Petra, the ancient desert kingdom. Petra, the city carved of stone. We walked through a narrow slot canyon which serves as the entrance to the city. There is a narrow water channel carved into the side of the canyon. Our guide said there used to be a plaster pipe which carried water into the city. Now, just the channel remains, in some places still perfectly visible in the rock and in others, completely eroded away. As we reached the end of the canyon, our guide had us all put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us and walk forward with our heads down. Then, as we exited the canyon, he told us to lift up our heads, and what a sight we beheld! Before us stood the famous treasury building of ancient Petra, carved into the rock and towering above us. There were camels everywhere arrayed in colorful printed rugs and tassels, merchants selling little gold trinkets and souvenirs, donkeys standing in the shade waiting for hire, and, of course, the desert sand all around us with the sun shining down from a perfectly blue sky. It was an unforgettable experience. 

Jabbok River

This is where Jacob wrestled with God and received the invitation to climb the ladder. He wasn’t ready yet, and I can relate in some way. There have been times in my life when I haven’t been ready to make a decision and needed to hold off until I was in a better place. What Jacob began at Bethel, he completed here at the Jabbok river. As with Jacob, the hope for all of us is that over time we will spiritually mature, that one day we will be ready to make the decisions that will bring us to God. The prophet Brigham Young once said: “We struggle and wrestle until God parts the veil.” 

Jerash

This is a place of huge Roman ruins where I realized just how much we can miss when it isn’t pointed out to us. For example, I was walking down the main Cardo road, minding my own business, pretty absent minded because I didn’t know anything about the significance of where we were at. Suddenly, our tour guide stopped us and pointed down at the road surface. “Do you notice the stones?” he asked. Uhhhh . . . no . . . came the sheepish reply in my head. Honestly that would have been the last thing I would have noticed. Then came the explanation. “Do you see how all the stones are placed diagonally?” Oh yeah, now I do. Oh well, moving on! said the voice in my head. But our guide wasn’t finished yet. “Why are they positioned like that?” I stopped to think, because they wanted to? “Look at the wheel marks in the worn stone. If you place the stones diagonally, then the wheels of a wagon or chariot won’t contact them at the same time so the ride is smooth instead of incredibly bumpy and uncomfortable.” Oh wow! That’s actually really cool I thought. But wait, there’s more. The guide continued, pointing out something else that I would have totally missed on my own. “Look at these stones!” he exclaimed. There was a row of stones that weren’t laid diagonal but extended straight across the road. “So, do you know why these stones are laid straight?” I knew the reason immediately. It’s a speed bump! Chariots would have slowed down when reaching these stones, therefore making it possible for another modern convenience whose origins I never would have considered, a crosswalk! The facts about speed bumps and crosswalks are cool, but the real thing that struck me is what I mentioned before: What do I miss in life because I don’t know what to look for or I don’t have the knowledge to appreciate or understand it? Apply that to other points in life, and it is kind of overwhelming! Thank goodness I believe in a God whose ways are higher than mine and who will lift and educate me so that I don’t miss the most important things along the way. 

     Another cool moment . . . We walked into an ancient Roman theatre and randomly, from afar, we started hearing the sound of bagpipes?!! In Jordan?!! To make this even more random and funny, as we entered the stadium the musicians were dressed in traditional Arab clothing?! Bagpipes and kafias, not kilts?! It was so funny. I loved it. The performers were playing, “Scotland the Brave” which is similar to the tune of one of our hymns, “Praise to the Man.” Suddenly, the musicians wanted the members of our group to perform something. Thankfully, I was already sitting in the bleachers so I just watched the whole exchange that happened next. I hope I never forget it! The BYU students started singing the words to “Praise to the Man” which put me a little on edge as I hoped the Muslims wouldn’t understand the words and take offense. As I watched, my worries faded as neither the Arab musicians nor a large group of school-age Arab girls who were watching and mingling down on the stage took notice. 

     After our group sang the first verse and chorus, the bagpipers came in again, playing the same tune! I smiled at the exchange. My BYU companions smiled back and continued on, singing the second verse, this time accompanied by the pipes. Then, this is the part that got me. The Arab school girls thought this was a riot and wanted to join in on the fun. They started dancing their traditional dances, you know with the line and small foot steps all following after each other. Then their line turned into a circle and they started wheeling around the small choir and bagpipers. Suddenly, what flashed before my eyes was some moment in the hopefully not too distant future when the whole world - Muslims, Catholics, Buddhists, Mormons, and Atheists alike, will join in joyful dancing, singing, and praising of the prophet, Joseph Smith. All nations of the world will be one! All rejoicing and sharing the same true religion and faith of God. 

I got teary eyed with that thought as it blended with the scene taking place in front of me. The traditions of other religions will add so much to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Sabbath - November 8, 2014 

Today is another Sabbath in the Holy Land. Another tour group came to our church services today. I walked into the chapel behind a woman carefully edging down the steps using her two walking sticks. I feel so blessed to be visiting this land during this time of my life. I pray what I learn here will impact many generations. I spoke in church last week. I still don’t know how I feel about it, and I’m writing this almost a week after. I was asked to speak about music. My music major is haunting me right now because I’m really out of practice, and I don’t even feel like I deserve the status. I just felt like a lot was expected from me, but I really did sincerely try my best. It was scary to speak in front of so many people I know so well. I hope I did a good job, but I feel like it wasn’t my best. No one really understood or laughed at my jokes when I tried to bring out my personality, and I didn’t get as many compliments as usual. Oh well, what’s done is done. 

     However, something really cool did happen. We had the option of including a musical number in our allotted time of seven minutes. I opted out. Idk why . . . Seriously, don’t ask because I really can’t give you a good reason except I wanted to talk instead of play. It was awkward though because every other speaker chose to do a musical number. The ward choir was supposed to do some prelude music, but we got to the meeting too late. We were all a bit disappointed, especially the music directors, Brother and Sister Jones. I had a brilliant idea while waiting to give my talk. Why not use my time slot for the choir to perform because they hadn’t had the chance! I was brave and whispered into President Nickel''s ear really quick before my talk. That gave him the option of pondering my idea while I spoke. He stood up after I finished and announced the choir would be singing next. :) It was such a miracle how that worked out! The Jones’ work so hard at their calling and the Lord blesses them for that. 

     The rest of the day was great. I decided not to go out but to enjoy my Sabbath day at the center,. Besides, I was exhausted after preparing for my talk. Last week was Jordan, which I still need to write about . . . So I didn’t sleep much then, I was sick, and I spent practically the whole day on Friday preparing my talk instead of sleeping. I wish I could have had one more day to really listen closer to the Spirit about what I was supposed to share. But I didn’t have that one more day, and I know that’s why I feel the way I do about my talk. Oh well. I shouldn’t be so worried about impressing people anyways.