Day 5 BYU Jerusalem Center, Mount of Olive/Gethsemane, King David's tomb, Upper Room

Well we knew a storm was on it's way, but I didn't think it would be a hurricane. Last night the wind was blowing really hard and there was tons of thunder and lightening and tons of rain. It seems we have gotten somewhat over our jetlag, we woke up at 8:00 a.m. We needed to be gone by 9:30 to get to church so we hurriedly got ready. Now you are probably wondering about the day of the week at this point, church is held on Saturdays to go along with the Shabbat (jewish sabbath). It reminds me of how things use to be growing up, empty parking lots in shopping malls few people on the roads, it was really easy to get around because there wasn't really any traffic. (shabbat starts on Friday night when you can see the third star in the sky and ends at sunset on Saturday they don't believe in driving cars on the sabbath)The center is located just above the Mount of Olives on the East side of Jerusalem. It was built in 1988 after alot of hard work getting the officials of Israel to let them lease land to build on. Frank Ferguson who is a retired partner of FFKR (Jackson's firm) designed the building and the partner who is over Jackson now helped on the project as well.Google BYU Jerusalem and there is a 10 minute video you can watch that they actually show people when they visit the center. It was raining really hard on our way there, I knew that the rain was a blessing, but I really wanted a family picture with Jerusalem in the background and the rain wouldn't help. We drove up to the school and found a security guard there, we told him we came for church and he let us through a gate. There was a walkway leading to the doors with a big trellis with vines growing. There is another gate you walk through with a neat circular design and fountains on either side. We asked where the chapel was and they pointed us in the right direction, they hold it in the auditorium. There is a huge organ with pipes and tons of seating, the best part is the big windows that go the expanse of the back wall, the view is of the old city, Dome of the rock and the east gate, (which is sealed) is what you are looking at the entire time. They have a branch here, where most of the people work at the consulate, there are also the families of the professors teaching, so there were some kids but not tons. Our opening hymn was "Come Follow Me", they made announcements and then went onto the sacrament, it was an amazing feeling to look at and see the tower that shows where king Davids tomb is (upper room of the last supper, supposedly) and realize that you were looking out to where Christ taught the disciples about the sacrament, and then to look out at the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane. The tears started up again, and all I could think was how grateful I was to be here having this experience. There was a new deacon passing the sacrament for the first time and the President of the shool told him what a great job he had done. Isaac whisped over to me that he thought he knew the boy, I shook my head, and Isaac said "he looks just like Zach." Well the President had called him Zach, I had met he and his mom at a science fair and when I saw her I realized that Isaac was right. Small world. The talks given were so amazing. The students meet with the branch so the speakers were the students. The first girl spoke about obedience, she talked about Abraham obeying Heavenly Father when asked to sacrifice Isaac, again my eye was drawn to the Dome of the Rock (mount Moriah), she then talked about how when we choose not to obey that Heavenly Father will punish with the least degree, but when we chose to obey he will give us the most. I kept thinking of my decision to stop working, I felt that this talk was just another confirmation to me that I was doing what I was supposed to. She gave a great quote that said, "We obey not because we are blind, but because we see."

They then had a musical number by the students, they sang "A marvelous work and wonder" near the end they merged it with "The spirit of God" it was so powerful, I always think of the pioneers when I hear that song, but now I will also think of Jerusalem and how Christ's work continues. The second talk was on faith and the holy ghost. She talked about how fear is the opposite of faith and how the Holy Ghost helps us to have faith. They then had a musical number where a girl played "I Stand all Amazed" on the violin and was accompanied by a man playing the piano. Really beautiful. The last speaker was a student who talked about humility. He talked about how being humble was to take compliments kindly but to not boast. All the students did an amazing job, I was really impressed. After Sacrament meeting Isaac went to verify if that was the Zach he knew and it was, his father is a professor at BYU Idaho and is teaching at the center for a year. We took the boys to their classes and then headed for Sunday School in one of the classrooms. Next was Relief Society where the topic was Missionary work, we had a really different discussion then what others might have had, considering the students have to sign a contract that they will not talk about their religion. One of the sisters whose husband was called to play the organ (Jackson's mission president will be taking his place next month) talked about when they were set apart they would be blessed to preach the gospel. She said she thought in her mind, did He (stake president) read the rules? He then explained in the blessing that it wouldn't mean they would proselyte but touch the lives of many through music. One of the students then talked about the responsibility they have to keep the spirit at the center so those who enter can feel of it. I was really impressed with the students knowledge. After Zach told the boys to come to his place and they went running past a sign that said no visitors past this point. We waited for them to come back, in the meantime one of the sisters asked us about our stay and what we had seen already, I told her we wanted to go to the mount of olives but didn't know if it would happen because of the rain. She mentioned that she hadn't seen it rain like this in the 3 years she has lived here, another student said she has only seen it rain once since she was here (december). So I guess we brought the rain with us. I felt guilty but found myself praying that it would just stop for a minute so I could take some pictures. We went down and got the boys, Zach was disappointed he really wanted to play, but being "Sunday" we couldn't say o.k. but asked if he would take us on a tour. But first I wanted to get a family picture, I looked out the window and found it had stopped raining, I told everyone to run outside and we grabbed one of the students to take a picture. It was freezing but we got it, I then quickly started snapping pictures, the center is so beautifully done. I kid you not as soon as I took my last picture and went inside, it started raining again. Did I mention how Heavenly Father listens to us? Being on the eastern side of the city we got our first look at the Eastern gate this is the gate that Jesus is supposed to enter upon His return. It has been sealed, I find it interesting that the people who did this think that would keep Christ from returning. Next Zach took us on a tour and I felt really bad when we had to leave, he begged for us to come back tomorrow so he could play with Isaac. We are supposed to go to Masada, but I guess when it rains like this it will close the roads down because of flash flooding, so I told him if we couldn't go we would try to come by. Next we left for the Mount of Olives, it was raining again and the wind had kicked up it was probably around 40 degrees. There is a church (of course) called the church of all nations on the sight. We entered the gate and found ourselves in a grove of olive trees. They have determined that these olive trees are more than 2,000 years old. It is a really peaceful place, the rain really started coming down, so we went to the church. Inside it is really dark and there are mosaics everywhere. The storm grew worse and it started thunder and lightening, we stayed for awhile, Jared came over to me and whispered, "I'm scared" . There was someone praying with a group of people and I guess it made him uncomfortable. We got our rain jackets on and our umbrellas (which were starting to break down) and went over to the "grotto" where they say Mary and Joseph are buried. It is in a crypt below ground, you have to walk down a bunch of steps, there are laterns hanging over head but not lighted at the bottom people can light a candle and pay tribute to Mary, I found it a little strange. We ran back to our car, remember I'm in my sunday clothes so in a skirt and a white one at that, thank goodness for my long rain coat. We then decided to go to King David's tomb. This is the David who fought Goliath, and was dad to Solomon. Here they have an "upper room" believed to be where Jesus had the Last Supper. I found it interesting that there were no windows, it would have been nice to have a guide at this point, but figure we know the story and it doesn't really matter where it happened. It was nice to see what an upper room would have looked like. By now we were wet, cold and hungry. So we headed back to the apartment. Melyn and Kyler headed to Cyprus for government business so we are on our own again. It was so nice to be with people who believe as we do. Jerusalem is full of all different religions it makes your head swim a bit, but it was so nice to go to a place that I could feel at home and relaxed. Everyone was so nice and inviting. I told the students how lucky they were to have this opportunity and that I hoped my boys would be able to come someday to have this experience.

Tommorrow ? Hopefully Masada, where Herod built a great palace into the mountainside and Jews took refuge from the romans in 70 A.D. We are also hoping to see the Dead Sea and rub mud on our hands since it's too cold for our bodies.

Mount of Olives

East Gate Sealed (the gate is the point in the wall that raises)


Entrance to Center looking away from the front doors


Upper Room last supper

BYU Jerusalem Sign