Week 10: Jordanian Adventures and more!

JORDAN!

This past week has been fabulous. After we finished finals last week we headed to Jordan! I felt like the time we went to Jordan was awesome timing because it was the start of Ramadan and Jordan has a huge percentage of Muslims, so we got to see first hand how individuals worshipped and fasted during this sacred month for them. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, they call it Sawm. They fast from Sun up to Sun down for 30 days straight. Our bus driver and tour guide were both observing Ramadan so i felt very grateful for their willingness to help us learn even though it was probably difficult for them. As a Latter Day Saint and having the opportunity to fast once a month I sometimes get lazy with my fasting. I'll stay up late and eat so i'm not hungry or i'll eat right after church. I think i take it too casually. The Muslims, no matter if they are extremely orthodox or extremely secular, all observe Ramadan. It's just part of the culture here and it's a really great example to me.

After the evening call to prayer a cannon will go off which means that Ramadan for the day has ended and the parties begin. This means fun parties in the city with lots of people. We got to spend some time with Jordanians playing music and having a good time on Rainbow Street.

Brian playing for all the Jordanians! 

I wish i had time to write about every detail of this trip because it was so amazing, but i can just give a good run down with pictures! 

[Monday]

On the first day we got to go to Mount Nebo and Machaeurs. Machaeurs is where John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod Antipus. This was also the location of Herod's palace.

Liza, Jessica, Tanner, me and Brian

That night we got to see Petra at night. This is where we walk through Petra with a path of candles and a wonderful view of the stars! It was such a memorable summer night with great people. 

[Tuesday]

The next day we got to spend in Petra. PETRA IS SO AWESOME. We pretty much hiked all day long in the coolest red rocks you'll ever see. It was the Edomites who came to Petra and built these massive buildings into the rocks. It is quite amazing actually. This is also the location of one of the 7 wonders of the Modern World- The Treasury. I can't explain how huge it is, its unbelievably huge. I don't know how people from that long ago, without the technology we have today can build something so remarkable. We also got to go on a 30 minute camel ride and end at the treasury. Talk about pure awesomeness!!!!!!! 

The Treasury 

Met these cute girls who lived in a cave in Petra! I didn't understand how they were wearing so many layers and walking around barefoot. 

So many beautiful views. 

[Wednesday]

The next day we got to go to the Jabbok river and have a devotional there. That set my day! It was super spiritual and great to just have time to ponder. We then spent a good amount of time at Jerash, and old Roman City. It was super sweet. Also i have an obsession with pillars. I don't know what it is but i think they are remarkable! I love to stand by them and see how huge they are compared to me. I don't know how people put those up! It's unbelievable.

Oldest Statue in the WORLD right here, folks! 

Bust it Hercules (the remains of a HUGE statue of Hercules)

That day for lunch we went to a super delicious restaurant and had some delicious meats and pitas. The pitas were HUGE! 

[Thursday]

Thursday we got to visit 2 really awesome churches. The first was a mosque called the King Abdullah mosque. The Jordanians LOVE their leader King Abdullah and his father King Hussein, so everywhere they have pictures of the Kings. It is also a requirement that each business has a picture of the King. Not only did we get to go to the King Hussein Mosque, but we also got to go to the King Hussein car show which was awesome. All of this is in some way a use of propaganda for the King but he's a great King so he deserves it! 

The Second church we went to was a familiar one- The Church of jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! I didn't know Jordan had a branch but it was awesome to see! 

It's funny how they had the picture of King Abdullah in our church building! 

Found the hymn book in Arabic!! How cool! 

After visiting the churches we got to go to the Jordan River. It was the coolest thing ever to dip my feet into it. 

INDEPENDENCE DAY IN JERUSALEM 

I didn't think we would do much for the 4th of July in Jerusalem but the cooks definitely pulled this one off. They cooked us hamburgers and fries with Doritos, watermelon and... wait for it... a HUGE American Flag Cake and unlimited ice cream with sprinkles!! BEST DAY EVER!!!! We were actually on lockdown on the 4th of July because of tension in the city, but it made my Independence Day experience even better. I have never been so grateful for America, for the freedoms we have and for the ability to worship who we want without persecution. We take for granted the freedom of speech, our freedom of religion, clean streets, safety in our communities and great American Universities. (oh and food, and good water, and toilets that are normal) 

TEL AVIV

Sunday we weren't allowed to go out the old city but we were allowed to go outside Jerusalem. So we went to Tel Aviv (which wouldn't have been a good idea for today since there were rockets there... haha lucky). But we had such a great time anyway!!! 

Mine and Eliza's face when we get ice cream!! NOTHING BETTER! 

Gracie and I love Brad haha! He was also very happy about this picture! 

News Update: Tensions have been high since the day we arrived in Jordan. A few weeks ago three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and while we were in Jordan we found out they had been murdered by a Palestinian extremist group. This created more problems and since then there have been Palestinians killed and missiles thrown. Yesterday we had an emergency call to the bomb shelter because there are rockets hitting about an hour away from us in Tel Aviv. But everything here is safe. The media really portrays such crazy things about the Middle East, and though they are true in some ways, it's also important to keep in mind that there are wonderful people here and that this land is so sacred and holy. I feel extremely protected here in the Jerusalem Center and there is no need to worry. It's actually kind of ironic though that at night (and even more during Ramadan), the teenagers LOVE to set off fireworks around the neighborhoods. Also you see tons of guns in the streets and even little kids playing around with pop guns with their friends. We are so immune to these things now that if we hear a shot or anything we just assume it's nothing harmful. And most the time it is, but it's just funny we think that way now. But nevertheless, there are major problems right now in Israel and we want to keep praying that things will settle down and that our wonderful Israeli and Palestinian friends can live in peace! 

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!