November 1, 2007

November 1st, 2007
Jason Bentley
Today was our last day in Jordan. We began out day by going to see a really big theatre in the middle of the city of Amman. We then went and visited the Citadel as well as the museum. At the museum we saw parts of the dead sea scrolls. Brother Ludlow gave us a mini-history lesson as to the orgins of the dead sea scrolls as well as why they are important to the Church. We learned that many of the text in the dead sea scrolls matches the way it reads in the Book of Mormon.
In the afternoon we went to the river Jordan. We went to Bethbara, the site where it is believed that the Savior was baptized. On the way over some members of the class played twenty questions to figure out the connection that Brother Huntington has with Jason Bentley. Turns out that Brother Huntington taught his mom in seminary back when he lived in Spanish Fork.
After going to Bethbara we continued on our way to the river itself. We got the opportunity to go down and touch the river and to get some water as a souvenir. Seeing the river gave us an opportunity not only to take pictures, but to try to mentally imagine what it must have been like two millennia ago when Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized.
After returning to the bus we drove to the border for what might have been the fastest border crossing in the history of the JC. It was so fast we beat the busses. And that doesn’t happen too often. When the bus did arrive we all boarded and watched the movie “A Night at The Museum” all the way home.
Arriving home was great. We unpacked and had the rest of the afternoon to relax as well as get ready for the Shalom Shack Spookfest 2007, which took place the following day. It also gave us a great chance to do laundry.
One thing that I’ve really learned from the old testament is how much God loves all his children. Visiting Egypt, and learning it’s history, learning God’s dealing with them as well as other gentile nations helped me see that although the Israelites might have been the people of the covenant, he still loved and blessed his other children and tried to help them in the ways that he could. We learned when we read Isaiah that someday the people of Egypt will have the gospel and a temple.