Welcome back to the Jerusalem. We were greeted on our first day back with four hours of class: two for Old Testament and two for Ancient Near Eastern Studies. It was a long and difficult day. Everyone kept nodding off and falling asleep. Once we got to lunch, everyone was beyond relieved. Plus, it was sandwich day so that put an extra glint in everyone’s smile. There’s nothing like a sandwich to brighten your mood. However, there was no guacamole today! That was a bit of a disappointment, and it was brought up multiple times over the course of the hour.
With my stomach full and nothing to do for thirty minutes or so, I decided to take a nap and wake up in time to attend the humanitarian activity. Only, I didn’t wake up thirty minutes later – try two hours and thirty minutes later. Apparently going to bed at 8:30pm last night didn’t do me very much good; I was still exhausted. I never take naps like that. I woke up near three o’clock in the afternoon very groggy and disoriented. It took me a while to realize where I was and that I had slept through the entire humanitarian project. I felt horrible. When I walked out into the fourth floor lounge, however, I was greeted by five or six others who had meant to take a short nap and slept through the activity as well. That made me feel a little bit better but a small amount of guilt still settled over me. We decided to take a walk into the Old City to complete our last writing assignment for Old Testament since we hadn’t done anything but sleep, eat, and sit all day long. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs for a little bit! We wondered into the Jewish Quarter near the Hurva Synagogue, where we separated to read the assigned chapter and ponder them. One scripture in Isaiah really stuck out to me. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” As I was reading through this, I really sat and thought about what the Lord has done for me in the past few months. I have been separated from familiarity, from friends and family, from home by thousands of miles; I have left behind objects of use and items of value. I have found myself afraid on more than one occasion. And yet, I do not remember turning to the Lord and remember His outstretched hand. I was born a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was baptized and confirmed with the blessing of the Holy Ghost. I have the power and ability to use these blessings and call upon the name of the Lord in faith and be comforted and find strength. Too often do I ignore these great blessings, do I forget that I am not alone. I am never alone. I will always have my Father in Heaven and my Savior to lift me up and carry me through to the next day. Never do I (or anyone for that matter) have to face a trial, a difficulty alone.
Upon returning from the city, I took twenty minutes to call my mom and see how life had been treating her for the past week. It is always so easy for me to talk to her. I can open up and be myself, talking a hundred miles a minute and laughing to my heart’s content. I have a really wonderful mom. I am so lucky to have her in my life. It was a delight to talk to her, possibly even the highlight of my entire day. School and sleep are great, but my family cannot be beat.
The Jerusalem Center Friday Movie Night brought us Lawrence of Arabia. Due to the fact that I had seen the movie before, I did not stay to watch the entire thing. It is over three hours, and I was falling asleep within the first hour or so. Jordan took a lot out of me; I wonder if I will ever recover. It was a great day back in Jerusalem. Jordan was wonderful but there is something about being home in your own bed that is comforting. Plus, we can eat all of the fresh foods here and drink the water without worrying about getting sick. That is definitely a luxury!
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