Israel

Tuesday, May 3^rd Day 5

Today was packed with a whole lot of history and a whole lot of Israel men hitting on me! We drove to Ein Herod, which is the spring where Gideon chose his 300 men before routing the Midianites. We also went to the top of Mount Caramel where Elijah had the famous confrontation with the priesthood of Baal. THEN we went to NAZARETH, which is where the Savior lived for most of His life. Next we went to Mount Tabor and discussed the transfiguration of the Savior.

While we were at the Springs, I had a few encounters with Israeli guys. We arrived at the site, and as I came down the bus stairs, I looked up to find an Israeli young man looking directly at me, and I immediately looked away. He immediately started chattering in Hebrew and walked toward me. I thought maybe he was our site tour guide, but that was NOT the case. Another friend of his appeared from my other side and I realized that they both had massive machine guns in arm. The one guy handed someone in my group his camera phone, then they both came next to me and put an arm around me. OH MY HECK!!!! Hahaha One of my friends grabbed my camera and got a picture of me with the Israeli security guards. HOLY MOLY! So after that, I went on minding my own business, staying close to people in my tour group, and adventuring around the springs.

We stopped by the gift shop to look around and as I was looking at a t-shirt, I noticed an Israeli man standing nearby and I asked how much the shirt was. He replied (as he stepped toward me), “For you, lady, I give you free of charge. ..You have beautiful eyes.” I laughed and said that I needed to pay for it. He inched toward me and I nervously started looking around to see where all of my friends had gone! He asked where I was from and wanted details, but obviously I LIED!!!

I tried to change the subject by saying that it sure was beautiful in Israel and he replied, “Lady, with eyes like yours, everything must be beautiful.” GULP!!!!

“I have to get out of here!! I thought. I told him that I needed to get going, but he stopped me and asked for my email and asked if he could come VISIT ME IN AMERICA!!! I thought, “GOOD FREAKING HECK, NO!!!!” But I just shook my head and walked quickly over to Zac and his family. RUN AWAY!

Tonight was an AWESOME experience! We went out on a big river boat onto the Sea of Galilee! The water was reflecting the city lights through the dark night air. WHILTE ON A BOAT ON THE SEA OF GALILEE, we talked about Christ walking on the water and it was sooooo neat- I loved it! I was thinking about how Peter had faith and was able to walk on the water, but as soon as he doubted, he started to sink. Then he cried out to the Savior and IMMEDIATELY, Christ reached out and caught him. Likewise, we need to press forward with faith and seek Christ. I know that Christ will catch us when we lose our faith and fall if we will cry out for Him.

I was able to call home tonight and it was wonderful! I sure do love my family a lot. J Every day, I realize more and more hwo amazing they all are and how much they mean to me. They are a testimony to me that Heavenly Father loves me so much because He blessed me with them. Hurrah for Israel!!! (literally)

Wednesday, May 4th

Today we went to the Mount of Beatitudes and Brother Lund gave us our very own Sermon on the Mount. It was SUCH a good talk and I could really feel the Spirit burning and testifying of truth. The “sermon” today was all about love and it really hit me deep inside. “Take your LOVE to your loved ones, and your frustrations to the Lord.” He talked about how we destroy love with criticism and we must learn to control our tongues. We were given a challenge to go 24 hours without criticizing anyone. I want to do it! The deeper part of this challenge for me is not to THINK critical thoughts. I can usually control my tongue, but still have “not so nice” thoughts. But I want to work toward it!!!! “All frustrations come from unmet expectations.” I thought that was another good quote because it is SO true! Everything really is in the hands of the Lord and all that we can do is try to match our will with His. Our hearts cannot experience the Spirit fully when we have resentment in our hearts. When we have the Spirit, we are emotionally in control, we take time to think and ponder, we speak with measured words, and everything we do is with love. The entire talk was SO good and I feel like I have a lot to work on, in which Heavenly Father has a lot of hope for me.

Later this evening, the “Layton Ladies”, an incredibly classy, fun, and friendly group that came together with their husbands, and I went out on the streets along the Sea of Galilee! I already LOVE those women. In the Priesthood blessing that Dad gave me before I left, he said that I would be in good company and would be blessed to have many good spirits with me. When I’m with my Layton friends, I know for certain that I have found some of the friend my dad was referring to and that he was inspired to say that. I was supposed to meet them. So tonight they helped me find a cute dress and bargain it down to a good price. We had so much fun! After the shopping, a bunch of us went down to a dock in our swimming suits and jumped into the Sea of Galilee for a swim! It was really cold, but such a great memory!

Zac’s family (the Jergensens and McOmbers) has been SO nice to me. Between them and everyone else on the yellow bus (woohoo!), I feel right at home and SO safe. I’m lovin it!!!

Thursday, May 5th

I was ALSO able to get my feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea!!!! There was a beautiful breeze pushing soft waves up against the shore, small sea shells scattered throught the ward sand, the sun was shining brightly, and I was soaking up all of that Mediterranean scene. It was GREAT.

BETHLEHEM was also a highlight of today! So in my mind, I imagined a quaint, little, old fashioned town that Christ was born in. HOWEVER, reality proved this perfect little fantasy to be completely wrong. Modern day Bethlehem is incredibly dirty, packed, busy, and opposite of what I had imagined.

As we were walking along the streets, Israeli men were making eye contact and staring me down. It is SO HARD for me to keep my eyes down and ignore people, but I HAVE to or else I get in trouble! Brother Lund put me in handcuffs and fastened me to a leash behind him….just kidding. But it sure felt like it!

As we walked along, men would run to me and say, “For you, beautiful lady, I give water for free,” then would grab my hand, place the water bottle in it, and carress my hand. OBVIOUSLY, I would quickly take my hand away and say, “No thank you!”

Amid all of the chaos and unexpected scenes, we were able to go into a room in the Church of the Nativity. We read the Christmas story from Luke and sang several Christmas songs. It was a really neat experience to review and reflect upon Christ’s birth in the very place that many believe He was born.

So of COURSE, there are some items that you just HAVE to buy in the Holy Land! I bought two baby blankets that were made in Bethlehem, a nativity scene made of olive wood, two collectors spoons from Israel, a BEAUTIFUL blue opal necklace in the shape of David’s star, and some other fun shirts, etc. I also bought a fun map of Jerusalem and a book about the Holy Land. I am QUITE proud of my purchases and the good prices that I got on them.

All day I’ve had Christmas bells and songs ringing in my head .. "Oh little town of Bethlehem…” I am here! I am here!!!

Friday, May 8th, 2011

Today I was able to visit the Garden of Gethsemane and it was a life changing experience. Brother Lund talked to us about the Atonement and repentance with a different twist. He talked about how an important part of the Atonement is forigiving OURSELVES. (I deleted a little section here...continuing...) At that moment, in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus Christ suffered for me and the sins of every person inthe world, I CHOSE to forgive myself of things that Christ and Heavenly Father had already forgiven me of. As I allowed those burdens to leave me, I felt an immediate rush come over me. I got the spine tingling chill that feels so warm and comforting, and it spread throughout my entire body. Inside, I felt like I was quaking. I LITERALLY felt like my heart was shaking. Words really do not describe the feelings that I had, but I do know a few things for sure. Jesus lived on the Earth and I am walking in the places that He walked. I KNOW that He suffered and bled in the Garden of Gethsemane for the sins and heart aches of every person in the world, in a very personal way. He knows me and He loves me, and He understands me. I know that we can become better if we will allow the Atonement to work inside of our hearts. And it really is a CHOICE that we must make because we are the ONLY obstacle between ourselves and eternal life.

Several people had bought olive oil and were going to consecrate the oil in the Garden of Gethsemane. For some reason, I missed that memo until this morning and was SO disappointed because I wanted to give some to my dad and brother. This morning, I said a fervent, pleading prayer asking that I would find someone willing to share their oil with me (talk about one of the unprepared virgins J that parable definitely came to mind). Anyway, so as we were standing in the Garden, one of the “Layton Ladies”, Kathi Bangerter, walked up behind me and whispered, “Heather would you like us to send you some oil? We have a lot.” I got a smile on my face and gratefully accepted. Another prayer had been answered.

As the men of that group met in a corner to bless the olive oil, I felt a rush of love and appreciation rush over me. The worthy Priesthood holders were able to take regular, ordinary olive oil that was made in Israel and bless it to be holy and consecrated oil that could be used to heal ailments of those needing a Priesthood blessing.

Likewise, the Priesthood ordinance of the Atonement can take a regular, ordinary person and make them a pure, holy, and devo ted disciple of Christ, and heal ailments, both physical and spiritual. I am so grateful for the Priesthood and for the knowledge that I have that it IS THE POWER OF GOD. I know without a doubt that it is. I have SEEN the Priesthood heal the sick, raise the dead, and change humble and imperfect hearts. I am so grateful for men that honor their Priest hood and exercise it worthily.

The Garden of Gethsemane was SO peaceful and beautiful. I took time to myself to sit on a bench by myself and reflect.The Spirit was there and testified that Jesus Christ IS the Savior of the World. He was there and it is where the most important event in history took place. He atoned for each of us and He is aware of everything that we are going through. He loves us deeply. He understands us because He has personally FELT everything we have felt and will ever feel. I know these things without a doubt. I am forever grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with the opportunity to come to the Holy Land and learn through the Spirit.

The afternoon turned into QUITE an adventure! We drove several miles through deserted land along a bumpy old, one vehicle wide road to an archeology site called Beit Lehi. WOW. There were people digging as we walked around, uncovering a little, ancient village. There were early Christian mosaics, oil presses, mikvahs (ritual baths), and a MASSIVE columbary!!! The columbary could house THOUSANDS of doves that were produced to sacrifice in ancient times. We climbed down into the huge cave, where we found thousands of triangle shaped indentations in the wall where the doves would stay. Two places up on the veiling were cone shaped and designed to allow the doves to fly out for fresh air. It really was amazing!

We ALSO went to a model city reproduction of Jesus’ time and it was so neat to be able to see how much it has grown and changed (Jerusalem).

It really brought the scriptures to life because I was able to see an entire model size layout. J Christ really was here and I am walking in the places He walked. I have this twinkly eyed, content little smile as I think about it all. WHAT AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY.

Saturday, May 7^th, 2011

In Israel, today is the Sabbath! Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend church services in the BYU Jerusalem Center! In honor of the Jewish traditions, the LDS church also worships on Saturday. I found it interesting that rather than calling their second block of meetings “Sunday School”, they are referred to as “Sabbath School” !! How appropriate!

The center is located up on a hill overlooking the entire city, where we could see the Dome of the Rock and everything else. The Sacrament room was also facing the overlook and had huge glass windows, so while all of the students were bearing testimony of Christ, we were overlooking the city that Christ lived in. It was pretty neat.

Later in the day, we were able to visit the Garden Tomb. It was a very different experience than I was expecting. It was not like Gethsemane where our group had scheduled an appointment and it was just us. There were MULTIPLE crowds of people buzzing around the tomb. However, the tomb was as beautiful as I had imagined. Bright red geranium flowers accented the white, stone tomb. As I waited in line to enter the tomb, I looked at it and thought about what had happened there. WOW. On the door, as sign read, “He is not here, for He is risen.” I know that He is! I know that Christ was crucified and that after 3 days, He was resurrected. I know that He lives. As I stepped inside the tomb, I looked around the small empty space and thought about the resurrection.

After everyone went into the tomb, we all gathered under a canopy and started singing hymns. Across the way was a group of Koreans singing along with a guitar, all clapping their hands and swaying to the beat with their hands above their heads. My group started singing louder, at the same time, the other group’s music became louder and louder. I was laughing inside because I could tell that some people in my group were being a little...judgmental (thinking that the other group’s music was inappropriate for the Garden Tomb area).

In my world religions class I took last semester, we were taught to be very open minded and to be ok with the ways that people choose to worship-to be respectful. Bonnie Lund (John’s wife) walked over to the Korean group and asked if they would like to sing “How Great Thou Art” with us. They graciously agreed and gathered around us. The man with the guitar started playing and we all started singing. The hands started clapping, and I couldn’t help but smile and join in on the clapping. It was part of joining them! J Pretty soon everyone was clapping, the guitar man was singing back up, the Koreans had some of us dancing with them, and there was not a person who was NOT smiling. It was SO much fun.

Brother Lund told us a story about how he was really judgmental of his grandma because he didn’t know the truth of her story. She passed away while he was on his mission and he later discovered the truth. He told another story of sending his children over to Europe in search of a grave stone to help connect the dots in his family history. It turned out that on that search for single grave, they uncovered thousands of important names from one man that had recorded them for years. They found him just in time because he was on his death bed. They also found relatives that they did not know existed. A huge missing gap was filled and an entire family was found.

Sunday, May 8^th, 2011 DAY 10

We went to the OLD CITY of Jerusalem today!!! J As we were zig-zagging our way through the crowded streets that were packed full of Israelites trying to sell you various different items, it was really difficult to keep all 90 people in our group together. We cut across a large square and were heading up a side street. Later, I was informed by one of the couples that they had been lost from the group and were frantically looking for us…when they looked up the hill and saw my blonde hair moving through the crowd. They were able to find our group because my hair stood out significantly amid the darker haired and clothed Israeli people.

As we walked along through the people, several of the men would try to grab my hand, stop me, or offer me free things. We stopped for a moment in the crowd and I saw a man in a back room walk to his shop window with a camera and point it in my direction. I quickly darted behind Zac and we both laughed. YA, really funny!

As a group, we went to a diamond factory. Naturally, as a 20 year old female, I loved looking at the sparkling diamonds and was trying not to drool. haha The Layton Ladies went with me along the displays and I tried on several engagement rings. At last, we all concluded that the biggest diamonds looked the best on my hand! Hahaha but really! I felt like my eyes were sparkling as much as the diamonds as I dreamed about picking out my own ring with my own man someday…sigh...haha

We found the Western Wall, also known as the wailing wall, which is a VERY sacred place for the Jews. Each of us were able to write a prayer on a small piece of paper and place it in a crack on this massive wall with millions of other prayers. My prayer was very simple and read, “Please bless the Ripplinger Family-I sure do love them a lot.” I think it is so cool that we were able to do that because SO many other people have participated in that same act that makes it such a meaningful tradition.

The usual busy schedule that we are faithful to allowed for free time to shop in the Old City, so everyone took off for the shop that was known for its BYU Hebrew t-shirts. The one, little shop was surrounded by several others. The owners acted like they knew how couples shop, because immediately, chairs were brought out for the men to relax in and wait, while the women were ushered into the shops. hahahaha

So…I was also pulled into the shopping scene. I bought two Hebrew BYU t-shirts, two of the long dresses, some cool earrings that look like coins, and after spending about 40 minutes admiring the beautiful opal necklace I mentioned earlier, I FINALLY buckled and bought a gorgeous, light blue one. I absolutely LOVE it…and I spent a whopping $20 on it.

Our next adventure was AWESOME!!!!! We walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which was built over 2500 yeas ago to secure the water supply of Jerusalem during the Asyrian siege. I felt like we were getting on a ride at Disneyland because there was a huge line that we moved with down into the ground. Once we actually reached the entrance of the tall, thin space of the tunnel, we would hear a squeal each time someone stepped down into the knee deep water. The tunnel slowly got smaller and smaller. It was only wide enough for us to walk one by one and at times, I was bent over in half because the ceiling got so low. So I thought this tunnel would be about 100 feet long, but it actually turned out to be about ¾ of a mile long!!!! It was amazing!

Later, after dinner, a group of us headed over to some nativity scene shops recommended by the tour guides. There were three different shops, all within a block of each other. I was looking for a nativity scene for myself and one for my mom. I went to all three shops and decided that I like the last one the best. The quality was more detailed and I liked it better, while the prices were also cheaper. The owner of the shop was the first Israeli man I had met on the trip that I did NOT feel uncomfortable around. I could see in his eyes that he had a good heart. I got a good deal on both nativities and was able to bargain down. I bought a $120 set for $85 and a $100 set for $65, so I was happy. J At the end of every shopping stop, the women always compare prices to see who got the best deal. I nailed this one!

So in the shop, I was with Zac and his parents. They were having fun trying to bargain their prices down. As we were getting ready to pay and leave, the man reached under his desk and handed me this cute, little cross stitched book mark, and said, “For you! You are the PARTY QUEEN! The life of the party!” haha