November 3, 2007

November 3, 2007
Shabbat Shalom! Today was another wonderful Shabbat here at the Jerusalem Center. Since it was fast Shabbat, we were able to get some much needed sleep since we didn’t eat breakfast. It has definitely been a day of peace and rest.
Our church meetings were great today. We started off with Fast and Testimony meeting. As I sat in church listening to all of the testimonies of the students here, I was filled with joy. It is so great to see all of us having strong, personal spiritual experiences here and learning and growing so much because of them. We all left jobs, people, classes, opportunities at home to come here, and because of that, we have all had trials and struggles in our own way. Some have been harder than others, but as I listened in testimony meeting, it made me so happy to see everyone growing so much and learning to rely on the Lord in times of need. How great it is to be surrounded by people who are all trying to be their best and do everything right. We’re all becoming better, and it is so fun to see the light of Christ become stronger in everyone’s eyes.
Today we had a new Sunday School class, ‘Missionary and Temple Prep’, which will be taught by two returned missionaries. The lesson was an intro to both missionary and temple work, and it’s going to be a great class. There are many people who are in various stages of missionary prep, and a few girls here who are getting married soon. It will be a good class to prepare us for our exciting months ahead. I think to the future and where everyone will be in a year from now, and looking at the potential that is here, I think we’re all going to go on to do great things. Everyone here is such a great example to me and how I can be better and stronger. It’s so great to be surrounded by wonderful examples.
In Relief Society we had a lesson taught by Sister Huntington on the Second Coming and how we can prepare ourselves for it. We mostly talked about how we can fill our lamps spiritually to be as the 5 righteous virgins who were ready for the bridegroom. After church, most people took naps or studied the Old Testament in preparation for a paper and a final which are due this week. We’re all going to make it through and hopefully our hard work and study thus far will pay off after Wednesday. At 4:00 pm sharp, we broke our fast to a wonderful Sabbath meal. It’s funny how much our lives revolve around the times of meals. Since they are the most constant event here, they mean a lot to us.

As we near the end of our Old Testament studies, I look back on how much I’ve learned in this class. I came this semester having read only sections of the Old Testament, with a brief knowledge of stories. Now I know the stories and personalities in more depth, how they all fit together chronologically, and most importantly I’m not scared of the Old Testament anymore. It was always intimidating, but now that we’ve studied it so much, I’m excited to read it again soon and learn even more about it. My favorite sights during our Old Testament study have been the mountains that we’ve visited. First of all, climbing Mount Sinai was a wonderful experience as we were better able to picture the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness and their fearless leader, Moses, leading them. It was great to have more understanding for their situation. Then we visited Mount Nebo, where Moses looked out over the Jordan River Valley into the Promised Land and was told by the Lord that he was not going to inhabit it. Being there and knowing this story made me appreciate Moses so much more for his leadership and obedience as a prophet. I could not have done what the Israelites did, and visiting the mountains where they traveled helped me learn more about them and appreciate what they did for me!