Mule Team on the Move

Back Again

2016-08-28T21:55:00.001-06:00

It is hard to believe that I write this entry from the Western Hemisphere. Where did the time go? How did we get this far along in our journey? It feels like one world has ended and another has begun.

Last week at the end of Sabbath the students had a little get together where they watched a video they had made for Rivkeh Kjar, who had missed the first part of Galilee to be at her sister’s funeral. It was such a thoughtful thing for them to do and was very touching. Afterwards I visited for just a bit. Then I was ready to leave, but different people wanted to talk to me. One asked for a blessing, and I had a sweet experience giving her a blessing. She is such a wonderful girl. Then another wanted to talk about getting answers to prayers, and another about where they are going in life from here, and another about some difficulties in their time at the Center, and another about how to move forward with faith. There were more than this. Each was a wonderful, sweet opportunity. Each time I was so filled with love, and with amazement at how much the Lord loves these good people I am with, and how incredible they are. It was a great night. It kept me up until 1 am, but I am glad to have spent some meaningful time with these, my delightful and powerful friends.

Some of my students getting cozy together at the JC

The next morning I was able to sleep in just a bit, and then I met with Jeremy Branson. We had decided to go to Lachish, but as we went, we got talking about things he would like to do with his family, and so we went to lots of places that would be fun for his family to go to. We basically did the Shfeylah field trip. We stopped at Bet Shemesh and went through the Samson story and the story of the return of the Ark of the Covenant. We went up Azekah, and I showed him all around there and we went through the stories of the sieges of the Assyrians and Babylonians, and saw Gath and went through the story of David and Goliath. Then we went down and drove to show him Shocoh very quickly, and over to the place where you can walk through the brook of Elah a bit, and helped him get a better feel for the David and Goliath story.

The excavations at Azekah

Then we drove to Lachish. We had a little picnic there, and it was quite nice. Then we started going through the story of Lachish. It is such a cool place. We hiked all around, and I was able to spend a little more time thinking and exploring on my own than I usually do because I am usually so busy with students. It was nice. They have started excavating the Hellenistic temple there, which is probably on the remains of an Israelite temple. It allowed me to explore that more fully than I have usually been able to do. They are building up the newly excavated side of one of the gates, making it into a wooden tower. It is a bit weird, but hopefully it turns out better than it looks like it will right now. I went down to the threshold that has so often been a place I have been able to picture the people of the Bible, and I thought about it one last time, and I touched it one last time. I just spent a little time at that site saying goodbye to my favorite tell. It was nice.

the threshold at Lachish

The new buildings on the gate of Lachish

the temple at Lachish

Jeremy in front of the temple at Lachish

On the way home Jeremy pulled over by the Sorek River and I jumped out and explored just a bit. Somewhere around where I was is probably the place where the lion surprised Samson. I have always wanted to explore along it just a bit, and it was so fun that it worked out.

The Sorek River

We drove home through Ein Kerem, which is such a beautiful place, and I loved doing that one last time. It was a great day.

I spent just a little time getting ready for tomorrow’s field trip and packing just a bit. Then Phil and I went down to East Jerusalem and met Jeremy. We went to Omar’s, and I got some gifts I have been needing to get. Then we went over to a place Jeremy knew about and we ate a last little dinner of authentic Palestinian food. It was fantastic. And it was so much fun to visit with these guys and enjoy them.

The next morning the big field trip began. I was with David. We went to Bethany, where I took them up to the separation wall and tried to talk through some of the complications of that wall. Then David took them to the remains of the crusader church built to commemorate Simon the Leper’s house, where Mary anointed Jesus during the last week of his life. We also went to the tomb, where David took them down and explained to them about what happened there. Then we went into the church and had a nice moment there.

Phil at Bethany

The Skinners at Bethany

David teaching my students at Bethany near Simon the Leper's house

The remains of a crusader church at Simon the Leper's house in Bethany

at the separation wall

After all of this we went to Bethphage. I tried to help them see how close it is to Bethany. Then we talked about the Triumphal entry. I tried to explain to them not only how important it was at the time, but how important it is that we look forward to the return of the Savior as our king. I talked about how wonderful it will be to have him as our ruler, and to swear fealty to him. Then I reminded them that these things are really already true. We have him as our leader, and we have sworn allegiance to him. I gave them some time to think. On the whole it went well.

My students at Bethphage

From there we went to Pater Noster. David taught them a little bit there, and it wasn’t too bad. The other class was in the cave that I like to go to, so we never made it in there. But we still had a nice time.

We hurried from there to Dominus Flevit. I had worked hard to arrange for the Father Superior to come speak to us, and thought I had it all lined up. But when we got there he told us that I had said 4 pm. I am sure I said, three times “noon, 12 o’clock.” But the language barrier got us. He had been planning on preparing coffee and tea for us at 4, so it was probably a blessing that he had not gone to all that effort only to find out that we couldn’t drink it. He spoke to us for a while, and it was nice. He talked about his family having been Christian since 72 AD. It seems believable to me, the Christians in Iraq have been Christians for a long, long time. He is from Nineveh. Because the Christians there really haven’t intermarried much with the Arabs and other groups that have come through, he is probably pretty close to a full blooded Assyrian. So interesting.

Father Sevastion teaching us at Dominus Flevit

After he spoke to us we talked about the Savior loving the temple, and about the things he taught there on the Mount of Olives. We sang in the little church, and had time for lunch, and gave them time to think about things. It was wonderful.

One of my students pondering at Dominus Flevit

My students pondering at Dominus Flevit

From there we went to the Dormition Abbey. We had a moment or two to talk about Mary, and women in general, and I feel like it went very well. We sang Silent Night, and it was beautiful. So many great memories, such beauty to be had. For whatever reason the other class didn’t end up doing that, and when my class found out (even though it made it so we were on the trip half an hour longer than them), many came and thanked me for taking the time to take them there.

My students in Dormition Abbey

Then we went to the Upper Room. There David taught them and it was okay. From there we went to Saint Peter in Gallicantu. We looked at the amazing view of Jerusalem that we have there, and I let the students teach me about what they were seeing. It was a good thing for them to see how well they knew this stuff. It was cool. Then we went to the model of the city in the Byzantine era, and again it was great how much they knew. Then we went into the church and we looked at some of the art and sang. Then we went to the pit where the Savior is said to have been imprisoned and tried by the Sanhedrin. I spoke about how needful it was, but also how difficult it is to picture the Great Jehovah being mocked and unfairly tried by the high priest, the very person who was supposed to represent him. We read Isaiah 50 together, and spoke of how it was fulfilled. We talked about the irony and adversity that Jesus went through there, and of how I believe that is part of the atonement. He went through everything so that he could succor us and relieve us of our burdens. And he truly can. He can make our burdens light, and reach us when we need it most, because of all he did for us, including the ridiculous trial he went through there.

Then we went outside and in the courtyard where the statue of Peter denying Christ is, we talked about Peter’s denial. I talked to them about how it seems to me that Peter so wanted to be with Christ that he was willing to do anything to be there, even lie about knowing Christ. Then we talked about the pictures we had seen earlier. In the church you can twice see a series of pictures where first Peter is denying Christ, then Christ looks at him and he weeps, then Christ is calling him to feed his sheep at the Sea of Galilee. You see Peter at his lowest moment, and then at his highest. The denial did not make it so that Christ was not willing to call Peter to lead his church.

With that in mind we went over and looked at the stairs that lead down to the Kidron Valley. These are almost surely the stairs that the Savior walked down as he went to the Garden of Gethsemane, and then walked back up, bloody, exhausted, and bound. We talked about how his bloody feet would have touched those stones, and the hem of his blood soaked robe would have drug across them. It was because of what he did in between that Christ was able to take Peter from his low point to his high point. Peter could overcome his inadequacies and be changed into the man he needed to be because of what Christ did in between the times he walked on those stairs. And so he can do with us. Whatever depths we descend to, Christ knows the heights we can reach, and can take us there, because of what he did in Gethsemane.

The steps that lead to the Kidron Valley at the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu

One of my wonderful students pondering near the steps leading to the Kidron Valley

Another of my amazing students pondering at the steps that lead to Kidron Valley at St. Peter in Gallicantu

And on that note we ended the field trip. It was a wonderful ending. Then we had a meeting about getting ready to go, and then Phil and I had dinner with the Holyoaks. They were so nice to have us to dinner, and it was so enjoyable to visit with them. What great people we have had the opportunity to interact with here. We have been so blessed in that way.

That evening I watched a movie and went to bed. The next morning it was time for the last field trip.

I took my students to the Orson Hyde Garden. We went through what exactly that garden was, how it got there, etc. We read from Orson Hyde’s dedicatory prayer, and talked about the other dedicatory prayers that have been made there. We talked about the gathering of Israel, and the fulfillment of prophecy, and the sacredness of that place. Then we read from President Kimball’s dedicatory address, especially the part about how we dedicate ourselves to God as much as we do the land. I gave them time to think about how they were going to do that. We had a nice time.

Then we walked down to Gethsemane. We went in and looked at some of the old olive trees. I taught them about Isaiah 11, and what it means literally, for olive trees, to have stems and rods coming from the tree. Then I talked about how much Christ was literally a fulfillment of that scripture, the rising of the line of David from the dust. I talked about how just as these rods give new life to the tree, so does Christ give new life to the house of Israel, and to all of us.

A rod coming out of an olive tree at Gethsemane

Trees coming out of the root of an olive tree at Gethsemane

Then Andy taught them more about the symbolism of Olive Trees. He did a superb job of showing them how the pressing of olives is such a fitting symbol for the atonement.

Then we went across the way and we sat in the private olive orchard. Andy taught them some more about the atonement. I also spoke to them, trying to help them understand how much Christ suffered there, and how his love for his Father and his willingness to do his Father’s will got him through it. I taught about the power of the atonement, stressing how it not only provided the ability to be forgiven, but also to change us. I tried to tie it back in to many things we have discussed this semester. I talked about our quest for holiness, and how that happens because of the atonement. We are changed, hopefully almost daily, because of what happens there. We sang some songs, and everyone was given about half an hour to think and write.

Many of my amazing students pondering at Gethsemane

One of my wonderful students pondering at Gethsemane

One of my dear students praying at Gethsemane

My students pondering at Gethsemane

This is what I wrote:

“I am so grateful for the atonement. I wish I could write down everything I just taught my students. I felt at least some direction from the Spirit. I knew that Christ himself was surprised and amazed at what he went through here. I know that it was so terrible that he plead with his Father that if there was any other way he would please like to not go through what he was going through. Yet he did, because he loved his Father so much he was willing to do whatever his Father asked.

“And so he suffered for every sin I will ever commit. For every bit of pain, hunger, thirst or fatigue I will ever feel. Every sorrow, every regret, every feeling of being abandoned, betrayed, let down, unjustly accused, or any other difficult experience. All he went through, from Judas leaving the Last Supper, through his friends falling asleep when he needed them, through being mocked by a high priest who should have been representing him, to being condemned by false witnesses, through being condemned of blasphemy, something he was not actually capable of since he was who he said he was, to being mocked because he did not prophesy who was hitting him, though he could have, to being condemned to death by someone who knew he was innocent, to suffering the horrors and pain of the cross after all he had gone through, through, in his worst moment, finding himself unexpectedly and fully alone, and through much more than I can ever imagine, all of this brought about his ability to help us.
I can be forgiven
I can be healed
I can be more holy
I can love more
I can do more
I can be more

“I pray that I will let God work with me, refine me, change my nature. I pray he will take away my worldly, fallen desires, and help me be the Godly man I and he would want me to be. I pray that he will change me so that I may help rather than hurt those around me. I know he can. I know he can bring me to God as a Godlike being. I know he can bring me home and make me glorious. My ability to mess up is smaller than his ability to change me. And so I believe I will one day stand with my wife and children as an exalted being, truly belonging to an exalted sphere. I look forward to both soon sanctification and eventual exaltation, when my nature will have nothing to do with this world. God and His son have made it possible.”

I can only hope that my students had as wonderful a time there as I did.

The stone of suffering in the Church of All Nations at Gethsemane

My students on the stone of suffering inside the Church of All Nations at Gethsemane

From there we walked to the Gethsemane Grotto, the cave where the ancient olive press was. We were not able to get them to open the curtain to let us see where the nice for the press beam was, but we were able to sing there and have a nice moment. We were able to do that with both classes. It was very nice.

The niche where the beam for the oil press is in the Gethsemane Grotto

My students in the Gethsemane Grotto

From there we went to the Church of the Flagellation. There Andy taught them about Pilate and the trials. It was good. Then we went in to St. Anne’s. We had arranged to stay there through lunch. We had a few difficulties getting that re-worked out, but it turned out okay. We had a little time for eating a lunch. Then we went out to the Pool of Bethesda. I was able to help them picture what that pool looked like. We walked around the see the whole thing better, and then we went through the story of John 5. I think I was able to help them see how much they will be able to rely on the Savior to help them, to heal them, when it seems like they have no man to help them and no way to be healed. It touched me, and I hope it touched them. I gave them some time to walk around and think and read.

Then we all met in the church. We taught them a little bit about the church. We then sang. This time they did more solos than I have ever seen done. It highlights the acoustics of the place better (and they are truly amazing), but it also takes away some of the power that comes when everyone sings a lot together. I actually fell asleep for a little while. It was very nice, though I would have liked to do some more singing all of us together. Still, the power is real, and the songs help invite the spirit.

From there we walked to the Garden Tomb. Andy taught about the resurrection, and was powerful and profound. I wish I could encapsulate better what he said. Then I tried to teach about the resurrection. I brought up how Hailey had just had a dear friend die, and how Rivkeh had lost her sister less than a month ago. Then I tried to talk about how I have seen my father, who was once so strong and able, become someone who can’t do anything for himself. I was too emotional, and it was not easy to talk about it. But I did try to say how much I look forward to the day when his strength will be returned, when he will be made whole. I talked about how what Christ did for us will make it possible for all of us to be made whole in every way. For me, at least, it was a powerful moment. I bore my testimony one last time of how I know the resurrection is real. Then others bore their testimonies for quite a while. It was a blessed and wonderful time. I loved it, and I hope they did as well.

My class at the Garden Tomb

When that was over I went with a small group over to the Davidson Archaeological park. Some of them had been too sick to go there when we went there on a field trip, so I took this small group and we went through it all together. It was a very nice time. I am so glad to be able to go where Jesus went.

We ran as fast as we could to catch the bus home, and got there just in time for the big farewell dinner. It was very good, and very nice.

My group on the steps to the temple at the Davidson Archaeological Park

Then we went to the memories night. Phil was able to say just a bit to them before he left for the airport. I am so sad to see him go. He has been my brother, and I could not ask for a better companion to be with or a better friend. He will always be my brother, and the times we shared together will always be sacred.

The students gave us all gifts. They gave us each a beautiful photo taken from the earliest days of cameras. They chose which picture to give us based on their knowledge of us. They gave me and my family one of fishers casting their nets at the Sea of Galilee. This is the picture we had looked at many times and wished we could get. It was a beautiful picture, and a more beautiful thought and gesture. I was so pleased.

We did some movies and slide shows. Then I gave my last speech. It was hard, I knew this was my last time in a long time, and maybe ever. What a wonderful group to end with. I paused before ending with my last “all pau” (Hawaiian for all done, something I always say when I am teaching on the bus and am finished talking). I really was all done. Weird.

Then we watched the last slide show, and it was incredible. Then I visited for a while, and was so tired I just went down and went to bed.

The next morning, our last morning in Israel, was a big day. We ate breakfast quickly, and then several of us went down to the City of David. We had a lot of fun walking together and visiting together there as we waited for them to open Hezekiah’s tunnel. During that time a student, Emily Mangelson, tricked me into thinking that she spoke Hebrew fluently. She had me convinced for about half an hour. Tricky girl!

When they opened it we ran the tunnel as fast as we could. It took us about 9.5 minutes. It was a pretty good workout, going through the water so fast. We had tons of light this time, so that recording it on GoPro worked out better. Afterwards we just sat and laughed and visited for a while. Then a few people said they just wanted to go explore, so I went with them. Dane, Bekkah Dalebout, Ashlyn Parker, and I went. We went first to the Holy Sepulchre, stopping at a bakery and enjoying some views of the Jewish Quarter and Western Wall along the way. The Holy Sepulchre was empty for the most part. There was absolutely no one in line at the Aedicule, so we went in and spent some time inside, which we usually can’t. It was nice to contemplate what it would have really been like when the Savior’s body drew breath again and rose. Amazing!!! It was nice to be in there and be reverent. Then we went exploring. We found some doors that were open that usually were not. Some went to housing areas. Some went to chapels I have never seen. There were some beautiful chapels. We even got up to the holy part of the Armenian chapel to look into the area with the cave and the boat graffiti. We ran into some other students, and followed them for a while, trying to scare them. But the joke was on us, they lost us. We found another few open chapels that were beautiful. It was fantastic.

My group coming out of Hezekiah's Tunnel

My group in the Church of the Redeemer Bell Tower

We went to Shabban’s, and he helped me with the lost/broken widow’s mite of Julianne’s. We ran into tons of students there. It was nice to be there one last time. Then I set out for home. I tried to buy some falafel mix on the way home, but couldn’t find anyone selling it. I ran into a few more students on the way home, and we had a nice visit and walk.

Then I packed, took a little nap in the middle, and finished packing. After dinner we went out on the balcony and enjoyed one last sunset. I sat quietly for a minute, enjoying the last view of the city I love that is so unique and amazing. The most important and amazing city in the world. But I couldn’t enjoy quiet for long. Lots of people came and asked for pictures with me. That was nice too. I sure love all these people and I will miss them.

As the goodbyes started I knew it was going to be easier for me. As people came to me I reminded them I was going with them. They went to others and hugged and cried. Yet I knew that after a long flight it would seem less dramatic, and that people would be in such a hurry to get on the plane there wouldn’t be much of a goodbye. So I loaded on the bus and watched. It was different, and fun, to experience this part of the student experience. I have never known what it was like to be on the bus going to the airport, and I loved seeing it. I tried to sit in the middle, out of the way, and just take it all in rather than be part of running anything. I was also tired, emotionally exhausted, and a bit detached, not able to really take in that it was ending. I watched the goodbyes, saw the bittersweet sorry and excitement, and watched.

As we left, they put on the song “I swear I lived,” which I had tried to make my class’ theme song. It was so fun to see them do it on their own, and feel that it was true, and to be so into how much they had done. It was great.

I listened and enjoyed them all the way to the airport. It went more quickly than I thought it would. I just kept looking out thinking of how hard it is to believe that it is over. Then we got there, loaded our tons of luggage, and got in line. It was a long line and took a long time, and it was so fun to be with these guys. They are such loved friends, it was no problem to be in line, it was great to just be with them.

Finally we got all the way through and waited for just a short time, and then boarded the plane. The ride was long, but okay. I slept a bit, and watched a few movies I have missed. I also walked around a little, and saw that every couple we thought might happen had arranged to sit by each other and were holding hands. So fun! I visited with people a bit. I sure love these guys.

Finally we got there. The lines for passport were long, getting luggage was an adventure, the lines for checking luggage back in and for going back through security were long. And yet as we went through these snaking lines it was just a joy, just another chance to see loved ones and say hi and visit and laugh together. What a group to be with! When we finally got all the way through I carried my hugely heavy bags with no wheels all the way to the gate most of the students were taking. My shoulders were so sore, but it was a good workout. It was past time to load as we got there, and many had already gotten on. Those few of us who were staying tried to get them to hold the plane for the others. Most got there soon enough, and were able to say goodbye quickly and get them on. Soon all but three were on, and we said our final goodbyes. They wouldn’t hold it for those last three. So those of us who were staying hung out for a while, found the lost three, sent them where they needed to go, and then went and hung out for a long time. We visited and joked and had a great time. After more than an hour they had to go, so I bid them a very fond farewell, and worked my way down to where I knew some others were waiting for flights. I said goodbye to a few of them, and was sad that I had missed a few others.

Cam and Jessica waiting with me in the airport

Then I ran into two of the students who had missed their flight. They were scheduled for a flight that was even later than mine, but they were hoping to get on my flight. So we hung out and visited for a long time. It was good, very good. One of them was someone who I have been trying to visit with and help a bit for a while, so it worked out quite well.

Finally it was time to go. The flight went fairly quickly, and I slept a bit and watched a movie or two. We ended up getting in a bit early. As we flew over the western mountains I couldn’t help but notice how much they looked like the mountains of Judea. Then we wheeled around and I saw the eastern mountains. Those are nothing like the mountains of Judea, they are giant, huge, imposing, and strikingly beautiful.

I waited for my two dear friends, and together we went to luggage claim. There we met Savannah, another student who had come earlier but whose luggage had been delayed. We all got our luggage and I was able to go out and meet Savannah’s dad. She let me use her phone, and I called Tammy, and found she was right there ready to get me.

It was great to see Tammy. She was so kind to come get me and take me back. We talked about all sorts of things on the way home. We especially got caught up on the situation with Phillip and with care of my Dad.

On the drive I couldn’t help but notice that the roads were wide, people drove calmly, the signs were in English, and things were incredibly beautiful. As we got off the freeway and drove around town it seemed weird to not see any guys with big black hats and long beards. Weird.

It was great to see my parents. I was able to immediately help my dad get up and around and sat down. He is doing fairly well, not a lot different from when I saw him last year. I had some really nice visits with him and mom and Tammy. He was fairly with it. It was so, so good to be with them. And in some ways it seemed like I had seen them only a few weeks ago.

Finally I loaded my luggage into the car that Jul and Tashara had dropped off for me, and I drove home. It was so weird to be home. In some ways it seemed like I had never been gone. It was a bit weird that no one was here. I worked fairly furiously on unpacking, and took a shower. When they were about half an hour away from home I started making them dinner, and had it mostly made when they walked in. It was so great to see them again. We immediately tried to unload the car, though some helped a bit and some not so much. Then we ate, and had a nice time being together. We all visited and unpacked and had a nice time. I forced myself to stay awake for as long as possible, and then blissfully fell asleep.

I was able to sleep in until 5:30. Then I got up and went for a walk. What a beautiful place we live in! We are so blessed to live in such an amazing place. The air was crisp and cool, and I headed up towards the mountain, looking for deer, etc. I found myself habitually screening the sidewalks for broken glass, human feces, and cars parked on them knowing that would force me onto the road. It took me about ten minutes to realize that I would actually be able to stay on the sidewalk the whole time, it was clear, clean, and safe. Weird.

What a great walk I had. Everyone kept sleeping, so I went out on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful air and worked on my computer, trying to catch up with some things. Then I made breakfast, and got the family up. We worked on unpacking for a long time. Then we got everyone ready and went to the doctors. It was a productive time of just making sure everyone was healthy and working through small physical problems. Then we took some kids to parties, and some to young women’s activities. Dave Beesley and Carly came by and we visited for a while. It was nice to be with our students already. We worked and worked, and I fell asleep a bit. That evening Julianne wanted to go watch Olympics, but I knew I would fall asleep, so I unpacked a bit more while she did that. Before we went to bed we had found plates, cups, pans, keys, clothes, and other necessities. We are going to get by just fine.

I was not able to sleep in as well the next morning. I got up very early, but lay there for a long time trying to sleep some more. Finally I got up, and Julianne got up with me. We went for a walk and again I was reminded of what an incredible place we live in. And our house and place are so incredible. We are blessed!

We opened the doors and windows to let in the cool air and worked on unpacking. After a while I went to shut the doors, and found I was too late. A hummingbird had gotten in, but couldn’t figure out how to get out. We worked for about half an hour, trying to shoo him towards the door, or to an open window. But he was panicked and just kept trying to go through the ceiling. As we neared 45 minutes, and after Jacob and Sabrina had joined us in our chase, he was clearly getting exhausted. I was using a broom to try to force him towards a window when I accidentally, yet gently, caught him between the broom and the ceiling. Julianne got a bag, we pushed him in, took him to the window, and he flew out and up and off, seeming just fine. What an adventure.

The hummingbird in our house

We got going on soccer, unpacking, etc. We had waffles with homemade mix from wheat we had ground. We had fun together, and got a lot done. I went to my parents’ house and watched my dad while my mom did some stuff. It was fun to visit with him, though sometimes he is so with it and sometimes so confused. He wanted me to help him go home, but we were home. He wanted me to help him get up and get going so he could have a somewhat normal life, but I can’t help him with that. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. But I am glad to help.

That evening I barbecued, my first time in forever. It was sooo tasty. Yea! We also went and watched Olympics, but I kept falling asleep.

On Sabbath/Sunday (weird that those coincide here), I got up early again, but not quite as early. I went to our back porch and enjoyed the wonderful morning air and wrote in here and emailed thank yous to people. We had a family breakfast and discussed what we should do to make our Sabbaths here more holy. We worked on family history work. To begin with there was too much goofing around, and it didn’t work well. So we postponed until after church. When we tried it later it went very well, largely due to how good Julianne is at this kind of thing. I feel like some inspired things came of it.

Church was great. In some ways it was weird to be back. There are lots of new people there and it was fun to meet them and also to catch up a bit with all the people we have known. In some ways it seems like we never left. Jerusalem seems increasingly like a dream. A very good dream. A life changing dream. I hope the dream continues to inspire us, uplift us, edify us, transform us, and haunt us for a very long time. We have been blessed to live this dream!

I Swear I Lived!!!

2016-08-06T06:50:00.000-06:00

What a week! It started with an incredible bang! I got up and worked on getting moved out of the apartment. Then I went with the Smiths, Skinners, and Phil on a really cool trip with a guy named Nir. He runs four-wheel-drive tours around the country. We went to Azazel, the mountain where it is thought that on the Day of Atonement they drove the scapegoat off a cliff. We had to go on some pretty crazy roads to get there, if you can call them roads. We stopped and looked at Bedouin cisterns as we went, and I came to understand them in a way I never had before.

A Bedouin water gathering field and cistern

Bedouin sheep and goats

Azazel was really cool also. From there you could see the Dead Sea and Moab, Hyrcania, and yet the entire Way of the Patriarchs like I never had before. I could see Herodian, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nob and Gibeah all at once. From that perspective they were further apart than they have looked from any other perspective I have seen. It was cool. We took some time to stop and talk about the meaning of the scapegoat and how the practices of the ritual changed a bit over time, and some of the symbolism. It was beautiful, invigorating, enlightening, stimulating, and bonding. We loved it.

Mount Azazel

Dead Sea Area from Azazel

Way of the Patriarchs as seen from Mount Azazel

On the left is tower of the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, then the tower of Augusta Victoria on Mount Scopus then the Hebrew U tower on Mount Scoups, then the two sky rise buildings on biblical Nob, then a hill that is Gibeah of Saul

Nir showing the Smiths, Phil and Andy some things

Nir has a degree in Geomorphology, and he helped me understand the geology, topography, climate and ecology in a way I never have before. It was fantastic. He drove us on some even rougher roads until we got a fantastic view of the largest monastery of the Judean desert, the Mar Saba monastery. It is gorgeous. We had a tiny bit of a picnic there. Then we asked him to take us in. He doesn’t do it often, but he took us in. It was a bit of an arduous drive, but not for Nir, who seems to revel in going in crazy places.

Mar Saba Monastery

Mar Saba Monastery in Wadi Kidron (or the Kidron Valley)

So, off to the monastery we went. Poor Joyce couldn’t go in because they don’t allow women inside. But we went in, and I am so sad they wouldn’t allow pictures. The narthex of their church had the coolest Greek Orthodox paintings ever. It was all Old Testament stuff, as a narthex typically is. They had scenes of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel (which I never see), the flood, Abraham and Isaac, etc., that were just so cool. Then we went further into the chapel and saw the body of Saint Saba, and some other holy icons, and a depiction of the Savior with the all Seeing Eye over him, which is their way of depicting God the Father. We had with us a monk whose English was good and who did a fantastic job of explaining the church to us. They gave us some nice treats, and we had a great time.

The Kidron as it flows through the Judean Wilderness

Nir and I with Mar Saba in the background

Inside the Mar Saba Monastery

Then we tried to hurry to make it to Ein Perat on time. Sometimes we were on the road, sometimes off. We were close to not making it before they closed, and we hit a traffic jam caused by a huge, slow truck at the front of a very, very long line of cars. So Nir went off the road and we went at about 40 miles per hour on some pretty rough terrain going up and down and over rocks and hills. We were booking it, and it was so fun. We got to one place where we could turn onto the road, and we were just a few second too late to get in front of the truck. So we kept going, and at the next place we could get on the road we barely got in front of it, and then scooted to our turn off for the spring. We had just gone past Anathoth, where Jeremiah was from. Ein Perat was the nearest spring, and I am sure Jeremiah went them from time to time. We got there four minutes too late, and they wouldn’t let us in. But now we knew where it was, and it is close enough we decided we would go on our own.

Seeing the rain shadow near Ein Pratt

It was a wonderful, absolutely wonderful day. That evening I cleaned out the apartment and got it all ready to move out early the next morning, and I got ready for my field trip as well.

Here is what I wrote to my children in an email that night, on 7-31-16:

My dear, sweet children, As I get ready to go to bed during my last night in our apartment, I am filled with memories. I walk in each room and remember something. I remember Jacob and Kaleb playing with legos or making forts in their room. I remember Tashara and Sabrina having such fun in the double room, or Tashara and Alexia playing games when they shared that room, or Tashara and Sabrina being twins. I remember Alexia reading in the single room, and singing to Sabrina in that room, and Tashara working on history in that room. I remember watching Merlin and White Collar and Pac Man and Yellowstone in the front room. I remember playing cards and Dominion on the kitchen table. I remember talking with BJ at that table about college, and BJ giving us the best Christmas gifts ever when he wrote such nice notes and we opened them in our front room with its little Christmas tree. I remember so many wonderful meals at the kitchen table, and talking about school, the gospel, and reading scriptures at the table. I remember each of you cooking and all of us cooking together in the kitchen. I remember about 50 or more nights of making pita pizza there together. I remember every child sleeping in our bed with Mom and I. Sadly, I remember Tashara taking two hour showers in both bathrooms ;). I remember getting field trip stuff out of the drawer of the bed in the single room so that we could go have so much fun together. Today I sat and stared for a while at the last “remember harmony” sign left in the house.

I don’t know if you remember, but Mom and I once told you that the biggest reason we came to Jerusalem was to grow closer together as a family. I feel like we did that. I want to thank you for being such wonderful children, and for providing me with such wonderful memories of our time together here. I believe I will leave a piece of my heart here in the apartment tonight because everywhere I look I see you. You made this the best time ever! Thank you! Thank you for being a wonderful family. No Dad ever had better kids, and no dad ever had more fun with his kids.

I love you all, and I am so proud of you! I miss you, but in a way you are here with me. Love you! ----Dad

The kitchen of our apartment

The dining room of our apartment

The front room of our apartment

It was hard to move out. It has been a wonderful place for us and wonderful things have happened and I will miss it.

The next morning I got my stuff together and ate a breakfast that I enjoyed eating, and I moved out. Then I went on the field trip. I was able to immediately start using some of the things I had learned from Nir the day before. We had a lot of fun on that field trip. Andy taught them at Qumran all about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then we went to Ein Gedi, and he taught them about David and Saul, and I taught them about Book of Mormon imagery. It was fun, and I think they enjoyed it. Ein Gedi is so beautiful, I think everyone loved hiking and having fun there. It was supposed to be crazy hot, but it didn’t end up being too bad.

Andy teaching at Qumran

From there we went to Masada. It was over 100 degrees on top, but it really wasn’t terrible. Because of problems with his knees Andy didn’t come on top, so I did that part by myself. I moved along quickly because of the heat, but gave them all of the pertinent information. The place is impressive, and the story is crazy. I tried to wrap it all up with a spiritual thought, teaching them about the destructive nature of secret combinations. I also read to them from the Savior’s prophecies about the destruction of the Jews and the need to flee from it, and told them about how the Christians who listened to the early church leaders did flee Judea to a town in the Decapolis and thus escaped destruction. A great lesson in listening to church leaders. I also read from Amos where he says that people cannot climb high enough or dig low enough to escape God’s judgment. I tried to teach them that rather than trying to escape God’s judgment we should remember how much he wants to help us, and turn to him so we can look forward to God’s judgment. I think it went fairly well, but it was hot enough that no one could completely focus.

My students in the hanging palace of Masada

The Dead Sea from Masada

My student Chloe Bray contemplating at Masada

From there we went to the Dead Sea, where the students floated and had a great time, despite the water being so hot they were not very comfortable in it. I think everyone had fun.

floating in the Dead Sea

Students in mud at the Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

My student Kayenta Ryan floating/relaxing in the dead Sea

My student Michaela Proctor studying in the Dead Sea

Students floating in the Dead Sea

I taught them on the bus ride home just a little bit, and then I handed back papers and asked them about things they had been learning that made a big difference to them. It was a nice time.

I came home to my new apartment, which is a bit of a weird thing to say. It is nice enough, and I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed eating with friends in the Oasis. That night we had a guys’ night out, since Phil, Dave Heiner and I are all apart from our wives. We watched one of the Jason Bourne movies. It was a lot of fun.

I also emailed BJ a bit. It is always a bright spot of the week for me when we can communicate with him. He seems to be doing so very, very, very well. I am very happy about that!

My new apartment at the Center

The next day I taught my last class. It was bitter-sweet. Here is what I wrote on that day: 8-2-16

Today I taught my last class here. Since I don’t imagine I will be back within the next decade, it was a somber moment for me after it was all over. My students left and I sat in the classroom and looked at the chairs. Images came to me of many, many students who had sat in this wonderful classroom and with whom I had incredible experiences.

My students on the last day of my last class

Face after face, conversation after conversation, feeling after feeling, moment after moment came flooding to my mind. I pulled out my computer and called up the picture roll for every class I ever taught in there. 6 semester, 12 classes, about 225 students. I looked at every face, and recalled something from each one of them that happened in that room. I didn’t want to leave, and in fact I stayed there for a long time. I stayed there with my students who were with me, whether they knew it or not. I was awash in my love for them. I am so grateful for the Spirit I have felt so often in that room. I am so grateful for the questions and conversations I had in that room and how much I learned and grew and came to understand in that classroom. It has been a great ride! Thanks to all my students, it has been one of the great privileges and pleasures of my life to have been in that room with you! Honestly, a privilege and a pleasure, a blessing that is beyond what I will ever deserve. Thanks to God and my students!

My class as I sat in it empty

It was a crazy day, but it was a nice feeling to know that so much good has happened in my classroom. I will miss teaching there.

That afternoon and evening I did some organizing, packing, and working on papers, etc. I am trying to get all my loose ends tied up. That night the Branch Presidency went out to First Station for ice cream. It was our last meeting, but mostly we just enjoyed being with each other rather than doing much of a meeting. It has been good to serve with these brethren. We also watched another Bourne movie together.

The next morning Phil and I went for a walk at 6:30 am. We walked down to the Old City and along the eastern wall, through the cemetery that is really only open in the morning. It is the most I have ever been able to study the wall and its construction. It was really cool and fun. More than that, Phil and I had a lot of fun just visiting with each other. I so, so enjoy him. He is such a good guy, and we had a great time visiting. We got back in time for breakfast, and I got a few things done. Then Phil, Andy, Janet and I went to Ein Perat, the place that we had almost gotten to on Sunday with Nir, but it had just closed. It was a cool place. The whole time I kept thinking how much my family would have enjoyed going there, and I so wish I had taken them there at some point.

First we went on a really nice little hike up to a monastery. We were not able to get into the monastery, but we enjoyed exploring around it and hiking up the wadi. We found the spring, which is really three or four springs coming together. Then we changed into our swimming suits and hiked up the wadi stopping in the pools and cooling ourselves off. It was so refreshing, and so fun. What a wonderful time we have all had together.

The monastery at Ein Perat

The spring (or ein) Perat

One of the places the water flows out of the rock at Ein Perat

A frog enjoying the source of the water

fish at the source of Ein Perat

The beginning of Ein Perat

Ein Perat

a pool at Ein Perat

Me exploring the spring

Andy, myself and Phil enjoying Ein Perat

That night after dinner all the guys in the Center got together and went to the theater to watch the new Jason Bourne movie. It was pretty good, though the plot was not as original as some of the others. But it was a fun thing for all of us to go do. I enjoyed it.

At the theater after the watching the new Bourne movie

The next morning Phil and I went for another walk at 6 am. We went to the Holy Sepulcher, which is so quiet and beautiful that time of day. It is reverent, and I enjoy the feeling there. We explored a few places we aren’t usually able to explore, and then we went around the city just a bit. It is so quiet that time of day. It is nice.

Holy Sepulcher in the morning

empty streets of Jerusalem in the morning

more empty streets of the Old City in the morning

entering the Holy Sepulcher in the morning

looking out from the unction stone of the Holy Sepulcher

entering the Holy Sepulcher in the morning

ritual at the Edicule, or tomb, in the Holy Sepulcher

We came back and had breakfast, and then immediately went out again. We traced through a lot of the field trip we are planning on doing next week. We went to Bethphage, and walked around to hills and views around there that we usually aren’t able to get into. It helped me have an even better feel for it.

celebration of the Triumphal Entry at Bethphage

The towers of the Russian Church of the Ascension and Augusta Victoria, highlighting the Mount of Olives and Scopus peaks of the Mount of Olives

Augusta Victoria

Then we walked towards Dominus Flevit, but we found the tomb of the prophets open, and so we dropped by. A little service was going on there, so we listened, and then explored, going all around, more than I have in the past. It was great!

a shrine inside the tomb of the prophets

Inside the tomb of the prophets

Me inside the tomb of the prophets (which are not the tombs of the prophets, by the way)

leaving the tomb of the prophets

Then we visited with the caretakers and a father at Dominus Flevit and got that all set up. Then we drove to St. Peter in Gallicantu and went through that together. It was fun doing this with Phil because we could ask each other what we usually teach in a certain place. We never get to do field trips together, so it was nice to get from Phil some ideas of how to make some of these places better. It was fantastic, and he gave me some great ideas. We had a lot of fun together.

Dominus Flevit

Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene as seen from Dominus Flevit

Tombs and Ossiuaries at Dominus Flevit

The Dome of the Rock as seen from Dominus Flevit

Then we drove to the other side of town and walked in to St. Anne’s. We got things set up for our visit there, and stopped by a bookstore, and in all had a wonderful time. We had lunch together, and I got a little bit of work done. That evening I was planning on working more, but I could see so many students were stressed out about finals that I just spent my entire evening going around and visiting with students and helping them feel better about life and putting things in perspective. It turned out to be a very pleasant evening.

The next morning I gave my final. After it was over I tried to help my students see how much I know they have learned and how satisfied I am with each one of them and what they have learned and become. I think it ended on a good note. For me, at least, it was a time I felt knit with them.

Then Phil, Andy, Janet and I took off. We drove down to the Negeve, to Maktesh Ramon. This is a huge natural crater. It is beautiful and strange and different. We saw several ibex, and explored the crater a bit. We also stopped and had a picnic along the way. Again, the things we saw were cool, the company was amazing. I had a great time, and am so glad to be with this group.

Maktesh Ramon

Mother and child ibex at Maktesh Ramon

naturally formed prisms inside Maktesh Ramon

Phil with a prism

More naturally formed prisms at Maktesh Ramon

Phil and Andy inside Maktesh Ramon

an ibex at Maktesh Ramon

Church was great. I was released. During the sacrament I turned and looked out to the places where the events we were commemorating took place. I am not usually able to do that, but today I just really wanted to since it was my last opportunity, so I turned way around and looked for a while. All of our church meetings were very nice. I have enjoyed fasting today, and taking some time to just really focus on the important things. Sabbaths are a delight! So has my time here been!

There goes my heart

2016-07-30T11:49:00.001-06:00

Time goes by too quickly. This last week started out very well with an unexpected opportunity. We have been wanting to hike to St. George’s monastery for years now. We were almost able to go last time and then something came up that prevented us. We tried to schedule it several times this year, but again have been prevented. I have been especially frustrated because a few of the times we thought we would go David wasn’t able to, and even though he has been before, he just couldn’t get himself to say okay to our going without him. The fact that we can’t leave our car parked at Wadi Qelt while we hike up has made it so we can’t just go on our own, and I have sadly given up on thinking we will make it. But our friend Jeremy Branson, whose family is gone right now, told Phil that he would like to go. He has his own car, so he can take us, no problem. So, off Phil, Julianne, Jeremy and I went.

The hike down Wadi Qelt towards St. George's Monastery

It was a beautiful hike! The place is gorgeous! It wasn’t too hot either. We got to the monastery, which we really enjoyed. The monks were very friendly, and it helped that Jeremy served his mission in Greece and can speak Greek to them. They let us look around and told us how to hike to the old bridge for the ancient aqueduct. We did that, and found it to be as scenic as could be asked for. We had a wonderful time with wonderful friends. I am so glad we went!

St. George's Monastery

St. George's Monastery in Wadi Qelt

St. George's Monastery and the Roman aqueduct

Jeremy, Julianne and Phil going into the monastery

Jeremy and Julianne in the Monastery. Julianne had to wear a skirt to enter, fortunately the monks had a spare for her to wear.

Wadi Qelt

The broken Roman aqueduct bridge (and Julianne)

We got back and did some packing and cleaning, then headed off for a fun evening. We took Tashara to have her last outing with her friend Eliana. They will miss each other. Eliana is not much older than Tashara, and is probably smaller, but she is going into the army tomorrow.

The rest of the family went together to Bet Shemesh where we went to a really cool place called the Museum of Biblical Natural History. The guy who runs the place specialized in animals of the bible. He showed us all kinds of things about animals that are in the Bible, teaching us things I never knew. He had stuffed animals so that I could see that the kind of hyena that they have here is the striped hyena, which his different and of a different temperament than the spotted one that is more famous. He told me some things that helped me understand some of what happened when we were on a scout camp here five years ago and ran into hyenas. We held lots of the animals, including a huge python. That thing was so strong, incredibly strong. It was crazy! Julianne even held it for a while, though it freaked her out a bit. The kids had the best time ever! They loved it! All of this fulfilled some of Jacob’s Cub Scout requirements.

Learning about animals in the Bible

The striped hyena

holding lots of animals

Jacob and Kaleb with the big snake

Alexia went for the smaller boa

Me with the big python

Julianne got herself to smile for a minute

So many animals

Kaleb felt like things were ducky

Then we went to see Shocho, the Biblical site that is somewhat associated with the David and Goliath story that my family has never seen. We looked for signs of animal life as we went, since that was also part of Jacob’s Cub Scout requirements. We followed it up by hiking around in the Valley of Elah, where we found lots of animals and animal signs, and where Julianne showed me yet a few more things that helped the David and Goliath story make sense. It was a lot of fun! I think everyone had a great afternoon/evening!

The Elah Valley

The next day I taught class, and felt really good about how it went. Then we took off as a family. We went to the pita factory one last time. The kids loved it, and the pita was super yummy. From there we went to Ein Kerem, where we saw the famous Chagall stained glass windows. I love stained glass so much, and have seen such incredible stained glass here, I was sadly disappointed. It is, in some ways, the worst stained glass here. The light does not light it very brilliantly, and Chagall used a style that I don’t enjoy much. I couldn’t help but think that most children would do it like he did. Yet the symbolism was incredible. He was masterful at picking out things from each of the tribes and symbolically portraying it. That part was very worth it, even though the whole thing cost me about 90 shekels. It was a nice family outing, and then we stopped at the Torch and had shwarma for a last time. Phil joined us, and we had a great time!

Then we did more organizing and packing. Bummer.

The next morning was class again. It was wonderful, I love our classes together! We had some fun together as a family, and then everyone went to their last Cub Scouts/ Young Men’s/Young Women’s/Activity Days. It went well. It ended poorly. On the way downstairs Kaleb and Alexia got in a tussle over a whip cream can, and Alexia got hit in the head by the can and got cut quite badly. There was quite a bit of blood. Fortunately, the day before someone had randomly (not really) told Julianne that the best way to heal head wounds was to use the hair on the head to tie the wound shut. So, with Doctor Heiner’s help we shaved right around the wound and then Julianne braided her hair so tightly you couldn’t even see there was a big gash. She cleaned it carefully, and disinfected it (poor Alexia was so tough throughout the whole thing). It all came out okay. That night I woke up thinking about her poor head, and had to deal with some calls from the U.S., and didn’t end up sleeping very well at all.

The next day was class again. It was a great class. We went through the powerful teachings of John 14-17. I feel like we had some real direction from the Spirit and that we learned a lot. Then we went through the atonement, and I know I learned and was edified. I think we all came to better understand the personal nature of the atonement, and just how much Christ suffered for us.

Then my family and I spent the whole rest of the day packing. We got most of the packing done. We are getting there. That night we went on a field trip to the Kotel Tunnel, the tunnel where they have done excavations all along the western platform wall of Herod’s Temple. It goes on for hundreds and hundreds of yards further than the exposed Western Wall. My kids have never done this field trip before, so it was great for their last field trip to be one that is completely new. They seemed to enjoy it. A great moment for me was when I showed Sabrina the largest stone block ever. Her pure amazement was a perfect ending to family on field trips for me. Life is good.

In the Kotel Tunnel

A huge Herodian ashlar (stone) that was part of the temple platform

Kaleb and Sabrina having fun in the tunnel

Kaleb and Sabrina almost paying attention in the tunnel

afterwards we had our last time at the Western Wall. Kaleb and Jacob prayed there.

The next day was the Christian Quarter Field Trip. My family stayed home and got ready to go. I was with David Whitchurch. It went fairly well. I think the students got a lot out of it, and I feel very happy about it.

Me and Justina at the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Mark

When I got home Julianne took Tashara out to do some last things she wanted to do, and I finished all the rest of the packing. I weighed all 12 bags again and again, getting them to exactly 50 pounds, taking out some from one and adding to another, fitting in just a bit more here and there when there was a little bit of weight left. It took forever, but we got most of the stuff in that we wanted to get in. Everything that we for sure wanted to have packed was, and the majority of the “maybe” pile got in. Between 12 suitcases at 50 pounds each, and 6 carry-ons at about 40 pounds each, and 6 carry-ons, I think we have 900 pounds of luggage.

We got done by about 5 pm. Then we recruited some help getting them all upstairs. I loaded them all into the van. We were able to barely fit it all in. Then we had dinner, and the goodbyes started. It is sad to see it end for my family. They have had such a great experience. They listened to the students do some student Ted Talks for a while, and finally, very late, we got everyone to go to bed.

The next morning we got up early and had cereal. Then we did a final run-through of the house, and packed the last few things, including a whole laundry bag that had gotten overlooked. I didn’t think we could fit it in, but we did. Then we walked upstairs to take my family to the airport. A few people came to say goodbye along the way. It was hard to leave, very hard. But leave we did.

We got to the airport a bit early. That was good. It took us a while to gather enough little trolleys to put all our luggage on. Then we worked out way slowly to the line. It is so much easier than last time when Jacob and Sabrina were in a stroller and BJ and I did most of the work. With neither me nor BJ leaving right now we had fewer suitcases, and this time every person pushed luggage in a trolley. Still, it was complicated. It took forever for us to work our way through a very long line. Then the doing of luggage was complicated. They were accidentally charging us too much for the luggage. It took 45 minutes to get it all worked out, but we finally did. Several of the bags were .02 kilograms from being too heavy, but none were. A few could take a little extra weight, so Julianne even emptied her personal item a bit. Even though we got to the airport more than 3 hours before their flight, by the time we got to the metal detector where I had to say goodbye to them, they only had 25 minutes before they were supposed to board the plane. I hated saying goodbye, but I did. I prayed for them, I am sure they will be okay.

Then I drove home. I stopped to buy eggs part way home, and got a text. They had been able to check a few of the carry-ons in (very helpful for them), and they had been able to board the plane early, and had gotten all settled. It was going to be a good flight.

I got home and ate lunch quickly, and went and taught class (I am very grateful that they rearranged class from the morning until the afternoon so that I could go with my family to the airport). We went through the trials and crucifixion. It was a draining, emotional, and powerful time for me. These students help the stories of the scriptures come more to life for me, and they help me understand Christ better. I am so grateful for that.

After class I started packing up the house. I am supposed to move to an apartment upstairs so they can get this place ready for the new families. So I spent a lot of time sorting and packing my stuff and all the stuff my family left behind. I also did a little cleaning, and worked hard to get caught up on things. I have spent so much time with my family the last few weeks I have gotten behind on everything else. It was good to get caught up a bit. Then I joined Phil, Dave Heiner, and Andy in watching a movie. It was a fun guy’s night out.

I stayed up late, tracking when Julianne and crew would get in to JFK. I started calling as soon as the plane touched down. But Julianne hadn’t turned on the phone. I called on and off for an hour until I fell asleep (about 1 am). At 3 am I finally got a text from her. She had finally turned the phone on. I called them and learned that the flight had gone really well and that they had gotten their luggage through customs and were having a treat and that everything was great for them. I was very happy. I slept well after that.

In the morning I slept in quite a bit. Then I listened to conference talks as I got ready for church. Finally, as I headed up for my meetings, their plane touched down in Salt Lake City. I walked upstairs and waited just a bit and called. After calling a few times I got through. They were collecting their luggage. Only 26 hours after leaving the JC they were in SLC. I was so glad to hear from them. All went well and they were all happy. Yea!

Church was really good. As sacrament meeting ended I had the feeling that Julianne was trying to text me. I went down 8 flights to get my phone. As I walked into my bedroom and stretched out my hand to get my phone, the alert for a text sounded. She was texting me right then. So I called. All was well, everyone was asleep and there was no problem. But it was nice to just touch base. It made me feel like God was aware of us and knew that I could use the comfort of knowing that they were okay and well taken care of. Thanks to God. I went to the rest of my meetings and they were really fantastic meetings. I feel so edified. Then I ate a lunch and had a nap and worked on my journal and did some organizing as I listened to conference talks. I also visited with some students and had a very pleasant afternoon and evening. I feel blessed and at peace.

As we were driving to the airport Julianne teared up a bit. It made me think about how blessed our family is that they have been able to be here so much and get so much out of this place. We talked about it a bit. I am overwhelmed with how blessed we are. The Lord loves us!

After so being there, we came back again

2016-07-23T09:07:00.002-06:00

Time is flying too fast. We are less than a week away from my family leaving. I can’t believe it.

The week began with a great field trip. It went so well. We started by going to Mount Tabor. We were the first people up there. We went into the church and sang and spent some time talking about Moses and Elijah there. Then we went to the outside of the church and looked down on where the battle took place between Barak and the Canaanites. The Israelites were led by Deborah, the prophetess. The visibility was incredible, and we could see the whole valley and get a feel for where we were. The students taught us lessons from the story of Deborah and Barak, especially about the power of following God, and about how God is the one to deliver and why it is so important that we realize that God is our deliverer. They did a great job. It was beautiful.

The Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor

Stained Glass Window on Mount Tabor

Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor

Then we went out to a little grove area and talked about the Transfiguration. Again the students did some teaching about the nature of God. I also talked for a while about the glory of God, and how majestic he is, and how we can’t comprehend his glory, but how we can be comforted by knowing our potential. We also spoke of how great it is that glorious Christ condescended to be with us in a veiled, mortal form. We took a little time to think and it was a nice time overall. Mount Tabor was terrific.

Mount Tabor

A small story developed from there. Jacob had gotten a hat from the zoo for his birthday. He accidentally left it at Mount Tabor, he thought in the church. That night we mentioned it to Phil, and he said he would look for it. Jacob told the Skinners about it, and one student was with them, Kayenta. They all looked for it in the church and checked lost and found. Then Kayenta got into one of the 8 vans that run us up and down the mountain. They each have 13 seats. She sat in the back corner, and as she got her backpack off the ground when the ride was over, she noticed something tucked under the seat. It turned out to be Jacob’s hat. What are the odds that with 43 people on the trip, one of the four people who knew to look for the hat, and the one who would ever sit in the back seat where Jacob sat, would sit in the one out of the 104 possible seats, and look underneath and find the hat? As sister Skinner said when she saw it, “God loves that little boy.”

From Mount Tabor we went to Megiddo. This is a big and tremendous site. There is such history here. It controls access to an important trade route, and has been conquered by dozens of people. We went through the story of how Thutmosis III conquered it, saying that “the conquering of Megiddo is like the conquering of 1000 cities.” We also went over how Solomon built the big gate there, which accords with the biblical story. We talked about the destruction by the Assyrians, and I pointed out to them that we were now in territory where our ancestors lived and that some undoubtedly were scattered from this city by the Assyrians. We looked at the huge Canaanite remains.

Tel Megiddo in the Spring Time

We looked down at the valley and talked about Armageddon. I compared the Ezekiel, Revelation, and 1 Nephi accounts. The 1 Nephi account focuses on the spiritual aspects (I am not sure if it is literal or not), and we talked about what we should learn to prepare for spiritual Armageddon. I think they enjoyed our discussion there. Then we looked at the stables, granaries, etc., and went out the huge water cistern. It was fun.

My class in front of the plains of Megiddo/Armegeddon

The plains of Megiddo/Armegeddon

From there we went to Tel Jezreel. Several significant stories happened here, including the death Naboth as Jezebel and King Ahab killed him to get his vineyard. We also talked about Ahab going to battle from here to Gilead, where he was killed. We also read, and acted out, the story of Jehu coming to Jezreel to kill all the seed of Ahab, including Jezebel. The students seemed to have a good time acting that story out, and we taught some nice lessons about being true to God there. As they were getting on the bus I heard one student say to another “the scriptures just so came to life for me.” Mission accomplished, my week has been made.

The Harod section of the Jezreel Valley as seen from Tel Jezreel

Tel Jezreel

The Harod portion of the Jezreel Valley as seen from Tel Jezreel

From there we went to Ein Harod. We went over the story of Gideon there. At the spring where his men drank we acted the story out a little bit. We had brought small pots, and a few lamps. As I tried to teach them that with God on their side they needn’t worry or stress about things, that with faith they can move forward, knowing that God can conquer anything for us. In doing so I tried to teach it dramatically, smashing a lamp as I made a point. The shards flew and almost hit some students. Whoops! But it was dramatic. Then, as we acted it out, we had them get in groups of three, and one blew a pretend trumpet, one turned on the light of their phone, and the other smashed a small pot. I think it was memorable. I hope people learned the lesson we hoped they would learn, and that the action helped it be more memorable.

Water bubbling up from the Ein Harod (spring of Harod) where Gideon and his men drank water

Sabrina driking from Ein Harod like Gideon

Some of my students drinking from Gideon's spring (ein Harod)

As we went home, I listened to the chatter. It seemed to me that it had been a very successful day. I think the students felt like the places had really come to life for them, and that they had learned lessons and could picture the scriptures better. They seemed to love it, and I was so very happy. My kids seemed to also love it, I think the lessons were learned and came to life for them also.

When we got back we did swimming, and had a very nice time. Phil and Andy came out, and the three of us had some fun in the water together. I couldn’t ask for more enjoyable companions, and that makes all the difference.

We had class the next day. Again I felt like it went really well. I had three hours of class to do, two in a row, a two hour break, and one more. The last hour was planned as a time to catch up. But I was already caught up before we started class, and didn’t have a particularly complex set of lessons, so I was sure we could even get ahead. But knowing we had some time, I let some discussions go deep, and we had a lot of great conversations. We didn’t quite finish at the end of the two hour block, so I thought we would catch up in the third hour. But the discussion was so good that I didn’t catch up then either, in fact I was behind when class ended. But we had a great time, we explored some important issues. I love it when we can do that. We went swimming again, and had a ton of fun as a family doing that. That evening we played games as a family.

The next day was a big, great day. The Skinners were with us. For the first part. I absolutely love doing the field trips on my own. It is easier to control the timing and tempo, to weave the themes together, to make the day have some unity, and to control the environment when doing it on your own. It really is best to do some on your own. But Andy Skinner brings so much to the table that it is also very good to have him along often. It has been quite a while since he was with us, so it was long overdue, and it was great!

We went to Hazor. This is such an amazing site. It was the largest Canaanite city of them all. And it is the one that the Bible records Joshua burned. They found an ash layer there that was over a meter thick. Clearly the Bible wasn’t kidding, Josh burned that place. Andy did a great job teaching them about that, and about the conquest in general. It was a pleasure, as I knew it would be.

Inside the Canaanite Palace of Hazor (Hatsor)

I took them out to see the Israelite remains. We sang a song about Solomonic gates in the big, six chambered gate.

Both classes inside Hazor's Solomonic Gate

We went and saw a house, and spoke about what it was like to be a family and live there. Then we saw a matsebah, a standing stone that became an object of worship. Then we went to the watchtower. We read the verse about how this place was conquered by Tiglath Pilesar III, who started the scattering of Israel in 732 BC. We talked about the family that lived in the house we visited, and how they were scattered at this time. We talked about how it was the idolatry represented in the standing stone that resulted in their being scattered. No number of watchmen, and no width of the walls and gates, was going to hold out the Assyrians once Israel had become Idolatrous. We talked about identifying the idolatry in our lives so that we can avoid being spiritually scattered. I feel like it went well. It seemed to resonate with everyone.

The matsebah at Hatsor

The watchtower of Hazor

I do love that my kids are learning and getting this. I am sure that sometimes they get tired of it, but it is such a great blessing that they get to know these places. Of course, sometimes funny things come of it. One group of students was talking to Jacob and he told them he hasn’t really had a childhood, he had lectures instead. It is kind of true. Almost a quarter of his life has been spent in Israel going on field trips with me. Of his life that he can remember, it is probably about 1/3 of it that he has been doing this. At another site he told the students he was with “warning, warning, hot and boring.” He knew his stuff.

Jacob asleep on his mom on the bus

Sabrina driving our bus

Alexia asleep on the bus

From Hatsor we went to Tel Dan. This is a terrifically beautiful place. It is one of the headwaters of the Jordan, and as such water is everywhere, so things grow everywhere. It is a beautiful walk, just perfectly fantastic. We stopped at one place where the water springs out of a rock, and compared living water with broken cisterns. It helps you realize how much you need Christ.

The waters of Jordan at Tel Dan

Water springing from the rocks to flow into the Jordan at Tel Dan

Then we came to the high place of Dan. This is one of the places that Jeroboam built and placed a golden calf and an altar. Of course my students have studied this and read references to it so often, it was fun to see the look on their faces when I told them where they were standing. It was a “no way, we are really here, this is really it?” kind of moment. They were caught up in it. We talked about how this was the very first city the Assyrians would have hit, it was the first place from which Israel would be scattered. And the reason for the scattering also began in this place, because of the idolatry. The students talked to each other about how idolatry can start to creep into our lives. I asked them while they were there on spiritual and literal ground zero for the scattering of Israel, to ask themselves how they were in danger of becoming like that, and to commit to change. I gave them time to think about it, and I think it was a good moment.

My students at the high place at Tel Dan

We also looked out over the area that had been so contested between Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Then we walked around to the gates of the city from the days of Abraham. We read about how Abraham came and fought here as he attempted to rescue his nephew, Lot. While we cannot be sure, I think it is a very good chance that Abraham fought his way through that gate. It is almost certain he came past them. It is another one of those places where the scripture story becomes very, very real. We have had a lot of those lately, and that is what I live for with these students and my family. There is power in that.

The Abrahamic gate at Tel Dan (Laish in Abraham's day)

Finally we went to the gates. This is the one place where we find a dais on which a ruler sat and governed and made decisions at the gate. We talked about the role of gates, about how it was a place that was neither in or out of the city. It was a place where those who didn’t belong could meet with those who did, and decisions could be made as to whether they belonged. We acted out a leper coming to meet the priest to determine whether he was healed and cleansed or not. We acted out Boaz redeeming Ruth in the gate. We talked about other scriptural stories having to do with gates, and included the idea that people were taxed there, so storehouses were usually right inside the gate as well. This is so that goods collected as tariffs could be stored there, but also so that when the needy came to the ruler they could be given goods to help them. Then we read from 2 Nephi 9, where it says that Christ is the judge at the gate, and that he employs no servant there. He is the one who will determine whether you are clean or not, which determines whether or not you can enter and be part of the community inside. We talked about how Christ has enough in his storehouse to make up for whatever deficit we have, and that he wants to invite us into the City of God. The question is whether we are willing to come to him and ask for his help, ask for him to cleanse us. Even for me I was able to picture it better than I ever have before. It was a moving and powerful moment for me, where things just really came together. I hope it was for them as well.

The gate at Tel Dan

From there we went to see a beautiful waterfall.

My class at the Banias Falls

Then we went to Banias, which is scriptural Caesarea Phillipi. We talked about Peter declaring that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the Living God. We sang “I Believe in Christ,” and talked about the importance of that meeting. Then we went up to the cliffside and put our hand against the rock. I taught them about the Church being built on the rock of Apostolic testimony, and upon our ability to gain our own revelations about that testimony. We read an apostolic testimony together, and I reminded them that recently they had received just such a thing from Elder Christofferson. Then I told them that they needed to commit to be as solid as that rock in going forth and imparting of that testimony to others, especially in their families, but really everywhere. It was a nice time together.

Caesarea Phillipi (Banias) the temple of Pan

My kids thinking at Caesarea Phillipi (Banias)

From there we went to Nimrod’s Castle. The other class got up on the walls while I gathered my class together and gave them the speech that Aragorn delivers at the Black Gate in the movies. After they got whipped up we all stormed the castle together, resulting in a decent sized water fight. I think it was fun. Jacob, Julianne and I did some exploring of the castle. Jacob loves that place. We even found some bats there. It was a lot of fun.

Sabrina at Nimrod's Castle

bats at Nimrod's Castle

Jacob and the cistern at Nimrod's castle

From there we drove to Har Bental, a place where you can look down on to Syria, and almost see Damascus. Phil did a fantastic job of teaching both about the modern history and about Paul’s journey to Damascus, and relating that to our own lives. I think the day went as perfectly as one could ever ask for. I had a great time!

When we got home we started to pack a bit, and to clean off and deflate our water toys. It is hard to believe that our time here is already winding down.

On Wednesday we got to have the Skinners with us on the bus the whole day. It was a ton of fun. We went first to Akko. There I taught them about the Third Crusade, and arranged them around a fountain in a way where they could act out just a bit the sieges of the city. I hope it helped them understand how it worked. Then we went into the hall and I showed them the church, the refectory, etc., trying to explain to them about the military orders and how the Hospitalers in particular cared for the poor and helped the pilgrims and took care of the sick and buried them when necessary. Eventually I had some duels with them. Then I gave them some free time. On the whole it went well, I think they learned a bit and enjoyed it. My kids seem to have had a lot of fun, and I think they learned a lot as well. It was a great time.

The sea wall at Akko

Our family at Akko

From there we went to Sepphoris. This is a great site that hardly anyone gets to. It is huge. It was the capital when Jesus was young, and I would be surprised if he and Joseph didn’t work there as stone masons as the place was being built up. I took them around some of the wealthy mosaic floors and then we had a pretty good conversation about the difficulty the Jews found themselves in there as they had to decide how much of the culture of the world around them they would adopt and how much they wouldn’t. Then I asked them to examine their own lives, and to ask themselves what elements of modern culture they have adopted that they really shouldn’t, that takes away from their being a holy, covenant people. It looked to me like they were truly thinking, introspecting, and trying to figure what changes they should make. This is great!

Then Andy took them to more of the city. He showed them the house that has an amazingly beautiful mosaic portrait, which is also where a triclinium was depicted. This is probably the kind of set up employed when Christ had dinner. He did a great job of teaching about all of that.

Then we went to a part of the city that was very Jewish, and he talked about how this was the place where the Mishnah was created. Again, he did a terrific job. We also went to the theater, where he did some nice teaching.

Roman game on the sidewalks of Sepphoris

In the meantime, some intrigue had developed. Due to non-malicious but poorly thought out joke, one of our students had gotten a handful of prickly-pear. It was painful. They were working so hard on getting them out. While Julianne was helping with this she realized that Sabrina wasn’t with us. It turns out that due to some tension between her sister and herself she had gone to a corner and then not seen when we left. Fortunately she staid where she was, and Julianne was able to find her.

A stone manger at Sepphoris

I took everyone to the synagogue, and taught them about the fantastic floor and its motif that so evokes the temple, but also strongly evokes the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham. We had a nice time, and then we took off.

A triclinium at Sepphoris

A mosaic portrait at Sepphoris

We needed to be to our next site by 4:00. We got there at 4:03. They still let us in, and I promised we would be out by 5 pm. Andy did a fantastic job teaching in the synagogue there, which is the only one in which we have found an actual “Moses’ Seat.” We also showed them beams from that area, and it was fun for everyone to begin to picture beams and motes. We had a nice time, and then got out by 4:55. It was a super successful day.

beams at Chorazim

motes and beams in eyes at Chorazim

We got home with enough time for everyone to do just a tiny bit of swimming before dinner. Then we spent the evening packing up.

The next morning we went to Mount Carmel, where I taught about Elijah and the contest with the priests of Ba’al. I think everyone really took some messages from that and internalized it. Then we went to Haifa and looked down on the beautiful Bahai gardens. Then we went to the German Colony Templar cemetery, where we had some nice lessons about missionaries and church members there. Kaleb also did some work on what we hope will be his Eagle project, though we have to move along on that.

The grove at Carmel

Mount Carmel

From there we went to Caesarea. It was a joy to teach about Peter and Herod Agrippa and Pilate and Paul there. I particularly love teaching about Paul’s defense of himself before Festus and Agrippa, and about Peter coming to visit Cornelius there and extending the blessings of the Gospel to all the world. What amazing places. We also went out to the aqueducts and let everyone enjoy just a little time on the beach.

The palace at Caesarea

Kaleb at the aqueduct at Caesarea

my class at Caesarea

On the way home we had a little fun, and then I talked about the Book of Abraham for a while. On the whole I think it went well. Finally we got back to the JC. It was nice to be home. We unpacked like crazy, and did laundry too. Julianne works so hard!

I can’t imagine a better Galilee trip. This may be the best one I have ever been a part of. It was insanely hot and humid, yet it didn’t cause us problems and really didn’t take away from the field trips. This was a Galilee trip where we experienced the greatest amount of freedom I ever have. We were just allowed to do our jobs, and as a result, we did them exceptionally well. The less interference, the better things go. We all agreed that it was a spectacular time.

On Friday I taught my class for two hours. We got caught up, and we had some wonderful times. Then I came home and we all did a lot of work starting to pack up. We are now at less than a week before my family flies to Utah. That is hard to believe. It took up most of the day to work on that, and we still have a long way to go.

That evening we had dinner with everyone, and then we watched some movies together as a family. It was a very pleasant evening.

The next day was District Conference. David Whitchurch was released, and Doug Coombs was put in as the new District President. I felt to sing Halelujah! He is perfect, he will be a blessing to the District. There will be great rejoicing under his stewardship, and things will move forward in a marvelous way! I am so happy for the district.

As things started, we remembered that during the afternoon session they were going to hold primary, and Jacob had a talk and Sabrina had a scripture. During one of the musical numbers Sabrina chose out her scripture. Then she wrote this to/for Jacob: “Hi, I’m Jacob and today I’m giving a talk about Christ. (Jacob, bare your testimony). I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Notes: Don’t make it too short. Say things that you question about him and then let the spirit just take you away. Don’t be afraid, just stay calm and just trust the spirit. Good luck. Remember lots of little kids keep it fun. Put some jokes in but jokes that are appropriate Like you will figure it out and let the spirit whisper and guide you. I believe in you!” Jacob figured out his own talk anyway, but I think this was the most amazing and cute note a 10 year old sister could give her 9 year old brother.

The talks were good, and I think we were all uplifted. We had a wonderful lunch, and then more talks. At the end Elder Price taught about what kind of a teacher Christ was. To begin with I was feeling nervous, I always wonder how I will feel I have been doing as a teacher, have I been measuring up? By the end, as he summarized all the points we have made, I thought, “that is exactly what I have done this semester.” I asked “Is it I” and came out feeling okay. That is a rewarding feeling. I always have room to improve, but I felt pretty good about things.

Then we had wonderful time together as a family. We played some games, talked, watched a video about Jesus, had popcorn and ice cream and played some more games. I am so blessed to have such a great family! I can’t believe all the amazing experiences we have had together. I can’t believe our time together here is already coming to an end. How blessed we are.

Galilee = most amazing week ever!!!

2016-07-18T05:03:00.000-06:00

I sit this morning writing on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. No one else is here, it is just the sounds of gentle waves, a gentle breeze, birds, and me. I love it here in Galilee.

Last week we spent a day of getting ready for Galilee and enjoying each other.

In the afternoon we went to Shepherd’s Field and did some filming for some things we are trying to put together. A shepherd came by with his flock. H was helped by his young children.. My youngest went and helped him move the flock along. Sabrina has been wanting a ride on a donkey, so we paid him to give her a short ride (this was her birthday present, 10 months late). It was somehow perfect and magical to do some shepherding on our last time at Shepherd’s Field.

Sabrina riding a donkey at Shepherd's Field

Our kids and locals shepherding at Shepherd's Field

Then we went to First Station, the old train station that has been turned into a pedestrian mecca. We rented various kinds of tandem bikes there and had a lot of fun going around together. Then we got ice cream and sat together and just laughed and had fun with each other. Both activities were a bit pricey, but they were wonderful.

The next morning we left very early for Galilee. Julianne came a bit later in the van, but all the kids were with us on the bus. I was able to do a little teaching on the way up, and then a few students had questions so I taught just a small group the rest of the 1.5 hour drive. Finally we arrived at Bet Sha’an. After Andrew Skinner taught us at the model of the city, I took my group up onto the big tel. There we looked at how the place controlled access to various trade routes. We looked out at the Jezreel Valley and the places where biblical events such as Gideon’s battle took place. Then we saw the Egyptian remains from the ages and ages that this was an Egyptian stronghold as they controlled the routes. Then we read the story of how Saul was killed on the next door hill, and how his body was brought to this one, and how it was rescued. We also read David’s lament for Saul and Johnathan. And finally we looked over the huge Roman ruins and talked about how this was a Decapolis city. We read about the Savior preaching in Decapolis areas and how people from Decapolis followed him.

Students at Beith Sha'an

Then I gave everyone free time to explore the city. I took my children and those who wanted to follow me through some particular places, but mostly people just explored and had fun. Julianne met us during that portion, and it was good to be with her.

Next we went to Nazareth. I think we had some nice moments talking about how Mary was so dedicated to doing the Lord’s will, and how the sentiments she expressed when she said “be it unto me according to thy word” prefigure her son’s statement “not my will by thine be done.” Jesus inherited his qualities from both his divine father and his mortal mother, and Mary was a worthy mother.

When we went in the church they were doing a mass, and the singing was beautiful. I was grateful to be part of that. I taught just a bit about the church, and gave them free time to see Saint Joseph’s church.

Then we went up to the church built over the traditional site of the synagogue and Andy did a magnificent job of teaching them about Christ in that synagogue. I added just a few words that tied the whole thing into the experience our little student Rebecca was having as she was, at that very moment, flying across the Atlantic to bury her sister. We prayed that Christ would heal the brokenhearted as he said he would in that synagogue.

As we left Nazareth I was able to talk to them, as I always do at that time, about motherhood. I taught them about how important that role is, and how the world demeans it and takes away from it. We spoke of how those who believe the world rob themselves of being part of the greatest role in the world besides that of Savior. We talked about how those who believe both God and the world also rob themselves of a measure of the divine content and joy that can come from motherhood because as they are living according to God’s values, following whatever path God has for them, they are simultaneously berating themselves for not living up to the world’s values. We spoke of how this can happen in any kind of role, not just motherhood, but also of the tragedy that it is happening so much in regards to motherhood. I hope I was able to issue a clarion call for the support of mothers. I felt like the conversation went really well.

Finally we got to Mount Arbel. We looked down on the vista of the Sea of Galilee, and I helped them get a feel for the geography and political lines of the place. It is stunningly beautiful there. The timing of the day was working very well, and we were able to get them more free time than I have ever been able to do before. I even got to explore with Tashara a little, and it was wonderful. What a great time!

Students at Mount Arbel

View of the Magdala Church from Mount Arbel

View of Galilee from Mount Arbel

Tashara and I at Mount Arbel with Galilee behind us

Of course as we checked in everyone was thrilled to be here. There is a magical feeling about the Sea of Galilee, and especially about the area around Ein Gev. We love it here. After dinner the students went on a tour of the Kibbutz, so we let our children swim in the lake. They loved it!

Kids playing at Galilee

The next morning we started out on one of my favorite field trips. We went first to Capernaum. We stopped at the Bay of Parables, and I read from a few of the Matthew 13 parables, and we talked about it for just a while. We also showed them where Jacob had been baptized. Then we walked into the city. No one was in the synagogue, so we went right there. I taught them about the Bread of Life Sermon that happened there. We spoke about how important it is to make Christ part of us, how we must partake of him. We talked about how Christ wants to bring us to the Father and how he is inviting us into his relationship with the Father. We talked about how much they both want to exalt us, and how partaking of Christ is the way for that to happen. I feel like it went pretty well.

Students and family on the benches of the synagogue at Capernaum

the Synagogue at Capernaum

Synagogue at Capernaum

ruins at Capernaum

From there I tried to show them the little streets of Capernaum, and explain to them how the houses worked there. Then we looked at Peter’s house, and I taught them about the early tradition that this is Peter’s house. I am fairly convinced that it is the right place. We talked about how Capernaum was the city Christ made his home, as much as he had one, during his ministry. It was headquarters, and Peter’s home was headquarters of Capernaum. This is the closest thing he had to a place to lay his head. This is where many miracles were performed, at least one in the house, probably more, and some seemingly at the doorstep. I expressed my gratitude to Peter for giving Christ some place he could find rest. Christ was a real person who got tired, got lonely, got blisters, and who needed rest. Peter’s house was important for all of this.

Peter's House at Capernaum

my family at Capernaum

Then we read Matthew 9, walking through the events in that chapter. Miracle after miracle, important event after important event, all lined up one after the other. What an incredible day. O, what it would have been like to be with Christ in Capernaum. O, how I would have loved to hear him teach and see him bless! O! What a city of miracles. To have seen the paralytic walk, or the blind begin to see, or the devils cast out! O how I love that miracles can still happen today in our lives. O! How real the scriptures are! How real Christ is. How real his involvement in our lives is! How blessed are we! I thank God for sending his son to bless us!

From there we went to the sea shore and saw where Jacob was confirmed. On the very seat where Jacob sat when we confirmed him they had set the Eucharist for a mass. How interesting that the ordinance we believe renews our covenants was happening where Jacob made covenants.

Communion where Jacob was confirmed at Capernaum

There we talked about the calling of the Apostles that happened at Capernaum. We read the story of catching great nets of fish. We read of catching a fish with the coin so that the temple tax could be paid. And then I gave everyone 50 minutes of free time to think, pray, write, sing, explore, and worship. I spent some time with my family, took some pictures, went into the church and prayed for a long time, prayed with my family, took more pictures, did some teaching for those who had questions, thought and prayed some more, and then left. It was a really wonderful time. I think it was for the students also.

The shores of Capernaum

From there we went to the Mount of Beatitudes. As I was going to meet with Sister Mary Rose, the Italian nun who runs the place, I got behind a man who was also going to meet her. He asked her for a blessing. She said “I cannot bless you. Blessings come from God. I can intercede on your behalf, I can ask him to bless you. But any blessings you receive come from him. He wants to bless you, so I will ask him, but he is the giver of blessings.” I could not help but think how much this is what Christ would have said and done. It was a beautiful sentiment.

After we went into the church and enjoyed it, we went to a spot reserved for us where we could look out on the area where the Sermon on the Mount had likely taken place.

The Mount of Beatitudes

Sister Mary Rose came to meet us and spoke with us for a while. What a sweet spirit she carries with her. She talked about how Christ encouraged us to do better. Then I spoke for a while about how Christ took what had always been in the Law of Moses and showed us how it was supposed to lift us higher. I talked about how the Sermon on the Mount teaches us how to love God and love each other more. Then I asked for students to share their thoughts. Several did, and it was a very nice time. For me the Spirit was present. We sang Lord I Would Follow Thee, and people were given enough time to think and write and read, and then we left. It was a sweet time together.

My students at the Mount of Beatitudes

From there we went to Tabgha, and we talked about the miracle of the loaves and fishes. We enjoyed that church.

Alexia in front of her favorite motif (the fish and loaves mosaic) at Tabgha

Alexia at Tabgha

The famous fish and loaves mosaic at Tabgah on the shores of Galilee

My students in the church at Tabha

Then we walked to Saint Peter’s Primacy. There we read from the story of Christ appearing on the shores there after his resurrection and asking Peter if he loved the fish more than he loved him. I talked about Peter’s strong desire to be with the Savior. Julianne talked about how she had seen them so strongly desire to be with Christ. Then I talked about how Peter had been so ready to go back to what he knew, but how, when Christ called him to do something else, he so willingly did that. We talked about committing to change, to not go back wo what we are used to be to stay changed and to serve the Lord. We sang “I’ll go Where You Want me to Go Dear Lord,” and everyone had some time to think and ponder. It was very nice.

Everyone at the church of St.Peter's Primacy on the shores of Galilee

The shores of Galilee at St. Peter's Primacy

Then we went to Magdala. That is such an incredible site. We went to the synagogue. I taught them about how that was a synagogue that was used during the Savior’s life. We read scriptures that demonstrated that he went to Magdala, and we read other scriptures that demonstrated that he always taught in synagogues. Then we talked about the kinds of things he would have taught or done there, and talked about how fortunate we are to know his doctrine and teachings and to follow him. I let them have time to touch the stones he touched. I think everyone had a powerful time.

The synagogue at Capernaum

Students touching the threshold of the Magdala Synagogue

My children touching the benches of the Magdala synagogue

Then we went and saw the mikvah’s (mikva’ot) that they found there. I think there is a very good chance that the Savior used those, so we talked about him and cleansing. Then we walked to the area that had fish production structures, such as places where they made fish nets, hooks, weights, etc. This is a place Peter and co. probably came.

Jacob at Magdala

Then we went to the church. They have done the most spectacular job there. The chapel has the sound of the sea in it, the altar is a boat sitting on green marble with glass behind it that has greenish water outside it. The whole thing makes you feel like you are on the Sea of Galilee with Jesus and the apostles, who are all pictured around the room.

From there we went downstairs. They have set it up to look like a synagogue from the time. The floor is actually the ancient road, no reconstruction, just the basalt paved road. At the end of the room, where the road meets the wall, is the most remarkable painting of the feel of Jesus and his apostles as the woman with the issue of blood reaches out to touch the hem of his garment. It is a remarkable place to talk about that miracle. Julianne taught there, and spoke of the time she was incapacitated because she bled for five weeks. She talked in such moving ways about the woman and her needs and what the Lord did for her. Everyone was touched, and it was a wonderful time.

Then we went up to the dome. On the ceiling is pictured a woman’s hands and the starry heaven. It feels like a mother reaching down from heaven. The columns have the names of women from the New Testament inscribed on them, such as Mary of Magdala. Joanna, Salome, etc. The last column has written on it “and many others” which is a phrase at the end of the list of women who ministered to the Savior. It somehow simply yet powerfully makes it so that this place, which is a monument to the women of the scriptures, includes all the women who come. We sang “Oh my Father” there.

While singing I had the most startling and striking realization come to me. I believe I am so passionate about motherhood because of a strong relationship I have with another mother. It was a wonderful moment for me. I think many had a wonderful moment there. Then we took a picture of many of the women from the class in front of the “many others” column. I loved it!

in front of the "Many Others" column at Magdala

My family at Magdala

From there we went to Nof Ginosaur, where we got to see the ancient boat they found. Then we went on a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. We had a great time, of course. It was a bit wavy, the most I have had it while on a boat, though I doubt the waves were even quite two feet tall. It moved us and made us sway when we stopped the boat. Julianne taught us about the Savior calming the water. She taught a powerful message. I also talked about it just a little, trying to help those who feel high anxiety realize how much they can rely on the Savior. He is their life jacket, he is the thing they know they can count on when everything else fails. There is no need for anxiety or despair, we know he will rescue us and save us.

Jacob sleeping on a "pillow" in the boat on Galilee

Tashara and Students on the boat at Galilee

Then I talked about Peter walking on the water. We focused on how, when he began to sink, he still had enough faith to call out to Christ to save him. And Christ did! It didn’t matter that he faltered, we all will. We do need to focus on coming to Christ, not the obstacles, but when the obstacles start to make us sink, it doesn’t mean we should give up, nor that Christ will give up on us. Instead, if we just call on him, he will reach out and save us, and walk us safely to the boat. How blessed we are to know that! We had time to think and write after that.

Sea of Galilee

Students on the boat at Galilee

Me thinking on the boat on Galilee

What an incredible day. It is hard to believe that we did all those things in one day. Any one of them would have been enough to make it an amazing day. All of them together is just more than a person can take in. We are so blessed!

The next morning we had class. I felt like the class went very well. We were able to talk about a lot of things that were planned in the lesson, but also about a lot of things that people just had questions about. It was very, very enjoyable.

Then I did some reading for my next class, and joined my family on the beach and in the water. We played and had fun. Then my class met on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. I often have a portion of a class there, and that was my intent today. But, though it has been brutally, brutally hot and humid, somehow there in the shade of the trees with the wind blowing it wasn’t bad, and everyone wanted to just keep going. We talked about the miracle of feeding the five thousand. We spoke of what that miracle may have looked like. We talked about Christ’s mercy and how he wants to feed us in every way possible. Then we talked about how he asks us to do things we are not capable of, such as feed a multitude with five loaves and two fishes. It doesn’t matter how much we bring to a task, it matters that we bring what we have. If we give him what we have, he will make it enough.

Then we read the story of the devils being cast into swine. From there we could see where it happened, and the city Hippos, which is surely the city the people came from to talk to the Savior. We compared the symbolism of the story to what Jacob teaches in 2 Nephi 9. We saw how the Savior takes all of us and delivers us from death and hell and instead wraps us in robes of righteousness and gives us peace and freedom in his presence. It is a wonderful thing! We spent the whole class there on the shores of Galilee. It was wonderful!

Hippos

Then we did more playing in the water. Then we went to dinner at the Fish restaurant, where we ate St. Peter’s fish. It is a great time to visit with people and hear more about them. Then we went to Tiberias, where everyone walked around and bought ice cream and had fun and Julianne and I just spent enjoyable time together. So nice!

at the Ein Gev Fish Restaurant

The next morning we went to Gamla. What a beautiful place! I taught them about how that place was the last holdout against the Romans when they conquered the Galilee area. I showed them where the Romans got in. Then we gave them time to explore the place, and then we met in the synagogue. I had three students who weren’t there. One of my best students, Dave Beesley, suddenly stood up and volunteered to go get them, telling me “I was born for this, I trained for this moment, coach, send me in.” I normally wouldn’t have, but felt like it was a good idea this time. So I sent him out. It turns out that they had gotten lost, a girl had rolled her ankle, and they couldn’t figure out how to find us. They prayed for help, and he came around the corner to help them find their way back to us. It was a fun little moment.

There in the synagogue I taught them about how the Savior healed and taught in synagogues. This is another (the only other excavated) first century synagogue. I think there is a very good chance he taught in this synagogue. We read accounts of his healing people, and I had my student with a broken hand stand up and we all tried to imagine what it is like to have someone with a withered hand healed. We talked again about how Christ wants to heal us in every way, and can. We talked about how he taught in the synagogues, and how we get to participate in that by studying the scriptures. We had a very nice time.

Tashara and I at Gamla

students at the synagogue at Gamla

Then we went to the breach in the wall, the place the Romans got in. We talked about how the leaders of the Jewish revolt took people with good ideas and used them. We asked how sometimes we start out with good intents but it goes wrong. Then we asked how we sometimes let people breach our walls of spiritual defense. Then we left. It was a nice time at Gamla.

We went to Bethsaida. There we talked about Peter and Andrew and Phillip. We talked about the good fishermen who followed Christ. We read the account of the man who was healed in stages, and talked about how Christ gives us all sight. We went to the Old Testament gate, the one that fell to Tiglath Pilesar III during the beginning of the scattering of Israel. There are two stones of worship at the gate. So I asked them how we worship more than one god at the same time. As they came up with ideas I would walk between the two stones, and I think it helped them visualize how we really do worship both the ideas of the world and God at the same time. I feel like it really helped it sink in for people.

Then we went to Kursi. There we quickly went over the story of the casting of the devils into swine. We did it quickly, but I think we had some good moments there, and then we came quickly back to eat lunch. From there we went as a family with everyone else canoeing along the Jordan. Julianne and I were together in a canoe. We splashed people, Julianne tipped me in, we jumped off a platform together, and had a great time. Our whole family had so much fun, with everyone swimming, swinging into the river, jumping into the river, and catching turtles. The Jordan is beautiful, and we had fun. Life is wonderful here!

The next day we had class again. I feel like class went super well. We talked about loving like Christ did, and the importance of holding to a high standard but still being the kind of people that sinners and those who struggle or feel different feel accepted by and loved by. We need for the Church to be a place where everyone knows the standards but feels wanted and welcomed. Somehow Christ did that, we all need to figure out how to do it as well. We also talked about Christ as the water of life and the light of the world, and how he used the Feast of Tabernacles as an opportunity to teach that. It was a lot of fun.

Some of my students who stayed after class to ask questions

After all three hours of class were over I went with Phil, Julianne and the Skinners to explore some ancient synagogues. It was a lot of fun. I sure love these people and I love being with them and learning from them and the strength that comes from doing great things together. I miss Jennifer, Phil’s wife. A few days ago they got a call from a daughter who needed them. So Jennifer has already packed up and gone home. Suddenly Phil, and all of us, are without her. We miss her.

After our fun exploring, Julianne and I went swimming with the kids. We had a lot of fun, and then we just hung out together in the water and on the beach. I sure love being with her and love her. She makes life better. She makes it worthwhile. That night we watched a little movie together.

That night they brought in a petting zoo for the kids staying here. Jacob and Sabrina and Alexia had the time of their life. Pythons, leopard geckos, bunnies, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, roosters, and a tarantula all made them so happy!

Jacob with a python

Jacob and Sabrina and the bunnies and guinea pigs

The next morning we were able to sleep in a little. We had a wonderful breakfast here at Ein Gev resort. Then we pulled our children aside, one at a time, and reviewed with them the things they have learned during this last year in the Holy Land. We talked about how they have grown. We helped them see their abilities and strengths. I am blessed to have truly amazing children. They are capable of anything. I am so happy to be with them.

Alexia making huge bubbles

Church was wonderful. We also spent more time with the Skinners, and family time. It has been a delightful, amazing day!

My class after sacrament meeting at Tiberias

Andrew Skinner teaching at the Yardenit baptismal site on the way to church

Sick week!

2016-07-09T09:30:00.004-06:00

What a week! We began by getting together with a group and going to Caesarea. There Tashara and I did scuba diving, while others snorkeled. Then Tashara and I snorkeled with Julianne, Phil and Alexia also. We saw huge columns, big blocks Herod had created the harbor with, hulls of ships, a sarcophagus, and some cool schools of fish. It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

Pointing out Herodian ashlars under a school of fish at Caesarea

A large Herodian column underwater at Caesarea

Herodian Ashlars that make up the harbor Herod created at Caesarea

Uncovering a sarcophagus underwater at Caesarea

a school of fish over the ruins of the harbor at Caesarea

There were a lot of jellyfish at Caesarea that day

When that was over, we showered as fast as we could and ran upstairs to the big 4^th of July BBQ. It was festive, and fun. Andy Skinner gave a great spiritual thought, tying the USA and the constitution into the scriptures and the Gospel. It was very moving, and we enjoyed it very much.

4th of July dinner at the Jerusalem Center

Trust me, the cake was red, white and blue, but my phone camera is weird

A bunch of us left that a bit early so that we could go to an iftar, the meal that is held to break fasting each day of Ramadan. Omar, the olive wood carver, had invited us to one with his family. They held it at a restaurant, and it was wonderful. The food was great, and it was great to learn about the blessings they say as they do this. But better was the feeling. There was a real feeling of family and togetherness and love. I believe that it is a time of family and loving God, and so the Spirit comes. We were quite touched. We also had a lot of fun visiting. The environment was nice, the grounds were lovely, the food was great, and the people were fantastic. What a perfect evening!

Omar, his family, and our friends at Iftar

Street celebrations and parade at Iftar

The next day was a big field trip. We went to Bethlehem. I was paired with David Whitchurch. On the bus drive I played some patriotic music and we raised a small flag and said the pledge of allegiance. I think everyone was grateful to be able to do that so far away from home.

We went first to the Herodian. We got to the Lower Herodian, and had enough time that we could have explored it a little bit. But instead David gave a long historical lecture (which I had invited him to do on the bus but he chose not to), and no one got to do anything there. The palace there is amazing, it was one of the largest palaces in the Roman world. I did stress for the students the contrast between Herod wanting so much to be remembered and all he did to be great as opposed to Christ, who sought to do his father’s will and bless others, rather than seeking for himself. We know who is more remembered today.

The palace complex at Herodian

The pool at Herodian

Two students ran out to just be in the pool for 30 seconds at Lower Herodian

The Upper Herodian, on top of the hill, is impressive. It was a huge fortress. We went through how that worked and no one got any time to explore, but we had a nice time there.

Upper Herodian

My kids listening to teaching at Upper Herodian

I saw some excavations going on, so I went to visit with them and got to look around a little. It is going to be cool!

the Upper Herodian excavations I saw

More of the Upper Herodian excavations I saw

Then we drove to Manger Square. It was a short line to get into the Church of the Nativity. It is a great spot, but they hurry you so much there is no way you can really have a reverent or thoughtful time there.

Waiting to get into the grotto (birthplace) at the Church of the Nativity

We did go to the annex that is the Church of Saint Catherine and pray and sing and then down to Jerome’s Grotto where we prayed and sang more. It was very nice, we enjoyed it a lot.

Singing in St. Catherine's at the Church of the Nativity

the steeple of the Church of the Nativity

My students lining up at the Church of the Nativity

Then we went to the Milk Grotto. This church is about a story of Mary stopping to nurse the Savior on their way out of Bethlehem, and some of her milk spilled to the ground. From all over the world people come there to pray for fertility if they can’t have children, and reportedly many miracles result. I believe that faith is rewarded. So there we talked about how the Father must have trusted Mary so much to entrust his son to her care. Then I spoke of how this means he really trusts all mothers as he sends his children to them. I talked about the world’s values, and how motherhood is not valued by the world, but how it is according to God’s values. I spoke of how nursing imagery is used in the Bible. Then Julianne talked to them about motherhood, and was very moving. She did a fantastic job teaching about the divine importance and central nature of that role.

We then gave them free time. They went shopping, and we just wandered around and then sat down and visited. We left just a bit early to see if we could get to the Shepherd’s Field church. But we missed it by a few minutes, and they wouldn’t let us in. So sad. If I had called the bus to pick us up just a bit sooner, we would have made it. Instead we saw paintings on walls.

Then we went to the Tent restaurant, and had a great, traditional Arab meal. We loved it, and had a great time visiting with others. I really enjoyed that!

Jacob entertaining students at the Tent

Being served in the Tent Restaurant

Tashara and Alexia at the Tent Restaurant

Then we went out to our Shepherd’s Field. We showed them a sheepfold, and then we went out and looked at Bethlehem.

Phil Allred teaching at the sheepfold I found at our Shepherd's Field

All of us at the sheepfold

I taught them about Christ’s birth and how blessed we are for that gift, and they bore testimony to each other, and we sang songs and had a musical number, and it was a wonderful, glorious time. Then we sang Christmas songs all the way home, and sang almost every song in the hymn book.

Tashara and Alexia at our Shepherd's Fields

Julianne, Jacob and Sabrina at our Shepherd's Field

My family in our Shepherd's Field with Bethlehem behind us

Students pondering at Shepherd's Field

Sadly, I had a student who broke his foot today, and another one who accidentally ate nuts at the Tent dinner and had a huge allergic reaction and went to the hospital to make sure she could breathe okay. It was a bit tough in that way. But for the most part, it was an amazing day!

Tuesday was also very nice. Class went well, I felt like we had some very, very meaningful discussions. After that was announcements. While we were there we got a surprise visit from Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Oddly enough I had just emailed him a few days earlier. No one knew he was coming, but he suddenly dropped by for a tour of the building and then wanted to visit with the students. That was great.

As I sat there listening to Whitchurch do announcements, I saw a friend of mine, Richard Holzapfel, outside the auditorium/form we were in, and popped out to say hi to him. As I was speaking to him suddenly I turned and there was Elder Christofferson. Surprise, surprise. He let the students ask questions, then he bore a wonderful and powerful testimony of Christ and of the need for us to go and help others and help others come to Christ. It was wonderful.

Elder Christofferson, an apostle, teaching the students

The rest of the day we just did various things, especially together as a family. That night we had a court of honor. Kaleb earned a number of merit badges. Jacob received his Wolf award as well as a few others. It was a nice time and I was proud of them. We visited with Brother Michelsen for quite a while. He has a week left here in the country. Crazy. He is a good man who has been so good for our family, especially Kaleb. We will miss him, but have been blessed by him.

Wednesday was more class. Again, I felt like it went very, very well. We had more truly meaningful discussions. Then Julianne and I went to visit a very nice lady. She is an elderly Jew most of whose family died in the holocaust. When she was living in Pennsylvania she joined the Church, and even taught adjunct at BYU for a while. But she eventually decided she was Jew first, and moved to Israel, and no longer considers herself a Mormon. She is wonderful to visit with, and very pleasant. She has also written and self-published a book in which she talks about Jews not converting to Christ until Christ comes again. She uses Old and New Testament scriptures, but much of it is based on the Book of Mormon. We had a wonderful discussion on those ideas together, and on Christ’s use of the Old Testament in his teachings. She is absolutely right that Christ really uses the Old Testament heavily, including, or maybe especially in the Sermon on the Mount. We had a lovely time together.

She was filling quite ill, and was on oxygen. She asked for a blessing. I was happy to give her one, and the Lord truly blessed her. I could feel and tell a difference, and so could she. She expressed it and was grateful. I love to see how much the Lord loves all of us. What a wonderful time.

Julianne, Me and Renee

I spent much of the afternoon and evening getting ready for Galilee. Julianne and I had dinner with the students, and I got more ready. That night we both got a bit sick. Additionally, Sabrina had a bad dream and came in to be with us about 3 am. Between her moving around so much and my not feeling well I never got to go back to sleep. That meant I was very worn out when it was time for our field trip.

We learned that many were sick. In total, about 32 of our 80 students got very sick that day. Over a quarter of my students couldn’t come on the field trip. Still the field trip was great. Andy showed them the broad wall, which was built by Hezekiah. Then we toured the Burnt House, a house that was destroyed by the Romans when they destroyed the Temple of Herod.

We also toured the Wohl Museum, which has more houses in it that were destroyed by the Romans. There we were able to show them the kinds of bowls used for washing feet, the kinds of pots that held ritual purification water, similar to that spoken of by John when Jesus turned water to wine, and the kinds of plates, etc., that would have been used for a Passover meal. Julianne taught them about women and how they cooked and lived and family, etc. She did an excellent job!

From there we had a little snack, and then we went in to the Davidson Archaeological park, just at the foot of the Temple Mount. Julianne again missed the chance to be there because she took home a sick individual. I got feeling a bit weak and out of it for a while, but it came together, and I thought things went pretty well. I tried to keep them in the shade as much as possible, and I kept things short because clearly a lot of people didn’t feel very well. But still we spoke of the kings of Judah, and then of Christ going in and out of the temple. We talked about Mary being cleansed and going to the temple. We talked about Peter healing a man at the temple, and Christ healing the man born blind, and Christ cleansing the temple, and the triumphal entry, and so many other things. Christ loved the temple so much, and it was wonderful to be in places he was and to think of him and try to follow him. As we finished on some steps that he almost certainly walked on we talked about the importance of walking not just where he walked, but more importantly, how he walked. Everyone was worn out, but it went well.

Then my family met up with Julianne, and we had some treats, bought everyone’s last souvenirs, and took Tashara to meet her friend, Eliana. We got a few things done around the house. More and more students were sick, so we decided to reschedule the midterm they were going to take tomorrow morning for tomorrow night. That meant that we could sleep in. Dates are hard to do around here. Everything shuts down on Friday nights. But when stuff happens on Saturday nights we are having our Sabbath. Sunday nights we can’t stay out very late because we always have something big the next day. So we took advantage of this opportunity, and went out to enjoy the town together on a Thursday night when we had a Friday we could sleep in.

We went to the big Jewish shopping market and just enjoyed the environment. Then we went and found Tashara and picked her up, and together we went to Ben Yehuda street, the open air pedestrian street that is the hang out place. Julianne and Tashara did some long shopping there, but then we enjoyed the very festive feeling of the place. By then I was worn out and not faring super well, but still it was nice. We had ice cream, and just enjoyed the place, and then they drug me home. I made it, and fell asleep hard and worn out.

The next morning we ran to the City of David, and used the go pro to film as we ran through Hezekiah’s tunnel as fast as we could. It was a ton of fun, but the lighting didn’t work out very well for us, and the film didn’t turn out great. Ah well. It was way fun.

Then we spent some time getting ready for Galilee. Then we got together with the other faculty families and took off to tour Ashkelon, the place where George Pierce has been excavating. We saw so much cool stuff, some of which we can’t reveal right now, but tomorrow they will have a big press release, and I will come back and update this page then with links to the press release.

Ashkelon pots

Ashkelon Philistine Wine Press

That reminds me, the Huqoq excavation, which Matt Grey showed us around, finally had their press release. The findings there can be seen at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/mosaic-synagogue-huqoq-israel-magness-archaeology/

We got back in time for a little relaxing and packing and food. Then I went and gave my exam. On the way up I learned that one of my students had just learned that her sister had unexpectedly died. I was shell shocked, and couldn’t imagine how she felt. It is just very, very sad. She is handling it okay, but this is hard and sad.

They did okay on their exam (I think, I haven’t finished grading them yet). Julianne and I watched a bit more of the movie about the Anzac girls, and I fell asleep, so very tired. Yet just after midnight I got a call about some car insurance things we have been trying to deal with from a time BJ got run into. I have been trying for so long to get this worked out, and I am getting closer. In the meantime, I lost a lot of sleep last night.

This morning we had an early morning presidency meeting. Then I got to come home and eat with my family. Then we went to church. It was nice. The marriage class was really good, and they helped me to learn more about how I can be better in our marriage. Some of the comments that made me think the most were my own. Interesting how there are things we know, but we need to remind ourselves to do better. After church I was able to give Rebecca a blessing. She is the student whose sister just died. The blessing was amazing. I was overwhelmed with how much God loves his children and is involved in their lives. I was overwhelmed with how much he wants to bring us all home, and how this girl is able to be with God again. God so loves us and takes care of us.

As a family we talked for a while about all the things we see in our life that are evidence that God is aware of us and blessing us. The way President Michelsen was here for just exactly how long we needed an amazing Young Men’s leader (he tells us we were what he needed to, funny how often it works that way). The way President Lillie’s stay here was extended just the amount of time the branch needs to get us through some transitions. The way God knows Rebecca’s heart and needs. There are so, so many ways we can see that God loves us and gives us just what we need when we need it. We are so, so grateful!

Jordan with those I love

2016-07-02T11:11:00.002-06:00

Sabbath last week was nice. We just spent a lot of time together as a family. We had some nice gospel discussions, and together we planned out how we would do things together as a family. All in all it was a wonderful day.

The next day we just got lots of things done to get ready to go to Jordan, and I worked a bit also. We mostly just got everything squared away for Tashara to be able to take care of Jacob and Sabrina while we were gone. Tashara was able to spend the day with her good friend, Eliana.

Kaleb, Alexia, Julianne and I left early Monday morning for the trip to Jordan. It took a bit to cross over the borders, but we eventually made it. Then we went to Mount Nebo. I tried to help everyone there picture Moses renewing covenants with the Children of Israel before he left them to go into the Promised Land without him. The importance of making and keeping covenants as a group and as individuals is something I really hope I can get them to understand. I think it went fairly well. This is actually my first field trip with this group, and that was my first thought with them on a field trip. I hope it helped them.

The Plains of Moab as seen from Nebo. It was here that Moses said goodbye to the Children of Israel who were camped below

My class on Mount Nebo

My class on our first field trip

From there we went to Madaba. On the way I read to them about how the Israelites came into that area and how they conquered Madaba from Sihon. I tried to give them a real feel for how much Jordan is also part of the Holy Land, and how many Biblical stories took place there. I think they were getting it a bit, but they were also so very, very tired. They were falling asleep within seconds of getting on the bus, and it was a bit hard to teach them that way.

I was having a good time. The guide I got to work with was Mahmoud, who I worked with last time. He is really fantastic, and I so enjoyed working with him. I also loved having Julianne and Kaleb and Alexia with me. I have been on this trip so many times, and have always wanted Julianne to be with me. To be able to share it all with her and the kids is a little dream for me.

Kaleb and Alexia at lunch at Madaba

Kaleb looking at the famous Madaba map

From Madaba we went to Machaerus. This is the place where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. We spoke about how dedicated John was, and how he just wanted to turn people towards Christ, which is what we need to be doing as well. We talked about how Christ, when he learned of John’s death, said that he must suffer even as John had. That makes Machaerus to John what Golgotha was to Christ. Both Pilate and Herod killed these men because they gave in to pride. We contrasted that with John, who had no pride but just did things for Christ, and I tried to help us all commit to be more like John.

Kaleb and my class climbing up to Machaerus

Students thinking at Machaerus

From there we had a very long bus ride. On that ride Julianne and I shared the story of how we got married. That is the last time we will do that with students for a long time. It seemed to go well. Finally we got to Petra. Our hotel was nice, and it was just right next to the entrance to Petra. That night we four went on the Petra at Night tour. It was pretty cool. The canyon was very, very beautiful in just the starlight. The stars were amazing. It makes me wish I didn’t live near a big city so that I could see the stars better. They had candles lit all around the Treasury, and it was beautiful. We looked and listened to some music they were playing, and had a wonderful time. Walking in and out under the stars was gorgeous. What a great time. But I was certainly tired by the time it was all over.

Approaching the Treasury at Petra at Night

The Treasury, or Kazneh, at Petra, at night

The Treasurey, or Kazneh, at Petra at Night

The next day we hiked all over Petra. It was so fun to do it with Julianne and Alexia and Kaleb. It really wasn’t that hot. Even so, Alexia often seemed to get too hot, and just kept dragging along. We really struggled to get her to go to some places, she just seemed ready to give up rather than take on a challenge. It didn’t seem much like her, but when she needed to, she really came through and we had a great time seeing all sorts of cool and beautiful places. I had a great time with all of them and loved showing them the places they hadn’t seen before and we really enjoyed that amazing place together.

Julianne, Kaleb and Alexia crossing a bridge at Petra

Some of my students at Petra

A fallen column at Petra

A shop at Petra

Kaleb, Alexia, and Julianne at the Monastery at Petra

The tomb of Aaron

Mahmoud teaching at Petra

Kaleb and Alexia leaving the Treasury behind

Then we went on our long bus drive back. It takes forever. We had the Heiners share the story of how they got married, and then just some good advice about marriage. They are so great, and we love being with them. They are a lot of fun.

Just as we got to the hotel it was time for BJ to be able to call us from the airport. We had figured out that he could call us on his old cell phone, and we had had my mom call us to make sure it worked. So we sat in the parking lot of the hotel without checking in, making sure we had good cell coverage. We waited and waited, but no call. After half an hour we called Tashara to see if she had heard from him (we told him to call her if he couldn’t get in touch with us). She hadn’t. So we waited half an hour more, and called her again. He had called. He said he had tried us, but we never answered. Julianne cried. She was quite sad. But we are glad he got to talk to Tashara and Jacob and Sabrina. A few hours later we got an email from him saying he was safely in Montana. I am glad. We are praying for him a lot.

The next morning we got up and went to the Jabbok River. There I spoke about Jacob wrestling with an angel. I talked about how he was going through an Abrahamic Sacrifice at that point. He had shown that he was willing to sacrifice even his family if necessary to do God’s will. And because of that he was blessed with coming into the presence of God. God wants us all to put him first, because he is the only being that can exalt us. He does this because he so much wants for us to be with him, just as he wanted to be with Jacob. I think it went well. Then I gave everyone some time to sit and think, and it seemed like they really had some nice moments. We sang Nearer My God to Thee, and I believe that everyone learned and was edified there. I am so happy that my kids are learning this stuff too.

Some of my students pondering at the Jabbok River

One of my students pondering at the Jabbok River

Julianne at the Jabbok

All four of us at the Jabbok

From there we went to Jerash. We went in and started to explore the city. We did the spiritual thought part a bit earlier than we normally would, because we couldn’t get fully into the city because the guys who did tickets were late getting there. I think that Ramadan makes this kind of thing happen.

My class at the Hadrian gate at Jerash

I taught them about Abraham and his journey to the Promised Land, and how he stopped and worshipped everywhere he went. I talked about how the Bible, the Book of Abraham, and archaeology all work together to give us a more clear picture of what Abraham did and how he lived. I talked about how real the scriptures are, and how there is such power in them when we realize how real they are. It was meaningful to me, and I hope it was to them.

A horse in the Hippodrome of Jerash. I did my devotional here.

We had a nice time exploring Jerash together as a family. It was a lot of fun.

Jerash, with the temple of Artemis behind

Ladies at the Nymphaeum

the Cardo of Jerash

Kaleb doing some GoPro filming in the temple of Artemis

From there we went to Ajloun. This is at one of the highest points of the mountains of Gilead. That makes it the most likely candidate for the spot the Bible calls Ramath Gilead, or the height of Gilead. So we found a nice balcony in the castle and looked out on the hills and read some stories about Ahab dying in battle at Ramath Gilead, and about Jehu being anointed king there and going back and killing the wicked king of Israel and Judah. We also talked about how Elijah was from that area. I tried to tie it all together by talking about how important it is to listen to true prophets, and how when we don’t we will die spiritually in the same way the wicked kings of Israel who didn’t listen to true prophets died there physically.

The hills of Gilead from Ajloun Castle

The four of us at Ajloun Castle

Alexia and one of her YW leaders, Ashlyn, at Ajloun Castle

Kaleb inside the castle

Going across the moat of Ajloun Castle

Kaleb and Alexia in front of Ajloun Castle

Then we explored the castle. It is a cool castle, and we had a lot of fun doing it. It was especially fun to watch Kaleb and Alexia do some exploring together. I think sometimes they forget how lucky they are to have each other.

Kaleb locked in the keep of Ajlouon Castle

Alexia in Ajloun Castle

Ajloun

Kaleb and Alexia exploring Ajloun Castle with the hills of Gilead behind

Ajloun Castle

From there we drove back to Amman. We went to the Citadel, which is biblical Rabbath Amman. This is the city that served as the capital of the Ammonites. It was there that Uriah met his death. We went over that story, and tried to learn a lesson from David. I believe that if David had repented quickly after Bathsheba that we would not even be reading about that story. But instead he tried to cover up his sins, which led him further and further into wickedness, until he got to such a terrible point. I hope we can all learn the lesson and repent quickly.

Kaleb, Alexia and I all epic at the Temple of Hercules

We are with Hercules at his temple

My class in front of the Hercules Temple at Rabbath Amman

That evening we walked around and saw a bit of Amman, and bought some Jordanian treats. We also played games together as a family.

The next morning we went to a mosque. It was very nice. Mahmoud (who is great) taught us about praying and everyday life as a Muslim. It was very nice. It also raised some questions about the place of women in the world, that I will have to address later with the students.

The ladies in their dementor robes in the Blue Mosque

Julianne as Obi Wan Kenobi and Alexia as a sith master at the blue mosque

From there we went to the museum. This is a great museum, and I think everyone learned a lot. I think even Kaleb and Alexia got a bit out of it.

Alexia inside the Jordan Museum

Then we went down to the baptismal site. It was fun to be with Alexia and look across the way at the place where she had been baptized. She bore her testimony of baptism and of following Jesus. I tried to add to that a bit, and then stressed how the Spirit helps us know how to follow the Savior. I also talked about how we don’t need to be rebaptized because we can renew our covenants each week as we partake of the Sacrament. I sometimes think we underestimate the importance of doing that.

The Jordan River

Alexia with the place she was baptized in the Jordan River behind her

Finally we went to the border crossing. It took forever. I served as a DJ for a while as we waited. Finally we got through the Jordan side, and sadly said goodbye to Mahmoud. Then we drove to the Israel side. Or we almost did. Just as we were on the Allenby Bridge, with our bus literally straddling the Jordan River, the line stopped. We stayed there for over an hour. It got hot. Additionally, we had eaten lunch, drunk a lot, the bathroom at the Jordan border control was out of order, and now a bunch of us needed to go to the bathroom but we were stuck on a bridge between countries. It got a bit miserable, but everyone handled it well.

After a long, long time we finally got to move a bit, then a long wait, then some more. It took us several hours to finally get through. On the way from the border to Jerusalem we had the Heiners come up and we did a question and answer session about marriage, where students asked questions and the four of us (the Heiners and Julianne and myself) took turns answering. I think it was helpful for them. This is the topic that is really on their mind.

When we got home it was so good to see the other kids. I loved being with them again. It was a happy reunion. I spent a bit of time that night on the phone with a tour company who wants me to help them do tours in Israel. Interesting. We will see.

The next day I taught class. It is weird to think this was only our second class, since I just spent a pretty intense week with my class. I feel like class went well. We especially talked about how the birth of Christ was the beginning of bringing us back into the presence of God, and of how Christ only does the Father’s will. It was a beautiful time together.

I spent most of the rest of the day doing all sorts of busy work, catching up on emails and all sorts of other things. I need to spend more time on my commentary, but so many things keep taking up my attention. I will have to overcome this.

That evening we tried to go over to the 7 arches to look out on the area of the Dome of the Rock to see everyone as they did their prayers and broke their fast on the last Friday of Ramadan. But there were too many people, cars and busses, we couldn’t get through. So instead we went up to our eighth floor balcony and looked over as best we could. The people thronged all around, and it was fun to watch. These are a dedicated people.

A family eating when the fast ended on the last Friday of Ramadan

Cars parked near the Dome of the Rock on the last Friday of Ramadan

The masses at the Dome of the Rock on the last Friday of Ramadan

Masses at the Dome of the Rock on the last Friday of Ramadan

Buses parked all the way from our road to the Dome of the Rock on the last Friday of Ramadan

The next day we went to the Garden Tomb early and had a very short but nice time together there as a family reading the Resurrection stories. I am convinced that my children are having their testimonies of Christ strengthened and their understanding deepened. In testimony meeting Alexia bore her testimony about how much she is learning here and how it helps her come to Christ. She is the one that I have wondered if she has ever been paying attention. I guess she has. It is comforting to know that some things that it seems like aren’t working in the end really are. I am glad for wonderful opportunities and small comforts.

Endings, Beginnings, Adventures

2016-06-25T09:44:00.000-06:00

What an amazing week! So many good things, such great stuff. Saturday was an enjoyable Sabbath. That morning I was released from being the 2^nd counselor in the Branch Presidency, only to be put back in as the 2^nd counselor in the Branch Presidency a few minutes later. President Fellows is moving, so he was released and the presidency was dissolved. Andrew Lily was called as the new Branch President, and he asked me to resume my same position. He asked David Heiner to also remain in his position.

President David Heiner, President James Fellows, and me

I will miss President Fellows, he is a great man and I have truly enjoyed him and had a great time with him. I will really miss him. President Lily is also going to be wonderful to work with. After the block of meetings we were set apart, and then we had his family down to our apartment where we gave them some food. My kids took care of his kids and our wives visited while we went upstairs and had a meeting. This is going to be a great presidency, I look forward to it.

Brother David Beesley, President David Heiner, President Andrew Lily, and me

The next morning was Sunday, my day off, but it wasn’t a day off this week. Instead I taught my last session of Old Testament. This is the last one ever at Jerusalem, or at least for a decade I would guess. Class went very well, but it was sad. I love these students so much, and will truly, truly miss being with them.

The nice thing was that it was Father’s Day. Part way through class, at the class break, Tashara came and gave me a Father’s Day gift. She had gotten a really nice water bottle, that can stay cool and everything, and had cut out vinyl letters that said “tears of my students” on it. Since they are about to take my final, it was somehow fitting. But it also worked as we all cried together when class was over. It is sad to see it end.

Some of my gifts on Father's Day

My Old Testament Class. I love them!

The rest of the day was wonderful. I got home and found a wonderful breakfast waiting for me. They spoiled me, giving me an incredible breakfast. Then they gave me wonderful gifts. We spent the day relaxing a bit. We played games together several different times. I can’t think of a better Father’s Day than to just spend the whole day having fun with my family. It was a day of peace, harmony, and fun, and was one of the best Father’s days I could imagine.

My Father's Day Breakfast

The day ended with the Center talent show. Skinner, Allred and I did the Mule Skinner Blues again, and it went over pretty well. I think everyone enjoyed it. Our family did a spoof we found on Bieber’s “Never say Never,” but we did “Nebuchadnezzar”. Jacob did beat box, I did a bass talk-along, Kaleb did the rap, and Julianne and the girls did the singing and dancing. It went really well, I think it was a big hit. Alexia played her viola and Kaleb played the guitar. He forgot some of the words (to “Let it Be”), but he made it funny and pulled it off well.

Mule Skinner Blues

Nebuchadnezzar

Alexia on Viola

The next morning I got up at three am and met with a bunch of people to watch the last game of the NBA finals. It was an amazing match-up between the Cavs and Warriors. This was one of the best games I have watched. With just a few minutes left the game was tied and the entire series was tied, each team had scored 699 points for the series. It was a nail biter, but Lebron and the Cavs pulled it off. It was worth getting up for.

Then I came home, got breakfast ready, got the kids off to school, and took a little nap. The rest of the day was pleasant. I got some stuff done and enjoyed time with my family. That afternoon Tashara’s friend Eliana came over and the two of them got ready for Prom together. Several of the girls in the Center came and helped them do hair, nails and makeup. It became quite a big thing. Tashara had borrowed a dress from her cousin, Aspen, which Julianne had brought over from Utah a few weeks ago. It was fun to see Tashara and Eliana all dressed up. They both looked beautiful, and they got paraded around the Center a bit so that everyone could see them look so nice. Then off they went. They had a nice time at the Prom. This is not a Prom where people take dates. Instead they just all ate and danced and visited. Julianne and I picked her up much later that evening. Everyone else was leaving to go to clubs and drink, but Tashara just came home. She is a father’s dream. And I think she had a great time. She looked like a billion bucks, but was even more beautiful inside than she was out.

Everyone in the beauty parlor

Pedicure ahoy!

Tashara and Eliana

Beautiful Tashara

The next morning we got the kids ready and went up with them when it was time to leave for school. We met the other teachers and spouses there and together we all went to Galilee. We went to Huqoq, where Matt Grey is excavating along with the UNC team. We have several students there this year. They showed us the site, which was quite enjoyable. They found some more really cool stuff this year. I wish I could write what it is, but they have asked us not to say anything about it until they announce it, and I am happy to respect that. But it was cool, and I loved seeing it and being there. It was a great time.

From there we went to the Horns of Hattin. This is where the great battle was fought by the crusaders and the Muslims under Salah ed-din (Saladin), where the crusaders were beaten and much of their control of the Holy Land was truly lost. We explored where it happened and how it worked. It happened on a July 3^rd/4^th, so only about two weeks later than we were there. It was over 100 degrees when we were there, and everything had turned very brown. Part of the reason the battle happened the way it did is because the crusaders got dehydrated in the heat, and then a fire was lit that burned all the brown grass so quickly that it dried them out and heated them up even more. We could very much picture all of that happening. It was a cool place, and I could really understand the whole story better as a result. After this we had a nice dinner, and finally got home. I sure enjoy the other faculty families. What great people to spend time with, I really love it!

Hiking up the Horns of Hattin

The area where the battle (and the fires) started

The Sea of Galilee from the Horns of Hattin

Sadly I had to deal with some silly problems with work back home. The emails kept me up too late.

The next morning I gave my exam to my Old Testament students. I spent a little time finishing up business emails, and then worked on my commentary while they took the test. After I had most of the tests in, I started to think to myself about how I would handle the fact that some people would be disappointed with their grades since the policies here force us to make the tests ridiculously hard. It is important for my students to know that I am satisfied with what they have learned regardless of their exams. So I looked at the name on each exam. As I looked at the first few names I could think of specific things about them that let me know what they were learning and becoming. So I took the time to write something about each person on their test. When they came back so that we could correct it together they were able to see the comments that I had made. After we finished correcting it, I talked to them about how I knew each one of them, and I knew what they had learned and what they were becoming and who they are and something about who they will be. I told them that I am so very, very pleased with all they have done and become. I meant it. I told them, with full feeling, how much it has been a pleasure to be with them and to do what we have done together. I meant it, and they could feel it. I think most of us teared up a bit. It was a hard, but wonderful, ending.

The rest of the day was nice. Jacob had some friends over, and that was a bit crazy.

That evening we went to the Anglican Schools graduation. Tashara and Alexia were given awards of academic excellence. It was fun to see the good aspects of the school, the camaraderie and friendship. In many ways my kids really don’t like that school, but in many ways it has been good for them and they seem to have gotten a lot out of it.

Alexia getting her award

Tashara getting her award

Alexia and her award at the Anglican School

Tashara and her award at the Anglican School

Nick Fellows playing bass at the Anglican School

The next morning we got the kids off to their last day of school. It is hard to believe that this day has arrived. When they left Julianne and I had a long, long discussion. It didn’t start out as a warm and fuzzy discussion, I think we were both a bit frustrated. But it became a wonderful, uniting, uplifting discussion that brought us both together. We talked about ways we can improve our relationship, and ways we can improve as parents. We also talked about some things we can do differently to change some of the problems we see our children have. And we made plans for how to make this a good summer for the family, how to encourage our children to become better and get along well during the summer. It started rough, but because my wife is so genuinely good, and because she makes me want to be so good, we both moved to a place where we were guided by love and the Spirit and we by the end I felt closer to her than ever. That was a nice experience.

When the kids got home from school we celebrated a bit. They were so glad to be done, yet a bit sad because they would never see most of their friends ever again. In particular it was hard for them as they said goodbye to Nick and Louisa Fellows. They have been great friends, and we will all miss them. There were some tears about parting with them. They also had a bit of fun after school gathering all their school stuff and throwing it away.

I spent a lot of time getting handouts and other things ready for going to Jordan. It is not long before we go, and it will be a lot of fun. I found out that the Skinners aren’t going, and they were the ones who were going to be with me. I sure love being with them, and learn so much from them. But at the same time, sometimes I really enjoy just doing it on my own, we can have a lot of fun that way! Then, in the evening, we got together with the Allreds. We have spent the year slowly working our way through the tv series called White Collar. We also got the Allreds into it. And so we watched the last two episodes together. It was fun. I sure enjoy them.

During that time we got some emails from BJ. They were great emails. I got it right when he sent it, so I responded, and then he responded, and we had a nice time. He is doing really, really, really well. I could not be more thrilled! He has opened himself up to getting as much out of it as he can. He has put aside anything that could be a problem and is just rockin’! I am so excited and proud of him. I also got some emails about a conference in Oxford, that it looks like I will now speak at, and then more good news about it came in, and some other good emails. On the whole it made for a great night that ended with a great feeling. It is nice to have that after a rough night last night.

The next morning we let everyone sleep in. First day with no school! Fortunately I didn’t have to teach early either! We made a special breakfast. We found a waffle iron, and it was the first time we have had waffles since we got here. They were great waffles. Julianne made a strawberry sauce, and found a condensed cream thing that was tasty. We had a great breakfast together, and just played with each other. It was a really fun morning.

Then I got ready for my New Testament class. Just after lunch I taught my first New Testament class. It is weird to begin my last class here. They seem like great students (I already know most of them quite well). I feel like it went pretty well, but it was not spectacular. Hopefully I can make it even better in the future. I have no doubt we will have a great class together. This was pretty good, but it wasn’t my best. I’m not sure why.

My New Testament class

We had a nice orientation for going to Jordan. Kaleb and Alexia came with us, since they are going to Jordan with us. I am getting excited, I think we are going to have a great trip. We went with the Skinners and Allreds to look over at the Temple Mount and watch people as they did their prayers at the end of the day and broke their fast as part of Ramadan. It was a nice experience. There was a couple there who were breaking their fast. They insisted that we eat some of their food. It was nice of them. I have so much fun with the Skinners and Allreds. I really, really enjoy them.

Throngs of people at the Dome of the Rock for Ramadan

People eating at the Dome of the Rock just after sundown at Ramadan

Then Julianne and I watched a movie together. It did a great job of really getting you to think about how difficult things are between the Palestinians and Jews. What a difficult place to live. I am so glad that we find a measure of peace in this war-torn land. Fortunately, despite the many things that swirl around us in so many ways, because of my family’s relationship with each other and our relationship with God, we can always find islands of peace. I am grateful for that.

The Return of Julianne (and King David)

2016-06-18T08:44:00.001-06:00

Last Sabbath was nice. We heard from Elder Price, and that was nice. In Sabbath school I was reminded how much family tensions arise from selfishness, and it was a good reminder for me.

After church I even got a bit of a nap. We played some games together, tidied up a bit for Julianne, and had a nice dinner I made in the crock pot. All in all it was a nice day.

I got up at a little before 5 the next day, and went to the airport to get Julianne. It was so nice to see her again. She was clearly worn out and tired, but we were so glad to have her back. On the way home we found a nice place to pull over, and I brought out a little breakfast I had made, and we ate it and enjoyed a nice little view and morning ambiance in the Abu Gosh area.

When we got home the kids were so excited to see her. It was a sweet reunion. She had brought back all sorts of food treats, such as tortillas, cheese sticks, macaroni and cheese, etc., so that the kids could enjoy some of the food they liked but missed. We spent the day having fun together. It was a nice day.

The next day was a field trip at Neot Kedumim. On the way there and back Julianne and I told the story of our getting married. Everyone always seems to enjoy that. It was a day where I didn’t have another faculty member with me, so it was just Julianne and I and our guide, and it went well. The students always love herding sheep and tasting plants and coming to understand more of how the land interacts with the Bible. I set up a contest between two groups for the cooking, which meant that they served me the whole time, and I was given some fantastic food. It was a fun day.

Students drawing water from a cistern

Students baking at Neot Kedumiim

Students making dough for pita

Julianne grinding hyssop

One great thing that consistently happens is that when the students are given some tasks of herding the sheep and goats with specific goals, they do incredibly well. The guides always tell us that our students are better and faster than any other groups. They believe it is because our students are already a group, they know how to work together as a group. Additionally, there isn't anyone who is trying to be in charge or prove themselves or act like they are better than others. I guess usually you get some people like this, and it disrupts the ability to work as a group. But our students work as one, and as a true group they accomplish great things quickly.

Julianne and students herding sheep

students herding sheep

That night we saw BYU’s Academic Vice President, Brent Webb, and his wife Amy, at dinner. When we finished visiting with students we went over and visited with them for a while. He is so pleasant, and it was good to be able to see them.

After a day of classes and business Brent Webb took the faculty and our wives to dinner. It was a very nice dinner, and we had a very nice time together, but it went very, very late.

The next day we did the City of David field trip. Brent Webb came with us, and he seemed to have a really nice time. Andy Skinner was on this field trip with us, and he was a delight. I always learn something new, and a new way of presenting things, when he is with us. We taught them about why the city was built where it was, about the sacredness of the temple site, about David’s palace, about stories associated with David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc., that happened there.

We went over the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians as we looked over into the Kidron Valley. It is an interesting image to think of Assyrian soldiers arrayed behind Sennacherib’s Assyrian officials, standing in the Kidron Valley, in the very place where Hezekiah and his people had thrown out their idols. Because the idols had been destroyed in that valley, so too would the army that stood in that valley be destroyed. In a way their defeat had been brought about before they had even come as Hezekiah’s people had stripped themselves of idolatry. By not trusting in the power of the world, but instead casting it into the Kidron Valley, Judah had protected themselves from the power of the world, that army which stood in the Kidron Valley. Fortunately for Judah they had repented on their own, and thus in their day of need, the Lord heard them. We contrasted this with what happened when the Babylonian army arrayed itself in that same spot. This time Judah had not repented, and thus they were not spared. There is a lesson for us to learn here.

Kidron Valley from the City of David

We went down to see the Middle Bronze era wall. I believe that Melchizedek built this wall, so it is a special place to me.

My class, and Brent Webb, in front of the Middle Bronze wall at the City of David

From there we went into the tunnels that lead to the Gihon Spring. These are massive walls that led to an even more massive gate that protected the spring. There we spoke of Solomon being anointed king, and even reenacted it a bit. We compared that to Christ coming to that area and being accepted as king. It was a nice moment. Then we had a ton of fun going through the tunnel, and eventually we had a little spiritual thought at the Pool of Siloam, where Andy talked about the healing of the man who had been born blind. It was cut short because of our need to get to the pickup spot, so it wasn’t as nice as it could have been, but it worked out okay. On the whole it was a nice day.

The corner of the tower over the Gihon Spring

Hezekiah's Tunnel

That afternoon I got some good work done on my Old Testament commentary, and then I spent time with the kids, and then I went to a lecture given by Brent Webb. It was a nice day.

On Thursday I had a nice class, and then the faculty and our wives went to Jaffa. We went to the house of Simon the Tanner, which is locked, but is a nice place to talk about the vision of Peter and how the gospel was extended to the Gentiles. We ended up having a very nice gospel discussion there. It wouldn’t have happened if David had been there, but it wasn’t, so everyone was relaxed, and we just had a good time. We saw some of the ancient ruins, and we had a nice lunch. Then we went to Apollonia, which was a beautiful place. It has some Roman ruins, but its most spectacular stuff is the ruins of a crusader castle. It is picturesque, and I loved it. I so enjoy the Skinners and Allreds and had a delightful, wonderful, enjoyable day with them.

Julianne in front of Simon the Tanner's house in Jaffa/Joppa

Julianne in front of the harbor at Jaffa/Joppa

The castle at Apollonia

The shoreline at Apollonia

Looking out of the Keep of the castle at Apollonia

The next day I had a very nice class. Then I got some work done, and Julianne and I visited and planned for a while. The kids got home and we worked on our skit for the talent show. Then we went to a branch picnic. By that same time next week the Fellows and Bransons would be gone, so this was a farewell as we all are about to part ways. Jeff Chadwick was in town, and it was so nice to see him. We visited and talked and had a great time. This is a good bunch of people, and I love being with them. We just had a lot of fun together. When we got back we had Phil over to watch a movie with, but I fell asleep before it was over.

The best part of the week happened on Thursday. We had been waiting anxiously to hear from BJ all week. We had sent him lots of letters and emails and had heard from several people who had seen him at the MTC that he was doing well, and had even gotten a picture of him sent to us. We have been praying for him every prayer any of us say, and even some of my students have been praying for him. On Thursday we got some great emails. He sounds so much like a missionary. In an email to the children he challenged them to pray for charity and to look for ways to serve each other. We had been working on having less bickering and problems, and I had been praying to know how to teach them about charity, and BJ’s email was an answer to prayer. It was amazing how much he sounded like a seasoned missionary in his emails. Clearly he is enjoying his companion, roommates’, and is getting a lot out of the experience. I am so glad. He is being blessed, and we are being blessed by him. What a wonderful thing!

Goodbye to friends and family

2016-06-11T06:26:00.001-06:00

I am glad this week is almost over. Not because it has been a bad week, but because it means Julianne is almost home. We have done just fine, all has gone very well, but I miss her a lot.

Sabbath was very nice. The testimonies were very sweet, and several students talked about epiphanies they had in my class. That is always nice, it is good to know that class is actually making a difference in their lives. After church we had a nice meal with the Trees, and then we went out to see some things. We went to Gibeah and talked about the Saul, Johnathan, and David stories. These are such incredible stories. To begin with Sabrina had a pretty bad attitude about going, but soon she and Teagan Tree started to really hit it off, and then she was happy she came. It was nice for Teagan too, who had not been enjoying things so far.

Then we went over to Nebi Samwil. I feel like they appreciated the stories about the Crusaders that we went over there, but they really resonated with the stories about Gibeon. I think they were able to really picture and feel the story about the battle with Joshua and the sun and the moon standing still. And I think they could picture God coming to Solomon and granting him wisdom. While we were there a huge asp went past. Crazy. We also enjoyed going inside the synagogue. It was strangely empty, especially for a Sabbath. But it was nice.

Then we had another nice dinner and visited for quite a while, and finally everyone got to bed.

Alexia, Sabrina, and Teagan Tree having fun with biblical Gibeon behind them

The next morning we had breakfast with the Trees at their hotel, and then we were off on an adventure. We went first to the City of David. It was fun to hear my kids tell their kids about things they were going to see, it helped me know that they are listening and learning about these places. Kaleb went with them in their car, and taught them things as they drove along. That made me happy to. We learned about all sorts of cool things at the City of David, and then we went through Hezekiah’s tunnel. The kids always, always love that. I think they had a great time.

From there we went to Bet Shemesh. We had a little picnic there, and went over the Samson story, and also the story of the Ark of the Covenant being returned to Israel. I think everyone had fun.

From there we went to the Valley of Elah. I quickly showed them where Shocoh was, and then we went off-road to go to some of the new places we have figured out about the Valley of Elah. My kids have never been to that part before, and I think they enjoyed going there. I showed them where I think the most likely place is for David to have come down the hill, which also gives us a most likely place for his collecting stones from the brook. Of course I can’t know, but the more I looked at it, looked at the story, the geography, the archaeology, etc., the more I felt like there was a very, very good chance that this was the right spot, this is where David came through. It was fun. Then we drove to a different part of the brook and got stones and slings and had a great time slinging. I think everyone really enjoyed it.

When that was over we parted ways. The Trees went to the Dead Sea while we came home and got ready for school the next day, doing homework, etc. They got home too late to do stuff with them, so we just saw them the next day.

Jacob slinging stones in the Valley of Elah

Sabrina slinging stones in the Valley of Elah

Alexia slinging stones in the Valley of Elah

Tashara slinging stones in the Valley of Elah, with Britton Tree behind her

The group in the Book of Elah, slinging stones

Kaleb slinging stones in the Valley of Elah with Tim Tree nearby

I got my kids off to school, and then I joined the Tree family. We went to the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall. It was the first time I had been up next to the wall during some Bar Mitzvahs. It was nice to see the young boys reading scriptures and praying there, and how excited the families were. It is a great family experience and tradition.

A booy reading from the Torah at his Bar Mitzvah a the Western Wall

The Tree family at the Dome of the Rock

Another family celebrating a bar mitzvah at the Western Wall

From there we to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Pool of Bethesda. There we ran into some of my students who were singing in the church and we were able to enjoy their singing there. We also had some nice moments going through the story of the healing of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda. From there we walked to the Garden Tomb and had some nice time there. Then we walked back through the city, hitting lots of little highlights that Tim wanted to see. We finally ended up at the Upper Room and Dormition Abbey and Tomb of David. From there we went to St. Peter in Gallicantu. We ended the whole thing by looking at the steps that I think were probably the steps the Savior took as he went to and from Gethsemane. It proved to be a very nice note to end on. I feel like it was a good tour for the Trees, and that they were able to have a good experience.

the Tree family at the Garden Tomb

We came home and had a fun dinner of Mac and Cheese with them. They had brought some boxes over so that we could eat it with them. It was great fun. The kids played together for a while longer, and then they left. Our kids all had a lot of fun together, it was really wonderful to be with them again, and I think the whole thing went very well. Afterwards we just made sure the kids were ready for school the next day, and finally got ready for bed.

I have been talking with BJ and Julianne a little bit. It has been a bit hard, they have so much going on. But the moments I have been able to talk with them have been wonderful.

The next day the kids went to school, and I had a nice class. This group is really good at asking questions that get us into meaningful discussions, and I feel like we have an almost unending string of deep explorations of what the gospel means in our lives. After class I was able to start working on my Old Testament commentary. This is going to be a time intensive, but fun project. It is taking longer than I thought it would. But I am enjoying it. My time working on it was interrupted by going to school to get Tashara, but I really enjoy that bit of just Tashara/Dad time that we get to have together. She is a remarkable girl, and so enjoyable. Later the kids got home, we cleaned like crazy, had dinner in the Oasis, kids went to scouts, etc., the Young Women came to our home to make cookies (hence our cleaning so much), I had Branch Presidency Meeting, and then we all went to bed.

I went to bed very early, knowing I was going to have to get up very early. But I got texts and phone calls a few hours after I went to sleep, and it woke me up enough that I just couldn’t go back to sleep for a long time. I finally did about an hour before I had to get up. So I got three hours of sleep total. But it was worth it. I woke everyone up (it was 4 am), and we got on skype, and were able to be part of BJ being set apart as a missionary. I was able to say the opening prayer, and the setting apart was beautiful. I think BJ is a little nervous, but the setting apart was powerful and I am sure he is going to be a great missionary. After about 45 minutes, after the kids had fallen back asleep, I was able to talk with BJ and Julianne for a long time. It was fun, I really enjoyed it. I will miss BJ. He will be a great missionary.

Soon it was time to get everyone ready for school. We are all fasting today for BJ’s entry into the MTC to go well. The kids are doing great to go to school and do PE, etc., while fasting. My lesson went okay, though I was extremely tired. I took a long nap afterwards. I tried to work on my book a bit, but wasn’t able to do very well, I was so tired. When the kids got home there was lots of bickering, etc. Everyone was tired and hungry. But we had a nice dinner and I think soon people were feeling better. We had a nice night together.

Well after I would have normally gone to bed I got back on the phone/face-time with BJ and Julianne. I was with them as they took pictures outside the temple, and then stayed with them as they drove over to the MTC. I said goodbye to BJ and watched as Julianne did too, and as he entered into the MTC. I will never forget being able to be part of these moments, the farewell talk, the setting apart, and his going into the MTC. He was nervous, but he is going to be great. I am excited for him, and very, very proud of him.

Then I chatted with Julianne for quite a while. I got to start chatting as she came back to the room where they had been staying. She looked around at all the stuff he loved so much and had left behind, and she started crying. It was good I could “be” with her then. We talked for a long time, and it was comforting for both of us. We got an email from BJ right while we were chatting. It was to give us his email address and let us know he was doing okay in the MTC. He had been there about an hour. It was nice to hear from him already. I wrote an email for him and sent him a letter on DearElder.com. Then I bid my bride goodnight as she went out to lunch with her friends, and finally went to sleep. She was blessed to have friends that took her to lunch and talked about their own experiences of taking sons to the MTC, and just supported her during a time she needed the support.

We haven’t heard from BJ since, but we have both sent him a few emails and letters. We have also heard from a few people we know who work in the MTC who have seen him, and they say he is happy, having fun, and doing well. That is a great comfort. We miss him. It is hard to imagine that we won’t see him for two years. But I am so very confident that the Lord will bless him.

In the meantime, I taught more and the classes went very well. Some of these classes have been really great as we talk together about how to make sure we are truly worshipping God, and God only, with all our heart. I have gotten quite a bit done on my commentary, but it really is going more slowly than I thought it would. Part of this is because I am doing some of the more difficult sections first. I have had some fun with the kids, and they are doing well. I have also finally been able to visit extensively with Julianne. I sure miss her a lot. I have especially been able to spend some nice time with Tashara. I have been blessed with extraordinary kids. I stayed up really late again on Thursday night, trying to get Julianne the best seats possible on her flights. She is coming home soon!

Friday afternoon I was able to travel up to Tel Aviv for some Priesthood Leadership Training with Elder Gary Price. I drove up with some students, and it was a nice time to visit. The meeting was very nice. It was more business than anything, but there were some nice moments, and the Spirit taught me some things about ordinances and the place of the Holy Ghost. It is interesting to note how baptism and confirmation, washings and anointings, and the parts of the sacrament, all parallel each other and what that can teach us. It was a very nice time. I had another very enjoyable ride back with our students. Then I spent just a bit of time with the kids before I had to make us all do some cleaning, and put Jacob and Sabrina to bed. Then I watched a show with my other kids, visited with Julianne as she was in the airport, and finally drifted off to sleep. I am so glad my sweetheart is on her way home. We have gotten by just fine here without her. I can run the household just fine on my own, I can take care of the kids just fine, but I can’t run or take care of my heart very well without her. I have not been sad, but I have missed her and am glad she is on her way home.

I am so very grateful that she was willing and able to go take care of BJ. I am glad he had some time with her, and that through her he could know how much we all love him, support him, and want to take care of him. I hope that through her he could feel like we were all with him, for we all were. I am so grateful she is an inspired mom and was able to be for him what he needed. She is an answer to so many prayers. In this way she truly is an angel of God.

Good things (too much of them?)

2016-06-04T13:28:00.002-06:00

This has been a good week, but I fear we may have pushed too hard. Last Sabbath was very nice. We enjoyed some good family time together, and then we got ready for our trip to Eilat the next day. Matt Grey was still in town, so we invited him down for ice cream and visited with him about what it is like to have a family in the Jerusalem Center.

The next day came quickly. We got up very early and loaded the buses. I had made scrambled egg sandwiches for the kids, so I gave those to them and they ate on our way. I think everyone slept for at least a good part of the 4 hour drive. They also played games, etc. I got a little bit of work done.

The weather at Eilat was great. Once we got in we immediately all got our snorkel gear on and went out to swim in the Red Sea. Jacob and Sabrina were both more nervous than I thought they would be. It was hard to take care of both of them out there. Jacob was having a problem with his snorkel, so I sent him back to wait on the shore and Kaleb, Alexia, Sabrina and I went (Tashara had stayed home to go to a birthday party of a friend from school). I held Sabrina’s hand the whole time. Kaleb and Alexia pretty much went on their own. It went well. She had to stop a lot, she was pretty nervous quite often. Still, we saw an amazing amount of fish and the coral was beautiful. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Sabrina did well, but was very worn out when we finished our little circuit. So I brought her up on shore and she just lay there for pretty much the rest of the day. I didn’t know at the time, but she was just starting to be hit by a really bad cold.

I immediately took Jacob with me to go again. We got everything working for him, and I held his hand the whole way, and we had a fantastic time. He is such an animal lover, a true fanatic. He loved seeing all the different kinds of fish. He could not have been more excited. It really is incredible beauty.

Then I went once with Kaleb and Alexia. Wow, it just kept getting better and better. Then we ate our peanut butter sandwiches and relaxed. I even fell asleep for a short while. Then I went out again, taking Jacob with me again. Kaleb went with us. He spotted an octopus and helped Jacob and I see it. We went slower this time, exploring more and finding all sorts of things. Several times I have found myself in the middle of a school of fish, sometimes very tiny fish, sometimes fish larger than my hand. We saw eels, clown fish, parrot fish, stick fish, puffer fish, angel fish, the Hawaiian state fish whose name I can’t remember, and hundreds of other fish I don’t know or remember the names of. We went out a ways to see a coral formation just a ways out from the circuit they had set up for us. The surf was getting rough out there, but the coral formation was gorgeous, and the amount and kinds of fish were incredible. Jacob was pretty worn out when we got back, but was so excited he really wanted to go again.

So we walked around to the beginning of the circuit, and got back in. The surf was getting even rougher, and after a while he felt like he couldn’t do it. I think it was wise for him to quit. I had to grab him in the kind of hold you use when rescuing someone and haul him back to the dock. It took me about ten minutes of really hard swimming to get him back. I was worn out and he was a bit nervous, but okay. I sent him back to the beach. Everyone else in the group was done, but I knew we had enough time since we had our own snorkels so we didn’t have to turn in any rentals. So I went again on my own. It was incredible to just explore and enjoy myself. I saw so many wonderful, beautiful things. I went back out to that coral formation. The surf was getting rough, but I was able to go all around it and see so much beauty. We had seen a number of graceful, beautiful, purple jellyfish during the day, but while I was there the surf brought hundreds and hundreds all around me. It was a bit eerie, I was glad they didn’t sting. I could not move without going through them. I steered a path that made it so I went through as few as possible, and I tried to swish them out of the way so that I didn’t hit them, but I was literally surrounded by translucent lavender jellyfish that were somehow so peacefully graceful and beautiful. I was in a world all my own, with unimaginable coral, hundreds of gorgeous fish, and the floating beauty of the jellyfish. It was transcendent. But eventually I had to go back to shore.

Then we packed up and started for home.We had fun with some rides at the dinner stop.

Kaleb and Jacob on a ride

The drive was again long, but my kids slept for quite a bit of it. It got some more work done, and then I just chilled as Sabrina slept on my lap. We got home just before 10 pm. The youngest kids were already asleep, so I just got them in bed. I started laundry and showered while I also got an LDS webcast running. Bishop Mann, from home, had set it up so that they were webcasting BJ’s farewell to us. It was wonderful to be able to see his talk. He really did a great job. He talked about the atonement, and how Jerusalem had prepared him for a mission. He was so good. I was so proud of him. I will never forget being able to share in that moment. He looked at the camera and talked to us a few times. I felt like I was with him. It was a better experience than the one of snorkeling, and I will remember it for longer. He is going to be a great missionary. I am so happy for him and so proud of him.

It wasn’t many hours before I had to wake up the kids and get them going to school. As soon as they left I also left on a field trip. It is one of my favorites. We first went to Bet Shemesh. Andy Skinner did a masterful job of teaching about Samson there, and I taught them about the Ark of the Covenant being lost and then being returned to that spot. I feel like we both were able to give them good information and to really spiritually uplift them. I tried to emphasize how much God can do his own work, and also about the concept of holiness.

Andrew Skinner teaching our students at Bet Shemesh

From there we went to Azekah. We showed them the place where it appears that the Assyrians had built a siege ramp to get into the city, and we read to them from the Assyrian accounts of taking the city. We also taught about the Babylonians destroying the city, and how the watch fires of Azekah had gone out so that the men of Lachish knew they were the last city to stand against the Babylonians, besides Jerusalem. Then we used our mirrors and started flashing a light towards the other class who were on Lachish. They saw our mirror quickly. After a little while they got their mirror working so that we could see them signaling us from Lachish. It was a very fun moment. It makes the scriptures so real.

Andy sat them down where we could see the Valley of Elah, and he went over the David and Goliath story with them. He did a great job, and I think they could picture how it all happened. Then we showed them Gath, and they were able to picture it even better.

My students learning at Azekah as the look over the Elah Valley

From there we went to Mareshah. We showed them a huge dove cote, and then an ancient oil press, and a cool tomb, and we went to some caves that had been created by quarrying and we all sang songs together there where it echoes so well. It was fun.

My students learning in the dove cotes of Bet Guvrin

Singing in the Bell Caves of Bet Guvrin

Then we went to Lachish. This is my favorite tel. I talked to them about the history of the city in general. We looked at the siege ramp where we know for sure that the Assyrians got into the city. We looked at the reliefs that Sennacherib carved into his palace wall in Assyria that depicted the fierce battle. Then we hiked up in. We stopped at the temple there and I talked about sacredness again, and the idea that the holy of holies is different. I told them stories about how at the open house of the Payson temple both Jacob and a non-member friend of Keith’s could feel how different the celestial room was, and how that highlighted the concept of being sacred, of being less like the world and more like God, and how foreign the carnal things of the world can start to feel as we become more and more like God. I talked to them about how this is the purpose of their time here, and really the purpose of life. We are to leave behind us worldliness and become Godly. We are to be changed, by the power of the atonement of Christ, into beings that are different, that are holy, peculiar, and increasingly Christlike. I think we all understood and felt it there.

The temple at Lachish

From there we went to the top and looked down on some of the Canaanite ruins, and talked about Joshua taking the place, read some pertinent scriptures, and talked about the reality of the scriptures. We pointed out where Azekah is. And we had a great time. Then we went down to the gate. I showed them the threshold, and talked to them about how real it was to be an Israelite in this city while Assyria besieged it. I tried to paint the picture for them. I talked to them about being tasked with holding the door tight against the threshold. If that were your job you would hold it hard, all the while seeing other Israelites outside the gate being flayed, impaled, and tortured in other ways. You knew that if the Assyrians got inside they would rape your wife and daughters and would enslave you all. You would see others taking apart homes, perhaps your own, as they used the material to build a counter-siege ramp, trying to prevent the Assyrians from coming in. You would pray and hold hard against the gate. But all your efforts were for naught, the Assyrians eventually got in. So did the Babylonians. I could tell that a very real and somber mood had come upon everyone. They knew it was real, the scriptures we were reading came alive for them. They felt the gravity of the place and the moment.

Then I told them that during the Babylonian siege it didn’t matter how hard they held against the door. The time for defeating the Babylonians had passed. The way they could defeat the Babylonians was by repenting when the prophets begged them to repent. Yet there, in that gateway, we had found the remains of a letter about how the prophet was bad for morale, and something should be done. We know they hadn’t listened to the prophet, and thus destruction was inevitable. The time for defense had been in the months past, and the form of defense was in repenting and being righteous. They trusted in the wrong thing when they trusted in those walls and those gates. It was in God they should have trusted, yet they did not, so they failed, and they suffered. I asked them to think about how they could work to avoid this in their own lives, and promised them that if they learned the lesson they would be protected, but if they didn’t, that eventually spiritual Assyrians and Babylonians would breach the walls of their souls and they would suffer. Then I gave them some time to think and read and touch the stones. I think everyone had some real and powerful moments.

My students pondering at the gates of Lachish

On the way home I answered questions about the Book of Abraham. Everyone was so tired I gave the most succinct explanation I think I ever have. I think it went well. We stopped on our way back and went to the Valley of Elah. I think, because of our recent field trip prep that was inspired by what Julianne had done with her brother, that I was able to explain the story better than ever before. I also was able to give a good spiritual thought about what we can learn from David and Goliath. It was a good moment, and a nice culmination to a great day. This was a very good field trip.

Slinging stones in the Valley of Elah

When we got back the kids had been doing pretty well. Jennifer Allred brought down an incredible dinner she had made for us. It was amazing. She is so nice, and we were blessed by her kindness. We had a great dinner, the kids did homework, and then I tried to get them to bed so that they could kind of make up for the late night the night before.

Alexia as Goal Keeper during a shootout

The next day we had a great class. Then I worked on getting things done, picked up Tashara, and Sabrina, who wasn’t feeling well. That evening we went to the school and watched Tashara and Alexia play a soccer game. While they practiced we had a nice little picnic on the leftovers from the meal Jen Allred gave us last night. Then we had a great time watching Tashara and Alexia play an exciting game.

Then we got back, I had a church meeting, and we got ready and went out for the festival of lights. This happens for less than a week each year. Lots of parts of the Old City set up lights and laser shows and all sorts of cool stuff. We walked all around, and had a good time. It kept the kids up too late again, and they were worn out when it was all done, but we had a nice time. It is a cool thing to have seen and done. Still, I think they paid a price for being out too late.

Damascus Gate during the Light Festival of Jerusalem

The Light Festival of Jerusalem at Jaffa Gate

My kids at the Light Festival of Jerusalem inside Jaffa Gate

The Muristan Fountain during the light festival of Jerusalem

The next day everyone was tired and worn out. I let them sleep in an extra 45 minutes and had another breakfast for them they could eat as they left, and had everything else all ready for them, so they could get to school on time. This seemed to help them a bit. I had a nice day of doing class and getting good things done. In the evening we cleaned like crazy to get ready for our friends, the Trees, to come. The kids did a great job and go the place looking good. Then I got them to bed early. That was good.

The next morning Sabrina was finally starting to feel better, but Jacob had the terrible cold, and it made it so he was having some asthma problems. So I kept him home. I had a nice class and then spent time with Jacob and got a few things done. I kept expecting that the Trees would get here in the afternoon, but after a while they let me know that they were moving a bit slower than we thought they would, and that they would get in late. Jacob, Sabrina and I went to a recital in which Kaleb played Let it Be on the guitar. He did a great job, and we enjoyed it. The kids did a great job of keeping everything clean, but they got to bed just a bit late because of the conert. About that same time the Trees got in, so I went over to their hotel (across the street), and welcomed them in. It was good to see them. We made some nice plans and then they went to bed and I tried to. I fell asleep then talked to Julianne on the phone and it woke me up enough I couldn’t sleep for a long time. Ah well.

Kaleb playing in his recital

The next morning Kaleb was pretty sick, so he stayed home. The Trees went to Bethlehem. I had a nice class, and then worked and took care of Kaleb. The kids got home and worked on homework and had fun, and kept the place clean. About dinner time the Trees got there. We had fun introducing everyone to each other, and then we went out to the Old City to get dinner. What I hadn’t remembered is that Ramadan just started. This is the holy month for Muslims where they fast from sunup to sundown each day. So the restaurants we were thinking we would eat in were all closed. We had a hard time finding a place to get food. But we finally found some places. In the meantime, Kaleb, Sabrina and Jacob were all really struggling. They just weren’t feeling very well. But they pushed through it. We toured the city a bit, and toured the Holy Sepulchre. The whole Old City is pretty dead on a Friday evening during Ramadan. It was as empty as I have ever seen it. The Holy Sepulchre was mostly empty. We had a five minute wait to get inside the tomb. Usually we don’t do it because it is an hour or two hour wait. It was nice to tour the place, though my kids were dying. We got home and they were so exhausted everyone of them went right to bed. I tried to relax by watching a show, and fell asleep during it.

It was a great week, and we are blessed, but we may have pushed just a bit too hard. I will have to make sure we keep on a more even keel this week.

Missing Jul and BJ

2016-05-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

This week has gone by so quickly. Sabbath was very nice. We spent a lot of nice time together as a family, and I especially helped Julianne get ready for her trip. Early, early Sunday morning (at 3:30 am) I took Julianne to the airport. I hated saying goodbye, but this is a good thing for her to do. I drove home and went back to sleep for a little while. For the rest of that day we all just lazed around. I never got out of my pajamas the whole day. I worked a lot on a document designed to help other teachers while they are in Egypt. I watched some movies with the kids, they worked on homework, and we had a nice day. I kept tracking Julianne’s flights throughout the day. I hope she is doing well. Kaleb made dinner. Julianne has had the kids get all ready to each cook a meal, and they will do it twice while she is gone, so that all the meals for two of the three weeks are taken care of. Nice.

The next morning I got the kids off to school, and I went on the field trip to Jericho. We went straight to tel Jericho. I took the group up on the tower so they could picture what the whole place looked like. I have never done that before, but it seemed to work pretty well. Then we went up on top and talked about how the Lord had Israel do something that must have made no sense to them, but still, with the Lord on their side, it overcame the obstacles that they could not figure out how to overcome on their own. I think we had a nice moment or two. Then we went around and saw various parts of the city. We ended where I showed them evidence of a wall that fell down, and in falling down, formed a kind of ramp that allowed them to run up into the city. We talked about how the Lord can take obstacles and make them aids for us.

Then we went across the street to Elisha’s spring and went through the story of how Elisha took salt to heal the spring, and how it is still running pure today. I spoke of how Christ can take even that which is bitter and would normally poison things and turn it into a healing agent that gives us life, and that more abundantly. Again I feel like we had a very nice moment.

My students touching the water that comes from Elisha's Spring

Then we went to Herod’s place. David taught there, and it went fine. From there we went to Wadi Qelt, where David taught about the road to Jericho and the parable of the Good Samaritan and the temptations of Christ. Overall it went fine.

I got home before the kids did, but had meetings about Egypt that made it so I didn’t see them until they had been home for a while. They had a good day, Jacob made a nice dinner, and we enjoyed our evening together, even playing some card games.

BJ went through the temple today. I wish I had been there with him. I am trying to communicate with them as much as possible. He called later with some questions about the temple that showed he was really thinking. Julianne is working so hard to help him out. I hope all goes well for them.

The next morning they got off to school okay again. I did my class, and I felt like it went very well. Then I exercised, and got work done, went to more meetings, picked up Tashara from school, and worked just a bit before all the kids got home. Sabrina made a nice dinner, and soon I was off to meetings for church, while they all went to church activities as well. The days go by quickly.

The next day, after some very enjoyable classes, I worked for a bit and then Andy, Phil and I went to lunch and talked about what worked well in Egypt and what could be done differently and what teaching ideas worked best. This was in order to help me finish creating the document about teaching in Egypt that future teachers can use. It ended up being super fun to talk about gospel and teaching with these guys. It was very, very enjoyable. I loved it!

Again that night we had a nice night together. Alexia made a very nice meal and we all enjoyed each other. We keep talking with BJ and Julianne, who are working so hard and doing so much to get him all ready.

Thursday I woke up very early and made Jacob’s special birthday breakfast. We had a great morning together, and he talked with Julianne and my mom who wished him a happy birthday. Then they got off to school okay, I gave a test in class, and then we all went out together to get ready for next week’s field trip. We drove to the Elah valley, and were going to get off the road in a spot Julianne had told us about. We missed it, and the first place we found to turn around ended up being the trail head for the hike to Shocoh. So we hiked up there and looked all around and really enjoyed it. There are some very significant ruins there, it must have been quite the site. Someone needs to do some real excavations there. I also got to where I had a great outlook on where the story of David and Goliath happened. From that vantage point I came to understand it all the better.

Looking up at She'araim (probably site of Saul's camp) from Shocoh

Looking down at the Elah Valley from Shocoh

Then we found the place Julianne was talking about. We drove for a ways, and I learned more about how the Elah brook works its way along, which narrowed down the places where the David and Goliath story could have happened. Phil and I looked at the area where Saul’s camp likely was, and saw the only place from the valley that was a reasonable path to it, and hiked up. It was not a bad little hike, and I think it is quite likely the route David took as he came down to fight Goliath. It was really fun to explore that with Phil, and I feel like we really got it mapped out well. Then we explored the settlement/fort at the top of that place while the others drove around to meet us. We had lots of fun exploring, and then we hurried home, but we couldn’t hurry much because of traffic.

Looking up at She'araim (the probably place of Saul's camp) from the Valley of Elah, at the point that one could most easily climb up or down

The Valley of Elah from She'araim at the point where you can climb down

Last night was a celebration here in Israel that has people out in the countryside building bonfires. Today there were wild fires all over the place, with planes dropping fire retardant and smoke all over the place. It was crazy to see, and made traffic a bit crazy as well.

my friend Phil Allred at one of the gates of She'araim

I got home about 45 minutes after the kids. Tina Whitchurch, bless her heart, brought by a beautiful cake, and we had cake and ice cream and sang to Jacob. We opened presents, and I feel like he was having a great birthday time. Then it was time for the Arab night dinner. We got dressed, and went up to the dinner. Matt Grey was there, and he and I ended up just visiting the whole time. I was so glad to see him again, and so, so enjoyed being with him. He is a good guy, and I am glad to rekindle our friendship.

Jacob and Tina Whitchurch with the cake she made for his birthday

Jacob blowing out the candles on his cake

When it was all over, I spent just a bit more time with Jaker and put him to bed.

The next morning everyone went to school just fine. I taught class, and felt like it went exceptionally well. This is a good group, and the Spirit led us into some great discussions. So much fun! Then I had a long break in which I got a lot of good work done. When the kids got home they played for a while. Then we went and picked up Tashara and Alexia from an activity at school, and we all went to Jacob’s pizza together to celebrate Jacob’s birthday, since we had an Oasis meal last night rather than his birthday dinner. We had a lot of fun together. When we got back most of the kids went and did various social things. Tashara and Alexia found fun stuff to do with the students.

I ended up talking with BJ for quite a while. He is having a bit of a struggle. Just a few days ago he and Julianne finally got the packet from his mission president. After reading it they figured out that the two suits BJ already bought and had tailored won’t work for him. In fact a lot of stuff he got won’t work for him. It sounds like there are more rules and restrictions than BJ was anticipating. Being a rather independent soul he is struggling with the idea of how he can feel happy and free while having so many rules. I remember well wondering that myself. We had a long talk, and I feel like it went pretty well. We all started praying for him. I am sure that sometimes this will be a struggle. BJ doesn’t do well with rules. But I believe that if he will truly give them a try, to be honestly obedient, that he will find himself feeling very free and very happy. I remember very well how much joy there is in knowing you are really doing what God wants you to do. I think BJ will find that joy as well.

I had a hard time going to sleep, thinking a lot about our conversation. I prayed for my boy. I know Julianne is exhausted, and I pray for both of them. They are doing the Lord’s work, and often that is so tiring. But they will find great happiness in it as well.

Egypt on Steroids

2016-05-21T09:12:00.000-06:00

Whoa! What a week! We left very early Sunday morning. The flights went well, getting into Egypt went well, and everyone was excited. It was crazy hot, over 100 degrees. But we weathered it alright. The first thing we did was have a lunch on a boat on the Nile, which everyone loved. Then we went and toured Old Cairo, looking at the mosques and gates and buildings of medieval Cairo. Then we went to the bazaar and let everyone go shopping. I got something for Julianne for our anniversary that I was excited about. Everyone enjoyed it, but it wasn’t crazy exciting.

Students at a Sabil in Old Cairo

The next day was great though. We started out by going to Memphis, where we spoke of the ancient capital. We could see some excavations going on, and I have heard that a lot is going on in Memphis. In any case, they enjoyed the colossal statue of Ramesses, and the other remains. They were loving it, not knowing how much more was ahead of them. We did a drive by of the Apis Embalming Temple, and tried to talk to them about that. Then we went to Saqqara.

Learning about Ramses II

Statues at the open air museum of Memphis

At Saqqara we saw the step pyramid. They didn’t really have enough time there, but they enjoyed it. From there we went to the Serapeaum, where everyone was blown away with the size of the sarcophagi. They loved exploring that. We also went to Kagemni’s tomb, which went better than last time. They loved seeing the reliefs carved into the walls. In the meantime we talked to them about how the Egyptians loved their families and did so much to ensure eternal life with their families in the hereafter, and compared that to LDS beliefs. I feel like it went very well.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara

Some of the tombs we toured at Saqqara

Then we went into Teti’s pyramid, and saw pyramid texts. It was exciting, and I loved it! We sang “If You Could Hie to Kolob” while in there. I think it was a wonderful time.

Things were hot, well over 100 degrees, and the air conditioning on the bus wasn’t working, so I think it was between 105 and 110 on there. Yet everyone handled it fine. I had purchased a fan last night, as many had, and I had brought my little cool towel that helps with evaporation, and it kept me pretty cool.

The caption of the local newspaper we got as we boarded the plane for Egypt

When we were finished with all of that we went to lunch, and then on to the pyramids of Giza. I tried to teach them there about how precisely the pyramids were built, and about how the whole complex worked together, and to teach them about tripartite ascent to be with God. We were so rushed, we saw hardly anything. But I did insist that we go behind the pyramid and see the pyramid temple and the boat pit, so that they got at least a little bit of a feel for the pyramids. We ran over to Menkaure’s pyramid, and went inside it. Again, it was rushed, but they got to do it. In the future we have to figure out how to get them more time at the pyramid. It just isn’t enough.

The Great Pyramid at Giza

Students climbing to the entrance of the Great Pyramid at Giza

The basalt floor of the Pyramid Temple of the Great Pyramid at Giza

We did a quick trip to the panoramic overview of the pyramids, and then we ran down to the Sphinx temple and saw the sphinx. It was all so rushed, but we got it in before it closed. Then we went to a papyrus factory where they learned about how to make papyrus. Of course, after that they bought a bunch. Finally we got a good dinner, and I slept, exhausted.

one of my students patting the sphinx

One of my students kissing the sphinx

One of my students at the panoramic overlook

My class in front of the pyramids of Giza

The next day we went to the museum. I had to push our guide to get through, but he did a good job of showing them quite a bit of stuff. Then we were able to give them free time, with some guidance of things to see. Quite a few followed me and I looked at some of the things I wanted to look at, and just talked to them about it as we went along.

Students learning in the Cairo Museum

The famous statue of Kafre in the Cairo Museum

Inside the Cairo Museum

More of the students learning at the Cairo Museum

Then we had lunch, and off we went to spend some time at a Coptic church. Phil taught them about the importance of keeping doctrine pure, and I taught them about how Egypt served as a place of refuge so often in the Bible, and how God always prepares a place of refuge for us. I think we had some nice moments. We also went to the Ben Ezra synagogue, and I spent just a moment teaching them about how they treated the scriptures there with such great care, and how we can take our scriptures more seriously.

The Hanging Church in Old Cairo

A Mosaic of the journey of the Holy Family

The class learning inside the Coptic Hanging Church

Finally we went to the citadel, and toured the large synagogues there and learned a little about Islam. I think we had some very nice moments.

The women of our class inside the Mohammed Ali Mosque

Our class outside the Mohammed Ali Mosque

The Mohammed Ali Mosque

Afterwards we ate dinner on a boat that was cruising up and down the Nile. They had a whirling dervish dancer there, which was a bit cool to see, but was also just a bit weird, and he was kind of a sketchy guy. But it was fun to see. From there we went to the airport and caught our flight to Luxor. We got in late, and I slept hard.

The weird guy doing the whirling dervish dance

The next morning we went to the Karnak Temple, traveling down the Nile on a boat to get there. Andy was really feeling ill, so he didn’t come. It is too bad, I was looking forward to seeing him there.

Some of our students on the boat ride up the Nile

Some more of our students riding along on the Nile

The guide taught them about a number of things there, and I added in. I made sure they learned about going through gates and how it represents a change from one degree of holiness to another, and how they were ascending to the presence of God, and how they needed to be both worthy and know the right things to continue progressing. I also showed them examples of reliefs of the boats on which statues of gods were carried, and talked about how there were probably Hebrew artisans that made these that then made the Ark of the Covenant. I went and found the place where you can see Shishak’s inscriptions about his military campaign to the north, which is also recorded in the Bible. I showed them the circle that I believe is the name of Judah. It is so interesting to have such a touchstone with the Bible.

Our class at the Karnak Temple

We continued on to the hypostyle hall. There they learned about all sorts of things from the guide, and I think they appreciated it. It is such a mind-blowing big hall, it is amazing. I showed them some things that were similar to ideas we have in our temple. Then I spent about five to ten minutes talking about how amazing this stuff was, and how Moses must have seen Egypt when it was at the height of what the world could be, and that then he saw god, and realized that man was nothing. I tried to help them gain a sense of how magnificent and amazing God is, and how humbling that should be to us, and how, at the same time, we realize our potential when we glimpse his majesty, and we realize how capable he is of exalting us. I feel like it was a very powerful moment. Many have expressed to me how touched they were, and our guide was also very touched. The Holy Ghost transcends languages, cultures, and religions.

12 students holding hands to get around the column

Students in the Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak Temple learning

We continued on to see some obelisks, and also the holy of holies. There I taught showed them the scenes of washing, anointing, clothing and enthronement on the side of the holiest place, and of how the floor continued to go up as one ascended to god, but also how the ceiling came down, and how in that place heaven and earth met, at the altar in the holy of holies. I think they really enjoyed it. I showed them scenes of holy embraces, and talked about how much god wants us to be in communion with him, how much he wants us to return to be with him. I feel like it went very well.

Everyone was given a little bit of free time, and many of them just stuck with me as we went around and looked at things. I explored just a bit, and explained a lot, and even had some students show me some things I have never noticed before that are pretty cool. It was a great day.

The sacred lake of the Karnak Temple

Students in the Avenue of the Sphinxes

When we finished the Karnak Temple we boated back to the hotel for lunch. Then some went on a camel ride while the rest of us rested. I swam at the pool to cool down, having some fun with the students for a while. Then I took a little nap, and worked. I read a manuscript I am reviewing for a publisher, and came across some things that would be helpful for us that night at the Luxor temple. Finally, we had dinner, and then went on a carriage ride to the Luxor Temple. On the way we had the carriage in front of us almost tip over into traffic, but we caught it. Then the rubber came off our wheel and we had to fix it. But finally we got there. The horses had me feeling pretty allergic and not well. That was okay, besides our guide, at this temple we let Andy do the teaching. He taught some great things about marriage and increase of posterity and eternity with god. We taught some other lessons while we were there, and I think it went well. It is so much better to do all of that at night. I am glad we did so.

Luxor Temple at night

We took them all to some shopping at the bazaar, and then we caught the carriage rides back to the hotel.

The next morning was our anniversary. I am not very excited that we weren’t together for it. But I had left some instructions with the kids. They each had some notes from me to give her, along with a hug. One had a letter to give her, and another a gift. They spread these things out throughout the day and I think she enjoyed it. I skyped with her in the morning for just a few minutes. She sent me some nice messages later in the day. All in all it was a nice time.

Sadly, the kids have been sick a bit while I have been gone. Everyone has missed school but Kaleb. But I think they are getting better now.

We left very early for the Valley of the Kings. Our guide talked for way, way too long before we went in. It was not enjoyable for anyone. I tried to step in afterwards and make some sense of what he said and get them prepared to understand some of what they would see in there. We went to the tomb of Ramses IX, and they enjoyed it. Then we went to Yuya’s and Tuya’s tomb, and finally Thutmosis III’s (which has been closed for ten years but just opened). I have never seen these last two tombs before, and really, really enjoyed seeing them. I think the students did too, and that they got some meaning out of them.

We had some problems with the vendors as we tried to leave, and I had to physically move some and get money back from some on the behalf of some students. It was a bit ugly. But we got out of there and moved on.

We rushed through Hatshepsut’s temple, but I think they enjoyed it okay. Then we went to the Ramesseum, the temple of Ramses II. It is a cool place, though it is less abandoned and bucolic than before. They are developing it a little, which is nice in a way, and ruins the atmosphere in a way. Ah well. We stood by the huge (six story tall) fallen statue of Ramses, and Andy recited Ozymandias for them (a poem inspired by that place), and taught them about pride. It was great! Then we went in and saw some other things, and found the column that had Lebolo’s name carved into it, and talked just a bit about his tie to the Book of Abraham. Then we saw the Colossae of Memnon, and then back to the hotel. I took a group on the camel safari, and then rested a bit, and then we flew back to Cairo. We got in very late, got up at 5 am, and then flew home. It was great to get home. It was nice to be with my family again. I missed them. I was exhausted, and had a hard time staying awake later, but we at least had a lot of fun.

Girl Power picture at Queen Hatshepsut's Temple

The Ramesseum (temple of Ramses II)

A column at the Ramesseum

The colossal statue of Ramses II that may be the inspiration for Ozymandias

My class in front of the Colossae of Memnon

The famous Colossae of Memnon

The week went so quickly. We did so much. I feel like we were able to work in a lot of good teaching all along the way. On the whole the trip went well, was edifying, and was good for me and for everyone I think. It is so nice to be home also!

Negev and more

2016-05-14T10:12:00.003-06:00

Last Sabbath was nice. We extended a lot of callings and set apart a lot of people. Then we took them to the Garden Tomb. Kaleb and Jacob came with me, and it was quite nice. We had a very nice experience, it was a great time. The weather has been so cool.

That evening we had my friends from BYU over for ice cream and popcorn. We visited for a long time and really enjoyed it.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. We made a big breakfast for Julianne. I think she enjoyed it. Then we went to the zoo together. We had a really fun time at the zoo. Jacob was our guide, and he loved showing us around and teaching about animals. We had a great time together. Then we went out for shwarmas as a family. It really isn’t often that you can go out to eat on Mother’s Day, since it usually falls on a Sabbath for us. But here it doesn’t, so we took advantage of it and went out to eat. I think Julianne felt special and had a great day. We also were able to speak with our mothers. They seemed to enjoy the flowers and chocolate we sent them. On the whole it was a good day.

The next day was a field trip to the Negev. We first stopped at a weaving factory, which was okay. Then we went to Beer Sheva. David taught at that site, and did a nice job. I felt like he really taught well.

David Whitchurch teaching the students outside the gates of Beer Sheva

David Whitchurch teaching inside the gates of Beer Sheva

Then I taught at Arad. I felt like it went well. I especially spent time in the temple there, teaching about temples in general. Then I taught them about how it seems that in that spot they had begun to worship more than one god at a time, and spent some time trying to get them to think about how they do that same thing. I think it went pretty well, I believe they really started to ask themselves some good questions. We continued that conversation throughout the week in class.

The students looking down at me as I walked around inside the Arad Temple teaching them about it

Throughout the week we kept working on getting things squared away with BJ. The doctors would just never get his appointment made. We weren’t allowed to make it ourselves, for some very odd reason our normal doctor had to set it up. We ended up having to hound them to get it taken care of, and on Friday it finally happened. It turns out that he has one very small hole, they don’t think it is problematic nor do they think it causes any of his migraine symptoms. They do not want to operate. We stayed up through the middle of the night a bunch of times, including until 3 am on Friday, to get to this point. I am glad he is healthy, that nothing will be interfering with his mission, and that he can move forward. He also bought his mission clothes this week, and got a lot of other good things done in preparation for his mission. It is coming up soon. Only 3 and a half weeks away.

I feel like class is going very well. I am happy about what they are learning and the degree that they are willing to engage the material in a thoughtful way. I am having a good time with these students. I am finally getting to know them.

During the week we took a small faculty field trip to the monastery of the cross. This is a really cool building that has a lot of medieval aspects to it still. While we were there a group of Georgian (the country, not the state) Orthodox priests came. They could sing like I couldn’t believe. I stayed for quite a while just to hear them sing. It was incredible.

The spot where grew the tree from which the cross was supposed to have been made

From inside the Monastery of the Cross

I did a little workshop for the students to help them get ready for Egypt. I think it was useful for them. I felt like it went well. I spent quite a bit of time this week getting ready for our trip to Egypt. It is forecast to be well over 110 degrees for much of the time we are there. That may be a bit warm.

We set apart a lot of students during the week. That is always a great experience. I am amazed at how much the Lord loves these students and how much he knows them and knows their needs and their potential. I love doing that. I always have to be careful, I admit that there is a part of me that wants them to be impressed with the blessings I give. I know that is ridiculous, the blessings are not from me and I must avoid such self-centeredness and pride. Each time I have to make sure I am doing what I am doing for the right reason. I do love the feelings I feel as I get small glimpses into how God feels about these people. It is also exhausting.

I have been trying to focus on spending real and quality time with the kids. We had a few nights where we played some games. We made sure we visited together at meals. We tried to have some teaching moments. I gave the children blessings to help them get through the rest of the school year. I have worried that sometimes we are together in the same house but so into whatever each person is doing that we aren’t really together. I hope we made some strides towards rectifying this. It was a nice week together.

Fire and Light

2016-05-07T08:30:00.001-06:00

Last Sabbath I had some nice time with my family in the morning. Then I went up to have a meeting with Brother Heiner. We got all ready for our lesson we were jointly teaching, and we made sure we had all our callings lined up. Then we made sure that the sacrament was all prepared, etc. In all of that I forgot that I needed to get some people to say the prayers. I didn’t remember it until I was announcing the opening song and prayer, so I called on my wife. She was talking with someone, so I wasn’t sure if she noticed, but she did. She saved me.

Tashara was the first speaker. She spoke on pride, and did a phenomenal job. She really made me think about how much I need to try to strip myself of pride. I let it affect too many things I do. She moved me and got me to really think a lot. It was a great talk.

Then we had Sabbath School, and finally the combined lesson that Brother Heiner and I were team teaching. We taught about the importance of having the Spirit with us, and how we can do more to make sure the spirit is with us as much as possible. Brother Heiner did a great job, and I just did the last 15 minutes. I thought it went well. It inspired me to do more to have the Spirit with me.

Afterwards we set some people apart, and then Tashara and I set out to try to find Mom and the Allreds and Skinners as they were trying to get near the Holy Sepulchre to participate in the Holy Fire Ritual. This is a ritual that Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian Christians celebrate as Easter Sunday approaches. This weekend is Orthodox Easter. What happens is that the Patriarch goes into the tomb, and his candle catches fire. He then passes it out so that others can light their candles, and they light others, and it spreads throughout the church, then the city, then people fly with it to other places, so that by the end of Easter people throughout the world have a flame lit by the Holy Fire. In many churches on Good Friday they blow out the candles in their church and wait for flame from Jerusalem to arrive to relight them. The symbolism of all this is incredible.

People lighting their candle at New Gate as part of the Ritual of the Holy Fire

Tashara and I walked to Damascus gate and got pretty far, but then found that it was closed off by the police, and they weren’t letting anyone through, and wouldn’t for another two hours. We went to Via Dolorosa, and got pretty far, but found it was cut off as well. Julianne let us know that they had tried Jaffa gate and found it closed, but had talked their way through New Gate. So we went walking around to get to New Gate. They were getting ready to open that gate up, so they wouldn’t let us through right then. As we waited we saw a priest come out with an incense burner from the Holy Sepulchre, and they let some people light their candles from it. They were all so excited! People lit their candles from those, and so on, and so on. It was great to watch.

Passing the flame of the Holy Fire

Passing the Holy Fire

After five minutes they let us in. Tashara and I sped along the streets, dodging people and going as fast as we could. We found a pretty good way to get where we were going, but then were grabbed by a policeman who said we couldn’t keep going that way. So we went a different way, and eventually found our way to Shaban’s shop on Christian Quarter Road. That is where the others were waiting for us, and it was good to be with them. We watched the parades come along and the flames being passed around. Sometimes it got pretty squishy, and I had to work hard to keep Julianne and Tashara from being trampled. We sought refuge in the shop for a while, and then we moved all together through the crowd. There were a few times when we really got pushed around, and it was close to getting trampled.

The parade of the Holy Fire

Holy Fire procession

Finally we were allowed into a church, that turned out to be the monastery for the Orthodox priests that serve in the Holy Sepulchre. Shaban got us in there, and then into the upper area of the Holy Sepulchre, which eventually got us into the door that leads right into the dome of the church, so that we could look down on the tomb while they did all the rituals. It was full of smoke, but it was beautiful, and amazing to watch. What a great time! What a view! How wonderful it was to be there with my family. Tashara never wastes an opportunity. I was so glad to be there with her. This was a great day.

Passing the Holy Fire

Tashara and I looking down from the top of the dome of the Holy Sepulchre

Spreading the Holy Fire from the Tomb

The Holy Sepulchre during the Holy Fire

Afterwards, I played games with Sabrina for a while, and I really enjoyed it. We all hung out for a while, we visited, etc. I also saw some of my best friends from work who just got in. It was nice to visit with them for a while. Then I spent time with my family. What a nice day!

Sunday morning I did a small workout and I visited with my friends again. Then we hung out as a family. We got some things done, made sure the kids had their homework done, I got a lot of work done, etc. I also got very ready for my field trip. But we also did some just hanging out and lazing around. The kids really wanted to go see Captain America Civil War, so we let Jacob and Sabrina play with the Allreds, and we went to see the movie. It was okay, but a little too violent for me. Still, we had a lot of fun. Then we got home, and got everything ready for school to start again (the kids really don’t want it to). It was just the kind of day we all needed before we all jump into the last part of our time here. It is the last stint of school for the kids, and it is the beginning of our last semester.

It was hard for the kids to get up and going on Monday morning. They really didn’t want to, and there was all manner of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Ah well, still they had to get off and going. We got them all ready, and then Julianne and I got ready and went out for our first field trip with this group of students. It was a great field trip. We had some problems with our new headsets and transmitters, but it didn’t really take away from it. It was a nice day, sunny, but just a touch over 70 degrees with a slight wind. Really nice. We started out by looking out from the Mount of Olives over the Temple Mount area. I tried to show them how the Temple Mount had been enlarged by Herod, and were the temple once stood. I tried to show them how the Kidron Valley shaped much of the area. We showed them where the City of David was. I also introduced the theme of the day, which is how God told Abraham to look north and south and east and west and to realize he would inherit that land as far as he could see. Being part of the covenant and coming to know the land became our theme for the day.

My class on our first field trip

Then we went to Augusta Victoria. Andy Skinner was with me today. He is so great to work with. But because of his knees the stairs weren’t a good option for him. So I took the students up into the tower. It is hard to get 20 along one line up there, so I took 10 to one side and Julianne took 10 to the other side. We just looked around at what was to be seen from each side and taught them about the climate, topography, politics, etc., of what they were seeing. I think it was useful for them.

From there we went to Nebi Samuel. This is a fantastic site. We taught them about how there are layers of civilization at these sites. We taught them a little bit about the crusades, and how this place was called Mount Joy by the crusaders because it was from there that they first saw Jerusalem. Then we went over and looked down on Gibeon. I taught them the story of how Joshua came to rescue the Gibeonites from the other Canaanites, and how the Lord sent hailstones on the Canaanite armies, and then how the sun and moon stood still so that they could continue to pursue them before they could hide behind their walls. This was one of the ways the Lord helped the Israelites defeat the Canaanites despite the large Canaanite walled cities that the Israelites were so sure they could not overcome. I tried to teach them of how the Lord comes through for his people when they trust in him, no matter how big the obstacle or how hard it is. He always comes through, and when he fights for us, there is nothing that can’t be overcome. I also tried to impress upon them how real the scriptures are, and how the land testifies of God and his covenants with us. I think we had a very moving time there. It was wonderful.

My class sitting under the fig tree at Nebi Samwill

We also spent just a little time in the synagogue there where we all got the chance to learn a little about Jewish worship. It was nice. Then we went on top of the roof and looked around at the sites. We looked over at Gibeah and went through the stories that happened there, such as Saul leaving to look for his father’s asses and being anointed king, Saul building a palace, David coming to play the harp for him, David marrying Michal, David and Johnathan developing a friendship, and both Michal and Johnathan helping David escape. Pretty powerful human drama. We also looked out towards Bethel, and spoke of the important stories that happened there. We talked about how that was the beginning of the Ephraim hill country. I spoke to them about how that was their ancestral homeland. I welcomed them home. I asked them to think about how the turning of the hearts to the fathers includes not just pioneer family history, but the family history they were reading in the Bible. I asked them to turn their hearts, and come to know this part of their history, and to feel a connection with this part of their homeland.

The Torah Ark in the Nebi Samwil Synagogue

From there we went to Haas Promenade, which provides a nice little overlook from the south side where you can get a better feel for some of the valleys and hills and aspects of Jerusalem.

My class at Haas Promenade

Then we went to Mar Elyas. We climbed up on a hill behind it and we looked down onto Bethlehem. Andy taught them of the modern politics of the site. I taught them about Bethlehem, pointing out that Ruth did her gleaning there, David was anointed king there, and, of course, Christ was born there. I pointed out how from that spot you can see both Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We spoke of how the most important thing that happened in the history of the world happened within their eyesight there at Jerusalem. That thing, the atonement, was made possible because of the condescension of God as Christ came to earth as a mortal in Bethlehem, also within their eyesight. Bethlehem would not be that important without Jerusalem, but Jerusalem would not be possible without Bethlehem. It is wonderful to be at a place where you can see both places. Then we looked at the area where Rachel’s tomb was. I told them that written on the tomb are the words “Rachel, our Mother.” I asked them to remember that Rachel is our mother, and reminded them that this is their home, and that they should take learning their family history seriously. I suggested that as we read that history if they can come to use the land and the family connection to realize how real the scriptures are, that the scriptures will relate to their lives in a different way, and that they will come to feel a power in the scriptures that they have not felt before. I think they felt it. We gave them some time to sit and think and read. I think many people truly enjoyed that opportunity.

My class pondering

On the whole I would say it was a great field trip. I feel like we got started off well. We went to dinner that night with the students, and I took the chance to ask many of them what they had enjoyed. I got the impression that they were quite touched with the reality of the stories there, and that seeing it all helped them to understand the reality of the place and the scriptures, and that they were already seeing and feeling the scriptures differently. I think they had great experiences. They are a bit overwhelmed by it all, but in a good way. I think they are a bit overwhelmed also with the amount of work, and with all the info we are trying to give them. They also seem a bit in awe with the caliber of their teachers, but they will get over that soon enough. We just have to make sure we get over it, and that we don’t let it go to our heads.

An ibex in the Negev

All in all it was a good day, and I had a nice evening with the kids. Life is good, and we are blessed.

Tuesday we had class again. I feel like it went very, very well as we spoke about the Abrahamic Sacrifice in connection with Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac. We talked about how this helped Abraham become the person who put God above all else, and how we all need to become that kind of person so that we can learn to rely on God above all else, since only God can exalt us. It was a fun class, and I think the students are enjoying learning.

The rest of the day was spent in meetings, getting a few little work things done, etc. That evening we spent time together as a Branch Presidency and got a lot of work done on the big job of figuring out callings for all of the students. In a three week period we will issue 81 callings. I am always amazed at how much the Lord is involved. As the semester wears on we always find out more and more about how each calling was inspired. It is a wonder to be involved in the Lord’s work and see him do his own work.

Classes continued to go well. During the rest of the week we covered topics such as why God has a chosen people, the temple experiences of Jacob, Jacob’s Abrahamic Sacrifice and experience with God at Peniel, Judah and Tamar, Joseph being sold into Egypt, and the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. These are some of the most amazing stories in the history of the world. They teach us so much. And I think we are having a great time going through them. The students seem to be getting the Old Testament. They seem to be enjoying having it come to life. They seem to be learning how to draw meaning from the stories. I feel like the class is going extremely well.

We had meetings to get ready for Egypt. It is hard to believe that we will be going again so soon. I will be with Andy on this trip. I think it will be a lot of fun to be with him. We also went on a long faculty trip to Avdat. Julianne and I sat in the back and we were able to visit with Andy and Janet Skinner a lot. They are so enjoyable and we had a great time. I also very much enjoyed seeing David Ben Gurion’s place down there. It was also wonderful to just see that part of the Negev. Some think that the Israelites came through that area. I think it is very unlikely. That was squarely in the territory of Edom, and Israel was forbidden to travel through Edom, so it is very, very unlikely that they went that way. Still it looks a lot like the territory they did go through, so it was fun to see it.

The Wilderness of Tsin in southern Israel

A Tamarack Tree in the Negev. Abraham planted some of these

Additionally, both modern and ancient Israel eventually lived in that area. We also saw a Nabatean stronghold that was part of the incense trail. It became Christian eventually, and had some cool churches in it. It was an enjoyable time.

Julianne at the Nabatean Ruins

That evening we had dinner with Jim Kearl, who is in charge of everything about the Jerusalem Center. He was visiting from Provo. He asked us for feedback on the program, and we were able to give him some. There is some feedback that will be best given when we return to Provo. On the whole it was an enjoyable day, but we saw our kids hardly at all.

On Friday I got a bit of work done, I spent some nice time with the kids, we took the students to the Western Wall, where we were able to help them see how wonderful it is to be excited about the Sabbath and to be so devoted.

We also spoke with BJ. He had a test done on his heart, and it has some holes in it. It looks like he needs some surgery, but it could be minor, or it might be fairly large. We don’t know yet, he needs to have a further consultation with the doctor. We are anxious to hear back from him about that.

We did spend a lot of time this week looking into the best gear for cold Montana winters. It feels very good to be able to find some ways to help BJ do as well as possible on his mission. We also got things set up for him to take out his endowment. Things are moving along.

My wonderful wife

On the whole it has been an incredible, wonderful, busy and powerful week. My kids are getting to the point where they feel like going home, and that is getting closer. We got our tickets for their return flight this week. The new students are just getting going, and they are loving it and are so excited. It is wonderful to see them have such powerful experiences. This is an amazing program to be part of. I just need to make sure we keep finding ways to help our kids keep growing from their time here. It shouldn’t be too hard, this place is built for growth.

Such Good Things, almost, but never too much of Good Things. Also, saying Goodbye so we can say Hello

2016-04-30T11:50:00.001-06:00

The arrival of our guests went spectacularly well. Both flights got in slightly early. We had planned on them taking a shared taxi, called a sheroot (or sherut), from the airport. Both groups got through passport control, customs, and luggage collection with no problem, and found a sherut immediately, and got here with no hitch. It took them between an hour and a half and two hours from the time their planes touched down and when they got here, which is faster than anyone I have heard of, even with a private car sent to get them. By just a bit after midnight we had everyone here and they were happy and it was a wonderful reunion with them.

The next morning was Alexia’s birthday. Our guests had, of course, been woken up by our loud neighbor who does his call to prayer so very loud as part of his efforts to disrupt the Jews who have moved in next to us. That worked out well so that everyone was able to wish Alexia a happy birthday. They had even brought a little bit of bacon, which made it so that we could have that as part of her birthday breakfast.

We went on a branch activity today. We met the larger group, and off we went to Jericho. On the way we stopped at Wadi Qelt. As they looked down at St. George Monastery, Julianne taught them about Elijah and the ravens, which traditionally fed Elijah at that site. She also taught them about the Good Samaritan on the road to Jericho, since that is the literal ancient road to Jericho.

The group hiking along Wadi Qelt

At Jericho I think we had a very nice time going through the story of the taking of the city and how it is similar to how God can overcome any obstacle in our lives. The manager recognized us as Mormons, and since a Mormon helped the owner once, he took good care of us. He had us go up to their new tower, where we could get an incredible view of the place and how it all worked. He also gave us some gifts. They took good care of us and it made it all nice. I think everyone had a great experience there.

The seminary class with their shofars at Jericho

Then we went to Qumran. It was hot, the most crowded I have ever seen it, and not everyone was excited to pay to enter. So we sat outside and I gave a brief overview of the site, pointed out some of the caves, and then we left. We went to the Dead Sea and floated. All the kids of the branch had a great time with each other. Alexia thought it was a great way to spend her birthday.

When we got home we were able to make her some of her favorite treats, including macaroni and cheese, which Keith and Kristen had brought with them from the U.S. We did presents and she was so happy with all the things she got, which were primarily items that had her favorite mosaic, of the loaves and fishes, on them. On the whole I think she had a great birthday and it was a great first day in the country from Julianne’s parents and brother and his wife.

Alexia's birthday

The next day the kids went to school, I went on a field trip, and Julianne’s family went to Bethlehem. We paid a member of the church there to take them around and show them various things and teach them about the place. I think they had a great experience. They saw several things I have never seen before. I think they really enjoyed it.

In the meantime I began the “Last Week Walk” field trip with my students. This is the field trip that lasts two days and in which we cover the events of the last week of the Savior’s life. We began by going to Bethany. There we went to the separation wall and I taught them about the complexities of the wall. I think they understood a bit.

Students at the Bethany Garden

Afterwards David Whitchurch taught them about Mary and Martha and Lazarus, going over several scenes from Bethany with them, including the tomb and the story of raising Lazarus from the dead. He did a nice job. It was a nice time.

Then we came back through the wall and went to Bethphage. Because this is the traditional site of the beginning of the Triumphal Entry, I talked to them there about that story, and about how Jesus is our king, and how we should see him that way and look forward to his return. I think we had some very nice and touching moments there together.

We got a bit behind as we dealt with trying to go to some places that were normally open but were closed right then. Thus, when we got to Pater Noster we had to rush. David taught them there, and did a good job of teaching and yet staying within the time constraints. We had a quick but nice time there. Then we walked down to Dominus Flevit. Our issue there was that the church closed at noon, and we were getting there at 11:50. We were hoping they would let us stay a little longer, as they did last time.

At Pater Noster

So, when we got there, I asked the groundskeeper, who has helped us in the past, if we could stay. He said yes, but suggested we go talk to the father who was running the church at the moment. Father Mateo was very nice, and said we could. This seemed like a good thing, to involve him. I hoped it would avoid the problem we had the last time when that crazy, mean hippy-looking guy came up and kicked us out, turning his dogs loose on us. Father Mateo was even going to come visit with us a bit. Then he came over and told us that there was a small technicality we needed to deal with. The Father Superior, Father Sebastion, wanted us to ask him if we could stay, not anyone else. I could tell this was a power issue, and could feel that good Father Mateo was in a tough situation here where he had stepped on someone’s toes who was very power conscious. It reminded me of my life.

Father Mateo told me where I should go to find Father Sebastion. So up I went, and I found the place, and called in, and Father Sebastion called out that he would be right there. Imagine my surprise when the man who came to greet me was the very same crazy, mean, hippy-looking guy who had turned his dogs loose on us last time. He was pleasant, but made it clear he was in charge. He was willing to come visit with us, and after a while did so, giving a bit of a message, mostly about himself, but pleasant enough. It turned out to be a nice situation and it all worked out well, but he reminded me so very, very much of people I work with.

Students listening to David Whitchurch at Dominus Flevit

David did a nice job of teaching there, dealing well with the ups and downs of our being moved around and continually waiting for someone to come talk with us and various people having mass in the church and it being very busy. He really did a nice job.

After a while we finished there. We walked down to the Kidron Valley and caught the bus and went up to Mount Zion. There we went to the Dormition Abbey. We had some very nice moments there talking about Christ coming to earth and about Mary and about women and motherhood in general. We sang Silent Night down below, and it was beautiful. We had some very nice moments.

Singing at the Dormition Abbey

Then we went to the Upper Room. It was crowded, but we found a way to have our own little time there. I taught from the Intercessory Prayer in John 17 about how much the Savior wants us to join him in his special relationship with the Father. We talked about becoming Christlike, and thus being with the Father in the same way the Son is. We talked about the power of the atonement making that possible. It was a nice time.

From there we went to Saint Peter in Gallicantu. We went to the overlook and went through various stories and geographical points you can see from there. Then we went to the model of the city in the Byzantine era and helped them understand what things looked like at that time. Then we went through the church, singing in each chapel. We stopped in the pit, and talked about the Savior being put on trial by the Sanhedrin. I bore testimony there for a while, speaking of how indignant I feel that they mocked the Savior in that way, and of the irony of the high priest, who was to represent Jehovah, instead mocking Jehovah. I also spoke of how all of this was necessary, and how Christ did it because of his loving kindness and long suffering towards the children of men. I don’t know how others felt, but I was deeply touched by the Spirit there.

We went outside and saw the stairs which the Savior probably walked as he went to and from Gethsemane. It is always so touching to picture Jesus going down those stairs with such a heavy heart, and then coming back up in a blood red robe, bound and captive. Again, he was willing to do it because of his love for us.

We sat in the plaza by the statue of Peter denying Christ, and spoke of Peter there. I think that Peter’s primary characteristic is that he wants to be with Christ. He would walk on water, leap into water, and cut the ear off of people to be with Christ. I think he even denied knowing Christ so that he could be with Christ. We spoke of needing to develop that characteristic within ourselves, wanting to be with Christ. Again, I felt touched.

It was a good day.

That night we talked with BJ. He told us that he and some friends that day had all simultaneously guessed that he would go to Africa on his mission. Then that night he had the most vivid dream he had ever had. In the dream he received his call and it was to Botswana. When he woke up he got a text from his Bishop letting him know that his call had been issued and was in the mail. He is convinced that this is all inspiration, and that his call will be to Botswana. Could be right. I am anxious to see.

The next day Julianne went with her family to do the story of David and Goliath and Samson and other cool biblical sites. In the meantime I went with the students again on the last field trip. Today I had no other teacher to help me, and it was absolutely wonderful. I love doing this field trip on my own. We started out by walking to the Orson Hyde Garden. There I told them the story of Orson Hyde coming to dedicate the land for the return of the Jews. We also spoke of other dedicatory prayers, and of President Kimball dedicating the garden and saying that we in turn dedicate ourselves to God.

Students at the Orson Hyde Garden

From there we walked to Gethsemane. We went into the church and talked about it and had some nice moments. I think the students were touched by the place. We sang “I Stand all Amazed” there. Then I learned that our appointment for the private garden was made incorrectly, and that we didn’t have much time there. So we went over right away. In that nice little area I bore testimony for a while of the atonement. I spoke of how all that Christ suffered, from being betrayed, to being abandoned, to being denied, to being mocked, to being scourged, to suffering for sins and sorrows, to the horrible pains of the cross, to being abandoned by the Father, were all part of how he paid a price for us and made it possible for us to both be forgiven and succored. I spoke of the deep, changing and redeeming power of the atonement, and how Christ’s love for his Father saw him through his darkest hour. I learned from the Spirit while I taught. I enjoyed my time there.

Students pondering at Gethsemane

Students inside the Church of All Nations

Then I gave them time to ponder. They went to various little parts of the garden and read and wrote and pondered and had a wonderful time. I read some of the hymns about Gethsemane and thought about the suffering, and learned and repented. We had a very nice time. I would like to have had more time, but we had nice time. From there we went back over to the church and learned about olive trees. Then we went to the Gethsemane Grotto, where a mass was being held. We looked at the place where the press was, and spoke about it quietly and briefly.

Then we walked over to St. Anne’s. On the way we stopped at the Church of the Flagellation, and talked about Christ being scourged. We had a nice time, but we had talked about that enough we didn’t belabor the point a lot. So we went to St. Anne’s.

We met Phil’s class there. For whatever reason David really didn’t want to stay with us there. So I arranged to meet with Father Peter, who visited with us and gave us permission to stay after they did their noon closure. David wanted to teach first and then leave while we sang, but Father Peter wanted to listen to us sing then. So we sang one song, and let Father Peter teach. Then we separated, so that David could do his teaching and then do his shopping. My class stayed and sang and we had a wonderful time. It is such an amazing place to sing, and we absolutely loved it. After quite a while Phil came back in with his class, David was done teaching. I stopped the singing, and asked Phil to come up with me.

His children are here visiting, like our family is. I know he and Jennifer were looking forward to his children coming to memories night where they could see something of what their father has done for these students and how much they love him and have made a difference in their lives. It turns out they are not allowed to attend. So Phil and Jennifer will stay with their children rather than go to that night. And their children won’t get to see how much their father means to the students. I was sad about this for them.

Another sad aspect of that is that it means the students won’t be able to hear from Phil there. His Old Testament students have not heard from him for such a long time, they really needed the chance to hear from him again. So I asked him to come up in front of all the students there and talk to them one last time. I think they were so very grateful for the chance to hear from him, and he did a wonderful job. It was nice. Then we sang one more song together, and my class left.

We went out to the pool and I showed them how the Pool of Bethesda was in the Savior’s day. Then we read the story of the invalid being healed there, and I testified of how the Savior will heal us when we have no man to help us.

From there we went to the Garden Tomb. I taught them about the various possible sites for the crucifixion and resurrection. Then I bore testimony of the resurrection, speaking of how Julie would be able to see her mother again, and Caleb his cousin again, and how my father would be able to do things again. Then I opened it up for them to bear testimonies, and they did for over an hour. I think it was a great time, I think it was a wonderful ending.

My students just before the testimony meeting at the Garden Tomb

I got back to the JC and immediately took Tashara to her school, where she listened to some of her friends play in a band. I stayed there and then took her back. We went to the farewell dinner with the students. We had a nice time visiting with them about their experience here. It really was a touching and nice dinner.

Then we went to the auditorium. It took them a while to get the computer system working. Finally they were ready. They asked me to speak to the students first. I talked to them about how Christ can exalt them. I talked to them about how they have felt the Spirit here, and can be changed. I talked to them about how to maintain that change. I talked to them about how we love them and want to always be with them. I felt it went well. As I returned to my chair they gave me a standing ovation. I was surprised, and touched.

Then we watched a slide show. It was a great slide show. Then we watched a video that Weston Hutchison had put together. It was professional in quality, it was amazing. It was touching and wonderful and should be made into a promo for the JC. I could not believe how great it was.

I stayed up for a long time, having students sign my hymn book and visiting with them. It was a fun night. It was also a hard night.

The next day the kids went to school and Julianne and I went with her family to Gibeah, Nebi Samwil, Kiryant Ye’arim, and to an absolutely wonderful biblical garden at Yad Hashmone. It was a great time. Then we went shopping, which took way too long and was not fun.

Grape vines at Yad Hashmone

We got back just as the students were staring their last dinner. I went from table to table, visiting with them and saying goodbye. Soon it was time for real goodbyes. I hate that part. My heart was so full, and I hate to see them go. They mean so much to me, each person saying goodbye was ripping out a piece of my heart. I try so hard to make sure each one can feel how much I love them and how highly I think of them. But I know I never can convey it the way I feel it. We took pictures and said goodbye and hugged each other for over an hour. I just sat there dying and bye’ing for a long time. So did my kids. We all hate to see them go. These are amazing students.

Finally they left. Two were still there, waiting for their parents to come pick them up. So I stayed with them a bit. One of them was Julie, the girl whose mother died early in the semester. Her dad was coming to get her. She told me it was her mother’s birthday. It was hard for her. We went aside for just a while and started to talk, and then her dad got there. It was great to see her run to her dad. I was glad they had each other on that day. I was very glad.

Finally we said goodbye to both of them. I came down and in an exhausted way went to bed, but not before reading the notes that they had given me.

The next morning we got the kids off to school. Then we packed up and went to Galilee. We stopped at Beth Sha’an, then Ein Harod, then Megiddo, then Mount Tabor, then Nazareth, then had dinner, then went to our hotel. It was the most delightful little place, I absolutely loved it. It was a long and exhausting day, but great.

The women in front of the Mary statue at the Church of the Annunciation

Tel Megiddo

The church on top of Mount Tabor

While there we got a text message from Doug Earl. BJ’s mission call had arrived. But BJ is off camping at Escalante. So I got in touch with BJ to work out when he would be back and how we would work it out to open it with him. Then he told me that he was in my parent’s truck and had gotten it stuck in the sand. So we talked through things he could do. After quite a while he got it unstuck. He is learning and growing.

I wish he could open his call now. Ah well.

The next morning we went on our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was very nice. Then we went to the Mount of Beattitudes, and then to Tabgha, then to St. Peter’s Primacy, then to Capernaum. At every site we had a wonderful time. Julianne is a magnificent teacher and makes it all work out, and we are having a great time. Julianne is really so good. She really could be a tour guide. She is magnificent. We had a great time.

On the Sea of Galilee

We also went to Kursi, then we went to Magdala, which is such an incredible site. We had an amazing time there. Finally it was time to come home. It took us a long time to get here, but we did. We got to see the kids, visit with them for just a while, and then we got to go to sleep. Everyone was so very tired. It has been an amazingly full, draining, emotionally exhausting, but rich week.

Sabbath was wonderful. We had some nice church services, and then a little pot-luck social afterwards. It was nice to be able to visit with some of the members of the branch. I wish I had been able to better visit with more, but I enjoyed what I was able to do.

Then we went had a taxi take us all to Bethany. We had a nice experience there. It was a bit crowded, yet we still were able to find a little time to be in the tomb and read from the account. Our kids seem to be paying attention and learning. I hope so, I hope this is meaningful for them.

Jacob and Alexia coming in Lazarus' Tomb

We came back from Bethany, which is on the other side of the separation wall, and started going through the last week of the Savior’s life. We looked down on Bethphage and talked about the Triumphal Entry. We went into Pater Noster, and talked about the Savior teaching his Apostles as they went back and forth on that last week. We read a little bit from Matthew 24, the sermon on the Signs of the Times, which he taught his disciples during that continual walk from the Temple to Bethany. We walked down the Mount of Olives, speaking of how he made that walk so many times. We stopped at the Gethsemane, and spent some time talking about he suffered for us. We had some nice moments in the Church of All Nations. Then we began walking home. We stopped in the Orson Hyde Garden, and spoke more of how the Savior suffered for us on the Mount of Olives. It was a very nice time, and I think my children learned. It was a lot of walking, but I think it was a nice day.

To be honest, the next several days are all a blur. We went to the Dome of the Rock. We went and helped Sister Holyoak play the Carillon bells in the YMCA tower. We went to Saint Peter in Gallicantu and spoke of the Savior on trial. We went to the Upper Room and read from the accounts of his washing feet, administering the sacrament, and teaching about being with the Father. I think my kids were touched. We went to the Dormition Abbey and talked about Mary and the women of the scriptures. We went to the City of David and also went through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. We went through the Holy Sepulchre. We went to so many places, and my kids were part of it and I think they learned. I am happy about that, very happy. Julianne took her family to some places when I couldn’t go, and she did a fantastic job then and when we were all together. She knows these places, and the history, and the doctrine so well. She could easily be a tour guide. She was fantastic.

We also worked on getting Tashara ready to take the students on the orientation walk. She practiced a bit on her grandparents, taking them around the city and teaching them. She really knows her stuff.

In the meantime, BJ opened his mission call. We were able to be online with him while he did it. He is going to Billings Montana, reporting about six weeks from now. Wow! None of us saw that one coming. It will be a good mission for him. He didn't want to go somewhere cold, but it will be cold. I think he is pretty excited about it. We have started planning how to get him all ready, we have gotten tickets for Julianne to go be with him, etc., etc. I can't believe it is time. I can't believe he is already going. He will be great, it is just hard to digest all of this. I am so happy for him though, he will be a great missionary.

Finally it was time to go get the students. Tashara came to help out. I have never seen the airport like it was. There were so, so, so many people there to greet arriving passengers. They looked like they were all Ethiopian Christians on pilgrimage for Orthodox Easter. It was a zoo like I have never seen, but it was fun. The students got in fairly quickly, and we gathered them. Tashara helped the process go well. When we had them all gathered we went out to get on the busses. This proved to be tricky, there were so many busses there they wouldn’t let ours in until others had cleared out. We waited over half an hour, but we eventually got everyone on and started home. This seems like a really friendly, engaged group. I think we are in for a good semester.

I tried to keep them awake on the drive home. I also tried to teach them some things and get them thinking about how our group can come together and work together. Then we got them back to the Center. Julianne wasn’t there, she was taking her parents and some of the Skinners to the airport. But Kristen was still there, and she was up with the kids to help them greet the students as they arrived. This was also nice for her since it allowed her to see her cousin who was just getting in. It was fun to see them have a little reunion right there.

Later that night we had a 20 minute meeting as a class, and I tried to impress upon them how important it was to be trying to become more holy during their time here. I feel like we had a very good meeting. After that, more meetings, a tour of the building, etc., finally I was able to come home. I tried to stay up late enough to say goodbye to Keith and Kristen, but I fell asleep on the couch. I heard them as they were walking out, and said a brief goodbye to them. I was half awake for it. I hope that they and Julianne’s parents had a good experience. I hope it was all they wanted it to be.

The next morning we had some orientation meetings, and then we took students on the walk where we show them the Old City and how to get around and teach them just a bit about it. I had the first group, and Tashara led one right behind me. I was so proud of her that she was doing this. I watched her and listened and she did a fantastic job. She knew so much and knew everything to do and say and just absolutely rocked. She did a fantastic job. She is so amazing. I think she is blowing the students away with how amazing she is.

The group I took on the tour of the Old City

The rest of the day was spent in meetings, etc. That evening we had dinner with the students. I enjoyed myself, but some of my kids didn’t find people they felt comfortable sitting with, so they ended up sitting alone. You would think after all this time they would get this down, but it is still hard for them to meet new people and get things going. I will have to watch more carefully and help them. This is an amazingly friendly and outgoing group of students.

After dinner we had some get to know you games, and it was really enjoyable. I really like this group, I think it will be a great semester.

The next day was the first day of class. It was about the Abrahamic Covenant. It is a great day to start out with, there are so many important things associated with it, the lesson always goes well. I tried to help them understand that the covenant established with Abraham was the same one established with Adam. I tried to help them understand why God covenants with us, and how he loves us, and how much he wants to bind us to him so that he can carry us to places we cannot go on our own. I tried to help them understand the blessings that are inherent in the covenant, especially how God wants to take care of us and exalt us. I also tried to help them understand how God asks us to worship him only, to spread knowledge of him and associated ordinances and covenants, and to be obedient. We get such a good deal when we covenant with God. He asks so little, and gives so much. By the end I think they felt empowered and felt like they were coming to understand some things they had never understood before.

We also spent a lot of time answering questions .When we do this we always end up talking about the importance of symbols and symbolic action. On the whole I feel like it was a great class, and it went super well.

The rest of the day was spent in meetings and in getting good things done. I felt like it was a nice day. Our family spent some nice time together.

There is so much of good, we are so blessed, and I hope we can just take it all in and remain grateful.

A week

2016-04-16T04:58:00.001-06:00

Weeks have ups and downs. This week started out great! On Monday we had our Dead Sea Field Trip. Phil was sick, so David and Andy took his class on the field trip, and I was alone with my class. That was excellent! The field trips are so much more fun that way, and I can control the themes, timing and tempo in a way that allows my students to have a better experience. Some people that work with me on the field trips are easier to work with in that way, and don’t take away too much. Others are very difficult to work with in a way that allows the field trip to be what it should be. But I had fun by myself on this day!

We first went to Qumran. Andy did most of the teaching for both classes there, and did a great job. It would have been nice to let them go to the scriptorium, etc. and get more of an appreciation for that, but overall I think it was very well done. On the bus I added just a bit, especially to teach them about the gratitude we should have to the Jews for preserving scripture that is so important to us.

Students listening to Andy Skinner teach at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

The area around Qumran. You can see the areas where some of the caves that yielded Dead Sea Scrolls are

A mikvah, for ritual immersion, at Qumran

Students looking out at the ruins of Qumran

Then we went to Ein Gedi. There I taught them about how, in that very canyon, Saul was hunting David and slept in a cave where David was able to cut off part of his cloak. We spoke of how David then used that opportunity to try to get Saul to realize that they were not enemies, and to get Saul to change. Despite all Saul had done to him, David still seems to have loved Saul and wanted to get him to change. There is a valuable lesson therein.

My class listening to me at Ein Gedi

We looked at the stream flowing from a spring down to the Dead Sea. We read about how, near the Red Sea, Lehi taught his children about the importance of being like a spring continually flowing. Laman and Lemuel were more like the canyons that sometimes have huge spurts of water when it rains, but are mostly dry. They sometimes do well, but it is fleeting. Lehi wanted them to be consistently tied to the Lord, to consistently do well. We also talked about how yesterday the flash floods had created such a mess and so many rivers of filthy, muddy water. This is like the river of filthiness that Nephi spoke of in his dream, and hopefully can help us picture it better.

flowing water at Ein Gedi

Flowing water at Ein Gedi

Then we went to Masada. It is a huge site, and they can get tired of it pretty quickly. I tried to mix it up with a few fun ways of teaching, and to keep us moving along pretty well. I think it went okay. I do not glamorize the wicked Sicarri who were at that place, but there were many innocent refugees there as well. We did read scriptures about how Christ had warned his followers that destruction was coming, and that those who listened to the Apostles avoided that destruction. I also read from Amos 8, where the Lord says that you can try to hide in the ground or on the highest mountain, but you can’t escape his justice. Then we spoke of how his justice is really all about trying to bring us back to him, that he never stops trying to get us to repent. I think it was a nice moment. Then they had free time, and they did what they wanted.

The Dead Sea from Masada

Finally we went to the Dead Sea. They floated, I visited with the Skinners, and everyone had a good time. On the way home, which was a long drive, I just went along the bus asking students what they had learned from over their time here, and asking what questions they had. In a few places I stopped for a long time and visited. It was enjoyable to see how much they have learned, and to have such good teaching opportunities.

Students floating in the Dead Sea

Students with Dead Sea Mud on

That evening we spent time together as a family. Tashara, Kaleb and Alexia had done a sports day at school. Tashara won the 60 m race, but injured her foot along the way. They all seem to have had fun.

I am disappointed with how much our kids dislike the school. I know that, because school is such a big part of their life, and because they hate it so much, they are not having a great experience here. There are times that they are, and I think they will look back on it and be glad we did it, but I have many moments of regret when I see how sad my children are. They are happy in many ways, but in many ways they are so unhappy because of the school and because of the oppressive environment here. They know there are things around the Center they could have done in the past but because of some personalities currently here they are unable to do. It gets them down a bit. Still, I think that on the whole they are having experiences that will make them better and that will be largely good memories.

The next day was my last class. It went well. I had some emotional moments as I spoke about the Savior on the cross. I think we all felt the Spirit quite a bit in this lesson, and were deeply touched. The reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is so important, and so central to our lives and who we are, and of such deep import to the Spirit, that I think the Lord blessed us richly as we talked about it together. It was nice.

My class how they normally are

My last day in class with the students

My New Testament Class

In the afternoon I went to Sabrina’s class and taught them about Egypt. It went well, I think they had fun, and I know I did. I think Sabrina liked it. I tried to involve a girl who has been a bit mean to Sabrina in the hopes that being nice to her would help heal things a bit. Sabrina thought it helped a little. I feel badly that kids in school have to go through such silly stuff. There are bullies everywhere.

I got lots of little things done today. I made some real progress in things I needed to, but still can’t get to some other things I need to get to. That afternoon a student asked for a blessing because she was so stressed about finals. As she made her way down to get a blessing, I got an email telling me I needed to come talk about something. All I could think was “here we go again, the culture of suspicion and mistrust strikes again.” Still, I have a clean conscience so I wasn't worried. I was able to give a blessing, and I think the student was okay, and then I went up to talk.

To make a long story short, while I am 100% convinced we have acted completely, wholly, and fully correctly, my wife and I have yet again been unjustly accused of something. Sometimes there is no winning. Clearly God has something he wants me to learn about dealing with unjust accusations. It helps me appreciate the unjust accusations of the scriptures more. Ironic timing after reading about David at Ein Gedi.

As I left, I decided I needed to ask President Fellows for a blessing. So, after a very nice and helpful Branch Presidency meeting, he and I spoke. Then he gave me a blessing. It helped me a lot. I am in a pretty good place, and I have not lost any sleep over it at all.

That night as I put Sabrina to bed, I gave her advice about how to deal with this bully and about how sometimes these things are just a part of life. As I talked with her I could hear how much this all applied to my life. I will be kind to my bully just as I asked her to be kind to hers.

The next day I just worked all day, and got a lot done. I still haven’t gotten to some things I really wanted to, but I got a lot done. I also helped Julianne with a number of things around the house as we tried to get more ready for company. I also arranged things with a number of people for our guests. We have a lot to do, but we are so close to being able to see them!

The next day I got a lot more stuff done. Julianne and I both worked out, and it was enjoyable.

Julianne went shopping to prepare for our guests. Then we went with David, Andy and Janet, and Phil, to get ready for the upcoming field trip. Once again we were told we needed to hurry, and then we sat in a room for a long, long time talking about things rather than talking while we went. Once again we were so slow everywhere we went. But still we had a great time.

The Struthian Pool, underneath current Jerusalem

The Pool of Bethesda. Most of what you can see are ruins from long after the Savior's day

The steps of the Pool of Bethesda. Somewhere along these steps is probably where Christ healed a crippled man

The gang figuring out the archaeology of the Pool of Bethesda

Flowers growing at the Pool of Bethesda

Flowers Growing at the Pool of Bethesda

We went to Saint Anne’s and we used the articles and diagrams I obtained from Shimon Gibson to try to figure out what we were seeing at the Pools of Bethesda. It was super, super helpful for me. We all worked together to piece together what we saw there, and I think it turned out well. I feel like I understand the place and the story better now than ever. We also went to see some other pools and arches, and that came together for me in a new way. We did a few other things, took twice as long as we needed, but had good results. We got back home and I spent some time working with the kids on cleaning, we had dinner with the students, and then Julianne and I had a nice evening at home.

All day I kept thinking about how BJ’s call was probably being issued. I suspect we were thinking about it at about the right time. I texted him tonight and we talked about him getting his call. We are excited!

The next day we worked together to do a lot of cleaning. Then I went up and administered my exam. While students were taking the exam I should have worked on an article, but instead I felt like I needed to put in writing the situation surrounding the seminary trip. Again, time and energy wasted over such silliness. Then I graded my exams, Julianne and I worked together on things again, our kids got home and we spent time with them. We also cleaned and worked more on getting ready for family to come visit. I skyped with my archaeology team back home about this next season, and I think we are looking pretty good for that. I visited with the Skinners for a while, and they are so delightful. I also visited with Phil for a while, he is also so delightful. I did a workout, and we cleaned more and visited more.

The next day was wonderful. Sabbath was truly a delight. Meetings were great. Family time was great. We finished listening to conference. And then we began waiting for our guests to come! We are so excited to share the bounties of our rich life here with those whom we love so much!

More and more and more

2016-04-11T11:37:00.001-06:00

I can’t believe how much we are doing! As experience hunters we are killing it! I just hope we don’t kill ourselves off as well.

On Sunday I tried to help Tashara get ready for taking students on a tour of Jerusalem when they first get here, so I took her on the tour. We walked all around the city, and had a great time doing it. She is such a delightful daughter. She reminds me of Julianne, always wants to do good things, always such a perfect sister and daughter, and just absolutely wonderful. We had a great time together. She knows a lot about Jerusalem. It was a wonderful day.

Jerusalem as Tashara and I walked around her

Tashara pointing out things in Jerusalem

The next day we had class, announcements, etc. Then we went out to the Old City as faculty members and did a brief walk through of most of the places we are going to on our two field trips this week. We worked out a lot of details, and had a nice time together.

Tuesday was a great field trip. We started out by going to the Wohl Museum. We stopped on the way at the Broad Wall, where Andy taught them about the expansion of the city during Hezekiah’s day. Then, at the Museum, I explained a few things to them. Then David started to talk to them about a bunch of stuff that would be better served if they were taught in another spot. Then he sat them down in an auditorium and talked to them about Sadducees. The topic worked ok for the place, but he he went on and on, until by the time he finished we had three minutes to get to our next appointment, but we still hadn’t done half of what we needed to do where we were.

We had to zoom through a lot of what it would have been nice to spend some time on. I feel like the students get robbed so often in this way, but what can we do? We were still able to teach them a little about the life of the priests in that area during the Savior’s life, and a very little about some other nice things having to do with daily life in that era.

When we finished there we went to the Burnt House, where we were able to teach them about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It was a good experience and got us going okay. Then we went down to the Davidson archaeological Park. David taught them about some nice things on the western side. Then I took them around the southern side where we looked over the gates from Solomon’s day, and the steps from the Savior’s day. There are so many things to teach there. The healing of the man born blind happened there (and at the Pool of Siloam), Peter and John healing a lame man, the end of the Triumphal Entry, etc., etc. Stories of Christ are all over that area, and you can feel him powerfully there. It is a great site. I taught them right up until they needed to go catch the vans. I felt like it went pretty well. It is a privilege to be able to bear testimony of Christ so much in such a place.

Julianne, Tashara and I met Colie, and she took us to the Armenian church. Because she is Armenian she has met several people there and has been able to talk her way into lots of places there. She showed us all around to places I am not usually able to get into. We went to their library, saw their school, and spent time in their chapel with a priest. He talked about the continually ongoing genocides of the Armenian people. It was a touching, sobering and yet wonderful time.

I had a skype meeting about Sperry Symposium and then Branch Presidency meeting. They were both quite nice.

The next day my classes went okay. While my class was going Julianne came to let me know that her app had finally launched. So, when class was over we celebrated! We spent a lot of time on trying it out and posting things, etc. It was an exciting day.

Thursday was the Christian Quarter field trip. We started at the Holy Sepulchre, but the vans were more then 45 minutes late, so we just rushed through it like crazy. It worked out okay. Then we went to Terra Sancta, where Father Stephan, who is over all the Franciscans in the Holy Land, taught us for a while. He took us up to see the Hyde door (a door where the name Hyde is carved, and it seems quite possible that it was Orson Hyde who did the carving, next to the names of everyone else who stayed there in that era). Then we went up on the roof and got a fantastic view.

The Jerusalem Center as seen from the Terra Sancta roof

Dome of the Rock and Holy Sepulchre as seen from the roof

Inside the chapel of the Terra Sancta

Father Stephan teaching us

Then we went to the church of Alexander Nevsky, where we were able to see where the road is that may have been the road the Savior took as he went to be crucified, and where we saw the original entrance to the Holy Sepulchre when it was first built. Then we went to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, where we talked more about Christ and the Holy Sepulchre and about Christian orders. Then we went to Saint Mark’s, where Justina taught us about miracles that happened in that wonderful Syrian Orthodox church. She let us go down to see the room that they claim is the Upper Room where Christ held the Last Supper. Then we went to Saint John’s, where a wonderful nun taught us about the Orthodox Church and John the Baptist. It was quite nice. On the whole I think the students learned a lot about a lot of churches. I wonder why we don’t do that field trip earlier in the semester, so they can appreciate the branches of Christianity they see while there are here and can try to go enjoy these churches a little more. But these are the kinds of things you can’t suggest around here these days, so I won’t.

Sister Polymnia teaching us inside the church of St. John the Baptist

Justina and Me inside the Syrian Orthodox church of Saint Mark

The Upper Room below Saint Mark's church

Inside the Church of the Redeemer looking at the ancient excavations

Students on the steps inside Alexander Nevsky, which was the original entrance to the Holy Sepulchre

We walked all around the city that day

That night was the Kotel Tunnel field trip. I took the second group down to the tunnel, where we had a wonderful guide. He did a great job of explaining what they were seeing and how massive the retaining wall around the Temple Mount was. It was an enjoyable time.

Then we had more taxi problems. They had been late getting us to the tunnel, then a parade of some kind, somehow connected with Passover, was marching, and the road was shut down. So we walked further down to meet the vans, but they went past us and got the group after us. Finally they returned and got us. David got off the van he was on and stayed with us, and we had a nice visit. It was enjoyable.

I got to bed late, happy to finally sleep.

Sometime during what was the night for us BJ turned in his mission papers. We are very, very excited for him. He will probably get his call about the same time he has to move out of his apartment. Who knows when he will go, so we are having a hard time figuring out where he should go and what he should do in the meantime. But he will need some place to stay. It is a bit crazy. We can hardly wait!

The next day we went to the Anglican School to see Jacob do something there. Then we got ready to leave. When the kids finally all got home, we packed up and left. It was four hours to get to our little hotel. The drive went fairly well, and I kept seeing all sorts of Exodus and Book of Mormon connections as we went. The little hotel-like thing we stayed at was run by a nice Kibbutz, called Kibbutz Eliphaz. They had a room where they had stuffed enough beds in for us. It was pleasant enough. We were disappointed to learn that the swimming pool was closed. But we walked around, made a dinner, the kids played at a playground, and in all we had a nice evening. Everyone was enjoying being there.

I woke up at 3:30 the next morning and couldn’t sleep for a long time. I finally listened to several sessions of general conference, and eventually got a little more sleep. Then we got ready for our day of scuba and snorkeling. They brought us by our breakfast basket, which we thought was going to be a little bit of bread and cheese. Instead it turned out to be bread, cheese, a bunch of dips and dressings and jams and spreads, some hard boiled eggs, some bowls of cereal, a salad, and some chocolate milk. The kids thought it was the best place ever. They loved it! It made everyone excited. They also sang happy birthday to me.

We drove to Eilat, and it took us a while, but we finally found the place we were supposed to do our dive. We got all ready, and they asked us if anyone had asthma. I mentioned that Kaleb and Jacob did, and they said they couldn’t dive. Kaleb started to tear up, and Sabrina said she didn’t want to do it without them. So we tried to figure out what else we should do. We decided to run to the dolphin place. As we drove we looked into what the asthma problems were, and figured out that our boys don’t have what the problem really is. So we got to Dolphin Reef and found out that for a small fortune they could all scuba with dolphins and fish, and spend the day there on the beach doing snorkeling, etc. It was clear that the kids wanted so much to have a great experience, and this seemed like a once in a lifetime experience, so we decided to do it.

We got them all squared away, and then Tashara and I got picked up by our shuttle to go do our dives.

We got suited up and our guide took us to the starting point. Off we went. They hadn’t given Tashara enough weights, so she had a hard time getting down to begin with. Then we had a great dive. We saw tons of fish, and some sea snakes, and some cool sea terrain. I had a great time, I really loved it. It was a ton of fun. Then we rested for a while and had a little lunch, and then we were off again. This time they drove us to a cool place. We were just a kilometer away from the border with Egypt. We went out to see some really cool caves and coral formations, some of the best I could imagine. So many fish, so many amazing formations and things to see. I loved every minute of it. It was incredible. I couldn’t believe it. Though I have to say that for both dives we probably could have seen almost as much just snorkeling.

We got taken back to the dive center, where I paid for things, got our dive logs recorded, etc. while Tashara worked on rinsing all our stuff off and getting it all squared away. Then the shuttle took us back to Dolphin Reef, where we got suited up again, this time with our kids. Then the guides took us all out to the reef. The kids each had a guide who held them by the hand. We all went all around looking at some great coral and other formations, seeing a ton of fish and other fun things. But, of course, the coolest thing was that the dolphins swam around us. It was fantastic to see the dolphins from under water so close doing so many things. They mostly swam upside down, which was interesting. I spent a lot of my time looking for and interacting with my kids. They all seemed to love it, and we had an amazing experience.

Me diving

Me getting ready to dive

Jacob diving

Tashara and instructor and dolphin diving

Julianne meeting Jacob during driving

Julianne diving

Sabrina diving

Kaleb diving

Alexia diving

I learned that they had great experiences throughout the day. They had all snorkeled, some of them for the first time. They had touched dolphins, and had seen fish and were so happy. What a day!

We met the Fellows, who had driven down and gotten to the hotel. Together we went to Yotvatah, where we had dinner and ice cream and celebrated my birthday. It was a nice night, and has been an incredible day.

The kids at Yotvatah

President Fellows (birthday two days before) and me on my birthday in the massage chairs with our ice cream

The next morning we got all ready, enjoyed our amazing breakfast that this time had omelets as part of it. Then we checked out, and went to Timnah. We went straight to the life-size model of the tabernacle. The woman who took us through it did a fantastic job, and I was able to picture the tabernacle in a way I never have before. It was very helpful. She also helped me to see how the Father, Son and Holy Ghost all work together. I had a lot of great insights there, and understood even better how much God loves us and wants to be with us.

The seminary class in front of the Tabernacle at Timna

The incense altar and veil at the Tabernacle at Timna

The Ark of the Covenant at the tabernacle at Timna

The tabernacle at Timan

After that we drove around and saw some ancient mines, some Egyptian temples and inscriptions, and some really cool rock formations. I am pretty sure the Israelites came through this area during the Exodus, so we had a great time looking around and picturing that. It was a fun time.

an Acacia tree (Shittim in the Bible) in Timna, where the Israelites almost certainly came through on their Exodus

an Egyptian Temple at Timna

Solomon's Pillars (misnamed) at Timna

the Wilderness of Tsin

More of the Wilderness of Tsin

And even more of the wilderness of Tsin

Then we went to the Hai Bar nature preserve. There we saw lots of animals that were here during Biblical times. All sorts of animals we got to see close-up, and again further picture Biblical life. As a family we loved it, it was fantastic.

White Oryx under an acacia tree

An addax at Hai Bar nature preserve

Wild asses at Hai Bar

Another wild Ass at Hai Bar

Ostrich eggs at Hai Bar nature preserve

Gazelle at Hai Bar nature preserve

Then we went on the long drive home. We listened to conference on the way, and it was really enjoyable. It also rained, which made things interesting as we went along the Dead Sea. We saw flash floods that made dirty waterfalls come off the cliffs, and filthy rivers spring from the wadis and run across the road, where we had to slough through them. Rocks and other things were all around the road. It was interesting, and a bit crazy, but great to see more of Biblical life and be able to picture things such as Lehi’s river of filthy water, etc.

flash flood of filthy water near the Dead Sea

Waterfalls caused by flash floods near the Dead Sea

We finally got home and unpacked and got ready for school the next day. I can’t believe how much we have done. It is an amazing life we are having!

Galilee ends, we are blessed!

2016-04-02T11:24:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday was a great day. I taught class, and I felt like it went really well. It is so much fun to cover these wonderful topics with these wonderful discussed great topics such as raising Lazarus from the dead and the Savior’s love and mercy. I had a wonderful time.

Our apartment at Ein Gev, on the shores of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee during a small storm

Waves on the Sea of Galilee during a small storm

Then my family and I went to a really cool place called Gan Garoo. Gan means garden in Hebrew, and it is an Australian animal zoo, so they made a cool play on words with Kangaroo. They have all sorts of animals that are found in Australia. We got as close to some Koalas as I have ever been able to do. The highlight was probably that we could feed and pet kangaroos. Even the little Joeys played with us, and we watched them crawl in and out of their mother’s pouches. We played with goats and birds and saw all sorts of cool stuff, often being able to touch the animals. It was a really cool experience.

Crazy Weird Bird at Gan Garoo

goats getting up on the kids

Koala at Gan Garoo

Kids petting kangaroos at Gan Garoo

Jul lounging with lounging kangaroos

This little Joey loved Tashara

When we finished that we hurried to a really cool castle called Belvoir castle. It is a Crusader castle that is largely preserved. We didn’t have much time there since we got there after they were supposed to stop letting people in and convinced them to let us in by promising we would leave before it was time to close. So we ran and ran through it, and had a great time. It is big, well built, and has some cool passages to go through. What could be more exciting that going through a cool crusader castle with your family?

The family in Belvoir Castle, Israel

The family in Belvoir Castle, near the Sea of Galilee

Our family storming Belvoir Castle, near the Sea of Galilee

On the way home Tashara realized that her phone had fallen out in the castle. But it was closed, so we were going to have to wait until the next day to go get it. But that night we had a wonderful little bonfire where we talked about Easter, and it was beautiful. It is so remarkable to think of Christ while on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. His life is so real! Some have referred to the land here as the Fifth Gospel because of how it bears witness of him. It certainly does to me. Everywhere I turn I am reminded of him and how real he is and how much his life blesses ours. He is real, his ability to help me is amazing!

The boys in front of our Galilee apartment

View of the Sea of Galilee from our door

Where the students stayed, next to us

The next day was quite rainy, so the family, who have all been to the places we were going today already twice in the last two months, decided to stay home and relax and try to get Tashara’s phone. They did get it, and they had a very nice day.

Beautiful Sea of Galilee

More of Beautiful Galilee

In the meantime, off in pouring rain we went on our field trip. Andy and Janet Skinner were with us, and they are so fun and wonderful to be with. We went to Mount Tabor, and before we got there it stopped raining. A cloud come in and covered the mountain, so that when we were fifty yards from the huge church we still couldn’t see it. We went in and saw a bit of a wonderful mass going on, and Dr. Skinner taught about the transfiguration. We went into the Moses chapel there and sang and talked a little more. Then we went out and talked just a bit more. It was pretty cool to talk about the transfiguration, where it says a cloud descended, while we were in the midst of a cloud on Mount Tabor.

The church on Mount Tabor, in a cloud that descended

learning about the Transfiguration of Christ from Andrew Skinner on Mount Tabor

We also tried to look out over where the story of Deborah and Barak took place, but since we could only see about ten feet, we just imagined it. Still the story went well and I think we learned a lot about how God fights our battles for us when we turn to him.

Then we drove to Megiddo. It rained while we drove, but got better by the time we got there. As we were in the visitor’s center it rained a lot again. But it stopped by the time we were ready to come out. We went to the gate system and talked about Thutmosis III and Solomon, and even sang a song about Solomon’s gates. We showed them all sorts of cool things there, and Dr. Skinner taught them about Armageddon. He did a great job. We had fun seeing a huge site, and then we moved on.

Megiddo

Students learning about Armegeddon on Tel Megiddo

The family stayed and enjoyed seeing fishers at the Sea of Galilee

Playing in the Sea of Galilee

Jacob and Kaleb loved catching frogs at the Sea of Galilee

As we drove I taught them more about the Jezreel Valley and in particular about the stories that took place at Tel Jezreel as we drove past it. Then we drove to Ein Harod. I have been trying to get them to add this as part of the field trip for a while, and with some help from Phil we finally convinced them. We went up on the hill and looked out over the valleys where the story took place and read about it. Then we went below to the spot of the spring and finished reading the whole story. I had purchased a bunch of little pots, so I blew a pretend horn, they all turned on their phone flashlights and broke the pots and yelled “The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” It was a fun time, and they all seemed to enjoy it.

We went home and I enjoyed being with my family. We played games and visited for a long, long time. It was a beautiful evening, and we were as happy as could be.

Students wandering around near the spring at Ein Harod

Reading the story of Gideon next the the Spring of Harod

View from Mount Gilboa next to the Spring of Harod, where Gideon's army was, looking over at Mount Moreh, where the Midianite army was

The next morning we all left early and went to Tel Hazor. There we sang the song about Solomon’s gates again. Then we talked about Joshua conquering the city and burning it and looked at the evidence for it. We talked about how when God helped Israel there was nothing they couldn’t overcome, and how it is like that in our lives. Then we went out to where the watchtower is, and talked about watchtowers. Dr. Whitchurch spoke there and tried to make a good point about watchmen, but it fizzled a bit. We didn’t talk there much about how Israel was scattered from there, but I covered it with them later. I love Tel Hazor, and we had a great time there.

Tel Hazor in the spring

Jacob and Sabrina on the watchtower

My class on the watchtower

Then we went off to Tel Dan. I love that place. We taught them all sorts of things, such as about the geography, history, how the Jordan flows from there, and used that to teach about living water and relying on God.

The Jordan just down from one of its primary sources

The Jordan as it springs forth from rocks. There is no water on the other side of these rocks, this is one of the places it begins.

We got to the place where the golden calf was built by Jeroboam. Dr. Whitchurch taught nicely there, and I added a bit. I made sure our students understood that this idolatry was the beginning of the end for Israel. In many ways the scattering of the northern ten tribes began right at that spot as Jeroboam built a golden calf.

The High Place for the golden calf, and the replica of the altar, at Tel Dan

Tashara and I with our matching hats at Tel Dan next to the high place

My students learning from Dr. Whitchurch next to the high place at Tel Dan

Then we taught a bit about the politics of the area. This was an area that was on the border with Lebanon and Syria originally, and where many battles were fought. It is amazing to sit and look into areas where that happened, and to see how close we are to Lebanon.

View of Lebanon from Tel Dan

A tank leftover from earlier conflicts next to Tel Dan, along the "green line.:

Me explaining some things at the old border

Jacob going through the bunkers at the old border

Kaleb, Tashara and Alexia with Lebanon behind them

We went to look at the gates. We talked about gates in general, teaching about what kinds of things happen at gates. Then we talked about Christ being the keeper of the gate. We spoke of him being the one who is the judge as to whether or not we can be allowed into the city, but also the advocate, the one who both pronounces and makes clean. He is the one who makes it possible for us to go from one type of place, the world, to another, heaven. At an ancient gate a judge was supposed to take care of the poor. He was supposed to use the supplies of the city to care for those who cannot care for themselves. Christ is the one who is at the gate, and he enables all of us to have what we need to come through, if we will just present ourselves willingly there. It was a nice moment, I thought.

Jacob in the place of Judgement at the gate

We also spent time at a gate through which I think it is likely Abraham passed. He rescued his nephew from this place, and certainly fought outside this gate, but we don’t know if he went through. In any case, it is always nice to be where Abraham was.

The Abrahamic era gate at Tel Dan (known as Laish in Abraham's day)

From there we went to a beautiful waterfall, and then to Banias, known in Christ’s day as Caesarea Phillipi. It was in the area of Caesarea Phillipi that Christ asked Peter whom men said he was, and who the Apostles said he was, as recorded in Matthew 16. Whitchurch taught about Peter’s testimony, and did a fair job. Not as powerful as would be ideal, but fair.

Waterfall of Banias, near Casearea Phillip

Students at Banias/Caesarea Phillipi

Sabrina at Banias/Caesarea Phillip. Here is another source of the Jordan, as water springs forth from the rocks after melting on Mount Hermon above

From there we went to Nimrod’s Castle. My kids love it there. I gave a stirring speech to my troops, delivering the speech Aragorn gave to his men at the Black Gate. Then we stormed the castle, with the other group defending. It was a lot of fun. Then I just went around with Jacob, trying to make it everything he wanted it to be. We had sword fights and explored, and on the whole he had a wonderful time.

Part of Nimrod's castle as seen through windows from another part

The remains of Nimrod's castle

During the bus rides Julianne and I told them the story of our getting married. They always love this, and we try to make it a story they can learn from. It is always an adventure.

Then we went to Har Bentel. There we could see to the outskirts of Syria. We went over the story of Paul on the Road to Emmaus, and then some of the modern political situation. We hurried home, ate dinner, and then Julianne and the kids drove off for home. It was sad to see them go. I have had such a great time with them here. Apparently on the way home they had an adventure with the door of the van coming off while at a gas station. Kaleb helped Julianne fix it. Good for him. They made it home late, but safe. Meanwhile, I attended Andy Skinner’s class on the crusades so that I would know what he had already taught them when I got to Akko the next day.

Last dinner at Ein Gev

Sunset over the Sea of Galilee

The next day was mostly great! We started out going to Akko. Before we got there I gave them a bit of a primer on the bus, helping them understand a bit more about the crusades. Then I lined them all up and divided them into groups, and had them re-enact the third crusade takeover of the city, when it was made the capitol of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Then we went inside and I walked them through much of the Hospitalar complex, showing them all sorts of stuff that I think was interesting and educational. I felt like it went really well. I took them to the courtyard and we had a sword fight. It was fun, and this time I lost a round, first time ever. I think they had a good time. Then we gave them a worksheet and had them run around and fill it out using some of the signs that were there. They learned a bit from that, but it wasn’t as useful as I thought it would be.

Then we took them through the city, where I taught them a bit about the rest of the city. We did the Templar tunnel, and came out at the Sea Wall on the Med Sea. I taught them about that harbor, and also about Paul’s journey home and how he stopped there. On the whole I felt like the whole thing went really well and that the students learned a lot.

From there we traveled to Sepphoris. Whitchurch was taking them through there. He got us in pretty quickly and had us sit down outside a beautiful mosaic floor. Then he took 45 minutes to try to teach about the deceitfulness of riches. We got through it.

Mara (Hebrew for Mary), with a Roman period stone manger behind her. This is similar to what the Savior would have been in

Students learning at the model of Sepphoris

He took so long we had to rush through everything else.

Finally we left, and we drove to Chorazin. Thank goodness I had looked into what the hours were for the place, it saved us. This is one of the three cities the Savior spent a lot of time in. We taught about it, its history, and since the synagogue there actually has a Moses seat in it, we spent some time on the idea that the Savior said the Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat, so they needed to be listened to. I feel like we had a decent lesson there, but it wasn’t my best lesson ever. We went around and saw a number of worthwhile things, and then it was time to go. It ended up being a pretty good field trip, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Britney and Courtney, sisters, at Chorazin

Chorazin

That night I packed up. The next morning we loaded the bus and said goodbye to Galilee. I was on my own the whole day, and it was just fun. We went to Mount Carmel, and went over the Elijah story. There is so much we can learn from that. I think we had some wonderful moments there. I was pleased to see that when we finished with free time some of my students went back to the place where we had our devotional and sat and read their scriptures there. We also went up to the overlook and helped them get a feel for the land and the valleys. I think they are really starting to get a feel for the place. I come to understand the geography and how it interacts with the stories better and better all the time, and I think I have done a better job than ever of helping the students get a feel for it. I am happy about that.

My students reading on Mount Carmel

Apparently priests have had problems with fire on Mount Carmel before

The groves of Mount Carmel

My students atop Mount Carmel, getting their bearings

We did a quick trip to look over the B’Hai Gardens. Then we went to a cemetery where we saw the headstones of the first missionaries and converts to the Gospel in the Holy Land in the Latter Days. It is always nice to do that. Then we left for Caesarea.

Looking over the B'hai Gardens

Singing at the Haifa cemetery

Caesarea is a giant place, and it went well there. We went to the theater and went over the history of the place and stories associated with it. Then we went to the Palace and went over Paul’s speech to Herod Agrippa and Festus. We had some nice moments there.

at the Palace of Caesarea

We went to the hippodrome and told some historical events that took place there, and then did horse races. Then we went to the bay and saw Whitchurch teaching for half an hour to a bunch of students in Allred’s class who had all fallen asleep. I gave my students some free time. Then we saw a movie that helped explain the place. Then I showed them the harbor, and could explain it better than ever before because I had just done a scuba dive there one week before. Then we went out the crusader entrance, and drove to the aqueducts.

Getting on the bus

Counting to see if everyone got on the bus

They had a great time on the beach, and then we loaded up and came home. On the way home they asked me to talk about the Book of Abraham, so I did for quite a while. They also wanted to know about some other things I have researched, so I did that too.

At the aqueduct of Caesarea (Caesarea Maritima)

Students enjoying the beach

I answered questions for quite a while, and then I finally gave them some free time. We got home just in time for dinner. I got to see my family, and then we went and ate, and we had a very nice evening. It was so nice to be home.

I was so tired I fell asleep early, and slept for nine hours. I can never sleep that long. It was nice.

In the morning I taught class, and it went well. We talked about the Triumphal Entry, about the Savior’s encounters with the Pharisees, etc.

When that was finished I visited with Phil for quite a while. He is such a great guy, and I so enjoy being here with him. It is a blessing and a privilege. Afterwards I exercised, visited with Julianne, and tried to catch up on emails. I spent my time doing that even after the kids got home, until it was time for us to go join Ophir’s family. We went to meet him and his kids, and then walked together to his synagogue. The synagogue was a bit more empty, but it was nice. We enjoyed our time there, and then walked back to their house with them.

I have always, always wanted for my kids to see how a Jewish family does a Shabbat (Sabbath) meal. Ophir was kind enough to invite us to join his family for one. He went through so, so, so much work to make this happen. We got there after 8 (the time change made it so that synagogue started later). The candles were lit ahead of time, and we just helped them get it all going. We started with a special drink of grape juice. Then they gave their kids the Shabbat blessing for kids. It is a combination of a blessing in Genesis 48:20 and the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. For the sons they say “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh,” and to the daughters “May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.” For both they then say “May God bless you and watch over you. May God shine his face on you and show you favor. May God be favorably disposed toward you, and may he grant you peace.” They both put both hands on each child’s head and gave them that blessing individually.

Then we sang a number of song welcoming in the Sabbath and giving thanks to God. It is beautiful. We also did hand washing. Then we ate huge, yummy artichokes. Then we had deliciously stuffed cabbage, and the yummiest carrot concoction ever, and a yummy potato thingy, and chicken, and some other yummy stuff. Then we sat around and talked and enjoyed ourselves for a very long time. Eventually we had desert, and then said the closing prayers. We got home about midnight, and everyone was exhausted. But it was a great experience, and everyone was touched.

Fortunately the next day we all slept in. Then we had church. I started testimony meeting, feeling inspired at the last minute to speak about how much Christ can heal us of all that we need to be healed of. Then the students, who seem to realize it was their last testimony meeting here, took up more than the hour in bearing testimony. It was a beautiful, wonderful meeting. The rest of church was nice also. I especially enjoyed being able to teach the primary children what a redeemer was, and how Christ redeems us. It was fun. Afterwards I counted tithing, visited with Julianne’s brother David on the phone, and we watched old family videos together. I said some prayers for my fast, and we ate dinner.

At dinner we had some great conversations. We talked about how to have more harmony and peace in our home. We talked about what we learned from last night’s Shabbat dinner. I am so grateful to Ophir’s family for having us over, it was a profound experience for us. The kids came up with several things they would like to do differently to make Sabbath more special. I am excited to do these things. I am very much looking forward to it. We talked about what fasting really was and how to fast in a true spirit of fasting. We had a great time together. Our kids are getting old enough that we can have some wonderful and real conversations together on Sabbath. I love it!

Then we got ready for conference. I can hardly wait to watch it.

We are so blessed. I just can’t believe all that the Lord does for us to help us draw closer to him. So, so, so blessed!

More of the Most

2016-03-27T02:20:00.002-06:00

Wow, just when I thought I couldn’t get any more squeezed into a week, we did! On Sunday we spent some time getting ready for Galilee, took kids around to do things with their friends, and then we all led the students to the Palm Sunday walk. No one had really told the students what it was about, how it worked, where or when to go, or much of anything. A couple of little things were said, but the night before they still had so many questions and didn’t know what was going on. So we just told them they could come with our family. And it ended up being great! We had a great experience. We talked about the Triumphal Entry, and about accepting Christ as our king. We sat outside the church of Bethpage, where it all starts, and saw the procession begin, and fell in behind not too far after the beginning. It was great to feel like we were such an integral part of the community of Christians. There is something powerful and wonderful about being with so many different denominations of Christians from all over the world (we were by a group from the Philippines and a group from Italy, but mixed with people from everywhere). To have such a group celebrate Christ and testify of Christ together is an important and powerful thing. We all loved it! And this time our kids were old enough to get it and to enjoy it.

On the Palm Sunday march

With other Christians on Palm Sunday

The family on Palm Sunday

The next morning we left at 6 am for Galilee. On the drive I tried to teach them about some various things, and some even stayed awake for it.

The students were so tired on the bus

Our first stop was Bet She’an, where Saul and Johnathan’s bodies were hung for ridicule after they were slain. We talked about Saul, Johnathan, David, and the strategic importance of the place in general. We also talked about how the huge Roman ruins were the remains of Scythopolis, a Decapolis city. The Savior preached in the areas of Decapolis, and people from Decapolis followed him. We gave them a bit of free time, and then we moved on.

Beit She'an from above, looking from the Old Testament site down on the Roman period site

Alexia in the Roman Theater of Beit She'an

I tried to teach them about where we were traveling, and ancient trade routes, as we went. We went past so many places with such famous stories. We went past Ein Harod, where Gideon had his men drink from a spring before he thinned out his army and went to defeat the Midianites just across the valley. We went past Shunem, where Elisha raised a child from the Dead. We went past Mount Tabor, a possible site for the Mount of Transfiguration and the place where Deborah and Barak began their battle against the Canaanites. And the list goes on. I tried to help the students (and my kids, who were all with me) to get a feel for how much this place is the Land of the Bible. I love having my kids with me on these trips, they listen to me in a different way than they do when it is just our family.

We finally got to Nazareth. We went in and taught about the annunciation, and how much Mary was like her son in her willingness to do God’s will no matter what. Tashara helped translate the Latin on the church, and it was quite fun. We enjoyed our time inside, we prayed and sang and contemplated.

The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth

Julianne and Sabrina in the upper part of the Basilica of the Annunciation

The women of our program in front of the statue of Mary

Then we went outside and talked more about the Savior growing up. We went to St. Joseph’s and thought about Joseph. We went to the traditional site of the synagogue in which Jesus taught, and Andy Skinner taught about Jesus there. It was all wonderful. I am so grateful my kids get this good education and hear from all these great people.

Our students in the church built to commemorate the synagogue of Nazareth, being taught by Andrew Skinner

As we drove from there, on the bus I talked to the students about Motherhood. I talked to them about how that is the most important role in the world, but how that is not what the world teaches about it. We spent a lot of time talking about how to filter through the world’s ideas about motherhood and instead accept God’s ideas, and the problems that come when we try to believe both the world and God. I felt like the discussion went very well, and a lot of people were touched and a lot of people were thinking through things differently. I was very happy with it.

Afterwards we got to Mount Arbel, where we were able to look over the Sea of Galilee and help everyone get a feel for the geography and where we would all stay and how it all fit together. It is beautiful, and I think everyone enjoyed it. When we finished there we came to En Gev. It is good to be back. I have lived there for over two months of my life now. It is a great place, and I love it. There is such a sweet, peaceful feeling there. We got all moved in, had dinner, and got ready for the next day.

The northern part of the Sea of Galilee

My students on Mount Arbel

Flowers on Mount Arbel

On Tuesday I taught three hours of classes. I felt like it went really well. We began by going outside where we looked at the place where the swine ran into the lake and the city that was probably part of that story. We ended by going out to the shore and talking about multiplying the loaves and fishes. We had a lot of time where we could answer questions and talk about things they really wanted to know and that helped them understand the scriptures better. It is fun to sometimes have enough time to cover something well. I think everyone enjoyed class today.

Afterwards we went to the beach. It was a bit chilly, but the kids had a lot of fun, and I had fun with them and visiting with Julianne. It is nice to every now and then just be able to relax, and we did it and it was wonderful.

On Wednesday we went on one of my favorite field trips. We started out by going to the Bay of Parables. Then we went to Capernaum. Andrew Skinner did a fabulous job teaching them about the Bread of Life Sermon. Then I taught them about how Capernaum was the place where Jesus spent so much time. We talked about the miracles that happened there and likened them to our lives. I wish I could capture the feeling that Capernaum gives, but I just can’t. It is such an amazing place. I can feel and see and sense the Savior everywhere there. It almost makes me feel like I was there with Him. I love it, and I think the students did too. I also made sure I got them a lot of time to think and ponder there.

Students pondering at Capernaum

Learning in the Synagogue at Capernaum

Then we went to the Mount of Beatitudes. There we heard from the Nun who runs the place, Sister Mary Rose. She does such a beautiful job there. Then Andy taught them. It all went very well.

Sister Mary Rose teaching our students at the Mount of Beatitudes

Andrew Skinner teaching the students at the Mount of Beatitudes

We hiked down to Tabgha, and Andy taught them a bit there. Then we went to St. Peter’s Primacy, where I taught them about how the Savior helped Peter see that he needed to leave his old life behind and do all he could to build up the kingdom. I think we had a very nice moment there. I hope we all committed to following Christ more fully.

Alexia in front of her favorite Mosaic of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha

My class on the hike from the Mount of Beatitudes to Tabgha

My kids at Saint Peter's Primacy

Then we drove to Magdala. That is such a great place. I love talking about the synagogue there, and the kinds of things the Savior did at synagogues. It is amazing to be at a place where I feel so certain that the Savior taught. Then we went to see all sorts of places in Magdala where I think that Peter and the Savior probably were. We also went inside the church there. They have done such a marvelous job with that church. I always feel the spirit while I am there. I loved that my family had such a great experience with us.

The students at the First Century Synagogue at Magdala

Stunning art in the church at Magdala

We had a brief time at Nof Ginosaur, where we saw an ancient boat. Then we got on a boat that took us across the lake. While there we read the account of Jesus stilling the storm and of Peter walking on water. I felt like there were some wonderful moments as we talked about each one.

Students on the boat on the Sea of Galilee

Earth's sun in the calm lake mirrored at Galilee

The ancient boat at Nof Ginosaur

On the whole it was a great, wonderful field trip. Yet it was not as good as the last few times I have done it. Andy Skinner was wonderful to work with, and taught some great things. Yet when I do the field trip on my own, as I have a few times lately, it is just better. It is impossible for two people to do a field trip as well as one can do it. You just can’t control the timing, tempo, themes, etc., as well. This field trip was great. I wish the situation were such that I could make it better.

The next day was class again. I felt like it went really well. The students love to talk about this stuff, and I could not ask for it to go better. When it was over Tashara and I drove out to Caesarea and I did my last scuba dive in order to certify. It was really fun to do it with Tashara. We saw some fish, some ruined hulls of ships that I suspect were from the time of Napoleon’s invasion, and some huge blocks that were part of how Herod built his harbor. It was great, easy, and now I am scuba certified. I loved it. I can’t believe I was able to do this. I can’t believe my wife pulled this off for me. I am so grateful!

Tashara scuba diving at Caesarea

Me scuba diving at Caesarea

Coral at Caesarea

A little bit of traffic problems caused me to get back just a little late. Julianne took my class to the fish restaurant and Tashara and I joined them just a bit late. Then I took them to Tiberias to see the city at night. Tashara came with me. It was just a bit boring, but we did it.

Half the class eating at the Fish Restaurant

Tashara and the gang at Tiberias

The next morning we did another field trip. We were tired, because the time changed last night, so our 7:30 field trip felt like it was 6:30. We went to Gamla, where David Whitchurch taught them about the Jewish Revolt and the destruction of Gamla. We gave them some free time, and then I taught them about Jesus in the synagogue there. It went well.

Students pondering at the synagogue at Gamla

From there we went to Bethsaida, or a place many think is Bethsaida. I taught for a while there, and then Whitchurch did.

Students at Bethsaida

We had just a few minutes to spend at Kursi, where we went over the story of the devils being cast into swine.

When we finished that we had a quick lunch, and then my family and I went to Hamat Gader. It is a pretty cool place. We saw their whole bunch of pools that have a whole bunch of different kinds of alligators and crocodiles. Some were really cool, some were kind of freaky, and we had a great time. Then we saw a really cool parrot show. Who knew parrots were so smart or could do so many things? Then we went to a petting zoo, which was way fun. We saw baboons, and other kinds of creatures. We saw all sorts of fun stuff, and went swimming in a mineral hot springs. We got back just in time for dinner. On the whole we just had wonderful time.

Jacob, Sabrina, Alexia and Kaleb at the petting zoo

The next day we slept in just a bit. Then we had a nice breakfast, and a cool Easter egg hunt that Julianne set up for the kids. She had found some really great stuff for them, and they had a great time. Then we went to the Mount of Beatitudes and talked about the characteristics of Christ just a bit. We went to Capernaum and talked about how Christ lived in a way to teach us about the Father, and then died and lived again so that we could be with the Father. It was a nice time.

We had lunch and then we all went to Church. Church was nice. We got home and visited and had dinner and visited and on the whole had a very nice day together.

It has been a great week to think about how much the Savior has done for us. We tried to spend a little time each day talking about what Christ has done for us. We have gone to so many places where we could talk and think about Christ. It has been so wonderful to come to better understand the most wonderful thing that ever happened.

Christmas in March

2016-03-19T07:36:00.003-06:00

On Sunday we slept in a little, played some games, etc. and then met a few others to go to Tel Gezer for a seminary field trip. Gezer is in the Aijalon Valley, and is the only one of the guardian cities of the Shphehlah valleys we don’t go to on a field trip.

Tel Gezer

Flowers at Tel Gezer, a beautiful time of year

A butterfly at Tel Gezer

So I was glad to take my family, the Fellows, and Phil Allred there. We had a good time seeing the substantial Canaanite remains, including some large stones set up like a mini Stonehenge without the cross beams. We also saw the huge Canaanite gates, and the substantial remains of an Israelite gate. This is the best preserved gate system of the three cities that the Bible says Solomon fortified. All three of those cities, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer, have these large six-chambered gates. It was fun to crawl around in them and get a feel for the city and the valley. It is such a beautiful time of year to go and enjoy that.

Large stones set up at Tel Gezer

The six chambered gate at Gezer, probably built by Solomon

Our seminary students at Gezer

The next day was class. It is strange to think that this is only my second day of meeting with this class, since we have already spent all of Egypt together. I really enjoyed class, it felt like we were connecting with each other and with the scriptures and I think it went very well.

Later that day we had a very long meeting about how Egypt went. Then another meeting about planning for Galilee. By the time that was over it was almost time for dinner. Since it was Pi day we went to the Fellows and brought two pies. They have a fun tradition of having people come over with pies and have a tasting contest. It was good, though having to try a slice of each pie actually made me a little sick. I enjoyed visiting with people there, it is always fun.

On both counters are some of the pies for the Pi day contest

Tuesday was a crazy, busy day. Class was very enjoyable, I feel like it went very, very well. Then we had announcements, orientation for Galilee, a meeting about the various field trips coming up and the trips we want to go on as a faculty. Then I had just a few extra minutes which I used to help put together a slide show for Andy to use when he teaches the students about Galilee. The students here have put together some basketball teams and mine practiced for just a while. When that was over I went to greet our guest. Earlier this month I met Amihai Mazar, one of the best archaeologists here whom I have always respected. When I met him I asked him if he would be interested in coming to teach us about his work. He graciously accepted, and so tonight he came. I went out to greet him, we got the room all set up, and then he gave us the most fascinating reports. What I hadn’t heard much about was his work at Tel Rehov, which was really fascinating. But the whole thing was incredible, he has done such great work. I really enjoyed it.

After his lecture we went and had dinner. When that was over I took him around the Center a little for a tour. He had been here years before, when the Center was just being built and when it was newly going. He was friends with Kelly Ogden and came a few times with him. We showed him around and Kathy Holyoak gave a little presentation of the organ which was nice. I eventually left, leaving David to show him out, and I went to our Branch Presidency meeting. I serve with such good people, I enjoy working with them. It is a pleasure and a privilege to serve the Lord and these good people here in the Branch.

Besides class, I spent most of Wednesday getting ready for Galilee. I made handouts for the sites, printed all my notes, updating some of them, I copied songs for them that we will want to sing that they may not know, copied my test, etc. etc. It took up most of the day. When the kids got home, which was a bit late because of Kaleb’s guitar practice, we had them get ready for the field trip the next day and so on. They are done with school for about two weeks now, it is Easter break.

Thursday was a great day. We had a field trip, but we didn’t leave very early. It made for a nice morning, until everyone go too lax and we still had to work really hard to get ready on time. Then we left for the Herodian. The Skinners were with us, and it is so much fun to be with them and to have my family along. This was my first field trip with this class that wasn’t Egypt. I think we got off to a fun start and had a great time. We went to Upper Herodion, the big fortress that Herod built for his protection in case he had to leave Jerusalem during a revolt. Andy did a great job teaching there, and I chipped in a little. I think it went very well, though we took up too much time up there and again didn’t have really any time down below. Too bad, the Lower Herodian, where Herod’s largest and sumptuous palace was, is pretty cool to see. They got about two minutes there, and in the end I think that was pretty fun. I feel like we taught them good stuff and that we had a good time. This will really help the class come together.

Students learning from Andrew Skinner at Herodion

Some of my kids and students in the dining hall turned synagogue at Herodion

The Herodion (Herodium in Latin)

After the Herodion we went to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. We have to use a guide there, and we had the same guide as last time. He was very nice, and did a nice job. There was little line, so we moved through in very little time. The sad thing is how hard it is to really think about the birth of the Savior there. We really are more of tourists there, it is hard to have real devotion there, because you get rushed through everything. I understand it, the lines are long and they can’t let people take a long time, but it makes it hard for me to think about the birth of Christ as much as I would like. Still, it is nice to commemorate it and I can think about it just a bit while there.

Our guide at the Church of the Nativity

Julianne and Tashara at the traditional spot of the manger at the Church of the Nativity

my kids lighting candles at the Church of the Nativity

When we finished there we went to the Milk Grotto. There Julianne and Janet Skinner spoke of motherhood. I thought they both had profound things to say, and I really enjoyed learning from them. I think the students were able to learn a lot and feel the power of the motherhood that they spoke of. This is such an important topic, and it was wonderful to hear such great mothers speak of it with so much power in front of so many young women. It was a wonderful moment.

Then we gave everyone time for shopping. They all like to buy baby blankets, and are often able to do so from a member of the Bethlehem Branch who truly needs the money, so I am glad we buy so much from him. I spent quite a bit of my time helping a student track down a phone she had lost. I was glad we found it.

From there we went to eat at the Tent restaurant. It is set up to be kind of a Bedouin experience. The food is great and the atmosphere is wonderful. Every single time we eat with the students the other teachers and service couples all sit together and eat together. This bothers me a bit. We are there to teach the students, and often the most effective teaching happens as you sit together to eat and can chat informally. Additionally, sitting all together sends a subtle message that we really don’t like eating with them. I have often had students come and thank me for being willing to sit and eat with them and thus for being accessible to them. It means a lot to them that we want to be with them, and the opposite message is sent when we don’t. At the same time, it has definitely been noticed by the other faculty that I never sit with them. But today it worked out that we just needed to. And I did really enjoy visiting with them, but I still felt quite badly about not sitting with the students. It was an opportunity lost.

singing in Jerome's Grotto under the Church of the Nativity

singing at St. Catherine's chapel at the Church of the Nativity

Sabrina and Winston in the Tent restaurant

When we were done there we went to Shepherd’s Field. This is not where most people go and call shepherd’s field, that is in Bethlehem and is a spot that the Orthodox Church has chosen as the very place the shepherds were. It is a series of caves, and could be it, but I doubt it. We go to some real fields looking across a valley to Bethlehem, a place that shepherds still use today. It is beautiful and peaceful and I love it. We started out at a sheepfold I found years ago. We had some nice moments there about the good shepherd. Then we had some musical numbers, and broke up into our classes. Andy bore a wonderful testimony to them about the birth of the Savior. We had some more musical numbers that the students had planned. It was then time for me to teach them a little, after which we wanted to have time to sing Christmas songs, bear testimony, and allow time for pondering and journal writing. We were behind schedule. I asked myself what I wanted to teach them, and felt like they had already gotten all of it except one thing. While I think that one thing, contrasting the life of Herod and Christ, would have been nice, every other reason I had to speak to them had to do with myself, not them. So I skipped my part, and they bore some nice testimonies, and then had some nice time to think and write. Then we drove home, singing Christmas hymns the whole way. We started with the first Christmas hymn in the book and got through all but one. It was a great feeling, and I think we all enjoyed it.

I have to say that my kids behaved spectacularly well the whole time. We had one instance where one made another feel badly and we had to work our way through that, but mostly they were angels. I also think they got a lot out of it. I hope these memories always stick with them. I feel like they are drawing closer to Christ and understanding the Bible more and more. I was so proud when Kaleb recognized an ancient olive press and Jacob recognized an olive crushing millstone reused in part of a wall elsewhere. It was a wonderful day to spend together.

The sheep cote

More of the sheep cote

our students

more of our students learning at shepherd's field

The next morning I gave a midterm. It went okay. Afterwards I spent time grading it and then we went to an orientation where Andy Skinner taught about the Galilee. He did a great job, and I loved what he did. Afterwards I did a bit more getting ready for Galilee, then we worked together on making humanitarian aid kits for Palestinians in great need. When that was over I watched Alexia play a soccer game with the students, then Kaleb play a basketball game. Then we had dinner, and I played a basketball game. After this we went to a little get together at the Skinners. We had a lot of fun there visiting with each other. It was truly enjoyable. We stopped for a while so that we could watch Tashara play a volleyball game. On the whole it was a busy, and fantastic evening.

The next day church was great. We had an excellent set of meetings. Afterwards we did some home teaching, and then I spent time with the kids. We are trying to concentrate on what we can do to make the Sabbath more holy. I asked the kids to tell me about each of the activities they were doing and how it tied in to the Sabbath. I feel like this helped a bit.

We spent the evening talking about gospel stuff and the world. We made and had dinner together and visited and played games. It is so wonderful to have a day set aside to spend with your family. I thank the Lord every day for the wonderful family I have. I know I am not a good enough parent to meet all their needs, so I pray like mad every single day to be magnified by the Lord in such a way that my children’s needs are met despite my own shortcomings and abilities to know how to best help them. I am grateful to be able to count on the Lord and to have him as a partner in all of this. We are blessed beyond measure.

There and Back Again -- Egypt!!!

2016-03-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

Holy Moly what a week! Early Sunday Alexia, Julianne and I got up and left for Egypt. We left before the kids would normally have to wake up for school, yet, though it is so hard to get them up for school, they all woke up on their own this day, so excited to say goodbye and do the playing they can do when Mom and Dad don’t monitor how much time they spend on electronics. Life is funny.

The trip to Egypt went very well. When we got there I was so pleased to see Imad and the Gabrys again. Everything is arranged for us by Gabry Travel. Dr. Gabry always comes to visit with us, and his son, Mustafa, comes with us to help with many things. Imad is their employee who makes everything happen. He works so very hard. I felt like we became close friends the last time we went to Egypt. I was so happy to see him again. He is a very good man.

The guide we were working with was new. His name is Mohamed and he is very, very nice and I like him a lot. To illustrate how tough things have been for the tourism industry here, he has not had a group to guide since August. He is quiet yet so pleasant. It took him a little while to get used to working with us and how we like to contribute and teach and direct things. But he got it down, and I think we ended up with a wonderful working relationship.

As we drove from the airport to Cairo I looked for my chances to do one of my favorite things. As we drove along the pyramids came into sight. I pointed out the window a direction to look and heard the gasps of excitement as people finally saw something they had always wanted to see. The same thing happens as you point out the Nile. It is so fun to help people be excited about doing something they have always wanted to do. We even had lunch on a boat that was floating on the Nile, and no one could believe how cool that was.

the students were so giddy about eating on the Nile

Alexia and I eating on the boat

Right away we took everyone to see some parts of the Old City of Cairo, where the walls had been built to make it a fortified city similar to the Old City of Jerusalem. We also saw the outside of some old mosques and schools and sabils (places where water could be given out to strangers). I think the students enjoyed it a lot. Our guide was typical of every guide I have worked with. He could explain details very well, but the students need more to fit those details into a context that makes sense for them. I tried to do that a bit, but it is a delicate balancing act because you don’t want the guide to feel like you are correcting him or that you don’t have confidence in his ability to teach.

The Gates to Old Cairo

Mosques in Cairo

a merchant coming through the Old Cairo gates

locals near the Old Cairo gate

In any case we had a nice time showing them various things and we also had some nice time to shop in the Khan al-Kalili bazar. On the whole I think it was a great day. Our hotel was super nice, and everyone was so satisfied with being there. We are having a fantastic time with Alexia, and I think she is so excited to be in Egypt. She is getting along with everyone and has been such a delight to be with.

Alexia and students learning in Old Cairo

fruit for sale in Old Cairo

Old Cairo

Locals in Old Cairo

The market in Old Cairo

locals near Old Cairo

The next morning we got up early and went to Memphis, after a fantastic breakfast with made-to-order omelets, other great food, and peacocks to look at while we ate. There are really no ruins of the city of Memphis to see, it is all covered up. But there is a nice museum with the remains of many statues, etc. that is very worth seeing. One of the colossal statues of Ramses II is there. It is mind-blowingly large. Alexia was having a great time seeing all these things, and we had fun showing her around.

Colossal statue of Ramses II at Memphis

Alexia as the head of a small sphinx at Memphis

a large statue of Alexia

As we went out we drove past the remains of the temple for embalming the Apis Bull. Andy asked if we could stop there and they said yes. So we got out and showed them the remains and the huge altars that are lion couch’ish and talked about both the Apis bull and the Book of Abraham. It was a nice moment, except that for some reason it made all sorts of security folks very mad. It somehow turned into a big deal. But we just rode it out, and everything worked out. It was worth seeing.

The temple for embalming the Apis Bull at Memphis

A Lion Couch altar for embalming the Apis Bull

Cairo Traffic

From there we went to Saqqara. We first went to the Djoser Step Pyramid. Everyone loves seeing that. We had a bit of free time and I loved taking Alexia and Julianne around to some various parts of it to explore. It is a bit hard to give them the attention I want to during free time because students have a lot of questions, and it is a bit hard to give the students the time that would be good because I want to spend time with my family. It is tricky, but I think it is going okay.

Alexia in front of the Step Pyramid

Julianne and Alexia with the cobra frieze wall at the Step Pyramid

From there we went to see one Old Kingdom tomb, the tomb of Kagemni. It is a very nice tomb. We tried to do it very quickly. When I was told that I just used the bus time to do the spiritual tie in that we wanted to do, and left all the time in the tomb for Mohamed.

In the meantime the students were loving the tomb, but one who had been a bit sick the night before and had gotten a bit dehydrated passed out while we were in there. That was exciting. We got her doing okay, and she just kind of rode out the rest of the day. We had a few people who got a bit sick throughout the day and we administered a few blessings and helped people just soldier on to see the various things they wanted to see.

We also went to the Serapeum to see the giant, huge sarcophagi that the Apis bulls were buried in. It was quick but amazing.

Lunch with the pyramids behind us

The bad thing is that all of this left us with little time at the Pyramids of Giza. We went up to the Great Pyramid, and everyone was so excited to see it. We had very little time there, but everyone loved what time we spent there. I think our little family and a few students who followed were the only ones to walk around and see the temple and boat pit on the other side. I called Phil and Jennifer over so they got to see it too. The pyramids are so amazing, and I think Alexia was so very excited to be there.

Julianne and Alexia in front of the Great Pyramid

All three of us in front of the Great Pyramid

fun in front of the pyramids

Then we drove over to Menkare’s pyramid, and went inside to the burial chamber. It is always so cool to go inside a pyramid and Alexia was having a marvelous time. We went around the back side to see its amazing temple. To begin with they said it was fine but after a minute they decided it was a problem for too many people to go over there. So we just ran and saw a bit and came back. It was one of those times when an administrator should have helped make it happen and instead was so risk averse that they took away an opportunity from the students. Still, they are seeing enough that for most it was not a big deal that they couldn’t see it.

Then we went down to the sphinx and sphinx temple. Everyone loved being close to the sphinx and we had a great time posing for pictures there. Alexia was so very excited to be where she had always seen pictures. I had a fabulous time being there with her. What a day!

Mystery solved, now we know what happened to the Sphinx's nose. Alexia took it off!

Alexia patting the head of the sphinx. Good Sphinx, good Sphinx!

The next morning we went to the museum. It is such an amazing museum and we had a great time there. It was not long enough, and we only had 15 minutes to wander and see what we wanted to see after the instruction, but the instruction was good and we had a great time. I again had a hard time both teaching the students and spending time with Alexia in the way I wanted, but I think we all ended up being satisfied. The place is amazing.

The statue of Kafre in the Egyptian Museum

The museum is full of huge statues

Alexia was really into Canopic Jars

and coffins

Mentuhotep II, founder of the Middle Kingdom, in the Egyptian Museum

The students wanted some kind of spiritual thought to tie it all together, so I did that on the bus. Then we went to the hanging Coptic church (Coptic is the sect of Christianity in Egypt). We had a very nice explanation there, and then both Phil and I took just a little bit of time to do some spiritual thoughts. I felt like it went very well and I feel like Mohammed is also getting a feel for how we work. We are trying very hard to make this a time for both scholarship and spiritual enlightenment for the students, not just a tourist stop. It is more difficult to do that now that we are not going to Sinai, but it is working out. I felt like the spiritual thoughts there worked fine.

Mosaic of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt at the hanging Coptic church

Afterwards we went to the Ben Ezra Synagogue. That went well. It was cool to have with us the head of the Mor Company (the company that helped build and maintains the Jerusalem Center), Nahum Nuriel. He is a direct descendant of Ibn Ben Ezra, who founded the community and synagogue there, and his parents grew up there. It was his first time there, and so we asked him to share a bit about it all. It was a nice moment. Then I took a moment to share some thoughts about the importance of scriptures based on how the people of that synagogue took care of scripture. I think it went well, and our Muslim guides seemed to really appreciate the ideas expressed.

traffic in Cairo

Then we went to the citadel. We stopped in a mosque where Mohammed taught about Islam. It was peaceful and beautiful and he did an excellent job. It was perhaps the best explanation I have heard. I haven’t seen it done that way before and he did a spectacular job. Then we went to the Mohammad Ali Mosque and enjoyed it. It is large and beautiful and amazing, but not as nice and peaceful as the other. I really liked the way Mohammed timed it all. From there we enjoyed a beautiful overlook of the city, and then we packed up and went to the airport. The trip to Luxor went without problem.

Mohamed Ali Mosque

Mohamed teaching us in a mosque

Alexia in the mosque

Julianne and Alexia in the Mohammed Ali Mosque

Brilliant lighting in a mosque

Julianne and Alexia made friends at the Mosque

some locals at the mosque

Alexia looking over the city

We had an exciting flight to Luxor. There were some pretty big bumps as we went were taking off. the oxygen mask panel above Julianne fell open and the oxygen masks hit her in the head. I slept through it, but she was apparently quite startled.

Julianne with the oxygen masks

The hotel at Luxor is very nice. We have a great balcony which looks over the Nile. Alexia loved just sitting there and looking at the river and enjoying the serenity and wonder of being there. All was well.

the view from our balcony in the morning

The next morning we got going early. We caught a boat and rode to the Karnak Temple.

Alexia on the boat ride on the Nile

That temple is amazing. I let Mohammed to most of the teaching, but I chimed in from time to time. There are so many things there that are worth pointing out and tying in for the students, so I chimed in from time to time. We looked at the list of places destroyed by Sheshonq/Shishak when we went up and fought against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. We saw all sorts of amazing things that Rameses II built. We went to the hypostyle hall and I loved seeing everyone’s jaw drop. We had them hold hands and stand around one of the columns. It took 13 people to go around the column with their arms stretched out.

Entry to Karnak

inside Karnak Temple

The Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak Temple

13 students holding hands around the column

Looking at some of the columns of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak

Obelisks at Karnak

Obelisk at Karnak

Julianne and Alexia at the Sacred Lake

While we were in that setting I took a moment to teach from Moses 1. I helped them see why Moses would think that man was something. They looked around at what is probably the most amazing room in the world, and talked about all that was going on that would make Moses think that man was full of splendor. Then we talked about the experience he had with God, and how he came to know true glory. I had them compare what they were seeing then with what Moses saw, and how Moses said he then knew that man was nothing. I tried to help them get a little sense of the glory and splendor of God, and then remember that this is the being that is on their side, that wants to bring them home. We were blessed with the Spirit to bear witness of that. I felt like it was a powerful moment that went well. At the end of the trip our guide, Mohamed, told me that this was his favorite part of the whole experience, that he really felt something there. That tells me that the Spirit was really present for my Muslim friend to be touched and remember what he felt there. I think it was a good moment. I will always remember it and how we were blessed there.

Me teaching in the Hypostyle Hall of Karnak

We had time to explore Karnak and we had so much fun doing it. I so loved being with Alexia and Julianne there and showing them around. We found all sorts of carvings that helped us understand interesting things. I loved it.

When that was over we went back to the hotel and we had some time to swim and relax. We did both, and even took a little nap. Then we gathered and rode a carriage to Luxor just as the sun was setting. Mohamed gave us some great instructions and we had a wonderful time exploring the temple in dusk and lit up after dark. Then we took the carriages back. I had some allergy problems from all that, but it worked out fine.

carriages taking our students to Luxor Temple

Luxor at night

Luxor Temple at night

columns at Luxor at night

The next morning we left early again and went to the Valley of the Kings. We went through three tombs (which is how many they will let you go through).They don’t let you teach in the tombs. As we went through I would put on the headset and talked to myself or Alexia about what we were seeing as we went along, which allowed people to learn a bit as we went through. After a while they got after me and I had to stop, but we were able to cover a lot of good ground before that happened.

locals in Luxor

Then we went to Hatshepsut’s temple. There are such great scenes there. I took a moment to tie things into the Exodus, just because there wasn’t a great place to do it before the trip ended.

Alexia and I at the Colossi of Memnon

Alexia in front of Hatshepsut statue

The Ladies of the class at Hatshepsut's temple

Finally we went to Medinet Habu, the Mortuary Temple for Ramses III. Sadly, just as we went in our guide’s glasses broke. He doesn’t have much money, and he really couldn’t see without them. After a while he had a hard time doing the tour because he couldn’t see very well. I helped him a little but couldn’t tell if he really wanted me to take over or not. The other guide eventually came and taught a bit, and then we had free time. I did show them a bunch of stuff I like there, including the scenes about fighting the Sea Peoples, who would become the Philistines in the Bible.

scenes of captive Sea People

captives at Rameses III's temple

The students took up a collection and were able to give Mohamed quite a bit of money for buying new glasses. I think he was truly touched.

From there we hurried back to the hotel, stuffed a lunch inside ourselves, and went on a camel ride for about 45 minutes. We rode a felucca (sail boat) to the camels. Then we went through the beautiful, rural countryside. It was very enjoyable. Then we went swimming with Alexia, and played sharks and minnows with her and eventually a bunch of students, for a long time. It was pretty fun.

Alexia working the rudder on the felucca

Some of our students on a felucca

Alexia and Julianne on the Camel Safari

Some of my students on the camel safari

Finally we ate, and flew back to Cairo. After a very late night we got just a bit of sleep, got up very early, then went to the airport and flew home. The kids got home from school just a bit after we got back. They have done superbly well. The place was clean, their rooms were more clean than they have been in a long time, they ate well, and they were all happy and doing great! Tashara was a hero in how well she took care of things, and they all did so well. We had a great time seeing them again and then we gave some gifts, and we had a wonderful reunion.

The students were so tired by the time we got to the airport

We spent a pleasant evening together and I fell asleep fairly exhausted fairly early. The next morning we had church, and it was one of the better sacrament meetings I have been to. It really was wonderful. We had a lesson on forgiveness and apologizing in Sunday School. I needed it, I can see how much work is ahead of me and how much growth I need to go through. I was happy to be able to teach seminary for Julianne afterwards. We covered a good chunk of Isaiah, and it was a lot of fun.

Then we came home and as a family we did some scripture study and had a great time going through the Facsimiles together. I guess it is about time my children learned about them.

We spent the evening together visiting and playing games.

I can’t believe how blessed we are to be together and to be here and to have the Gospel to guide our lives. We are blessed more than we deserve. I am touched again and again with how much God does to help us be with him again. He loves us so much it is almost overwhelming.

New Things

2016-03-05T05:28:00.001-07:00

I don’t know how we can keep up with doing all the amazing things we are doing. We sat down with the kids and looked at the calendar between now and August, and we have something planned every single weekend already. Crazy. The weeks are packed, and this week was no exception.

On Sunday (our version of Saturday here since we do Sabbath on Saturday), I taught for two hours, my last class with my Old Testament class. It was a bit emotional for me. They are a great class and I have had a great time with them. While I will keep seeing them, I will miss them a great deal!

My Old Testament Class

My Old Testament Class on my class balcony

While I was at class my family went with the Young Men and Young Women to explore what is called Zedekiah’s Cave, or Solomon’s Quarry. They had a great time! There are so many things to do around here, there is no way to get them all in, but I am glad my kids are getting in a lot of them.

The group that went to Zedekiah's Cave

The kids playing in Zedekiah's Cave (also known as Solomon's Quarries)

Meanwhile, I was sitting in an announcement session, and an orientation for the students about going to Egypt. Alexia and Julianne, who are going to Egypt with us, got there for the most of that orientation. When the doctor went through the things that can happen to you if you aren’t careful in eating and drinking the students got pretty nervous. Alexia wasn’t sure she wanted to go. Hopefully we got them all feeling okay about things by the end. It is going to be a great trip.

After lunch I did an hour and a half lecture on Egypt. My purpose was both to help them understand what they were going to see, but also to be able to fit it into a larger context of Egyptian history and culture. So I talked about the purpose of pyramids and tombs. As I went through the purpose I tried to touch on each of the sites we will see. In the end I feel very good about it, and I think they were excited to see and do things there, and that they will get some real value out of it. I also taught them just a bit about hieroglyphs, and I think I have them ready to read a few little phrases while we are there.

Finally I was able to spend some time with my kids. We had a lot of fun doing various things.

The next morning we got the kids off to school. Then I packed up and left for my scuba training. I passed a written test I needed to take, we talked about skills and things to do, and then we went to the Mediterranean and we dove. My instructor apparently gets cold easily in the water, so he was in a full suit with gloves and everything. He gave me a full suit with a hood and everything but gloves. That was a mistake. I didn’t figure it out until I was done, but the hood was making it so that my mask did not fit correctly. Sea water was continually leaking in and every two minutes or so I had to drain my mask while underwater. I got pretty good at doing that, but it made it so that I was always a bit slow and so that my eyes were stinging and red by the time we finished. Still, we dove and swam for a long ways, I saw a few fish, and I practiced a few skills, such as sharing air with someone if I was out of air, etc. On the whole it was a very cool experience, even if it wasn’t as good as it could have been without my mask problem.

The beach where we would go diving

Afterwards I got a bite to eat at a place next to some ruins I had never seen. I climbed up the ruins and enjoyed exploring them and the beautiful view. Then I got some good work done on my laptop, and studied my scuba information for the next day and finally went to visit a friend of mine in Haifa. Dan’el is an Egyptologist at the University of Haifa, and a good friend. We have known each other for 12 years now, and have gone to conferences together in France, Rhodes, Israel and Bulgaria. He is a very good guy and I loved our time of visiting together. I was so happy to renew our friendship, and also to talk about Egyptology and everything going on with Egyptology here.

Ruins near Atlit

More ruins near Atlit

The beaches at Atlit. The bay on the far left is where we do our dives

When we were done I drove back to Ein Hod, where I was going to stay the night for the next few nights. I showed up at the place where the tents/huts were that I was going to stay in. Nir, the man I met with last week who runs the place, was there. He told me that his daughter was going to be away and that I should stay in her place. So I read for a while as he finished business, and then he took me to her place. He lives in a gated community that is an artist’s colony, in a gorgeous setting. Next to his house he had a sculpting studio for his mother, which has now been turned into a little cottage for his daughter. It is delightful. There is a little front room and kitchen and a little area for the bed, and then a beautiful little porch. It is quaint and perfect.

The walkway to my little cottage

My cottage balcony

My cottage front room

I slept hard. I slept in a bit. I got up and studied my scuba and then went out on my little balcony and enjoyed the fresh air, flowers, and birds singing as I worked, studied scuba, ate my breakfast, and just got things done. It was relaxing and wonderful. After a while I gathered my stuff and went to do my dive. I passed another test and off we went. I wore a half wet suit today since I never got a bit cold before, and without the hood the mask fit very well. That was great! I enjoyed the dive a ton! We saw quite a bit of fish, and I passed off more skills, such as emergency ascents helping other divers in trouble, etc. We went out quite a ways to a little island. We got to about 30 feet deep. I enjoyed swimming upside down and all around. I am amazed at how wonderful it is. This was a lot of fun!

Most of my scuba equipment

Oren getting his scuba equipment ready

Afterwards I went back to my little cottage and ate and got a few things done. After working for a while I went for a drive to see some historical sites I had noticed signs for a long the way. The places were beautiful. I ran into a group who was just starting an excavation. The archaeological community is so wonderful. Once you figure out that you are both archaeologists, then you just start sharing information. Everyone is so hungry to learn from each other and to share with each other. They are excavating below a cave where some pre-historic remains were found. They found a dam there long ago. So these guys, from the University of Haifa, are doing some exploration just below the dam, hoping that the water washed some remains there and they can find some good stuff. They were just beginning, so I visited with them as they sifted through some dirt. It was a lot of fun.

Ron Shimelmitz sifting dirt at his excavation

buckets of dirt for the archaeologists to sift through

digging below the prehistoric dam

The cave where they found prehistoric remains

The canyon I walked along

After a little tiny hike there I went back and got more work done. I also got more scuba studying done. Then I went for just a little walk around the artist’s colony. I worked more, enjoying my balcony and some wonderful birds, and then watched an old John Wayne movie and went to bed.

The next morning I wasn’t able to sleep in as much as I had wanted. Ah well. Instead I worked. Then I packed up and left. We were originally hoping that I could stay another day and finish my training, but a storm is coming in, so I will only get in four dives, not five. I talked with my instructor, Oren, who is a very nice guy, about possibly doing my last dive in Caesarea with Tashara. That way we could drive less far, see cool ruins, and enjoy time together. He is going to let us know how much that would cost us, but we started working towards that. So, we decided to do all my skills tests today so the next time could be just a dive. The dive went super well today, I really enjoyed it. We did a ton of skills tests. I did more about helping a diver in distress, I practiced what to do when you run out of air, how to signal in emergencies, I dove without a mask for a while and then put it back on, underwater navigation, and a bunch of other things. It went very well, and I saw some more fish. I had a great time. Afterwards I studied for the last section, and took a test on that section, then I took the final written exam. It went well, and I passed (92% while using a book that covered a few different things than what the exam did). That means I have everything done but one more dive, so when we go with Tashara we can just dive and enjoy! Yea!!!

Then I drove home. It was great to get here with everyone again.

Where we do our dives

Me in my scuba gear

The kids have done well, but I always miss them when I am not with them. We spent a little time together and then I got ready. Julianne and I joined Andy and Janet Skinner, and we went to the grand opening of an exhibit at the Israel Museum. The exhibit is about Egypt in Canaan. It was super packed and crowded. There were some refreshments, etc. We were able to visit with some nice colleagues, and I met a few new ones. I especially enjoyed meeting Amihai Mazar, who did such excellent excavation work at Bet Sha’an. We also visited with Emmanuel Tov, the chief editor of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for a while. The exhibit itself was incredible! One of the best I have seen.

Thursday I just worked on being ready for my classes and for going to Egypt. Kaleb and I spent some nice time together in the evening. It is so important to get some good time in with each child!

Friday I spent the morning getting things ready for myself and for others to go to Egypt. My job is partially to get everyone all the resources they need to be able to teach while we are there. In the afternoon I taught my New Testament class for the first time. They are a good bunch and I think we will have a good class. Of course I am already behind, I just didn’t get as far as I should have. But what we covered we covered well, and it was fun! After that we spent forever counting out all the money we need for tips in Egypt. Too complicated for me!

When that was over we got the family ready and went with 20 of the students to an orthodox synagogue to be with them while we welcomed in the Sabbath. I love how much they love the Sabbath and how excited they are to celebrate it. There is a lot we can learn there.

Afterwards we had fun together as a family and then Julianne and I enjoyed a little movie together.

Sabbath was wonderful. We had family time in the morning. The testimony meeting was great. For Sabbath School the marriage class had a panel where three couples, including us, were asked questions by all these single folks. It was fun. Julianne put her foot in her mouth, and a few times in my mouth, a couple of times, but it went well and it was fun. She always has so much good wisdom to impart. It was great!

Afterwards we were able to spend a bit of time together as a family. Recently we talked with BJ, who had his dentist appointment. The dentist says he can go on his mission now, but there is a small chance he will have a problem with his dead tooth while there. If they fix it now, he will have to wait six months to go. So BJ has a big decision to make. Now we are praying for him to know what to do. My Dad has had some serious physical complications and is in the hospital. All we can do is pray for these people we love but are not with. I trust that the Lord will take care of them. In the meantime we are sure enjoying those we are with. We are so blessed to be around so many wonderful people!

Too much fun!

2016-02-27T06:56:00.001-07:00

I don’t know how weeks can get more jam-packed, but somehow they do. This was an incredible week. On Sunday we went on a field trip to Ne’ot Kedumim, a Biblical plant and animal reserve. They had changed it to Sunday so that our whole family could come, and so off we all went. The forecast was for heavy rain all day, so we went super prepared in so many ways for bad weather. Instead it rained hard for about ten minutes while we were already under shelter, and it drizzled just a bit once, and the rest of the time it was perfect, amazing weather. It was a fantastic day.

The Landscape of Ne'ot Kedumim

More of the landscape of Ne'ot Kedumim

It started out in a fun way. I explained to the students that they were our mule team, and that with Skinner and Muhlestein on the bus, we were Muleskinners, which is the name of the guy who drives a mule team. I happened to mention that it was also the name of a famous blues song which I had never heard. Within a minute a girl came to the front of the bus with that song on her phone. I have since learned that the song is really about yodeling, and is a pretty serious yodeling opportunity. But the version she found was by the Fendermen, and really seems to be making fun of yodeling. It is the funniest, most hilarious song you can imagine. We all listened and couldn’t help but just start laughing and chuckling and the whole group was immediately in love with it. It was used throughout the day.

We ended up with a fantastic guide, named Patrick. I hope to get him every time. He was so good with the students, yet explained things so well, and we all learned a lot. He showed us a number of plants that I knew little about. One thing he taught me is that you can eat the pods of the carob tree. They have tough seeds in them (of such uniform size and weight that they became a standard for weights, and you would measure something by how many carobs it weighed, which became carats in our parlance, such as 24 carat gold). But it turns out that the pod itself is very good. It has a kind of sweet chocolate taste, but better. I went back and picked pods a few times, and munched on them for a while. I could eat carobs all day. Who knew? Tasty!

Almond Blossom, as was used on the menorah or appeared on Aaron's rod

an almond tree in bloom

We went to their sheephold (which has lots of sheep and goats), and the students (and my kids) were separated into groups and given different herding tasks. It was great to watch everyone do it. They learned a lot and did very well. Patrick said the BYU groups always do much better and faster than any other groups. His opinion as to why is that the group already knows and loves each other, so no one is concerned with showing how much they know or how good they are, but instead they are ready to work as a group to really get the task done, and they know how to work as a group. I think he is right. They did well, and it was fun to watch.

Tashara, Jacob and Sabrina herding goats and sheep

Jacob and Sabrina herding goats and sheep

Kaleb and Alexia herding goats and sheep

Alexia herding goats and sheep

Afterwards we taught them about the differences between sheep and goats. With just this little experience the students were able to tell us some key differences between sheep and goats. The nimble goats like to scatter, and so when a predator comes they all scatter in every direction, looking for places to go that the predators may not be able to follow. They literally adopt an every-goat-for-himself policy. The sheep are not that nimble nor fast. Instead they gather in a group with their heads together. The wolves may be able to nip at their rears, but the ability to kill them by striking their throat is taken away as they squish together with their heads at the center.

Jacob with a kid

Alexia with a kid

I helped them see how this is used in the parable of the sheep and goats. After the Savior teaches about the signs of the times he teaches about how to be prepared for the second coming by teaching some parables. The first is the parable of the ten virgins, which teaches the importance of being personally, individually prepared. He then gives the parable of the talents, stressing how part of our preparation is about what we do with what God has given us. He finishes with the parable of the sheep and goats, which is the parable where he separates the sheep and goats and tells the sheep that they were on his right hand because they had visited him when he was sick, clothed him when he was naked, etc. He seems to be teaching that the way to be prepared is to use our abilities to take care of others. But the symbolism of the sheep and goats is interesting. The goats focus on taking care of themselves, while the sheep band together and live or die together. The Savior seems to be saying that in order to be ready for Him, we must have a sheep mentality, we must realize that we aren’t in this life by ourselves, but it is only when we work together and take care of each other that we can be ready to be with him. It is a fun addition to the imagery of that parable.

My family and class listening as we taught about sheep and goats

We also crushed hyssop into a spice that was good for eating. Hyssop, with its antibacterial properties, plays an important symbol of purification a number of times in the Old Testament, and even in the New. It is a plant that is used frequently and is good to know about.

My class crushing hyssop

We spent some time teaching about threshing, and the way that symbol is used in the scriptures. We also went through the whole process going from preparing the ground to planting wheat, harvesting, threshing, grinding, and cooking, so that we can actually get our daily bread. It was a great little presentation.

Alexia dragging Jacob on the threshing sled

The bottom of the threshing sled

Then we went and made some bread (pita bread). We also made pottage and fried some wheat (called parched corn in the story of Ruth). It was so tasty. My students all made an amazingly tasty pottage. It was so very, very, very good. My kids seemed to be having a fantastic time the whole day.

Alexia getting the fire ready for cooking

Jacob getting the fire ready for cooking

Kaleb visiting with Brittany Wallace, a great student

Sabrina helping to cook

Tashara getting the "Parched corn" ready with our guide, Patrick

Jacob trying to break some firewood

Jacob and TJ and JT built a little shelter, just for fun

My class cooking pita, pottage and wheat

Finally we had a presentation by Zechariah the Torah Scribe. He does a great job of explaining how to make a scroll and write the scriptures in it. It is an impressive thing to do, and the students seem to love learning about it.

Zecharia writing a Torah Scroll

Zacharia reading from a Yemeni Torah Scroll that is over 200 years old while the teachers hold the honorary adornments of the scroll in the background

The Kosher ingredients for writing on a Torah Scroll

The Torah

Sabrina getting a ride from Kamden

I would say that on the whole we had an incredible day!

The beautiful countryside of Ne'ot Kedumim

Almond trees at Ne'ot Kedumim

flowers at Ne'ot Kedumim

The landscape of Ne'ot Kedumim

A Mustard Plant at Ne'ot Kedumim

Jacob and Sabrina drawing water

The next day we go the kids off to school, and then we had some free time, since we did the field trip yesterday. Today we didn’t escape the bad weather, it rained on us a lot. But still we had a nice time. We went with the other faculty couples to the Citadel of David museum. I was so glad that we agreed to just each go through at his own speed, that way I could move along and enjoy it and see what I wanted and not get slowed down by everyone else. I was able to see a lot and enjoy a lot. It was a fun time.

A model of the temple at the Citadel of David Museum

Then we went together to the Hurva Synagogue. We had a nice little tour, and I was able to watch a lot of the studying and worshipping there and really enjoyed it. I also really loved the views. Then we went to Jacob’s Pizza and had some fun together. All in all it was a wonderful day. Some of the students had suggested that we do the Muleskinner Blues song as a lip synch for the talent show. With Julianne’s help I was able to talk Phil and Andy into doing that with me. Should be fun.

Inside the Hurva Synagogue

Praying at the Hurva Synagogue

Folding a prayer shawl at the Hurva Synagogue

Studying at the Hurva Synagogue

Folding a prayer shawl at the Hurva Synagogue

Studying at the Hurva Synagogue

View of the Dome of the Rock out of the Hurva Synagogue Window

View of the Jerusalem Center out of the Hurva Synagogue Window

The Dome of the Rock and the Jerusalem Center as seen from the top of the Hurva Synagogue

A group of Israeli soldier women singing near the Temple Mount

The group of us on top of the Hurva Synagogue

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Tower of the Redeemer from the top of the Hurva Synagogue

Studying in the Hurva Synagogue

Studying at the Hurva Synagogue

When we got home we worked on our skit for the talent show, did homework, and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make my trip next week for scuba training work. We don’t have enough miles allotted to us for me to go up very often, but I can’t find any place up there to stay that I can afford. I have been trying and trying, but haven’t been able to get it all worked out.

The next day we started doing classes again. I was happy to teach Jeremiah, I love teaching Jeremiah. I also worked on getting stuff ready for my finals, and for starting my New Testament class next week. I think I have all the syllabi and computer things lined up. I got a lot done today. We also had a very nice Branch Presidency meeting. Things keep moving along so quickly.

On Wednesday it was more fun teaching Jeremiah, which I love. I was able to work on several things with Julianne. One of the things I love about being here is that she and I get to work together so much and spend so much time together. It is delightful, it makes it all worthwhile. I just love it! Tonight we worked some more on our family skit for the talent show. I also finally found a place I think I can stay. It is a place for hikers/backpackers to stay. It is fairly grungy, but it is free. I will check it out this Friday, but I think it is a place that should work okay. It is a huge relief off my mind for that to finally happen.

On Thursday morning, after finishing up Ezekiel in class, we went with Andy, Janet, Phil and Jennifer to the Russian Orthodox churches, which are only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are beautiful buildings, and in beautiful spots, and have cool things to see. The Tower of the Ascension commemorates Christ’s ascension into heaven after his resurrected ministry. They also have a church there with a place where John the Baptist’s head was supposed to have been found. The grounds were gorgeous, the spring blooms are incredible, and from there you can look down on Bethphage (the traditional place of the beginning of the triumphal entry) and Bethany (where Lazarus was raised form the dead).

Tower of the Ascension as seen from their olive orchard

Peacock in the garden of the Russian Church of the Ascension

Jul in the garden of the Russian Church of the Ascension

Tower of the Ascension

Phil and Jul in front of the Church of the Ascension

butterfly in the garden of the Church of the Ascension

Bethphage as seen from the edge of the property of the Russian Church of the Ascension

The Olive Orchard of the Russian Church of the Ascension

Bethany with a good zoom as seen from the Russian Church of the Ascension

The chapel over where they say they found the head of John the Baptist

The spot where they say they found the head of John the Baptist

Bethany area as seen from the Church of the Ascension grounds

Then we went to their other church near Gethsemane. It is to commemorate Mary Magdalene, but also Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane. It is beautiful, and we had a peaceful time there. I was glad to be there with Andy, who showed us something I never knew about. They have there part of the stairway that existed in Christ’s day as you went up and down the Mount of Olives. This is a place he could have walked on as he went to suffer for us (depending on how far up he went), but is almost certainly the way he went to and from Bethany throughout the last week of his life. That makes it a very sacred spot for me. I was glad to see it.

Sanctuary built over the steps on the Mount of Olives

More of the steps on the Mount of Olives

the hillside on the Mount of Olives

bees in the flowers at the Orson Hyde Park. What a land of milk and honey!

The Old City of Jerusalem as seen from the Mount of Olives

That night we did the talent show. It was a lot of fun. The students had some great performances that we loved a lot. Then our family did ours. We started out with Alexia and Jacob talking about how they weren’t excited about looking at the rocks at some tels (a tel is a hill with archaeological ruins on it. Almost all ancient cities here are a tel). I yelled from the side that they were now kicked out of the family. Then we started the music and marched in in our best rocker style. We sang to the tune of I love Rock and Roll:

We saw them sitting there by terminal 3
It was clear they were as jetlagged as can be
But the land was callin’ us on
So we started goin’ strong
And I could tell it wouldn’t be long
Til JC was part of me
on a hill with you and me
singin’

I love rocks and tels
So off we go on a field trip baby
I love rocks and tels
So come and learn your Bible with me!

We all went together down to Moab’s plains
We saw Jericho where down its walls came
Went to the Valley of Elah, and slung some stones
After Goliath was gone
Went to David’s City
Glory of Solomon
His temple on the mount

Singin’ (chorus again)

Azekah’s lights went out
Lachish is all alone
Hezekiah’s tunnelin’ on
586 BC
Babylon’s movin’ them on
We’re singing our history song

Singin’ (chorus again)

Our song went over super well. The kids hammed it up amazingly. Kaleb slid along the floor with his air guitar, the students got the jokes, and all in all it was a great hit! We loved it.

Marching out to Rock and Roll

Rockin' on about tels

Kaleb on the air guitar

The Mule skinner blues went over really well too. Andy especially hammed it up, and everyone loved it. They spontaneously arose as one in a standing ovation, then we did it again with everyone joining in. It was a ton of fun!

Singin' the (Mule Skinner) Blues

Rockin' away at the Mule Skinner blues

Also, Brodie sung a courting song to Sabrina, who was cute as can be. And Tashare was in three serious dance numbers, and rocked in all of them. She was incredible. What a fun night!

Sabrina being serenaded

Tashara in a Bollywood dance

Tashara in a ballroom dance

Tashara in a Polynesian dance

Tashara in a Ballroom dance

The next morning I taught Daniel and started Ezra. Afterwards my class showed me a video they had created for me as class winds down. They did a nice job, and it was fun and touching. At the end, when they said that I had helped them come to Christ, it was almost more than I could take. There is nothing else I want more.

Then I got ready, and drove up for my first scuba lesson. The drive was beautiful, the area is so gorgeous, especially this time of year. Sometimes it felt like I was driving through the heath and hills of Scotland. It was breathtaking. I got up there and checked out the place I am thinking of staying. It is run by a guy whose son died a few years ago. He wanted to memorialize him, so he built a place where he teaches music to autistic and troubled kids (his son loved music), where he helps collect clothes and food for abused and homeless women (his son loved to volunteer), and where he has some huts and tents for backpackers (his son loved backpacking). They are not very nice accommodations, but they are suitable, and I think they can even be fun. He offered for me to stay in the warehouse building where they teach the music, etc. He even said that he would look into whether or not his daughters would be at their home, and if not I could stay with him. He was super nice, and I am really grateful for all he is doing and for how he is making this possible for me.

I drove around just a bit more and enjoyed the beauty of the place. I went to the hotel with the swimming pool where we were going to do our first scuba lesson. It is a nice hotel, and I saw some places I could sit and work and spend time during my four days in the area.

The place I ate my lunch at the hotel

Finally it was time to do the training. We had to wait until a specific time because the pool is for very religious Jews, so women and men can’t be in the pool at the same time. So we waited for the women’s turn to be done. The interesting thing is that after that all these really orthodox men, who are super modest and come in wearing ten layers of clothes, they all just strip all the way down right there and put on some tiny swimsuit and swim. It is a bit funny.

My instructor is Oren. He is a really nice guy, whose English is great, and who is a good teacher. He felt like I learned really quickly. I think this is because I have read the book I was supposed to read and have snorkeled a lot. He taught me about how to assemble the equipment and then we got in. We practiced breathing under water, then we practiced getting water in the mask and clearing it out while under water, including fully taking the mask off and putting it back on and clearing the water. Then we practiced taking the regulator in and out and breathing again, and helping someone else if they are out of air and need to breathe. Then we practiced learning how to maintain a specific depth, which was a bit tricky but was pretty cool. It took me a few minutes to figure that one out. In the end it is really cool to breath underwater. People talk about how amazing it is, but I think I have snorkeled enough, and have held my breath for long enough underwater while snorkeling, that while I thought it was really cool, I wasn’t overwhelmed with it like I hear so many are. Still, I loved it.

I had to pass some written tests. Then I passed the swimming tests. I had to swim a ways underwater with a snorkel, just holding my breath. I had to clear a snorkel, etc., all of which are things I have done 100’s of times. I had to swim 1200 meters with a snorkel, something I did a thousand times just for fun. I had to stay in the water without touching for ten minutes. I just floated on my back and almost fell asleep. I had a wonderful time, and it was over too soon. Next week we go to the ocean. I so look forward to it.

I had a nice drive back, and then we went to dinner with all the students. Julianne was able to talk about her app the whole time. This is probably the fourth time in the last month that she has been able to talk about it with others for an hour or so. Now I know more of what she feels like after she has to sit and listen to me answer questions about the Book of Abraham or my excavation again and again. It is actually kind of fun, but I make more smart alec comments than she does.

That night we just visited with our kids and watched a short movie. It was a very nice night.

The area where I did my training

The next day was nice. Church is always great. The talks today were particularly good. I love sitting there and looking at the students. They are truly so wonderful, and I love them so much. So does God. These are wonderful, amazing students. Then I spent some nice, quiet time with my family.

Roads less traveled by

2016-02-20T07:45:00.002-07:00

What a great week! It started out in such a perfect way. On Sunday morning, Julianne’s birthday, we decorated the place and made her a big breakfast of all kinds of things. The kids helped in every way, and I think Julianne felt loved. Then we found that the students had decorated our hallway for her, and the Heiners had left us Valentine’s surprises. It was a wonderful way to start the day.

Then we left to do our walk or bike ride to Emmaus. On the way we stopped by the Pita Factory and got some fresh warm pita. We love, love, love doing that.

One of the old men who helps run the factory

One of the guys who runs the factory as he gave our kids pita

The dough at the pita factory

Making the pita

Pita after it is cooked, cooling down

We tried to rent some bikes, but the place we went didn’t have enough for us and didn’t have any for kids. So we decided to walk. We went to the playground we found last week and played and had a great little picnic (N 31˚ 48.006’ E 035˚ 11.822’).

Birthday picnic at the playground

my kids playing with some local kids

local kids at the playground

Then we began our walk along the bike path. It was enjoyable although it wasn’t long before a few of the kids were complaining that they were tired and weren’t having fun. The weather was incredible, it was even a bit too hot even in short sleeved shirts. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming, the trees were budding, and it was great.

Beginning our walk to Emmaus

Kaleb is sure this sign means "no bacon"

beauty on the walk to Emmaus

We took some time to talk about why Mom wanted to do this on her birthday and why it was so great for Valentine’s Day. It was on the road to Emmaus that some disciples came to recognize Christ and understand more about him. We want to go on that walk together. The thing Mom wants more than anything is for us, as a family, to together understand more about Christ, recognize him, and then be with him. That is why we do everything we do. That is why we came to Israel, to first come to Christ, and second come together as a family. That is why we did the walk, to help us with both of those things. I think the kids understood what we were talking about and were touched. There was less whining and more enjoyment after that discussion.

Poppies on the walk to Emmaus

The family on our walk to Emmaus

After three miles (I was using my GPS to keep track of how far we were going), we came to a really cool playground (N 31˚ 48.058’ E 035˚ 10.284’). It was really kind of just in the wild growth area of the trail. It had lots of play things carved into the stones. There was a life-sized game of chutes and ladders where you are the game piece and you climbed small stairs and went down very small slides. There was a little life-sized maze. There were a bunch of stone tables with games carved into them like battleship, backgammon, mancala, etc. (you used stones for markers). We had a little break there and played and had a wonderful time. Then we kept going.

Playing chutes and ladders

the stone (board) games at the sculpture playground

Playing mancala

battleship

It wasn’t too long until we came to the end of the bike trail (though we didn’t go on many of the little side trails, and the few we went on we only went on for a couple dozen yards or so). But we weren’t quite to Motsa/Emmaus yet. So we went off trail. We crossed some roads, walked along some stone walls, went along some dirt paths, through a bit of a construction zone, through some trees and across a bit of a swampy brook, and got to where we could see the synagogue of Motsa. That meant we were on the outskirts of ancient Emmaus, and we were satisfied that we had walked the road to Emmaus. We had a great time, and we headed back.

the family walking along a wall to get to Emmaus

Off the road as we walk to Emmaus

The land flows with milk and honey as we pass beekeepers on our walk to Emmaus

On our way back from Motsa/Emmaus

We had fun singing and talking along the way, and everyone seemed to be walking with a light step. They were excited to get back to the stone playground and play some more. We got there and played again. We also found some paper kits that were all tangled up with each other that people had left behind. We untangled a few of them, and started doing kites on the way back. It worked okay for a while, and then the wind shifted. That made it so that in order for a kite to be off the ground you had to run the whole time. They did it and had a ton of fun! It also made the walk back go very quickly with no complaints about how far. Alexia and Jacob worked together as a team and Tashara and Sabrina and Kaleb worked together, and it was so very heartwarming to see them have so much fun together. We walked a bit over 8 miles, and it was perfect!

Tashara and Sabrina getting a kite ready to fly on the walk back from Emmaus

Alexia and Jacob flying a kite on the walk back from Emmaus

Tashara gave Sabrina a piggy back ride back from Emmaus

Walking back from Emmaus

Alexia and Jacob flying a kite on the walk back from Emmaus

Kaleb flying a kite on the walk back from Emmaus

We played some more at the playground, and drove around a bit to explore some of the trails we hadn’t been on before. We have been tasked with finding some spots for a joint youth activity, and this seems like the perfect place! We drove all around figuring out how to make that work as well as possible, and are excited that we found a place people will enjoy so much.

We then went out to Julianne’s favorite Shwarma place, and capped it off with some brownies and ice cream. I feel like it was a perfect birthday and Valentine’s Day. I hope Julianne felt that way too, I think she did.

Jul blowing out a candle on her birthday brownie

The next day was very different. We got the kids off to school and then we took the students to Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem Holocaust Museum. We first went to Mount Herzl, where Ophir met us and took over the field trip. He does such a great job with this field trip. As great as he is with it, I have heard him do it many times, so I disappeared in the park for a while and got out my laptop and got a lot of stuff done. It was delightful to sit under a tree, listen to the birds, and do some writing. It was quite pleasant. Then I joined them and heard part of what he was teaching, and we all had a nice lunch there on the mount together. Then we went to the Holocaust Museum. Again I got them all set up, and then left them and got work done. It was a very productive day in a lot of ways, and I had a peaceful environment the whole time and really enjoyed myself.

Julianne came because she felt like she should go to the Holocaust Museum at least once each time we come, and I felt like I couldn’t leave her the whole time, so I eventually went and spent an hour with her there. It is important to do, but I hate doing it. No matter how many times I have been in there, it weighs on me. It makes me question what humanity means. How could we do this? How could so many not help? What would I have done? I always like to think that I would have helped Jews. But I also ask myself what would I do if I were put in a position where helping them would potentially bring great harm to my children? That is a much more difficult question, one that wrenches at my soul.

I am always torn apart by the stories of children, it hurts so much. It makes me ache deeply. This time I tried to spend the majority of my time looking at the stories of heroes who helped, and that was rewarding, but continued to force me into moving soul searching. It was tough, it always is. I am glad I did it, but will be glad if I don’t do it again for a long time.

We got home and took care of our kids and had a nice evening together. I am glad to have such a wonderful family and to not live in a situation that puts us through such great heartache and that does not threaten to tear our family away from each other.

The next day I went to a workshop at the Albright. It was on 3D imaging as a way of documenting excavations. It was very helpful, and I enjoyed it very much. It gave me a lot to think about for my excavation as we begin working at Philadelphia.

The next day I enjoyed class. We are covering a ton of material right now. Today we covered the fall of Israel. Weighty stuff, so many great lessons. Some of what I squished in at the last minute ended up making a real difference for many students based on what they came up and told me afterwards. It is always a thrill to be a tool in the Lord’s hands. I love teaching this stuff.

Thursday was an exciting day. I spent part of the morning on an electronic chat with Brett Nielson, who is trying to help me raise funds for my excavation. He had some exciting progress and we talked over some ways to move forward. I am very excited.

Class was great! We started covering Isaiah. I asked my students at the beginning of class how many of them, after all the study they have done, the history they have learned, and the time they have spent here, could understand Isaiah. If not every hand went up, it was almost every hand. Many of them went up enthusiastically, and some people put up both their hands. They were so excited that they were getting it. That makes my whole day. I felt like the lesson went very well, and it seemed to have a real effect on them.

Then Jul and I got together with Phil, Andy, Tarek and Mahmoud. We went to Nabi Musa, a mosque that was built over a site chosen to commemorate the death and burial of Moses. While we know it is not the place, it is worth thinking of Moses and all he did. The place is in the deserts of Judea, and is picturesque in a way.

In the courtyard of Nabi Musa (prophet Moses)

Jul at the entrance to the mosque of Nabi Musa

The cenotaph (commemorative tomb) of Moses

Mahmoud at the door to the synagogue

The Nabi Musa mosque as seen through a knothole in the door

The Judean Wilderness as seen from the Nabi Musa mosque

A camel and the Judean Wilderness as seen from Nabi Musa

Who knew they were expecting me?

The Judean wilderness as seen from Nabi Musa

From there we went off road to get to Hyrcania (N 31˚ 43.124’ E 035˚ 21.943’), a fortress built by the Macabees and then built even bigger by Herod. It has not been excavated and is still in crazy ruins, but it is beautiful and so is the surrounding area. We had a wonderful time hiking up there (it is quite a hike). There were cool mosaics at the top and arches and cisterns and other fun things. It was wonderful stuff and wonderful company.

Hiking up to Hyrcania

More hiking up to Hyrcania

The ruins on top of Hyrcania

Some mosaics on top of Hyrcania

Tarek taking pictures on top of Hyrcania

The Judean Wilderness and Dead Sea as seen from Hyrcania

A cistern or mikvah on top of Hyrcania

Mahmoud waited below with the van. So nice of him

Jul found a lot of cool pottery at Hyrcania (we left it all there!)

Wild camels at Hyrcania (or at least unattended camels)

This camel liked to pose for us

We got back early enough that I could start making some progress on my fundraising projects. I also spent a lot of time putting together some plans for getting scuba certified. I am close to making that happen, thanks to the wonderful efforts of my wife. Then I went with Phil and Andy to a lecture at the Albright on the synagogue of Gamla. It was a useful lecture, though there were a number of problems I saw with some of what he was talking about. On the whole it was a good lecture that will be somewhat useful for us as we take students there.

We got back from there just in time to be 45 minutes late for the Seder (Passover) meal we do for the students. Ophir does such a great job with it. But still, it takes quite a while and I have done is so many times that I felt a bit happy over missing that much of it. It was still half an hour or more before we started eating. But I had a great time there, and it is always worth thinking about the Exodus. What a wonderful night it was!

Jacob and his friends at a party

Friday was wonderful in a lot of ways. I especially had fun watching Jacob at a birthday party with his friends.

Sabbath was a delight. Alexia gave a talk, and it was so, so very well done! ! Sabrina helped play the organ after practicing for a while last night with Sister Holyoak, our organist.
There were some new people who moved in, including a former student of mine. We had great lessons, great people, and all sorts of good stuff happening. Then we spent some nice time together as a family. It was a delightful, wonderful, perfect day!