Busy and Great

It has been too long since I have written. Two weeks ago I didn’t write because it was my last day to spend time with my family before leaving them for quite a while, and I thought I would have time to write in the evenings while at Galilee. I was very wrong about that, and so I am way behind.

We started out the week in a great way. Our whole family came with the students while we did the field trip where we went down to the archaeological remains all around the temple mount/Dome of the Rock. We looked at steps on which the Savior had walked. We saw places where he almost undoubtedly performed miracles. We witnessed the remains of what had been destroyed on the mount by the Romans, which had so sadly fulfilled prophecy. It was a good and powerful field trip, and was great to do with our family. I felt badly that a few times Julianne missed some of the stuff we talked about as she was taking care of crazy little ones. But I think it was a great time.

Afterwards we were able to stay in the Old City with BJ and Tashara, while the ever-kind Jill Judd took the rest home. We had a wonderful day and were able to do some things we really enjoyed. It was the first time the kids had seen the Jewish Quarter of the city.

Two days later we took the students around to a bunch of Christian churches in the Old City. We started with the Holy Sephulchre, and while many had been there before, I think I was able to help them see some things about it they never had before, and appreciate it more. We also were able to go to a Syrian Orthodox Church, where a very devout lady shared with us miraculous stories from her life. And we were able to see a place in which Orson Hyde may have stayed while here, and a place there where “Hyde” had been carved in a door in which many tenants carved their name. Pretty cool.

But for the most part the week was spent in getting tests ready and getting ready for Galilee. It took up most spare minutes that I had. It was one of the busiest weeks I have ever had.

Sabbath was fun because it was the primary program. The kids were great. My kids did so well. It was slightly marred by Sabrina and Alexia having some fights while sitting on the very front of the stage, in front of everyone. But that’s parenting, a few good moments coupled with a few bad within a few minutes of each other.

The next morning we started out very, very early for our trip to Galilee. The Relief Society had sponsored a panel about motherhood for the students the night before, and I had heard about a few comments from a person or two that did not seem exactly right to me. I woke up at 4 am and was never able to go back to sleep because I could not escape the overwhelming, continually coming waves of feeling that I needed to address this with the students. I decided I would do it on the bus the first thing in the morning.

But as we got going I just couldn’t get myself to do it. So we rode quietly to Caesarea, where we had a great field trip. It is a site with so many great things to do and see, and surprisingly so many scriptural ties. We had a great time, and then moved on to Nazareth. I planned on talking about motherhood while on the bus again, but just couldn’t get myself to do it.

It is, of course, amazing to be in Nazareth. How incredible to think about the Savior growing up there. And to picture the annunciation, how wonderful! We went up to the place that is supposed to be the site of the synagogue in Nazareth, but could not get in. So we talked about some things there, and moved on. We went to the Church of the Annunciation. It was almost completely empty, because it was Sunday, so we had a great experience there. I think that is the most I have seen students enjoying their time in that Church. We had a nice time in Nazareth.

As we got on the bus it suddenly occurred to me that right after talking about Mary was the perfect time to talk about Motherhood. So we had a long discussion about basing our decisions and desires on eternal principles, and about not trying to believe both what God teaches us and what the world teaches us, though that is what most LDS women struggle with because the world is so loud on this matter. I was afraid that I was getting a little preachy and that I had exhausted them on this matter, so I wrapped it up and sat down. One student had a question she asked me that I thought might be something many had questions about. There were a few empty seats at the front of the bus so I got back on the microphone and told students that for those who were interested we would continue the conversation a little bit more, and they could come up to the front of the bus. The whole bus stood up. After a minute they said they all wanted to hear and we should just keep doing it on the mike. I was surprised at the amount of hungering for coming to an understanding on this topic. I should not have been. These students are at a time when they know they have some big decisions coming up, and some of them are a bit conflicted regarding it. The conversation continued for the rest of the free moments we had on the bus, and with various students coming up to me at various times throughout our whole week and a half there. There is a real need to be met here.

In any case, in the midst of all that we went to an incredible view atop Mt. Arbel. From there you can see the whole Sea of Galilee and the important points round about. We finished as the sun set, and went down to our bus. As we were finally driving to the place where we were going to stay, our bus broke down. We spent some time trying to fix it, gave up, and had another bus come and get us. We made it to En Gev (the place we stay at) in time for dinner, had a great dinner, and I got to enjoy seeing the students go out onto the Sea of Galilee for the first time. It was great to see them have those “I can’t believe I’m really here” moments.

Teaching class here is great. We had three hours of class on Monday, and it whizzed by so quickly I could not believe it. They seemed to really enjoy it. I spent my afternoon taking a nap I desperately needed, and then getting ready for the field trip the next day. I finally went out to visit with the students on the beach because I wanted to see how they were getting along. I could not believe what they had done. They had decided that instead of making sand castles they would make sand historical sculptures. They first showed me the harbor, light house, theater, and hippodrome of Caesarea. Then they showed me the Temple Mount they had made. They had the temple, with details in it, and the altar, etc. (even with a little cow on the altar). They had made the walls around it with all the right kinds of stones and features. They had made the right arches, gates, stairs, and topography. They knew their stuff and had done it so very well. It was very, very cool. It is great to see them getting so into this stuff, and to see that they know it so well.

Shepherds and Halloween

Another great week! Things are getting really intense, so many things going on at the same time, it is getting a bit brutal to try to keep up. We had a very nice Sabbath. In the evening we watched the Nativity Story, which was pretty good at getting you to think about the way these large events played out in the day-to-day life of Mary and Joseph and others. What an incredible thing.

Watching it was in preparation for the Sunday field trip. The whole family got to come since it was on Sunday. I especially enjoyed that. It was my first field trip with this new group. It was good, but they wandered a bit more and were a bit harder to keep together. I am going to have to work on that with them. We have so much to do in the next while we will really need to all work together.

We went to the Herodian, and talked about Herod. What a crazy life, and what a negative impact he had on so many people. He did build some cool stuff, and we went through some of the grandest today. It was fun to see some bits and pieces of history come together for my family and the students. And my family had a great time with these guys.

When we were done there we went to Shepherd’s Fields for a program of talking about the birth of the Savior. They are great fields still used by shepherds today, and just on the other side of the hill from Bethlehem. We had some great musical numbers, some journal time, many wonderful testimonies, and we sang together. Incredibly, a herd of sheep went through while we were writing in our journals. We also loved hearing the bells from the Church of the Nativity ring while we were writing. I think everyone there was touched by the gift God gave us in sending his Only Begotten to the earth, right there within our eyesight. So many testimonies were about the reality of the and the great love of God in sending his Son. My family was really touched, they were truly edified. And I believe it was one of the best experiences the students have had.

The next day was a day of trying to get a lot of things done. In the next two weeks, before we leave for Galilee, I have to get ready for 8 field trips (these usually take me about half a day or more each), as well as teach my classes, make a midterm and a study guide, and take the students on 4 different field trips on that same time. I hope I can get it all in. Plus I have some guests coming this week and next that I will entertain a little. And on each of my days that are largely clear for working I am ending up meeting with individual students for fairly long periods of time. I love that, and it is the real reason I am here, and is more important than getting the field trips ready (and a lot more fun), but it all adds up to a pretty hectic schedule. Yikes! But we will get it all done somehow.

Tuesday was a great day. That evening the students hosted our families for trick-or-treating. They all bought candy, and all came up with the most creative costumes you can imagine. With hardly any time and hardly any resources they were so good. Our kids loved going around to their homes and had a ton of fun with them. Then we all had a chili and corn bread dinner together, and then a Halloween party that they put together, with so many fun and creative games. Our kids had so very much fun. And they got the best face-painting jobs I have ever, ever seen. You would not believe how good the butterflies the girls received were. Wow!

Other highlights included taking the students, and my oldest two, on a late night tour of the Kotel tunnel, where we could see the full length of the wall that surrounded Herod’s temple, and walk where the Savior very well may have walked. It was very cool. We also went on a field trip along the separation wall with a guide, and talked about some if its politics. Very informative, and somewhat emotionally exhausting. Such a complex issue, and I hope we are helping the students understand how complex it is.

I tried a new experiment this week. The bread here really isn't good, and we don't eat it much. Can't get any without a rye flavor (well you can, but its difficult), and none of us like the rye flavor much. So, instead of French Toast, I made French pita. Same way of cooking, just pita. It may be even better than French toast. Its harder to cut, but more filling, and was a hit. See, we can adapt.

We also went as a family (except for Jacob), along with many students, to a synagogue service. How wonderful, to see so many people worshipping God so joyously. The congregation called themselves conservative, but they seem more liberal than that. They have a female rabbi, the men and women sit together, and they were not the least bit solemn. The rabbi danced with her children during the songs, we all clapped and sang along, the kids wandered around a bit during the service, went downstairs for a little kid time, then came up and sang to us. While it was all joyful, it was also easy to see the real worship in the singing and chanting. We had a great sermon by a congregation member, who gave a wonderful talk about the three religions there getting along and being their very best. It was quite profound. My younger kids could have behaved a little bit better, but all in all it was a very nice experience.

I am also really enjoying my New Testament class. I am getting insights as I study personally that I have never gotten before, and I am enjoying going through these scriptures with the students. This is a great group. I am coming to understand the Savior’s life and love and teachings, and especially his love for his Father, more than I have ever before. Things are really incredible.

Great Families and great students

I just can’t believe that we can stack so many incredible weeks one on top of the other. How can they just keep being so incredible?

Last Sabbath was great, as it always is. I so enjoy being with the students and helping them grow spiritually. They are so pure and want so much to be good. The Church is in good hands with these good folks. I also enjoyed seeing BJ act as the Deacon’s quorum president, and today Tashara was set apart as the Young Women’s class secretary. What great opportunities for them. They then went to a youth leadership meeting. It is great to see them doing such good things. I need to help BJ have a presidency meeting soon, and teach him about leadership moments.

Sunday was such a great day. We went with the Judd and Lewis families on a great field trip. We went to Beth Shemesh and talked about the Samson story. It was fun to see the kids running around so much and enjoying being with each other. Then we went to the Valley of Ehlah, and read the David and Goliath story together and let the kids sling stones together. When that was over we went to Mareshah, and went to some great caves created by limestone mining. The kids had a phenomenal time running around inside. We sang a bit too, loving the echo qualities of the place. We also went to a dove cote there, and some fun tombs. I love seeing the kids enjoy each other so much and all the cool things around here. When we were done with that we went to Lachish, and talked about the huge citadel and how it was attacked and conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians. It is really a very cool site, and I think the kids liked it. We even took them over to the temple site that is there.

At that point the other families left us (the Judds even a bit earlier). But we were still up for some more adventure. So we stopped by some caves and went spelunking. I was a bit nervous crawling through the tunnels that no one had been in for a while, just because I didn’t want to encounter a snake that had sought refuge there or something. But in the end it turned out fine, and we had a great time in some great, wonderful caves. What adventure, the kids loved it.

The next day was a bit of a mixed day. We let the Palestinian culture teacher take us to some places in Bethlehem, which is in the West Bank. We had to go through the separation wall to get there, and that was an experience for the students. I tried to talk to them about the complexity of the politics behind the wall, but I’m not sure they got it. The first place we went was a Palestinian think tank. There we heard an incredibly propagandistic lecture. None of us were expecting it. It was frustrating because there was good information that the students really should hear, but it was mixed in with a whole bunch of wrong information, bad math that led to untrue facts, and just crazy propaganda. Some of the students could recognize it for what it was, but many just soaked it all in. I usually try not to get involved in political commentary with my students, but on the bus I had to say at least a little bit to help them know not to take this all in at face value.

From there we went to Bethlehem University. The students heard a little lecture on the history of the place, then saw a movie on the history of the place that was laced with amazing amounts of political propaganda, and then got to ask a bunch of students questions, that was fairly laced with political propaganda. When that was over they got to visit with students randomly for a while, which was great. Then we had a nice lunch.

The frustrating thing is that there is such alack of balance. We should expose the students to this, but also to the other side of the coin, and we don’t. I am sad to say that I think the program has been built a little bit this way, to provide a bit of a bias. I would like to do it differently in the future, I would like to not sway them in this way. I would like to give them all sides in a balanced way. I do not believe it is happening here. It was very frustrating.

What was more frustrating was that this happened just before we went to the Church of the Nativity, which should be a great experience, but everyone felt like it started out with some toxin because of the earlier events. To make matters worse, lately it has been very crowded at the Church, and today was worse than ever because President Abbas had come this morning, which closed it down for the first two hours, so the line was backed up. We waited in line for two hours. Then the students had to hurry through the parts that they were there to see. At last, when it was past time for us to leave, we gathered in a chapel and sang Christmas hymns. That part was great, and thus we ended on a good note. It took us forever to get home, going through the wall, etc. In the end it was a bit of a frustrating experience.

The next day we had classes. Then Julianne and I spent most of the day visiting with different students who had various questions, concerns, and trials. The same was true of the next day as well. I love doing this with Julianne. It is so much better to do it with her, and I love how she and I can share our life together more this way. And the way it helps us grow closer to the students, and how much joy we get from trying to bless the lives of these students is the most enjoyable part of being here. These students are such amazing people, and we love them so much. They bless our lives, and we love these times of being able to sit down with them and talk about the things that matter most.

That night BJ and I went to a part of town we hadn’t been in before, and we had a good scout meeting. I am pleased with how scouts is progressing. Tonight BJ was elected senior patrol leader by the rest of the troop. It is good for him, but I am not sure we have the time and schedule to live up to this responsibility. We will really have to work on it. BJ is becoming a great young man.

Wednesday was sadly the last day of class I had with my Old Testament class. I will love my new class, and I will still get to see these guys, but I love them so much. It was hard for me to say goodbye, even though it wasn’t really goodbye. I got very choked up. Julianne also came, with brownies, and addressed them. She also got choked up and got me going worse. Bless her heart, besides the other good things she said, she talked about the joys of motherhood. She is so good for them.

Then the students gave me a gift and thanked me. It was overwhelming. I could not believe how great they are, and how filled with love I am for them. I really started bawling. They were so good to me, and I love them so much. What great people, I really just can’t express how wonderful they are and what a touching moment it was. Their gift touched me very, very deeply. My time here is increasingly marked by walking around with an overwhelming feeling of love. This is a great experience in that way.

Thursday was an interesting experience for Julianne. She ran a Breast Cancer Awareness race along with four of the students. She ran through a lot of New/West Jerusalem, and ran along the wall of the Old City. Pretty cool to be able to run a race through Jerusalem. We had a good day, getting lots of good stuff done. That night we ate with the students, and I stayed for a long time visiting with them. I am getting an increasing amount of questions about politics. They can tell they are not getting a full story, and I think are becoming increasingly aware that even with a full story they would not understand it all. No one can. Things here are so complex, and every viewpoint, every angle, every narrative, has another side to it. When they want to talk about it, I am happy to help them see how complex it really is, and help them see the various sides of it. I sure enjoy visiting with the students, these are such wonderful people.

Friday I spent time with my new class. These guys are great, and this will be wonderful. I got to spend a lot of the day with my family today, and still got a lot of good stuff done. We are having such wonderful scripture study. It is incredible to sit on our balcony and study the scriptures together. The other day we read of the triumphal entry, and I was able to point out where it happened. When we read of Jesus teaching in the temple I can say “right down there.” The wonderful experiences just keep piling one on top of the other.

Olives and Pirates

What an incredible week. It is hard to believe that we can continue to have such intense and wonderful experiences week after week, but we do. It is a wonderful opportunity to serve in the Church here. The spirit fills me with such love for those whom we serve here. I cannot get over how much I have come to love all these students, those in my class and the others, I think largely because I work with them in the Church and the spirit brings a mighty charity. It also fills me with a greater and greater love for my family all the time. The opportunity to work so closely with my wife in our home life (I am able to work from home most the time, which lets me be around her so much more, and because I don’t have to commute and because my kids can be involved in my work stuff so much I am around them so much more), in my academic life, in my Church life, in my social life (I have no friends here that she doesn’t know and also do things with), it has helped me be closer to her than ever before, and I am amazed at how much I go around being filled with a love of her and everyone here. It is a great gift from God.

This last Sunday we went with the family of the other counselor in the Branch Presidency, the Glenn Lewis family, to Nebi Samwill. The kids had a ton of fun together. Plus, I was able to teach my children about Samuel, Joshua and the battle where the sun and moon stood still, Solomon and his vision of God, and Saul. It is so wonderful to see these stories come alive for them, and to be able to teach them that way. We were able to have the Lewises over for lunch, and then we spent a lot of time with a couple of students who were the only two who had not been able to go on a big activity. It was great to get to know them better. All the students here are so incredible.

The next day was a kind of terrible day. We took the students on a tour of the Holocaust museum. It is a good thing to do, but it really made me sick. I only realized later that I had been clenching my jaw the whole time, which gave me a horrific headache, and that combined with not being able to eat when I wanted and with the emotional exhaustion really had me sick by the end. I won’t talk about how much that place disturbs me, how horrible it all is, because I don’t want to go through it again. I think people need to go there, but I don’t want to keep going there. This time I thought I would do something different to maybe make it better for myself. I paid a little less attention to the stuff in the museum and instead watched the faces of the students as we went through. I watched as these happy, shiny, innocent looking students went from bright faces and eyes to sadder, to pale, to horrified. The light went out of their eyes, the shine from their faces, and in the end that was even more depressing. It is a bad, but necessary day.

Tuesday we had a court of honor, and BJ really started to advance in scouting. He has done so much in scouts, but somehow we have never been able to get in the loop of jumping through the hoops to have the official advancements come. Here we are finally making it happen. It was great to see.

But we had an even great experience on Tuesday. For a week now we have been picking olives. I have been out a ton, both picking with the students and trying to pick enough for my family as well. I have picked buckets and bags full of olives, and it has been a very instructive process for me. On Tuesday we went out with the students, and then later with just our family, the Judd family, and our Jewish friends (who teaches a class here), the Yarden family, to process the olives. It was so great to see the kids push the olive crusher around. We had to do it for nearly an hour, just pushing the great stone around a circle to crush the olives. Then the kids got to get their hands in the mash of olives we had made, and fill up a bunch of baskets. Then we took the baskets over to a press (with the students we did two kinds of presses, with our kids just one). We pressed the olive mash that was in the baskets. The juice comes out a brownish-red, very blood colored. The crushing and pressing often makes it look as if the stone is bleeding. Then the juice ran into some pots in the ground, where the juice sank to the bottom, leaving a golden oil on top. After letting it settle for many hours I was able to get some beautiful olive oil out for our family. We will consecrate this oil later.

I took a moment (after our Jewish friend went to the playground to play, where we would meet him) to talk to our kids and the Judd kids about the symbolism of the Olive Press (Gethsemene) and how the process works and what the Savior did for us on Gethsemene. I would have liked to have talked about during the entire process, but waited out of respect for our friend. Still talking about it when it was all over I think made for a good teaching moment, and I think the older kids understood something more about the atonement when it was over. That by itself makes all the hours of work more than worthwhile.

Wednesday I was able to go visit the Church of the Nativity, which always overwhelms me. Though I have been there a few times before, and though right now it is covered with scaffolding so that one can hardly see a thing, and though I have many times thought of this topic, I was still powerfully moved by the love, grace and mercy represented by God sending his son, and Christ being willing to come to earth. It was an incredible thing to sit and contemplate the overwhelming gift. I am sure I do not fully understand it, I am sure I do not appreciate it enough, I am sure that it is more important for me than I can comprehend, but what I do understand and the appreciation I do feel moves the very depths of my soul, and makes it even deeper.

We also went to Rachel’s tomb. I was grateful to have a few moments to pay respect to my great ancestress. The difficulty of her life and her family’s is easy to overlook. Here was a great woman (she had her problems to be sure), who has given life to a great people, including me and my family. I literally thanked the Lord for the great people who have sacrificed so much to get us where we are today.

Thursday was a big night for us. It was the untalent show. We have been practicing to perform a funny version of “A Pirate’s Life for Me.” We were first, and I think it was a huge hit. We had a great time, and the kids felt good about what they did, and everyone seemed to love it. The rest of the talent show was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. These students are so funny. I could not believe how much I laughed. It was a great night.

On Friday we went from one local birthday party to another. It is good to get to know the area and people around here a little bit better. We also got to learn Israeli folk dancing (except for Kaleb, who didn’t want to, and snuck out). More wonderful and fun culture. There is so much to take in.

Scouts, City of David, and more

So, it was two months ago today that we got on the plane. Time is flying!

Last week was a fun and interesting week. BJ and I went on a scout camp with the little group of Americans that we do scouting stuff with. This camp was different because we also camped with an Arab Christian (Catholic) troop. These are guys that live in the Old City next to the Holy Sepulchre. It was especially interesting because once we got up there we found out that they were a mixed gender troop, girls camping with the boys. We made sure we camped a bit farther away from them than we normally would have.

It was great to talk with this Christian group about what it was like to live in the Old City as Palestinians and Christians. They don’t quite fit in with anyone, and have a bit of a hard row to hoe in that manner. But they are strong in their Christianity. Their Scoutmaster talked to me for a while. He told me that he recently did a thing with a bunch of scouts who were of 6 different Christian faiths. He started out his speech to them by telling them that it did not matter whether or not they were Coptic, Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant or anything else. They were all Christians, and they should unite together in that way. I agree so much with what he is saying. I even think we can unite together as people of differing religions, whether Muslim, Christian, or Jew, but just uniting together as people who believe in God. There is a great sense of unity in that way.

Anyway, it was a good camp. We taught the other troop Wilderness Survival stuff, and gave them some wilderness survival packs. It was a fun day. We also played steal the flag and some other fun games with them at night. They made us dinner, a tasty Arab meal, and we made desert. BJ and I helped with the dutch oven peach cobbler. The cobbler only turned out kind of good, but the oven was very hard to clean. We also did the totin’ chip training for them. I’m not sure the stuff about how to handle knives safely made any difference at all, but we tried.

This week we took the students on the field trip to the City of David. At the very, very last minute it worked out for Julianne to be able to come also. I so enjoyed having her with me, it was great. We looked at the varying structures from the time of David and Solomon, including the structure that might be David’s palace. We looked at the houses from the time of Jeremiah and Lehi which show evidence of the destruction that came upon the city under the Babylonians, which Jeremiah and Lehi had prophesied of. We looked at the place where Solomon was anointed king. We read a lot of scriptures together and learned a lot of lessons together. Then we went through the tunnel Hezekiah had chopped into the rock underneath the city to bring the water from the Gihon spring to the pool of Siloam. It is over 1700 feet long, going right through the rock under the city, with the water from the Gihon flowing through it. This time it never even got past my upper thigh, though when we went through as students it was up to my chest. It was fun and exciting to go through together. While in the tunnel we sand “give said the little stream”, and for a while turned out all our flashlights and saw how dark it really was. When we got out we sat by the pool of Siloam and talked about the man who had been born blind and had some lessons from that. All in all it was a great day. It was especially good because Julianne was there. I have found that as good as these field trips are with the students, they are better when Julianne is there.

This week we took Tashara out to a nice dinner to celebrate her turning 12 (last week). She is turning into an amazing young woman, someone who is trying so hard to do what is right and be the right kind of person. She is so pure and good.

We also celebrated the Seder (Passover) meal this week. It is not the right time for it, but we do it every semester with the students so that they can learn about it. It was a great experience, and we learned a lot. The kids like the students so much that only Jacob sat with us, the others sat with their friends and enjoyed being with them.

I am having so much fun here. We have started reading scriptures on our balcony, overlooking the temple mount/dome of the rock, and the city of Jerusalem. This has not come without its grumbling, but it has been a great experience. We are getting more out of our family scripture study than we ever have before. I am so enjoying my classes with the students, and am only frustrated that we don’t get to spend more time in the classroom with them. It is like a little Zion experience with them here. We do school/work together, we often eat together, they are with us for about half of our personal lives, we do church and everything ecclesiastical together. And everyone gets along, and as time goes by the feelings of love for each other just increases and increases. It is an incredible experience.

We love it all!

Fast moving weeks

We were very glad that when we got back from Egypt so late that no one had school the next day, or even the next week. (At least none of our kids did, Dad and the BYU students had life as normal.) We were able to relax a little, catch up on shopping, etc.

The little ones had fared very well because Jill Judd had watched them. She is an amazing trooper. She had her three youngest and our three youngest with pretty much no one else around to help. Happily some of the missionary couples came to help her, so that each evening they read stories to the kids and helped them get ready for bed. But she was remarkable with them.

Meanwhile, I am amazed at the bond that the Egypt trip has created between the students and also between me and the students. I love them like a father and feel very protective of them. We are all very close now.

This week we got to do cool things like drive around and look at Sukkot booths, think about Simchat Torah, etc. It is great that as we return from Egypt and Mt. Sinai that they are celebrating the 40 years in the wilderness here in Israel, and the reception of the law at Sinai. The timing is meaningful for us.

Tashara turned 12 this last week. She is growing into such a beautiful and capable young woman. The day before her birthday there was a district wide youth activity. She was able to go along with BJ and Mom, who represented me in my role in the Young Men's presidency. I taught while they left, and Kaleb watched the other kids. Then I got down and we had a good day together. We shopped, played, etc. It was a nice day.

BJ and Tashara got to do such cool stuff. They went to Akko, a crusader town, and played in the crusader bay, went through crusader fort remains, and even out a Templar escape tunnel. Cool stuff.

Tashara bore her testimony in church on her birthday, and started young women's. I am very proud of her. The next day we had a little party/luau for her with the students, and made a huge hit when we all did the limbo.

We also went to the Church of all Nations at the Garden of Gethsemene, along with the Judds. It was a great experience. We got there just before they were going to close. Some nuns from St. Anne's were there singing, and it was incredibly beautiful. We had a very nice experience there. The sun set as we left, right over the Golden Gate. That was also beautiful, but it also meant that we needed to hurry home to make it there before dark. So we went up a very steep path, very steep, which is probably similar to the path that the Savior took each day as he went from the temple to Bethany. We had some crazy moments, but made it home just before it got really dark.

Other cool things this week was Julianne, Jacob, and Sabrina coming with me as we went on a field trip to Gath (where Goliath is from), the Ehlah valley (where David killed Goliath, Maresha, Lachish, which is an amazing site, and Beth Shemesh, where we could look down on where Samson grew up. The kids were fun, and the whole thing was amazing.

We are having great experiences, but we there is so much more to do.

Sinai

After a few hours of sleep we woke up and had a little snack, grabbed our sack-breakfast, and started hiking up the mountain. Julianne has been having problems with her knees, so she rode a camel most of the way up. Kaleb, Tashara, BJ, the Judds and I hiked up with the students, bringing up the rear (way in the rear). We had a really nice hike. It was almost a full moon, and was beautiful. A few times we almost went the wrong way, but we made it. We really had a great time. We met Mom just before we got to the top and she hiked with us the last little way.

We got to the peak as the sky was just starting to get a little light. We ate our breakfasts (what hadn't already been eaten on the way up) and then gathered with some of the students on a rocky outcrop. There we sang songs together as we waited for the sunrise. I especially enjoyed it when we sang "How Great Thou Art". We gave everyone some time to sit and think.

The sunrise was wonderful, with amazing colors. I then gathered my class around me. There, on the peak, we spoke about Moses meeting God, about the Israelites meeting God, Elijah meeting God, God giving his law, all on Mt. Sinai. I spoke of the theme of God wanting to be with his children, and all he does to make that happen. We read part of Exodus 24. Kaleb slept through almost all of it, hunched up on the peak of the mount. I think most people had a great experience, and some students told me it was the highlight of the entire trip. It really is moving to think of the grand experiences that took place on Mt. Sinai, wherever that is.

After some time to think, etc., we started back down. BJ hiked down the stairs of penance with some of his new, good friends. Tashara and Carrie Judd went down with some others. Julianne rode a camel. Kaleb and I had a wonderful time hiking down together. It is something I will always remember.

Towards the bottom we saw Julianne on her camel. The saddle had slipped around, the camel was having some problems, and it was causing Julianne a very painful ride. She had blisters on her hand from trying to hold onto the saddle. So, we got her off and she made the end of the hike with us.

All in all, it was an incredible experience.

The kids then got to swim just a bit as we packed. Then we had lunch (they kept giving us free drinks because they thought I was in charge), got on the bus, and headed out for home. The drive was good. The border crossing was long, but okay. We had a fun dinner at a kibbutz. On the long drive Kaleb talked to the students about himself. Julianne and I told them the story of our getting engaged,and got the Jacksons to do it too. We played music together with the students, and had a really fun time.

It was great to see our little ones we had left behind for a week. They ran up to the bus to meet us, and we had a happy reunion. It was an amazing trip!