This is Not Goodbye

This is my last post before I leave to serve a mission in Asuncion Paraguay for a year and a half.  I will first go to the missionary training center in Buenos Aires, Argentina to learn Spanish until the beginning of November and then I will go to Paraguay.  But this is not goodbye, because I don't like final goodbyes.   And I am not dying or anything, just going on a mission.  But even if I were, I would not say any final deathbed goodbyes because that would be assuming that there was an end to that relationship.  And I believe that there no final goodbyes, no ends to relationships.  I believe in a gospel of infinity and eternity.

A leader of my church, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said . . . .

"In light of what we know about our eternal destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life, they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings.

Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless¹³ and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny."

I am leaving to go share this glorious message of everlasting life and eternal happiness with others because I have seen how it has shaped and improved my life, and I want others to experience this same happiness.

I will see you all soon!

Love,

Sister Liza Jarman

Walking in the Footsteps of Christ

My professor told me an awesome story here on the steps of the temple.  This is it.  I found it online.  

This is a paragraph from Thomas Friedman’s book From Beirut to Jerusalem and only seems appropriate given the news of Neil Armstrong’s passing (h/t Stephanie Butnick):

When American astronaut Neil Armstrong, a devout Christian, visited Israel after his trip to the moon, he was taken on a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov. When they got to the Hulda Gate, which is at the top of the stairs leading to the Temple Mount, Armstrong asked Ben-Dov whether Jesus had stepped anywhere around there.

“I told him, ‘Look, Jesus was a Jew,’” recalled Ben-Dov.
“These are the steps that lead to the Temple, so he must have walked here many times.”

Armstrong then asked if these were the original steps, and Ben-Dov confirmed that they were.

“So Jesus stepped right here?” asked Armstrong.
“That’s right,” answered Ben-Dov.
“I have to tell you,” Armstrong said to the Israeli archaeologist, “I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”

This is how I felt on these steps.  Jesus walked here.  So did I.  There was nothing more that I wanted to do in life then keep on walking where Jesus walks, doing what he would do, saying what he would say, loving like he loves.  That is one this Jerusalem really did for me.  Being in such a holy place constantly filled me with desires to be better.  Desires to grow closer to Christ.  I hope I can keep that flame of desire in my heart for the rest of my life.

Kotel Wall, and other adventures . . . .

So, I know.  I am home from Jerusalem now.  So why am I blogging.  But the secret is . . . . this blog was really meant to be a way to remember Jerusalem for me and my life, so during these weeks where I have not much to do because I am waiting to go on a mission, I am going to finish what I started.   I am going to tell the rest of the story of Jerusalem.  Because about the time I stopped blogging, Jerusalem started to really change me.  It also got crazy busy and the time I wasn't on some field trip or in the city was spent with my new best friends because by this point we really were like a giant family that ate together, went to class together, laughed together, played Rook together, went exploring in the city together, etc.

So this is the rest of the Jerusalem story, told in probably the next couple posts.

THE KINNESET

We went and visited the government building of Israel.  The things I remember about it was that we had a British Jew tour guide.  He was cool.  Also, half of the Jeru Center group stopped to take a picture or something and got lost.  So we are sitting in one of the committee rooms and our tour guide has been talking for 5 minutes, and then like 6 people walk in (all from the Jeru center).  We all kind of laughed and the tour guide said something to the effect of "Did you lose your way?".  Of course it was Jeru kids.
The other thing I remember is that I got a seat not at the table where the important official people sat, and about half way through, Ben Lenhart got out of his seat and offered to switch me so that I could sit in the important people chairs and I was really impressed by him.  It was so considerate of him.
Also there was this crazy artwork by Chagall.  Very abstract.  I am not sure what the messages were supposed to mean, but there were three panels.  One representing the past of Israel (Bible), and one representing the present, and one representing the future.

Our British Jewish Tour Guide

 The main assembly hall of the Kinnesset is shaped like a menorah.

 The Jewish Declaration of Independence (from the 1950's--they are a super new country)

Me and Ben on the outside of the Kinnesset.

UNDERNEATH THE WESTERN WALL

We went on a tour underneath the western wall.  I remember that the tour guide kept on asking questions and we knew every single answer.  Every date, every location, everything about the geography, history, you name it of Jerusalem.  This was one of the moments when I remembered how much I had learned in Jerusalem.  Also, seeing the ancient stones that supported the temple and knowing that Jesus really did walk here, above these stones made me want to touch each and every one of them.  I felt the spirit as I realized that I was in a place so close historically to Christ's Jerusalem.  

 The stone is ginormous.  It weighs 500 tons.  Nobody knows how they got this here, but this is one of the foundation stones of the ancient temples.

 The closest spot to the Holy of Holies on the Western Wall.

An ancient mikvah (ritual bath).  And of course we touched it.  Thank you Dr. Seely.

OTHER RANDOM PICS

 In the quarry where they got the bricks for the Temple on the temple mount. It is called Zedekiah's caves.

This is in the artists colony in West J.  We kind of stumbled upon it.  Isn't it gorgeous! I tried to find it later with a group of friends but we never could find it again.  So it is like my little secret garden that I found with Jordan and Valerie and Ben and Jake.

Christmas in July!!

We got to go on a field trip to Bethlehem on Monday.  It was a wonderful day to explore and commemorate and birth of our Savior.  

We started the day by going to the many different churches that celebrate the birth of the Savior.  The main church we went to was Church of the Nativity.  This was a church commissioned by Constantine and his mother Helena when she came to the Holy Land in 327 AD.  It has been in use since then, although the church was destroyed and rebuilt by Justinian in 565 AD.  Right now there are massive renovations being done to the church.   

 St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church---I really love Greek Orthodox churches because they are just covered literally from floor to ceiling in beautiful paintings.  

The ceiling of the church.

 We were in a (somewhat) autonomous Palestinian city, and it was cool to see all of the special "State of Palestine" things throughout the city.  We were in a place where only Palestinians and tourists can go.  No Jews/Israelis are allowed to go here.

Another Palestinian sign.

This is in the church of the nativity. The fourteen point star in the "grotto".  Each point represents a generation between David and Christ, reminding worshippers that Christ was a true king.

 This is a painting of Christ in the Church of the Nativity that I really love.  It is a beautiful portrayal of a normal looking baby.  It looks like a baby you would want to cuddle and hold.  It is a good representation of Christ.

 The cave of Jerome in the Church of the Nativity.  Jerome stayed here until he has translated the entire Bible from Hebrew to Latin (the Vulgate).  The vulgate was used by the Catholic church for many many years.

 A statue inside of the Church of the Nativity of St. George slaying the dragon.  Seriously, people love love love St. George slaying the dragon.  I see artwork about this in tons of churches I have visited.

The church of the nativity is behind us, you can see the bell tower there.

Ein Gedi

Ein Gedi is a nature reserve next to the Dead Sea, and it has really fun hikes to go on through it.  The hikes we did were hikes around the pools.  It was near Masada and the Qumran caves (where the dead sea scrolls were found). So basically I would hike for 1/4 miles hop in a pool, hike for a little bit more to the next pool.  It was great!  

Me and Jake Slater at the waterfall.

 We finally made it to the waterfall!  It was like 100 degrees outside, so it was a welcome surprise.

 The cave we ate lunch in.

Ein Gedi is right next to the Dead Sea.  This is us next to some chalcolithic caves.

 My chaco tan that is forming from wearing my chacos all around.

 On the way back from our exhausting but exhilarating day, our van broke down so we had to wait on the side of the road for half an hour until a new van came a picked us up, and the old and new drivers had loaded the old van up on a tow truck.  This is me and Taylor Smith being stranded.

Jordan Day 4

We woke up and went to the Jordan LDS church.  It was so cool!  They had their own floor of an high rise just for the church.  The auditorium of the JC is beautiful, with its huge windows showing the Jerusalem skyline, but it was so amazing to be in a normal LDS chapel.  I have felt the spirit in many churches around the city, but there was really something different in the LDS chapel.  It felt like home, and looking at the pictures of Jesus there, it felt like my Jesus.  The resurrected, loving, not nailed to a cross, looks like an actual person, with the little kids Jesus.  We talked in Old Testament about the different temples or houses of God the Israelites built and how these represented their relationship with God.  The tabernacle with its simple, movable parts that kept God close.  Then there was the first temple with its show-bread tables that could be used by the priests and represented how they viewed God as the same size as them. Then there is the second temple with its huge grandiose wash basins and menorahs, representing how they viewed God as omnipotent but not relatable.  Then I think of where we worship our God, and the little chapel in Amman, Jordan.   The simple chapel, with very little adornment, as not to detract from the simple light of Christ.  The paintings of Christ with children, showing how he is relatable and loves all.  When we finished singing in the chapel, the missionary couple there said that she had never had that many people sing in the chapel ever.  I love being part of the first wave of the church in new countries.  It makes you realize how much of a minority we really are.

Next we went to the King Abdullah mosque.  Gorgeous.  I especially love going into the women's section of the mosque.  It was smaller, less ornate, and more lived in feeling.  There were two little kids crawling/walking around and a mom and her mother.  We talked to them and one of the ladies that spoke English told us why she loved Islam and how it brought her peace.  

Then went to the River Jordan, where Christ was baptized.  Here we had a wonderful lesson by my professor Dr. Seely.  He talked about how when you come to a holy site there are three questions to be asked.  What happened there, why it was holy and significant to us, and how this can change us for the future.  He talked about how the significance of Christ's baptism comes from the fact that this is where he started his earthly ministry.  This was where Christ reappears as an adult in the Bible, and he really starts his ministry.  It makes me realize that right now is the time in my life right before the baptism.  These are the last years of preparation, and soon I will have to stand up and live the life my Father needs me to live, just as Christ stood up and lived the life His Father wanted Him to live.   Another cool lesson to be learned is learned from the example of the John the Baptist.  Here he is with all his followers, preparing the way for Christ, but in the process becoming very revered and popular among the people, until the baptism of Jesus when Christ starts gaining popularity.  And in John 3:30 John the Baptist explains to his followers that "he must increase, so that Jesus could increase."   John was so humble.  That is what impresses me.

THE MOSQUE

The Jordan River

Me and Jenna (my Israel roommate) and Alyssa Baker (my Jordan roommate)

Jordan Day 3

Day 3 started with a trip to Philidelphia, specifically the city Jerosh.  This was a old Roman City, and it has been amazingly preserved.  Much of it has been rebuild and re stacked up the columns.  Then we went to King Hussein's automobile museum.  Which was really cool , but also I am not a huge car person, so I didn't get all of the cool stuff out of it some others did.  But one thing I did notice was that cars used to be way more classy in the olden days.  Now they are just functional.  Then we went to a Jordanian museum of ancient things.  Ok, so that isn't the real name, but it is pretty dang close.  Then we went and hung out on rainbow street.  Rainbow Street is a street in Amman where all the locals come together and play guitar and stuff together.  It is really the town center of Amman.  And I was standing there, taking the scene in, and my friend Brian leaned over to me and whispered "There is such potential for the gospel here once it is allowed."  And suddenly my perspective changed.  I viewed these people as sons and daughters of God, and I could see in their faces that there was something missing.  And I knew that I had what they were missing.  I wanted to share this message with these people.  It was a great experience and made me so exited to go to a country where I can preach the gospel legally.  

Columns at Jerosh!

 Little nook in Jerash.

 More pillars . . . . 

There was this one pillar where it moved ever so slightly so the spoon you stuck in would move ever so slightly.  It was super cool looking. 

 More pillars . . . 

 A four cornered (Israelite/ancient Holy Land) altar.

 King Hussein's classy cars.

 It is like a tuxedo shoes, but care form.

 Me and Jess Smith hanging out in the car.

 Tron bike!!

 Cool artwork car outside the automobile museum.

 Me high fiving the fist of a giant Hercules statue they found.

 In our hotel room in Amman, it had stickers on the ceiling, telling us where Mecca is (where to pray to).