Hello my wonderful friends and family. I have realized that I probably won't have time to blog every couple days, but I will try to get one in every three or four days.
It has been a busy last two days! We spent them in the city. I hope to get to post some pictures, but they asked us not to take any pictures yet because they wanted us to pay attention and get to learn the city. I feel like my knowledge has grown exponentially about this place. I wish I could fly you all over here and tell you about the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of All Nations, the Church of the Ascension, Damascus and Joppa Gates . . . oh it is all so amazing.
They took us into the city, and fed us some shawarma and salab. Seeing as this is my first time outside of the USA, I am curious and willing to eat anything, which is a good and bad thing. The salab is a drink that tastes like warm custard mixed with dish soap, and I don't like it at all. It was . . . a good learning experience :) Shawarma, on the other hand, is absolutely delicious. I am definitely having that again. It is basically the Arab version of a hot dog, but it is nothing like a hot dog (I guess that doesn't really explain much . . .) It is a bunch of cooked meats, stuffed into pita bread, and heated in a small oven. It tasted like heaven in the wet cold air.
It was surprising to see how commercialized Jerusalem is. Even as we walked along the Via Dolorosa, the "Way of Sorrow," which marks the traditional path where the Savior walked as He carried the cross to Golgotha, the way was lined with food shops, clothing vendors, mini restaurants, etc . . . Though many scholars don't believe that this is actually the place that the Savior walked, it was so strange to see so much retail going on. What was more strange was hearing the vendors recognize us so quickly. They would shout, "Welcome Mormons! 50% off for you!" Another vendor yelled, "We love BYU!" My favorite was one man who smiled and said, "Go Cougars." They even have shirts printed with the BYU logo on them . . . I can't tell you how funny it is to see an olive wood carving of a Star of David, the Virgin Mary, and Joseph Smith all side by side in a shop window.
Luckily, the city is filled with large rooftops that are quiet and very scenic. We climbed some stairs to the top of an Austrian Hospice and looked over the city. It was breathtaking and peaceful. I am looking forward to the Sabbath (which we will have on Saturday like the Jews). I will be teaching primary tomorrow to the local branch kids, and I am looking forward to it.
I have one more story. As we got back to the center, we could hear the beautiful organ being played by Richard Eliot on the top floor of the Center. He will be performing as part of the 25th anniversary of the Center tomorrow night. We snuck into the large Upper Auditorium and just sat looking out the huge windows at Jerusalem while Brother Eliot played and played. I thought about the prophecies about the Holy City, both past, present, and future. It was Orson Hyde who came and dedicated this land, and promised 170 years ago that the Jews would return, the city would be rebuilt, and that the temple would be reconstructed. It was amazing to me that the former two have happened since Brother Hyde's visit. Though it seems now like the temple will never be built again, the other two promises seemed just as unlikely when Brother Hyde came and made all three of them. The Spirit brought back to me conviction that one day the Savior will return to this place, and that He will be recognized by all as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
I told Brother Eliot that we were grateful that he played for us, and after we chatted for a little while, we talked about Grandpa May. He remembered him well, but was saddened to hear that he had passed away. I am grateful that Grandpa's good life and influence stretches even to the Holy Land.
I am headed to bed. It is just after midnight here. Goodnight!
-SJM
P.S. I will not be checking facebook or twitter while I am gone, but feel free to email me at sterlingjamesmay@gmail.com
Friday, January 6, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
"Something Happened Here"
I am completely exhausted from 31 hours of being awake, so this will be a short blog post, but I AM HERE!
Wow is it ever beautiful. I will post pictures later when I go to an internet cafe because we are not allowed to at the Jerusalem Center due to low bandwidth. Then all of you can appreciate what i am seeing - I will try to describe it though :)
I am typing on my computer while literally overlooking the Holy City itself. When we arrived, we sat in the Upper Auditorium on the eight level of the Center. The Israeli director of the Jerusalem Center (who is Jewish - cool), Eran Hayet, said that this is among the best of the views of the city. Imagine being able to walk out the back door of the nicest hotel you have ever been in, and then being able to sit down on an immaculate lawn, surrounded by palm trees and the Biblical Gardens, and gaze down on thousands of years of history, devotion, faith, architecture, culture, and that all being lit up by a deep orange sunset. The Dome of the Rock. The Kidron Valley. The Jerusalem City Wall. And all of it with amazing people. Wow.
Oh, and to top it all off, Richard Eliot (the primary organist for the Tabernacle Choir) is here practicing for the 25h anniversary of the Jerusalem Center and played "Israel, Israel God is Calling" while we all sang and looked over the city. He will be here for the next few days in preparation for his performance on the Sabbath (Saturday). As we sang, I remembered with tears in my eyes what my Mom has been telling me for years about Jerusalem, "In the city, you feel that something happened there. Something great." She would often then testify of the Savior and His infinite words and works.
The Savior was here. He taught and lived and died here. I was reminded of a couple of verses that my brother Mckay read to me just before I left. The Savior was teaching the Nephites about the promises the Lord has made to His people. The Lord taught, "Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them aJerusalem for the bland of their inheritance. . .. Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall aJerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance." 3 Nephi 20:33&46
I am thrilled to be here for a small while to inhabit this Holy Land and to learn more about His words and life. I am grateful that the Spirit is helping direct my mind to what each of us has that is already holy and sacred - the words of the prophets and the Savior himself. It is the scriptures that I hope become better friends with during this trip, because truly it is those words that already testify that something great happened on this earth. Just a few minutes walk away from where I sit is the very garden where He bled and suffered, and the hillside where He was crucified. And yet the beauty of that is I already knew that He had done those things before I came. This experience just brings it to the forefront of my mind and makes it all the more vivid.
I am going to love this place. I think I already do :)
Until tomorrow in Jerusalem,
-SJM
Wow is it ever beautiful. I will post pictures later when I go to an internet cafe because we are not allowed to at the Jerusalem Center due to low bandwidth. Then all of you can appreciate what i am seeing - I will try to describe it though :)
I am typing on my computer while literally overlooking the Holy City itself. When we arrived, we sat in the Upper Auditorium on the eight level of the Center. The Israeli director of the Jerusalem Center (who is Jewish - cool), Eran Hayet, said that this is among the best of the views of the city. Imagine being able to walk out the back door of the nicest hotel you have ever been in, and then being able to sit down on an immaculate lawn, surrounded by palm trees and the Biblical Gardens, and gaze down on thousands of years of history, devotion, faith, architecture, culture, and that all being lit up by a deep orange sunset. The Dome of the Rock. The Kidron Valley. The Jerusalem City Wall. And all of it with amazing people. Wow.
Oh, and to top it all off, Richard Eliot (the primary organist for the Tabernacle Choir) is here practicing for the 25h anniversary of the Jerusalem Center and played "Israel, Israel God is Calling" while we all sang and looked over the city. He will be here for the next few days in preparation for his performance on the Sabbath (Saturday). As we sang, I remembered with tears in my eyes what my Mom has been telling me for years about Jerusalem, "In the city, you feel that something happened there. Something great." She would often then testify of the Savior and His infinite words and works.
The Savior was here. He taught and lived and died here. I was reminded of a couple of verses that my brother Mckay read to me just before I left. The Savior was teaching the Nephites about the promises the Lord has made to His people. The Lord taught, "Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them aJerusalem for the bland of their inheritance. . .. Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall aJerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance." 3 Nephi 20:33&46
I am thrilled to be here for a small while to inhabit this Holy Land and to learn more about His words and life. I am grateful that the Spirit is helping direct my mind to what each of us has that is already holy and sacred - the words of the prophets and the Savior himself. It is the scriptures that I hope become better friends with during this trip, because truly it is those words that already testify that something great happened on this earth. Just a few minutes walk away from where I sit is the very garden where He bled and suffered, and the hillside where He was crucified. And yet the beauty of that is I already knew that He had done those things before I came. This experience just brings it to the forefront of my mind and makes it all the more vivid.
I am going to love this place. I think I already do :)
Until tomorrow in Jerusalem,
-SJM
Sunday, January 1, 2012
"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
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