Galilee continued...

Picture 1: synagogue at Capernaum
Picture 2: Church of Beatitudes
Picture 3: view at the end of our hike
Howdy folks!

I'm trying to catch up on Galilee posts, but this week in Jerusalem has been so much fun! It's hard to believe that three weeks today I'll see my family and friends! (You should be freaking out right now, because I sure am!)

Anyway, here are some more journal entry excerpts:

CAPERNAUM
"Capernaum is the site where the Savior performed many miracles and taught many great lessons. It’s also the town where Peter lived. We had a little devotional in the synagogue in Capernaum. The synagogue standing now is different from the one in Jesus’ day, but it stands on the exact same spot where the synagogue of Jesus day would have been. In fact, you can see the basalt stones that would have made up the synagogue Jesus taught in at the very bottom of the current synagogue. There are also a ton of basalt ruins from houses and streets, etc. that are pretty cool...When we looked at Peter’s house, Brother Muhlestein pointed out that Jesus never had a home. He didn’t have a house to call his home. I had never thought of that before. Then Brother Muhlestein pointed out that Peter made his home open to the Savior at all times. In the scriptures, whenever it mentions “the house” it usually refers to Peter’s house because that is where Jesus spent the night when He was in Capernaum. We also reviewed one day in the life of the Savior and I can’t believe how much good He did in one day. Jesus loved His people so much because even when He was tired or hungry, He always took the time to perform miracles and heal those around Him, or answer questions and teach His people."

MT. OF BEATITUDES
The Mount of Beatitudes was beautiful. It was so green and the landscaping was exotic and carefully planned. The church was really cool too. The inside wasn’t extravagant, but the outside had beautiful columns and a cool dome. I liked it. It makes sense that the emphasis is on the groundwork though: that’s where the Savior gave His sermon on the mount (on a hill). We had the opportunity to browse the church and then we went to a shaded area with benches and had a short testimony meeting. Brother Muhlestein had us read the beatitudes, then we had the chance to go up and share our thoughts. I got up and bore my testimony, which is pretty cool! That’s right – I bore my testimony on the mount of beatitudes.

We also went on a hike for one of our free afternoons. It was SO MUCH FUN. Here's the journal excerpt for that adventure:
"This afternoon was free time, but I signed up for the hike to the waterfall! We left at 1:30 and took a bus to the trailhead. We had so much fun on the bus because it was the first time the classes were intermixed! Usually it’s the “Judd bus” or the “Muhlestein bus” but today we were combined! 39 people went on the hike accompanied by our tour guide.
The hike wasn’t too strenuous, which kept conversation good! I wore my swimming suit underneath my clothes so that I could jump right in to the water. I also wore my chacos the whole time, which was good and bad because I’m grateful I had them for when I was in the water, but hiking in wet chacos always hurts my feet afterwards.
The scenery was beautiful. We hiked down into a valley and just curved around these mountains. We saw a few waterfalls on the way, but the one we swam at was in the middle of the hike. We were all stoked to get in the water, but let me tell you, this water was ice cold. It took your breath away as soon as you immersed yourself in it. I went in o my own the first time, but I didn’t get my hair wet. The second time, I was dragged in and dunked by Kevin because I had pushed him in earlier. I suppose I deserved it, but still! The water was so cold that getting out of the water made you warmer than staying in the water!
We stayed there fore quite some time and took lots of fun pictures. We didn’t hike back the same way we came; instead we hiked up and out and the bus picked us up on the other side. I went with a group of people who left early, so we were a head and by ourselves for the hike back. Jared found a crab along the trail which was odd because we were on a mountainside, not next to a river/stream/lake/sea, whatever. As it turned out, Jared kept the crab with him the whole time and it got loose on the bus. I know - crazy. The hike back was beautiful because as we got higher we could see into the valley and see the curves of the mountain and the stream at the bottom of the valley. It was gorgeous.
When we got to the top and back to the road, Laurel, Addie, Heidi and I took some fun jumping pictures. Sadly none of them were perfect, but we have some fairly decent ones."

Well, I suppose that's enough for one entry. Hopefully you all made it to the end!

-Audryn-

O Galilee

Picture 1: a view of the city from up on the tel; you can see the effects of the earth quake because all of the columns are toppled over!
Picture 2: A Roman street at Scythopolis; you can see the tel (hill) where the canaanite city (Bet She'an) would have been in the background

Hello family and friends!

Galilee was AMAZING. We spent ten days at a beach resort at the Sea of Galilee and toured so many of the sites that the Savior would have visited. For the first week we were there, our agenda included New Testament class/free afternoon some days, and field trips to the various sites that Jesus visited on other days. It was really cool to have class and then visit those actual sites the next day!

I wish I could tell you about each of the sites that we visited, but I'm afraid there are just too many! Here is a list of the sites that we visited though:
Bet She'an (a city in the Decapolis)
Nazareth (Nazareth Village, Church of Annunciation)
boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
Ginosaur (museum of an ancient boat that would have been used in Christ's time)
Capernaum
Tabgha (Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes)
Church of St. Peter's Primacy
Mt. of Beatitudes
Tiberias
Mt. Tabor (possible site of Transfiguration)
Hazor
Dan
Megiddo
Caesarea Philippi
Akko
Haifa
Caesarea

Those are the sites at the top of my head, and I can guarantee that I forgot some!
The last four days of our trip in Galilee were all-day field trips and by the end of the whole experience, I was exhausted!

There were so many amazing sites, but my favorites were Bet She'an, Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes, and Caesarea.
I was very impressed with myself because I was very diligent in writing in my journal, so I'll just include a few excerpts from my journal about the different sites we visited. I will do this over a few blog entries so that you guys can actually enjoy the entries and read them all the way through, but there's your update!

BET SHE'AN/SCYTHOPOLIS

FYI - Bet She'an was the canaanite name and Scythopolis was the Roman name

"Bet She’an was so cool! It was a Canaanite city a long time ago (the city was on top of the tel) and then under the Pax Romana reign, the city spread down and out. The Roman ruins were absolutely amazing. There was an earthquake at some point during the city’s life and you can see the destruction from the earthquake because the pillars/columns are toppled over. It was pretty cool. My favorite part was the bath house. I love hot springs so much so I think it would be so fun to go to a bath house. "

Well, we have our New Testament midterm tomorrow morning, and my study group is about to begin, so I'll have to write more later!

-Audryn-

Bethlehem, YMCA Bell Tower...and Galilee?

Picture 1: my friend Piers and I at the Church of the Nativity touching the Grotto (the place where tradition says Christ was born)
Picture 2: Church of the Nativity
Picture 3: where I played the bells!

Hello family and friends!

I wish I could write an in-depth blog post telling you all about our Bethlehem field trip last Monday, my wonderful free day I had today, and any other random stories I feel like telling you, BUT, I may or may not be GOING TO GALILEE tomorrow morning, and I still have to pack. I know. I guess I figure it's a good thing if I'm so busy I don't have time to blog about everything, right?
So, I'm going to cut and paste a few journal entries and I hope that will suffice!

"Monday was our field trip to BETHLEHEM. It was amaaaazing."


"Our agenda was as follows:
Herod’s summer palace
Bethlehem University
Lunch at The Tent
Church of the Nativity
Testimony meeting at Shepherd’s field

Herod’s temple was huge. It covers about 45 acres. Our class started at the lower section of the temple where Herod’s pool was, then went climbed to the upper part. It’s cool because his pool had an island in the middle that he would have had fun parties on! The palace was really neat, but the cool part is that they aren’t even done excavating it! His palace is so big that excavation teams are still going. Wow."

"Following lunch Professor Adnan (our Palestinian professor) took us on a tour of Bethlehem and led us to Manger Square, where the Church of the Nativity is). It was fun going underneath the church to the grotto where some believe that Christ was born. It is hard to say exactly where Jesus was born, but we know he was born in Bethlehem, and the tradition that the Church of the Nativity is the place where it happened is fairly old, so who’s to say it isn’t the spot?
My favorite part of the Church of the Nativity was when we sat in the chapel and sang Christmas songs out of our little hymn books. We all filed in and sat on the benches and sang Christmas songs while Rachel Jackson conducted. So many other tourists stopped to listen and take pictures and record us. I’ll be honest – we sounded good! I wanted us to keep going because the sound was so rich and the Spirit was very strong."

Following the Manger Square adventure we went to "Shepherd's Field" and had a wonderful testimony meeting. We got to watch the sun set on the beautiful hills where we know shepherds (such as King David) would have led their sheep. It was a very spiritual experience.

Now for a fun story from today. The Jerusalem Center always brings at least one person who can play the organ here - usually for a year and a half. Mike Ohman and his wife serve that (and many other) purposes right now. He is a music professor at BYU and his wife works in the film industry (she has helped do costumes for lots of LDS films such as The Testaments). Well, this particular professor has also played the bells at the bell tower on BYU campus, so when he heard about the YMCA bell tower, he volunteered his services! He plays every Sunday from 11:15-12:00 and today I got to go listen to him. And now for the best part...I PLAYED A SONG. That's right. All of Jerusalem got to hear the musical bell tower talents of Audryn Damron today. It was glorious and completely terrifying! It was the coolest experience though.

Anyway, I really need to go tidy up my room and pack because we have an early start tomorrow. I love you all and I hope you're happy and safe!

-Audryn-

Garden Tomb - Golgotha

It’s about time I told you guys about the Garden Tomb and Golgotha. The first time I went to the Garden Tomb was with my religion class after church one Saturday. We took the tour, went inside the tomb, then had a brief testimony meeting. I’ve gone back several times and taken some pretty sweet pictures. It wasn’t until the last time I went (about a week ago) that the tomb was clear of tourists and I was able to get some decent pictures.
The Garden Tomb is just that – a garden with trees, bushes, flowers, stone walls, etc. There are lots of little paths with benches and small mosaic tiles with scriptures on them. At the back of the garden is an overlook for Golgotha.

Golgotha means “the skull” and it’s just that: a skull face embedded in the rock. The mouth has eroded away, but you can still see the eyes. We are fairly certain that Christ was crucified somewhere around this rock face. One of my Professors, Dr. Chadwick, gave an excellent lecture on the Garden Tomb and Golgotha in class back in January. He explained that the Romans usually crucified people at crossroads because crossroads are generally public areas and therefore would send a very poignant message to all who saw these men. Golgotha is currently a bus stop, so the tradition still lives that Golgotha is at a crossroads. The fact that Christ was crucified at a crossroads also lets us know that He wasn’t on top of a hill. When I thought of the crucifixion, I always pictured it on top of a hill. It appears that he was crucified at the bottom of a hill right by the skull mountain face.
Dr. Chadwick also told us that the Romans thought crucifixion so painful and unbearable, that they wouldn’t crucify their own people (Romans). This shows you just how agonizing the crucifixion was. Our Savior was crucified because He loves us. This sends such a powerful message to me and I hope you will ponder this yourself.

Now that I’ve sufficiently depressed you, let me bring you back up. After travelling to the back of the garden and seeing Golgotha, you turn around and go back the same way you came and take a right to go where the tomb lies. Although tradition says that this particular tomb is the same one where Christ was laid, it has been discovered that this particular tomb was not made until after Christ’s time, so it’s not the correct site. BUT it helps you visualize what it would have been like and it’s still a revered and sacred place. You have to walk down steps to the floor where the tomb is, then you can walk inside the tomb. The door into the tomb has a sign that says “HE IS NOT HERE, FOR HE IS RISEN.”

The beauty of the Garden Tomb is that it reminds us that Christ has risen again. He lives and He loves us. I know that Christ died to save me and He died to save you too. I’m grateful to be in this beautiful city where I can be where Christ was so long ago.

-Audryn-

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Picture 1 - Eating ice cream in Tel Aviv
Picture 2 - Statue of Faith in Old Jaffa-Tel Aviv
Picture 3 - a jumping picture of ME ON THE BEACH OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA (my dear friend Ashley is a professional photographer and she edited this picture for me)
Picture 4 - L-R: Greg Hudnall, moi, Kevin Collier; beach of Mediterranean Sea

I had the best birthday in the entire world...and it's all because of my friends here. I have no idea how I have been so blessed, but boy did I get lucky.
Birthday adventures began way before my birthday even started! I went out into the City a few times during the week and whenever the shopkeepers found out it was my birthday, the promised me gifts or gave them to me there on the spot! In fact, when my friend Laurel told one of the owners that my birthday was coming up, he gave me a free pair of earrings, and a free t-shirt. Granted, the t-shirt had a small whole in the back and he was planning on getting rid of it, but hey! That's easily fixable, right? ha ha
Then on Saturday, my friend Ashley threw me a surprise birthday party!!! It's funny because I was in my room for most of the day writing in my journal, calling home, etc. while everyone else was baking, blowing up balloons, and peeking around corners to see if I was coming. My friend Piers lured me out of my room by saying I had a meeting with my branch president. He took me on a little detour to "get his scriptures" and led me right into the surprise! I was in shock and clutched my heart for a good while afterwards. Sadly I don't have pictures of that moment considering it was a surprise...and therefore I didn't have my camera, but I'll get pictures from friends. :) As soon as everyone finished singing happy birthday, they started shouting "Speech! Speech! Speech!" So they put me on a chair and I gave a little speech and thanked the little people and my roommates, and then invited everyone in for a mass hug. Well, everyone crowded in for a hug (while I was still on the chair) and it is possibly one of my favorite memories of all time.
My birthday could have ended there and I would have been perfectly happy, but no! Sunday, my actual birthday, I went to Tel Aviv via a bus! Tel Aviv is on the coast and it is about 45 minutes away from Jerusalem. Four other friends and I took a bus to Tel Aviv and went straight to the beach! The day was quite pleasant with a slight breeze. It wasn't exactly sunbathing weather, but we had enough fun in the sun to get a sunburn! Who would have thought I could get a sunburn on my birthday! It certainly hasn't happened until now. We met up with a friend of Ashley's who is living/working there and he took us to Old Joffa and the port. We finished the evening eating pizza at an Italian restaurant, then hunting down some ice cream. My friends paid for everything because it was my birthday...like I said - best friends ever!
As soon as I got back, I was showered with more Happy Birthdays and some my best friends gave me a necklace that was a pocket watch/locket! They sang me a wonderful song and made it quite the affair. I absolutely loved it.

Thanks to those of you who said Happy Birthday in a letter, package, email, facebook...whatever. I miss you all and love you more!

City of David

Picture 1 - overlooking the Kidron Valley (the Jerusalem Center is right around the corner and up a bit)
Picture 2 - the water level in Hezekiah's Tunnel (can you see me cute little face?) he he
Picture 3 - going down to Hezekiah's Tunnel
Picture 4 - the millo that supported David's palace (one of our professors is telling us all about it)

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I last wrote – life at the JC has been busy busy! We’re in the middle of finals and I’m a little nervous. It should be okay though…at least that’s what I’m hoping!
So last Monday, the 21st, we went to the ancient City of David. This was the original Jerusalem during King David’s reign. It’s not actually within the walls of the current Old City, but it’s right outside and down the hill a bit. When we first got into the “city” (it’s now a national park), there was a golden harp and harp music playing. It definitely put us in a King David sort of mood!
We watched a 3-D movie that told us the history of the city, and then we went on a tour. The first thing we saw was the ruins of King David’s palace. They are underneath the main floor because Jerusalem is one layer on top of another layer, so Kind David’s palace was underground until it was excavated. The next thing we saw was the millo that held up King David’s palace. (A millo is basically a stone wall.) The millo is important because it made sure that the palace did not collapse.
We went to a few overlooks, then we went to HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL.

2 Chronicles 32:30 says, “ This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the City of David…”

In the ancient days, cities were built in areas that had good defensibility, water, and trade route accessibility. The City of David is built amidst three valleys: Kidron, Central, and Hinnom, (trade routes), on top of a hill (defensibility), and right next to the Gihon Spring (water). Originally there was a channel built to get the water from the Gihon spring to the lower part of the city, but it was outside of the city walls. Hezekiah built a tunnel in order to keep the water source safe in case of a siege.
The tunnel is approximately 1760 feet long, and we got to wade through it! The water could get pretty high in some areas, so we had to roll up our pants to stay dry. We wore headlamps because it was very dark, but it was SO MUCH FUN!
After the tunnel, we saw a few more ancient ruins, then headed back home.
All in all, it was a very good field trip! I LOVED going through Hezekiah’s Tunnel and I just might go through one more time before I leave! We’ll see if I can fit it into my schedule.

Love you all!
-Audryn-

FYI - I can't post pictures at the Jerusalem Center because the internet is funky, so I have to wait until I can go to Hebrew University. Some day I'll get there and include some pictures with these posts! (this statement can no be re-called because there are finally pictures!)