Well we've almost reached the end of the trip, but today by far was the best. Today we started off the morning by going to an outlook point to take a picture overlooking the Holy City of Jerusalem. Then we headed over to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was a small grove of olive trees. It was very peaceful and reverant despite a busy street and a Catholic church next to it. There was a beautiful spirit there and we had time to reflect on the sacrifice of our beloved Savior. We continued our spiritual journey by going to the Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens, where Brother Gunnerson shared a few thought with us. There was also time for testimonies. Charlie and Kari took this opportunity to share their feelings about the Savior and the people of Jerusalem. Then we had the chance to stroll through the gardens at our own pace. Monica and I took the opportunity to sing hymns to reflect on our Savior and our testimonies of Him.
Then we quickly rushed up to the BYU Jerusalem Center for church (yes they have it on Saturday morning). We were late, but Monica and I said a prayer in our hearts that we wouldn't miss the sacrament. Fortunately, we were able to partake and felt very blessed. It was so exciting to have sacrament meeting there because you can see the city of Jerusalem as you listen to the testimonies of faithful saints. I also saw Rusty, Cora's brother which was really nice to see a familiar face in a foreign land. As usual we were in a rush to leave and headed off to Bethany to check out Lazarus' tomb. This was pretty cool to walk down steep steps and almost crawl into the tomb. After this we headed off to lunch which was falafel. I was over it so decided to not eat, but Monica was brave and went in for it. We had fun talking with friends and then continued on to the best part of the entire trip, the Garden Tomb.
As soon as we came to the Garden Tomb there was something different about the place. It wasn't noisy, overly decorated, made into a Catholic church, and wasn't a tourist trap. It was like a garden with beautiful flowers and trees and most importantly it was peaceful and you could feel the Spirit. One of the reasons why it's like that is because the British own it and want it to be a spiritual experience. A sweet British man talked to us about the Savior and bore a strong testimony of Him and his sacrifice for each one of us. He gave us pretty strong evidence of why this could be the place. We know it was in a garden next to Golgotha or the place of the Skull outside a city gate. This was an ancient garden, right outside Damascus gate, and next to the small mound that looks like a skull. Crucifixions always took place along a major road and here the main road leading to Jericho runs parallel to the garden. We know Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man whose tomb would have been large and spacious. This is the only tomb of it’s grandeur our guide has seen. Also, when Mary entered the tomb, Mark writes that she entered and looked to the right. This tomb has the mourner’s room right as you walk in and the place to lay the bodies is unusually to the right instead of straight ahead. There are two places to lay bodies. One has an extra alcove carved at the base of the bed to make more room for someone’s feet. The other bed has never been used or completed, showing that this is a new tomb. Many facts point to this tomb. The spirit was overwhelming and testified that this was the place. My favorite part was when the guide said that whether this is the place or not it doesn't matter, but what does is that He isn't here for He has risen and He lives. We took time to go inside the tomb and reflect on our Redeemer. We then had another testimony meeting and sang hymns. This by far was the best site of the trip.
Afterwards a group of us headed to the old city to shop. We were adventurous because we had no guide! It was fun going through the maze of streets. Lyndee, our only friend on the trip, came with us and it was a memorable experience. We headed back to the hotel for dinner, an awards ceremony, and packing parties while watching VH-1 Countdowns of course.
We've enjoyed every bit of this journey especially the spiritual sites. We look forward to coming home and sharing more of our testimonies with you about this amazing experience.
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