It's been awhile...

I'm quite sorry for all my blog readers. It seems as though I've fallen off of the face of the earth looking at my blogging. Since my computer is out of order for the time being, it presents issues when trying to blog, but that's no excuse...

Recently, we went to Jordan. Actually, we got back yesterday! It was tons of fun! Some of the highlights were:

1. Turkish Bath- First, you strip down to nothing and tie a thin sheet towel around you and enter into a sauna. After sitting there for awhile, someone takes you into a sketchy room and lays you on a sheet that isn't changed very often. Usually, for men they have men and women they have women to bathe/massage you. This was not the case for us. A young Jordanian man was actually the man who bathed me that night. You lay on the table while he pours water all over you and scrubs all the dead skin off of you. He definitely scrubs most of your body, which kind of makes you feel violated, but it was an experience I'm glad I had. Twenty dollars well-spent.

2. Petra- This was awesome! They carved buildings into a red mountain! Wow! They were absolutely epic! I loved walking around and climbing up these mountains. It is hard to comprehend that they actually carved buildings and tombs out of the side of a mountain!!! One of the highlights was buying a shirt with a bunch of camels on it that says Jordan Petra on it. The best part about this shirt is that it's essentially a turtle neck. We like to call it my "turtle tee". It's definitely attractive...

3. Amman at night- The first night in Amman was sweet because we walked down to the strip mall and bought movies for 1 Jordanian Dinar (1 JD=$1.5). I purchased Eclipse, which is kind of embarrassing, but that's okay. On the way back, I was so excited to watch the movie that I was nearly killed multiple times. I kept almost getting hit by cars and a gate nearly closed on me. Luckily, I had some good people around me to watch out and make sure I didn't die. I came away without a scratch! The next night, we found an Arab circus! We wanted to go, but since it was far too expensive for us, we just told everyone that we went... Nobody really believed us.

4. Jerash- These are the best-preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy! This place was awesome! I loved admiring the Roman architecture and taking sweet pictures! At the end, we saw the Roman show, which reenacted the gladiator fights and chariot races that would have taken place during that time. One of the boys from our program was able to be one of the actors in the gladiator scene, which made it all the better! He looked the part!

5. Visiting the Branch House- We went to the Amman Branch house one day and heard about the History of the church in that area. It was so amazing to hear all about the trials they've faced and overcome. I love seeing how the Gospel is the same everywhere! Afterwards, we had homemade cookies and sat on the beautiful grass in the back. It made it feel like home! I loved it. This is a picture of us relaxing in the grass at the branch house. These are my good friends Becky and Christian! I love them!

6. Bethabara- This was Jesus' baptismal site on the Jordan River. We got to dip our feet, which was nice since it was broiling outside. We read a few scriptures and sang a Baptism primary song!

Some lowlights of the trip:
1. Receiving no wake up call one morning and nearly missing Petra!
2. Almost being hit by many cars walking back to our hotel in Amman.
3. Having a creepy waiter follow me to my room and try to come in at the Hotel in Amman.

Overall, the trip was awesome and I loved it! I'm so sad to be going back in a few weeks, but excited to see all of the people that I've been missing.