"You won't find Him there, unless you take Him with you"

Hello blogger world! I am very excited to share some of what I learn and see while I study for the next few months at the BYU Jerusalem Center. I will be traveling through the Holy City itself, as well as other parts of the Holy Land including Bethlehem, Galilee, Jericho, and a week long trip to Turkey (which is the replacement for a now very hostile Egypt).

I got to talk to Bernard Madsen, son of the late Truman Madsen (former Jerusalem Center director) just a few days ago about what Jerusalem is like. He told me, "Imagine your own neighborhood being attacked by a local gang, except they had automatic weapons and some suicide bombers among them. How would those circumstances affect how you acted, where you went, and how you thought about security? That is what Jerusalem is like all of the time." He went on to address an assumption that I had made about going on a tour to find a pristine tourist environment filled with actual locations where Jesus Christ walked. He told me that there were so many different buildings devoted to Islam, Judaism, and Christianity at each famous location that it might be difficult to find a peaceful experience i was hoping for. He told me, "You won't find him there, unless you take Him with you first."

That is just what I hope to do. My greatest desire is that I can take the Savior with me, and that my faith and knowledge of His teachings and life will increase as a result of this trip. If I can hold them in my heart so they can be shared with my friends and family when I come back, then I know these experiences over the next few months will become an invaluable asset.

I will spend tomorrow packing and getting ready at the orientation on BYU campus.

I love you all! See you in a few months.

-SJM

If you want to learn some of the basics about what is going on in Israel and why things are so hostile, I recommend the following videos that explain the conflict in Israel generally (Thanks Brennan!). You can find them here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/14/world/middleeast/the-battle-of-the-barrier.html