Week 5 BYU Jerusalem

BYU JERUSALEM Week 5

Slings. Bells. Ninja.

It has been one heck of a week. Seen so much, too much. I feel like no matter how hard I try this blog just can't capture what it is really like here. But I'll give a shot.

So here are the highlights:

Where Samson grew up up and away

Samson.
So we got to go to the area where Samson grew up. We just sat there and listened to our teachers talk about his life. His birth, his life, the amazing things he did, his strength, his weakness and his fall. I don't get so much out of seeing things that people claim to be "the exact place" where this or that happened. Rather I get more from our trips when I just sit and ponder what happened "somewhere around here." Just thinking about his life. It is so amazing that we come to these places.

Goliath.

We also got to go to the valley where David slew Goliath. Man. David was such a boss! Let me just highlight the story real quick:

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath...And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel"choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me..."
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid...
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field...

This is my favorite part; the courage of David!

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

I just love David and his courage. The courage he gets from his faith. It gives me courage. Courage to face the World, the future, the unknown. Sometimes I am afraid of what will come next in my life. There are so many unknowns. But I know that if I hold true to my faith, I can have courage that God will provide. That in the end, when all is said and done, it will be ok.

Bells.
So at the YMCA in Jerusalem there is a huge bell tower. Our music program has the chance once a week to go there for an hour and play the bells for the entire city. It is set up like a piano with knobs that you push down. The knobs pull a lever that hit these huge bells and echo the sound throughout the whole city. I got to play it with the help of an older woman serving here. We played, Follow the Prophet for all Jerusalem. It was cool.

Arab Night.

I'm bottom left

This was a special experience.
PART ONE:
We all dressed up in Arabic cultural clothes first off. Then went to the forum where we got to have some special guests come talk to us for our Arabic culture night. They were singers for the "call to prayer." Muslims pray five times a day and to remind them they have huge megaphones all around the city where people sing the "call to prayer" reminding them to pray at that time. They are really quiet amazing singers and it was something special. What is even crazier is the fact that it has been a family tradition for over 500 years.
500 years!
So these two guys came and sang for us and we had the translations to follow along.
It was really cool!
PART DOUS:
Then they took us into the cafeteria and fed us native arabic food!
I can't remember any names but it was sooooo good.
The picture explains it all.

PART III:
Then we went into the gym and these young girls came and taught us how to dance.
It was pretty basic stuff because there was just so many of us.
After we learned a few moves we all got in a circle and danced.
It was fun immersing ourselves in the culture of other people.

Simple.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about life.
Who I want to be,
What I want to do, etc...
We just go to all these places
and see all these old cities
and graveyards
and ruins
and what blows me away the most
is the humble fact
that everyone is dead.
It sounds silly
and I know I touched on this last time,
but it baffles me.
EVERYONE EVER IS DEAD.
Kings, Princes, priests, pharaohs, rulers, saints etc
Everyone dies.
Anyways
I have been thinking about how I want to live my life. I have decided wherever I find myself and whatever I do, I want to be simple. I want to live a simple life. Focus on the little things. Find joy in the seemingly unimportant and menial. This is something I have been pondering for a long time and it just seems right.

"Life can be wonderful and so meaningful, but we have to live it in a simple way."-David B Haight

Every Day Forever. 
Is there anything you would do every day forever?
Is there anything you could do every day forever?
I, alongside Brett, have recommitted to
read the Book of Mormon
every day forever.

 "But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree...

...And I said unto them that it was the  word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would  hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the  temptations and the fiery  darts of the  adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction."

 In My Eyes.