Tuesday November 20, 2007

November 20th 2007 Stefi Faust

Today we had the first of our marathon week of field trips. We ate breakfast half asleep at 5:30 am to make our 6:30 am departure. While the bus pulled away from the Jerusalem Center, Sarah Johnson remembered that we had left Brandon, Amy and Cailtlin. We begged Brother Ludlow and Brother Huntington to go back but we had to stick to the schedule.
Our first stop was at Masada, the site where many zealots Jews committed community suicide rather than become subject to the Romans. They held off the Romans on this mountain top fortress for three years before meeting their deaths. We toured the ancient ruins and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We were so happy to learn that Brother Draper’s bus went back to pick up the three straggling students.
After Masade we went floating in the Dead Sea. It was the weirdest experience! You stepped into the water and tried to sit down but your feet came out from under you. It was hard to stay stable and not splash salt water into your eyes and mouth. It was the grossest taste once the water got into your mouth. We spent the afternoon at the Dead Sea eating lunch and taking pictures.
Our next stop was at a nature reserve where we hiked up to a series of beautiful waterfalls. We then toured Quram for our last site of the day. We watched a corny funny movie on the Essenes and learned that John the Baptist MAY have visited them for a while. Brother Ludlow taught that the Essenes were to John the Baptist as the Methodists were to Joseph Smith.
From New Testament, I hope to gain a better understanding of Christ’s parables. I have read them before and am familiar with the basic stories but struggle in the higher spiritual aspects of the parables. I have a hard time understanding what Christ is spiritually talking about. I would like to better apply His parables to my life to enhance my testimony of Him. I know that parables are important and a huge aspect of Christ’s ministry so I would like to better understand them.