Tuesday December 4, 2007

Brother Ludlow

Tuni Rose

Journal Article from 12/4/2007



Ohhhhh, this morning came too quickly and all of us were exhausted from our incredible trip to Galilee. It was good to be home again, especially since we all feel like we're on the homestretch!

After lunch I went out to the city with Spencer, Karey, Maggie, and Archie. We stopped by Aladdin's for the last time just before entering Damascus gate. On the way there I saw some kids throwing rocks at younger kids that were passing by. I told them to stop but one of them reached down and picked up a bigger rock. I ran to him and took the rock out of his hand. I was shocked.

In the city most of the vendors seemed persistently pushy. It was hard just walking in and out of stores because they kept asking questions and shoving their merchandise in our faces saying they needed the money, etc, etc. For this reason we were more alert and felt rude for walking away. I picked up a shofar and asked how much it is. In an instant the shop keeper swore at me and I promptly dropped it and walked away. Things like that kept happening left and right. We saw another group of students who were out that got into a fight with some Arab men. It was just an interesting day.

After dinner all the girls had enrichment meeting where we made Christmas goodies from all over the world. There were tamales, buko salad, rice crispy treats, brownies, ponche, etc, etc. It was so delicious. It was the first time I'd had a tamale for years and buko salad….nearly a year now. I was so excited to be there that night to talk about our favorite Christmas traditions. It brought a spirit of Christmas, sharing and love to everyone. I was the most excited to be able to speak Tagalog with three of the local members. It was so fun to laugh and talk with them about their jobs, families, and lives. I know they are a tender mercy for me and that I am as well for them. Truly the gospel binds people of all languages and cultures and I am so grateful for that.

One of my favorite scriptures from each of the four Gospels is when the writer simply states, 'Jesus wept.' Often times we feel ashamed weeping over small, insignificant things. Here we learn to a much greater degree of the compassion manifest by the Savior. He wept for the sins of the nations, for their disbelief, and more importantly for His friends. He grieves over our misfortunes and willingly took upon himself all things in order for us all to attain exaltation. He wept for joy and pain. He atoned for the righteous as well as the vilest of sinners. He is the Son of God, brother and friend—He weeps for all of us.