here we go again:
day seven: mount tabor, bethany.
on the seventh day, we got dropped off at the bottom of mt. tabor (mount of transfiguration). then, little van taxis drove us to the top of the mountain. wow, it was so twisty and turny and he went so fast around the corners. barf. anywho, this is where christ himself was transfigured and also where peter, james, and john were called as apostles. these guys got to see how earth would be in it's transfigured state and they received priesthood keys of heaven. wowza.
after mount tabor, we drove to bethany. this is where jesus raised lazarus from the dead. during that time, jews believed that after a person died, their soul stayed with the body for 3 days, then after the 3 days were up, it left the body and the person was truly dead. well, lazarus had been dead four days.
we got up so so early to go on a tour of the underground tunnels of the western wall. luckily, we were able to see the wailing wall and plenty of people praying. after that, we went to the BYU jerusalem center.
it was so beautiful up there! the jerusalem center is just this little sanctuary that has the most beautiful view of the city. i loved it.
after that, we went to the garden of gethsemane. at first, i was really disappointed. i was hoping for a quiet, spiritual thing, but there were hundreds of people there, talking, smoking, and crowding. i just wanted to get out of there fast. thank goodness dave had reserved part of the garden that all the people had to pay to get into. we were the only ones there! we had a beautiful lesson about the atonement, and we were allowed to separate and go on our own. my dad had bought some oil earlier in the trip, and he consecrated it right there (confused? go here). never has the atonement seemed more real to me than in that moment.
day nine: masada, qumron caves, dead sea.
a storm was rolling in, so we decided to do the whole dead sea adventure on day nine instead of later. first, we drove to masada, where the jews fled to be saved from the romans. when they eventually found them, they decided to commit a mass suicide, for death was better than becoming slaves to the romans.
 |
| view of the dead sea from masada |
 |
| jillian, my new friend! |
after that, we went to the caves of qumron, where the dead sea scrolls were found. it was so windy i just didn't want to take my camera out. sorry guys! next up, we went to the dead sea. wow, it is so gorgeous. the water literally makes your skin feel silky instead of sticky. people all around were rubbing mud on themselves and washing it off with dead sea water. and there were plenty of scantily clad men in speedos:
barf. so it was already starting to get chilly and raining a little, and i didn't bring my swimsuit. so i didn't float the dead sea. i know, i know, you're saying: cydnee! this kind of thing is on people's bucket lists! there is no excuse! so what if i didn't want to travel home wet and cold. sue me.
two days left to go! i'm saving them for next time, mostly because i can't function anymore :)
first day of my life- bright eyes
Muzicons.com
No comments:
Post a Comment