20 June 2011

Let the journey begin! It was such a wonderful day, one with an early start and a late ending. We were to be packed with everything on the bus before seven o’clock in the morning. There was a large number of students who stayed up well after midnight last night. I have no idea how they were able to drag themselves out of bed, but everyone arrived on time so we could leave the Jerusalem Center and begin our Jordanian Journey. Jordan’s border is very close to Jerusalem, but it took a couple of hours to get everything in motion. Passports had to be checked and stamped; cargo holds under the buses had to be searched. We even had to change buses! We were all excited when we made it back onto the road. We became enthusiastic once we all realized we were driving through Jordan.

Our guide for Jordan was named Odeh (pronounced Audi, like the car). To everyone’s relief, he was not the reincarnation of Fati, our creepy tour guide in Turkey, and his accent was easy enough to understand. He was very knowledgeable of the surroundings and of the connections of the land to the Old Testament. It was great learning more about Jordan, a country I knew virtually nothing about. He was thorough in his teachings and gave us plenty of time to shop, interact with locals, and appreciate what we were seeing and experiencing. It was a nice change from what we experienced in Turkey.

Our end destination for the day was a hotel near Petra, but we took many stops along the way! It all began at a little place called Mount Nebo. Maybe you’ve heard of it? For those of you who recognize the name, this is the traditional site of Moses’ death (or in LDS tradition, the translation of Moses). This was also the site of the brazen serpent; the Children of Israel were commanded to look at the serpent and be saved. Brother Muhlestein turned to a couple of scriptures, one of which was 1 Nephi 17. It describes the act the Israelites had to perform for salvation and the simpleness of it. All they had to do was have faith, and they would be saved. The gospel is so simple to follow, so simple to understand – all you have to do is look. But how many people doubt its simplicity and turn their heads so they can’t simple look It is so necessary to take that leap of faith and love the simplicity of the gospel. All we have to do is look and be saved. After taking some pictures, we left Mount Nebo and headed for the city of Madaba. Our journey into Madaba brought us to Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Church. The church itself is a piece of art, as are so many churches. The bell tower on top was possibly my favorite part. Located within the church is a large mosaic map of the Holy Land – the reason behind our visit. I took a couple of pictures and headed out into the church square to await further instruction.

As stated earlier, our journey for the day did not end in Madaba. We still had places to go and things to see. From there we travelled down many bumpy roads to the Fortress of Machaerus. (When I say bumpy roads, I mean bumpy roads. We had many, many people getting sick. Luckily, I have a stomach of steel and was able to look out the window, play games, and even read.) The fortress was built by Herod the Great during the time of the Hasmoneans and put under the rule of Herod Antipus. It was at this fortress that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. The hike up to the fortress was unprepared for by most. The slope was ridiculous, but I happily made it to the top, in spike of my toe’s constant protests. The sun beat down on us as we too pictures and held a mini devotional. Most of us were excited to leave and seek shelter in the shade. The sun in Jordan is much warmer and more intense than the sun in Jerusalem! The fortress was our last stop on the way to Petra. We took one quick stop on the way to the hotel and finally got there at about eight o’clock at night. After a quick bite to eat and a shower, I climbed into bed. The next day was to be quite demanding and busy…but I thoroughly looked forward to it. After all, how many people do you know that can say they’ve been to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon? (Go watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade before reading my next post if you have no idea what that means. It will take you about two hours, but it’s worth it as are all movies about Dr. Jones.)