Happy 4th of July! Not that it felt like it, but it did make us appreciate our free country much more. This morning we had the chance to go to the BYU Jerusalem Center for a tour. The tour started off with watching a movie that is shown to all visitors. Basically it's a quick overview of the center without mentioning the church too much since it's a sensitive subject. Afterwards we went into the chapel area and listened to various pieces on their super expensive organ. It was pretty sweet to listen to the music while looking out on Jerusalem. Then we walked around the gardens that consisted of vegetation that existed in biblical times. The students even get to do the wine press when the grapes are ripe.
We ventured off to our next destination, the Israel Museum. They had a huge model of the city of Jerusalem so you could understand where the walled city was compared to everything else. Our main reason for going to the museum was to see the Isaiah scrolls that hadn't been on display for over twenty years. It was pretty awesome to see them and know that they were over 2,000 years old. After the museum we continued on to another one, the Holocaust Museum. We only had an hour to walk through it, which was fine for Monica and I since we spent five hours at the one in Washington D.C. It definitely touched the heart of everyone that walked through it. It gave us deeper understanding and stronger appreciation for the Lord in our lives.
Our next stop was Bethlehem was our dear Savior was born. However once we got there, it felt like the battle of the churches and not a sacred place. All the churches want to claim that they know where the Savior was born. So we visited a couple of churches and one had an ornate altar with a star that people were kissing. To me it didn't feel sacred. I personally felt sad that this is what people had done to celebrate the birth of the Savior. Monica reminded me that this is the only way they know. Then we thought it'd be fun to go to McDonalds to celebrate the 4th, but because it was Friday everything in the Jewish quarter shuts down for the Sabbath and that's where the McDonalds was. So guess what we ate...falafel or shawerma. Not gonna lie, it was disgusting.
After visiting another store to shop in, we went on an interesting hike that led us to a rocky area on the top of a hill. It overlooked a valley that is a sheppards field. We read about the birth of our Lord in Matthew and Luke and sang Christmas songs. It was a neat moment.
We added one last stop of the day, which was at the wailing wall. This was our second time to see it, but today was different as the Jewish people were welcoming in the Sabbath. There was lots of singing and dancing. People also write notes on paper and put them in the cracks of the wall and pray that God will grant them their wish. It reminded us of the prayer roll at the temple. As people put in their notes they back away from the wall without turning their back on the wall to symbolize they won't turn their backs on the Lord. I found it very interesting and cool. I made Charlie wear his yamaka to fit it and they invited him to join their dancing, but he politely refused.
The rest of our evening included dinner at our hotel, shopping, watching VH-1 Countdowns and going to bed.
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