September 22, 2007

September 22, 2007 Stefi Faust
Brother Ludlow
As the alarm blares at 6:30 am, I roll over to shut off the dreaded noise and smile remembering today is Shabbat. Shabbat means getting an extra hour of sleep. As my alarm rings again at 7:30, I run up to breakfast before choir practice. Fellow students and I practiced singing for sacrament while overlooking the spectacular Old City. This is always my favorite part of Shabbat, praising my Savior while looking on to the city where He lived. Shannon White spoke in our sacrament meeting on the importance of being happy. She relayed the tender counsel from President James E. Faust on how to become a happier person. President Faust advised to look for happiness in glimpses and to follow the commandments. Ryan Taylor next spoke on Lehi’s dream and compared holding onto the iron rod to holding onto a metal chain atop Angel’s Landing in Zions National Park in Utah. He told us to hold onto the iron rod so tightly that it becomes engrained on our hearts and minds. Laura White concluded the meeting by speaking on the topic of the Atonement. Today is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, making the Atonement an especially appropriate topic. She focused on Heavenly Father’s role in the Atonement. She bore testimony of what great love Heavenly Father must have for us to let His Beloved Son suffer for us. We then next met in Sunday School for a Gospel Doctrine class taught by McCall Barrick on Paul and his teachings. Next we separated for Relief Society and Priesthood for a lesson on the importance of eternal marriages. We discussed how important good communication and willingness to compromise is in order to make a marriage happy and successful.
After our Shabbat services, two groups of students journeyed out to the Garden Tomb. The ability to visit sacred spots such as the Garden Tomb is one of the best benefits of living here in the Holy Land.
In our final preparations for our journey to Egypt tomorrow, we decided to watch the classic Ten Commandments movie with the dashing Charlton Heston. The exciting plot of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt made everyone anxious to get on the road. After a mad dash to pack our last items for Egypt, we all headed to bed a buzz with anticipation for tomorrow’s trip.