On Sunday we slept in a little, played some games, etc. and
then met a few others to go to Tel Gezer for a seminary field trip. Gezer is in
the Aijalon Valley, and is the only one of the guardian cities of the Shphehlah
valleys we don’t go to on a field trip.
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| Tel Gezer |
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| Flowers at Tel Gezer, a beautiful time of year |
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| A butterfly at Tel Gezer |
So I was glad to take my family, the
Fellows, and Phil Allred there. We had a good time seeing the substantial
Canaanite remains, including some large stones set up like a mini Stonehenge
without the cross beams. We also saw the huge Canaanite gates, and the
substantial remains of an Israelite gate. This is the best preserved gate
system of the three cities that the Bible says Solomon fortified. All three of
those cities, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer, have these large six-chambered gates.
It was fun to crawl around in them and get a feel for the city and the valley.
It is such a beautiful time of year to go and enjoy that.
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| Large stones set up at Tel Gezer |
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| The six chambered gate at Gezer, probably built by Solomon |
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| Our seminary students at Gezer |
The next day was class. It is strange to think that this is
only my second day of meeting with this class, since we have already spent all
of Egypt together. I really enjoyed class, it felt like we were connecting with
each other and with the scriptures and I think it went very well.
Later that day we had a very long meeting about how Egypt
went. Then another meeting about planning for Galilee. By the time that was
over it was almost time for dinner. Since it was Pi day we went to the Fellows
and brought two pies. They have a fun tradition of having people come over with
pies and have a tasting contest. It was good, though having to try a slice of
each pie actually made me a little sick. I enjoyed visiting with people there,
it is always fun.
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| On both counters are some of the pies for the Pi day contest |
Tuesday was a crazy, busy day. Class was very enjoyable, I
feel like it went very, very well. Then we had announcements, orientation for
Galilee, a meeting about the various field trips coming up and the trips we
want to go on as a faculty. Then I had just a few extra minutes which I used to
help put together a slide show for Andy to use when he teaches the students
about Galilee. The students here have put together some basketball teams and
mine practiced for just a while. When that was over I went to greet our guest.
Earlier this month I met Amihai Mazar, one of the best archaeologists here whom
I have always respected. When I met him I asked him if he would be interested
in coming to teach us about his work. He graciously accepted, and so tonight he
came. I went out to greet him, we got the room all set up, and then he gave us
the most fascinating reports. What I hadn’t heard much about was his work at
Tel Rehov, which was really fascinating. But the whole thing was incredible, he
has done such great work. I really enjoyed it.
After his lecture we went and had dinner. When that was over
I took him around the Center a little for a tour. He had been here years
before, when the Center was just being built and when it was newly going. He
was friends with Kelly Ogden and came a few times with him. We showed him
around and Kathy Holyoak gave a little presentation of the organ which was
nice. I eventually left, leaving David to show him out, and I went to our
Branch Presidency meeting. I serve with such good people, I enjoy working with
them. It is a pleasure and a privilege to serve the Lord and these good people
here in the Branch.
Besides class, I spent most of Wednesday getting ready for
Galilee. I made handouts for the sites, printed all my notes, updating some of
them, I copied songs for them that we will want to sing that they may not know,
copied my test, etc. etc. It took up most of the day. When the kids got home,
which was a bit late because of Kaleb’s guitar practice, we had them get ready
for the field trip the next day and so on. They are done with school for about
two weeks now, it is Easter break.
Thursday was a great day. We had a field trip, but we didn’t
leave very early. It made for a nice morning, until everyone go too lax and we
still had to work really hard to get ready on time. Then we left for the
Herodian. The Skinners were with us, and it is so much fun to be with them and
to have my family along. This was my first field trip with this class that
wasn’t Egypt. I think we got off to a fun start and had a great time. We went
to Upper Herodion, the big fortress that Herod built for his protection in case
he had to leave Jerusalem during a revolt. Andy did a great job teaching there,
and I chipped in a little. I think it went very well, though we took up too
much time up there and again didn’t have really any time down below. Too bad,
the Lower Herodian, where Herod’s largest and sumptuous palace was, is pretty
cool to see. They got about two minutes there, and in the end I think that was
pretty fun. I feel like we taught them good stuff and that we had a good time.
This will really help the class come together.
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| Students learning from Andrew Skinner at Herodion |
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| Some of my kids and students in the dining hall turned synagogue at Herodion |
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| The Herodion (Herodium in Latin) |
After the Herodion we went to Bethlehem and the Church of
the Nativity. We have to use a guide there, and we had the same guide as last
time. He was very nice, and did a nice job. There was little line, so we moved
through in very little time. The sad thing is how hard it is to really think
about the birth of the Savior there. We really are more of tourists there, it
is hard to have real devotion there, because you get rushed through everything.
I understand it, the lines are long and they can’t let people take a long time,
but it makes it hard for me to think about the birth of Christ as much as I
would like. Still, it is nice to commemorate it and I can think about it just a
bit while there.
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| Our guide at the Church of the Nativity |
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| Julianne and Tashara at the traditional spot of the manger at the Church of the Nativity |
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| my kids lighting candles at the Church of the Nativity |
When we finished there we went to the Milk Grotto. There
Julianne and Janet Skinner spoke of motherhood. I thought they both had
profound things to say, and I really enjoyed learning from them. I think the
students were able to learn a lot and feel the power of the motherhood that
they spoke of. This is such an important topic, and it was wonderful to hear
such great mothers speak of it with so much power in front of so many young
women. It was a wonderful moment.
Then we gave everyone time for shopping. They all like to
buy baby blankets, and are often able to do so from a member of the Bethlehem
Branch who truly needs the money, so I am glad we buy so much from him. I spent
quite a bit of my time helping a student track down a phone she had lost. I was
glad we found it.
From there we went to eat at the Tent restaurant. It is set
up to be kind of a Bedouin experience. The food is great and the atmosphere is
wonderful. Every single time we eat with the students the other teachers and
service couples all sit together and eat together. This bothers me a bit. We
are there to teach the students, and often the most effective teaching happens
as you sit together to eat and can chat informally. Additionally, sitting all
together sends a subtle message that we really don’t like eating with them. I
have often had students come and thank me for being willing to sit and eat with
them and thus for being accessible to them. It means a lot to them that we want
to be with them, and the opposite message is sent when we don’t. At the same
time, it has definitely been noticed by the other faculty that I never sit with
them. But today it worked out that we just needed to. And I did really enjoy
visiting with them, but I still felt quite badly about not sitting with the
students. It was an opportunity lost.
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| singing in Jerome's Grotto under the Church of the Nativity |
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| singing at St. Catherine's chapel at the Church of the Nativity |
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| Sabrina and Winston in the Tent restaurant |
When we were done there we went to Shepherd’s Field. This is
not where most people go and call shepherd’s field, that is in Bethlehem and is
a spot that the Orthodox Church has chosen as the very place the shepherds
were. It is a series of caves, and could be it, but I doubt it. We go to some
real fields looking across a valley to Bethlehem, a place that shepherds still
use today. It is beautiful and peaceful and I love it. We started out at a
sheepfold I found years ago. We had some nice moments there about the good
shepherd. Then we had some musical numbers, and broke up into our classes. Andy
bore a wonderful testimony to them about the birth of the Savior. We had some
more musical numbers that the students had planned. It was then time for me to
teach them a little, after which we wanted to have time to sing Christmas
songs, bear testimony, and allow time for pondering and journal writing. We
were behind schedule. I asked myself what I wanted to teach them, and felt like
they had already gotten all of it except one thing. While I think that one
thing, contrasting the life of Herod and Christ, would have been nice, every
other reason I had to speak to them had to do with myself, not them. So I
skipped my part, and they bore some nice testimonies, and then had some nice
time to think and write. Then we drove home, singing Christmas hymns the whole
way. We started with the first Christmas hymn in the book and got through all
but one. It was a great feeling, and I think we all enjoyed it.
I have to say that my kids behaved spectacularly well the
whole time. We had one instance where one made another feel badly and we had to
work our way through that, but mostly they were angels. I also think they got a
lot out of it. I hope these memories always stick with them. I feel like they
are drawing closer to Christ and understanding the Bible more and more. I was
so proud when Kaleb recognized an ancient olive press and Jacob recognized an
olive crushing millstone reused in part of a wall elsewhere. It was a wonderful
day to spend together.
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| The sheep cote |
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| More of the sheep cote |
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| our students |
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| more of our students learning at shepherd's field |
The next morning I gave a midterm. It went okay. Afterwards
I spent time grading it and then we went to an orientation where Andy Skinner
taught about the Galilee. He did a great job, and I loved what he did.
Afterwards I did a bit more getting ready for Galilee, then we worked together
on making humanitarian aid kits for Palestinians in great need. When that was
over I watched Alexia play a soccer game with the students, then Kaleb play a
basketball game. Then we had dinner, and I played a basketball game. After this
we went to a little get together at the Skinners. We had a lot of fun there
visiting with each other. It was truly enjoyable. We stopped for a while so
that we could watch Tashara play a volleyball game. On the whole it was a busy,
and fantastic evening.
The next day church was great. We had an excellent set of
meetings. Afterwards we did some home teaching, and then I spent time with the
kids. We are trying to concentrate on what we can do to make the Sabbath more
holy. I asked the kids to tell me about each of the activities they were doing
and how it tied in to the Sabbath. I feel like this helped a bit.
We spent the evening talking about gospel stuff and the
world. We made and had dinner together and visited and played games. It is so
wonderful to have a day set aside to spend with your family. I thank the Lord
every day for the wonderful family I have. I know I am not a good enough parent
to meet all their needs, so I pray like mad every single day to be magnified by
the Lord in such a way that my children’s needs are met despite my own
shortcomings and abilities to know how to best help them. I am grateful to be
able to count on the Lord and to have him as a partner in all of this. We are
blessed beyond measure.
