Sabbath

So, the Sabbath was quite eventful this week. As most of you know, we celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday here in the Holy Land. This week, to bring in the Sabbath we celebrated with the Jews at the Western (aka Wailing) Wall. Jews begin Sabbath at sunset on Friday night and continue to observe until Saturday at sunset (when they can see three stars in the sky). They observe closely to the laws of the Bible and will not light a fire on the Sabbath. This includes turning on lights, using cameras, and starting their cars! Anyways, every Friday night, tons of Jews gather in Jerusalem near the Western Wall to celebrate. The men and women are separated and the men side has a ton of dancing and singing. Everyone near the wall, avidly prays and people gather at the wall to touch it and leave pieces of paper with their prayers on them in the cracks of the wall. To the Jews, this is their most sacred site and treat it with great respect. If you were to ask an Orthodox Jew, theywould tell you that this is the Western Wall of King Solomon's temple, but we learned that it's actually simply just a retaining wall to the Temple Mount. One thing that really impressed me was that the Jews celebrate the Sabbath and are excited to set aside a day to worship, while I often don't feel this way about Sabbath days. I really enjoyed their example of gratitude and appreciation for this time of worship.

Church was awesome on Saturday as well. Elder Pieper of the Seventy and his wife came and spoke in Sacrament meeting. They also joined us in our Sabbath adventures and provided us with a fireside that evening. It's always amazing to hear men of God speak and share testimony of our Savior. He pointed out a major difference between Latter-day Saints and other Christian sects. He realized that we continue to seek knowledge and truth, while others are satisfied with the truths they have received. I thought it was very interesting and I am so grateful for this unique perspective.

After church on Saturday, we all took a tour of the Garden Tomb. This is one of the suspected sites of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ. Although I have been there once before, this experience was very special. This time, we were able to walk inside the tomb and have a tour guide explain why this site follows that of scripture. After the tour, we sat and sang 6-7 hymns. It was amazing! As we sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives", the spirit was overwhelming. Truths were reconfirmed and the unity of our group was prominent. It was a truly amazing and once-in-a-lifetime experience. Tons of people filled the space and we were all unified by our common belief in Christ.

On a different note, we headed to the beach in Tel Aviv today. It was awesome! We swam in the Mediterranean Sea, which is my first ocean experience outside of the Pacific. It was a beau

tiful bright day and we spent most of the day sitting on the beach. One of the highlights happened while playing an awesome game. So, one person would spin (with eyes closed) in the middle while others would stand in a circle. Then, the person in the middle points to the one person and asks them to make an animal noise and tries to guess who it is from this noise. On one occasion, the person in the middle pointed and an old man was standing behind the appointed person and made a crazy animal sound. It was completely unexpected and utterly hilarious. It was definitely a highlight of the day. I'm definitely sunburned, but it was completely worth it.

Also, today is Mother's Day and I'd like to thank my mothers for their efforts in raising me. To my mother, I'm grateful for her memory and for her presence in the important moments in my life. Then, to Beth. Thank you for your compassion, love and example throughout my life. I love you both!