JORDAN

Day 1

Mt. Nebo

On top of Mt. Scopus we see this sight. This is as close as Moses would have gotten to the promised land. From here he could see (on a day not as smoggy as this) the land of Jerusalem. 

Bus Troubles

On day one of the trip we were on a way to our hotel in Petra, a four hour drive. About 30 minutes into the trip our bus broke down. As we were waiting for the bus company to send another bus we entertained ourselves by playing games, reenacting Lion King and finding an Old Roman road. Alright, end of bus #1

Bus #2 arrives and we load. Bro Judd begins to tell us about the time when his groups bus was stuck in a sandstorm in Egypt. They had to find an old hotel and stay the night, to commemorate he was about to put on the classic 'Horse with No Name' before the music could turn on... BREAK DOWN. The picture above is of bus #2.

This time we were stuck closer to around 2 hours (to be honest that is really just a rough estimate) but our guide Yousef started a fire and I began to make predictions on if/who would snap first. But to my surprise not only was everyone really good about the whole thing, we were loving it. This was a great opportunity for us to bond as a new class and I was again reminded at how amazing the people I'm surrounded by are. 

Other cool fact: this is the ruin of Um ar-Rasas. It just so happens that our bus broke down right across from it and the local people in charge let us in. There were massive Mosaic floors and we learned that this place was a crossroads for travelers where they would stop to water their camels etc. No other BYU JC group has ever made this stop so we felt pretty privileged about that. 

Day 2

Petra

Right before we came to the opening of the treasury. For those of you who are Indiana Jones fans, this should look familiar!

Camels are one of my new favorite animals. They are freaking hilarious, they make these awful dinosaur noises... one day I hope you can hear one. 

The monastery 

Me and Bryce were Jordan roommates. This is us in front of the Monestary. It really is huge!

Overlook of the Holy Land from Jordan

Me in front of the treasury

Day 3

Amman Citadel

Sometimes I take pictures and forget why they are important. Oh well, the Amman Citadel was a stronghold and fortress during the time of David. This may be the place where his troops were when he was getting in trouble looking at Bathsheba. Some scholars say that Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) was sent here by David (after he had gone back to Jerusalem and refused the lay with his wife because his fellow comrades were out in battle) with the letter in hand to his commander that said to leave him in the front of the hottest battle so that he would die. 

This is the temple of Hercules in the background. Let's just say I heard a lot of Disney music while we were here. 

Jabok River

The Jabok river is the place where Jacob and Essau are reunited after years of family tension (dating back to the whole birthright thing). In the Bible Jacob appears to be very nervous about their reuniting, so much that he splits his family in two groups so that in the case that Essau wants revenge some of his posterity may live. Quite the opposite is Essau's reaction. Here at the Jabok, the scriptures also tell us that Jacob wrestled with and angel and had his name changed to Israel. I was reminded that some times there are rivers that stand in between us and those we love, but as we wrestle before the Lord and extend and hand of fellowship the atonement can mend broken hearts, feelings and relationships. 

Jerash

The Hippodrome

Gate to the city

Bathhouse

Temple of Artemis

North (maybe South) Theater. It's cool that they now do live concerts in here.

Morgan sandwich!!!!

Overview looking the main shopping center. Jerash is one of the best preserved ancient Greek cities, dating to the period when Alexander the Great ruled over the area (around 300 BCE), just in case you were wondering how why I was at Greek ruins in the Near East. 

Amman at Night

This is a grocery store close to our hotel called the Haboob (which for those of you from Arizona is also the name of sandstorm). It is just down the street from the Prince's palace. The night we were there, there was a jamming party that some of our group tried to get in to, but were unsuccessful. 

Rainbow road (the street we were on) had this fancy building that changed colors. It was also home to some great food places including a Nestle Tollhouse store, several crepe places, Wazzip Dog and Sliceh. I chose the nutella and marshmallow crepe (the Fluffy)... it was delicious!

Day 4

Roman Theater in Amman

This was another cool gift left over by an ancient empire, this time the Romans. We were here on the morning of the 4th of July, so we sang patriotic songs, including a very interesting version of the national anthem that started way to high!

Happy 4th- KFC for Lunch

What's more American than deep fried chicken!? Well, we had ourselves some KFC delivered and it was delicious.. at least as delicious as anyone whose had real fried chicken finds KFC.

Jordan River

The trip was really wonderful, but our visit to the Jordan River was by far the highlight. While it was a hot and saunna like day (it sure felt like we were in one) there was a quiet peace and gentle spirit as we sat down and had a devotional right here, with our feet in the Jordan river. I was able to take time to ponder how John must felt as the Savior came to him to fulfill all righteousness. This was the culminating point of John's ministry, after this he knew his role would be to decrease as the Savior increased and he did so with humility. The importance of covenants and authority were brought to my mind as I thought of how the perfect Lamb of God showed the example of what we as sinners and mortals must do to be saved. My heart was filled with gratitude that I had the experience of setting my feet close to the place where this event took place. I know I will never read of the Jordan river without coming back to this day in my mind. 

A Whole Month!

The other day I got an e-mail from my sister gently chiding for me for not updating my blog in almost a month. I thought to myself, "No way, it can't have been that long!" But sure enough when  went and checked my last post was a recap of my trip to Turkey. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I will try and update you on the last month with a couple of photos. Now granted, this is by no means comprehensive but rather a snapshot of the highlights from the last month of my time in the Holy Land.

Welcome to the Shpelah. This particular pose is in the Elah valley. Can anyone guess what I'm reinacting? That's right this is a tribute to David slaying Goliath, it took me a couple of practice swings, but I got the technique down pretty good, plus my form was awesome!

One of the more sobering experiences of the trip was our visit to the Holocaust Memorial of Yad Vashem. This particular piece behind me demonstrates the suffering of what was not an exile but an extermination of the Jews. This was one of those sites that harrowed me and forced me to reflect. Here is a poem I wrote while sitting in the Hall of Remembrance:

Paying Remembrance

Of here there is a higher plain where horrors were unfurled

O here one seeks solemnity from an every drifting world

Of here a stillness enter in the harrows up the soul

Of here an ever patient God whose heart yearned to console

Of here the depths of life were lived, the sorrow darkened days

Of here the restless nights been clouded from the suns bright rays

Of here where stones and cement now stand we ponder on the past

Of here we look to brightened futures, hoping it will last

Of here the feelings in my heart make my soul weigh dense

Of here a sacred attitude I pay remembrance. 

One evening we were allowed out into the Old City to see the light festival. While there we happened upon St. Mark's Church (claimed as the first Church in Christianity). Unfortunately when we got there it was locked and closed. This site was believed to be the place of the last supper between Christ and his apostles. Well, we found a nice man who led us to this kind lady Justina. Justina, who was cooking her dinner, lives here at the Church and even though she had spent all day on her feet she came down and spoke to us for an hour, telling us the miracles that she had witnessed. She allowed us down to the upper room (I say down because everything is built on top of the sites that would have existed in the beginning of the first century AD) and we read the verses of the scripture while eating pita to commemorate what took place. 

The most universal language is football! Soccer is something that people from every part of the world understand, appreciate and love. We were able to attend a U-20 UEFA Cup Match between Israel and England. What a night! Israel won 1-0. 

This is Duwayne. He is the black (but really the brown) sheep of the group. This picture was taken on our visit to Neot Kedimum, a biblical reserve that showcases many of the plants and animals found in the Bible. Duwaye was my favorite sheep because he was the smallest and as you can see, the most cuddly!

Well there you have it, a review of my time the Holy Land. We just got back form Jordan, so I'm going to take some time tomorrow and write a detailed blog post about our time there.