on one of the buildings outside. It took a lot of work to set up and the internet connection broke often, turning a two hour session into three, but if you were to ask anyone of the students there I guarantee that we would all say that it was possible the best session of General Conference we ever have or will experience.What an amazing opportunity it was to sit along the sore of the Sea of Galilee, a place that the Savior Himself often taught His disciples, and be taught by modern Prophets and Apostles of the Lord. Imagine our delight to hear Elder Anderson say, "Can you imagine the scene of the eleven Apostles on the mountain near Galilee see the risen Lord come to them...?" Uh... YES! We were actually there! To think how long it must have been since disciples of Christ were taught gospel principles, by a Prophet of God, along those shores. And I got to be there. I got to participate in that Spirit, that moment, and let me tell you it was beautiful. The sun set melted into the waters of the Galilee, creating a gorgeous backdrop along with the palm tress bending with the breeze. A sweet and peaceful memory for all of us to share.
It was such a grand experience, even the Church news wrote about it. If you'd like to read the short article click here. It even showed up in the September edition of the Ensign.
To continue, Monday, April 8th, we traveled through upper Galilee: Hazor, Tel Dan, Banias, Nimrod's Castle, and Har Bental. The morning began with rain clouds and shivering students, but as the day progressed the raincoats and sweatshirts were shed and we ran about taking pictures in every possible location in typical tourist manner.
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| Best. Class. Ever. @ Tel Dan |
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| One of the crumbling towers of the castle |
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| You can't see it, but it point's to Washington DC on the other side. |
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| By the Mediterranean with my lovely roommate Kirsten. |
We ended the day with another bonfire. The pig-skin was tossed, s'mores were made, and spooky stories shared. Some of my favorite memories of my time spent in Israel are when all of the students were just chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool (pardon the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference). But in all reality, I love people, and I love getting to know them. So I could never be happier then getting to spend time with amazing individuals like the ones I met in Israel.
Our last day in Galilee we drove along the Mediterranean, stopping at sites like Muhraqa, the Haifa Overlook, and most important for me, the Haifa Templer Cemetery.
I had been looking forward to going to Haifa ever since a year ago when I received my acceptance letter into the Jerusalem program. Now why, when given the opportunity to walk through Jerusalem, ride a camel in Jordan, and swim in the Dead Sea, would I be most excited to visit a tiny little cemetery? I'll tell you. There is a man by the name of John Alexander Clark buried there, and I'm related to him. He's actually my great-great-great half uncle... through polygamy. Sounds like the character backgrounds for a Soap Opera right?
John A. Clark was teaching school in Minersville, Utah, when he received a mission call to serve in Turkey for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He first travelled to Liverpool, England and then on to Beirut, Syria, where he studied the Arabic language. He then served in Haifa where he worked mostly with a group of German settlors who had emigrated from Germany. He subsequently contracted small pox, which was epidemic at the time, and died Feb. 8th 1896. He was, as mentioned before, buried in the Haifa cemetery.
I will admit that throughout my stay at Jerusalem I didn't feel much of an emotional connection whenever thinking about our up and coming visit to the cemetery. I was excited for it nonetheless. Don't forget that I had been looking forward to that trip for over six months. I was excited for the pictures that would be taken, for the momentous occasion of a family member visiting John's grave (considering it's distance from home I assume it's not a common occurrence), and the ability to say that one of my relatives helped enable the building of the Jerusalem Center. But no, there was no emotional connection for me. After all I had, of course, never met him. It was a very distant relationship through polygamy nonetheless. I felt justified.As we entered the cemetery I appeared very calm, but my insides were as anxious as a beehive. There were other LDS graves to visit first, but to be honest, I didn't pay much attention to what was said about them. Despite all that, I was grateful Elder Clark was saved for last.
Knowing my connection to John Clark, Brother Judd (my Old Testament teacher) had me speak to the rest of our group concerning his background story. I was shocked to find my sight blurred with tears as I shared what little information I knew of my distant relative. Despite my original emotions in regards to Elder Clark at that moment, to my immense surprise, I felt as though we were the same person.
It didn't help that Brother Judd then pulled out a letter from Elder Clark to his sister, an item that I didn't even know existed, and asked me to read it to the class. It was a simple letter, nothing earth shattering enclosed, just a brother wishing a sister well at school. She was attending Brigham Young University, a school that he had desired to go to but gave up in order to serve his mission.
Only a week or so before this moment had I come to the decision to serve a mission myself. A decision that I had struggled immensely over. While the words Elder Clark wrote to his sister concerning mission work could probably be found in any letter from a missionary, his pierced me. He was family, and he gave up all, even his life, to serve a mission. To stand at his grave and ponder my own resolution to serve... words cannot express. And while many other thoughts ran through my brain, the significance of that precious slice of time I will never forget. Haifa did not disappoint.
Caesarea was the perfect way to end the day. After a short history lesson we were free to roam the ruins. A few of us had our own race in the ancient Hippodrome which was followed by the Crippled Run. We had two members of our class with broken/sprained ankles who "rode" on the backs of others... soon everyone wanted to race piggy-back style, creating the Crippled Run. Afterwards, I and my lovely friend Susana moseyed about, discussing life, exploring the decaying structures, and taking glamor shots of each other.
Add a bathroom break, ten minute stop at the Roman Aqueducts, a few hours drive back to the Jerusalem center, and that makes the end to a wonderful day and our stay at Galilee.
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| The Roman Aqueduct |
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| Myself, Susana, Ashley, and the smoldering Spencer. |
