Sabbath last week was nice. We just spent a lot of time together
as a family. We had some nice gospel discussions, and together we planned out
how we would do things together as a family. All in all it was a wonderful day.
The next day we just got lots of things done to get ready to
go to Jordan, and I worked a bit also. We mostly just got everything squared
away for Tashara to be able to take care of Jacob and Sabrina while we were
gone. Tashara was able to spend the day with her good friend, Eliana.
Kaleb, Alexia, Julianne and I left early Monday morning for
the trip to Jordan. It took a bit to cross over the borders, but we eventually
made it. Then we went to Mount Nebo. I tried to help everyone there picture
Moses renewing covenants with the Children of Israel before he left them to go
into the Promised Land without him. The importance of making and keeping
covenants as a group and as individuals is something I really hope I can get
them to understand. I think it went fairly well. This is actually my first
field trip with this group, and that was my first thought with them on a field
trip. I hope it helped them.
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| The Plains of Moab as seen from Nebo. It was here that Moses said goodbye to the Children of Israel who were camped below |
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| My class on Mount Nebo |
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| My class on our first field trip |
From there we went to Madaba. On the way I read to them
about how the Israelites came into that area and how they conquered Madaba from
Sihon. I tried to give them a real feel for how much Jordan is also part of the
Holy Land, and how many Biblical stories took place there. I think they were
getting it a bit, but they were also so very, very tired. They were falling
asleep within seconds of getting on the bus, and it was a bit hard to teach
them that way.
I was having a good time. The guide I got to work with was
Mahmoud, who I worked with last time. He is really fantastic, and I so enjoyed
working with him. I also loved having Julianne and Kaleb and Alexia with me. I
have been on this trip so many times, and have always wanted Julianne to be
with me. To be able to share it all with her and the kids is a little dream for
me.
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| Kaleb and Alexia at lunch at Madaba |
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| Kaleb looking at the famous Madaba map |
From Madaba we went to Machaerus. This is the place where John
the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. We spoke about how dedicated John was,
and how he just wanted to turn people towards Christ, which is what we need to
be doing as well. We talked about how Christ, when he learned of John’s death,
said that he must suffer even as John had. That makes Machaerus to John what
Golgotha was to Christ. Both Pilate and Herod killed these men because they
gave in to pride. We contrasted that with John, who had no pride but just did
things for Christ, and I tried to help us all commit to be more like John.
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| Kaleb and my class climbing up to Machaerus |
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| Students thinking at Machaerus |
From there we had a very long bus ride. On that ride
Julianne and I shared the story of how we got married. That is the last time we
will do that with students for a long time. It seemed to go well. Finally we
got to Petra. Our hotel was nice, and it was just right next to the entrance to
Petra. That night we four went on the Petra at Night tour. It was pretty cool.
The canyon was very, very beautiful in just the starlight. The stars were
amazing. It makes me wish I didn’t live near a big city so that I could see the
stars better. They had candles lit all around the Treasury, and it was
beautiful. We looked and listened to some music they were playing, and had a
wonderful time. Walking in and out under the stars was gorgeous. What a great
time. But I was certainly tired by the time it was all over.
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| Approaching the Treasury at Petra at Night |
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| The Treasury, or Kazneh, at Petra, at night |
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| The Treasurey, or Kazneh, at Petra at Night |
The next day we hiked all over Petra. It was so fun to do it
with Julianne and Alexia and Kaleb. It really wasn’t that hot. Even so, Alexia
often seemed to get too hot, and just kept dragging along. We really struggled
to get her to go to some places, she just seemed ready to give up rather than
take on a challenge. It didn’t seem much like her, but when she needed to, she
really came through and we had a great time seeing all sorts of cool and
beautiful places. I had a great time with all of them and loved showing them
the places they hadn’t seen before and we really enjoyed that amazing place
together.
Just as we got to the hotel it was time for BJ to be able to
call us from the airport. We had figured out that he could call us on his old
cell phone, and we had had my mom call us to make sure it worked. So we sat in
the parking lot of the hotel without checking in, making sure we had good cell
coverage. We waited and waited, but no call. After half an hour we called
Tashara to see if she had heard from him (we told him to call her if he couldn’t
get in touch with us). She hadn’t. So we waited half an hour more, and called
her again. He had called. He said he had tried us, but we never answered.
Julianne cried. She was quite sad. But we are glad he got to talk to Tashara
and Jacob and Sabrina. A few hours later we got an email from him saying he was
safely in Montana. I am glad. We are praying for him a lot.
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| All four of us at the Jabbok |
From there we went to Jerash. We went in and started to
explore the city. We did the spiritual thought part a bit earlier than we
normally would, because we couldn’t get fully into the city because the guys who
did tickets were late getting there. I think that Ramadan makes this kind of
thing happen.
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| My class at the Hadrian gate at Jerash |
I taught them about Abraham and his journey to the Promised
Land, and how he stopped and worshipped everywhere he went. I talked about how
the Bible, the Book of Abraham, and archaeology all work together to give us a
more clear picture of what Abraham did and how he lived. I talked about how
real the scriptures are, and how there is such power in them when we realize
how real they are. It was meaningful to me, and I hope it was to them.
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| A horse in the Hippodrome of Jerash. I did my devotional here. |
The next morning we went to a mosque. It was very nice.
Mahmoud (who is great) taught us about praying and everyday life as a Muslim.
It was very nice. It also raised some questions about the place of women in the
world, that I will have to address later with the students.
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| The ladies in their dementor robes in the Blue Mosque |
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| Julianne as Obi Wan Kenobi and Alexia as a sith master at the blue mosque |
From there we went to the museum. This is a great museum,
and I think everyone learned a lot. I think even Kaleb and Alexia got a bit out
of it.
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| Alexia inside the Jordan Museum |
Then we went down to the baptismal site. It was fun to be
with Alexia and look across the way at the place where she had been baptized.
She bore her testimony of baptism and of following Jesus. I tried to add to
that a bit, and then stressed how the Spirit helps us know how to follow the
Savior. I also talked about how we don’t need to be rebaptized because we can
renew our covenants each week as we partake of the Sacrament. I sometimes think
we underestimate the importance of doing that.
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| The Jordan River |
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| Alexia with the place she was baptized in the Jordan River behind her |
Finally we went to the border crossing. It took forever. I
served as a DJ for a while as we waited. Finally we got through the Jordan
side, and sadly said goodbye to Mahmoud. Then we drove to the Israel side. Or
we almost did. Just as we were on the Allenby Bridge, with our bus literally
straddling the Jordan River, the line stopped. We stayed there for over an
hour. It got hot. Additionally, we had eaten lunch, drunk a lot, the bathroom
at the Jordan border control was out of order, and now a bunch of us needed to
go to the bathroom but we were stuck on a bridge between countries. It got a
bit miserable, but everyone handled it well.
After a long, long time we finally got to move a bit, then a
long wait, then some more. It took us several hours to finally get through. On
the way from the border to Jerusalem we had the Heiners come up and we did a
question and answer session about marriage, where students asked questions and
the four of us (the Heiners and Julianne and myself) took turns answering. I
think it was helpful for them. This is the topic that is really on their mind.
When we got home it was so good to see the other kids. I
loved being with them again. It was a happy reunion. I spent a bit of time that
night on the phone with a tour company who wants me to help them do tours in
Israel. Interesting. We will see.
The next day I taught class. It is weird to think this was
only our second class, since I just spent a pretty intense week with my class.
I feel like class went well. We especially talked about how the birth of Christ
was the beginning of bringing us back into the presence of God, and of how
Christ only does the Father’s will. It was a beautiful time together.
I spent most of the rest of the day doing all sorts of busy
work, catching up on emails and all sorts of other things. I need to spend more
time on my commentary, but so many things keep taking up my attention. I will
have to overcome this.
The next day we went to the Garden Tomb early and had a very short but nice time together there as a family reading the Resurrection stories. I am convinced that my children are having their testimonies of Christ strengthened and their understanding deepened. In testimony meeting Alexia bore her testimony
about how much she is learning here and how it helps her come to Christ. She is
the one that I have wondered if she has ever been paying attention. I guess she
has. It is comforting to know that some things that it seems like aren’t
working in the end really are. I am glad for wonderful opportunities and small
comforts.
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