First stop was the Orson Hyde memorial garden, where we had a little devotional. We talked about Orson Hyde who went on an LDS mission to Jerusalem in 1841-1842, and he dedicated the land of Palestine to missionary work. Now, the LDS church does not proselyte in the Holy Land, but it was neat to talk about LDS "modern" history as part of our field trip!
Next, we went to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is commemorated by the Church of All Nations
It is called the church of All Nations because many nations contributed to its building--see the US seal in the picture--there are seals from many countries on the ceiling.
and here are some shots of the Garden of Gethsemane...
such a beautiful place to think about the Atonement.
we had an opportunity to have a devotional and sing a song together in the garden, as well as some contemplative time. It was really nice.
Sometimes, Sarah's face looks like this.
Then we went to Bethesda, which is right inside the Old City
Bethesda and Saint Anne's Church are in the same courtyard/church complex
The pools of Bethesda as discussed in John 5
you may be familiar with this famous painting of Jesus healing the man at the Pool of Bethesda--well, same pool as the one I visited! :-)
And this is St. Anne's Church which has AMAZING acoustics. The church commemorates the birth of the Virgin Mary (St. Anne is Mary's mother)
Lexie, Romeo, Jenessa, and Me inside St. Anne's church
The exterior of St. Anne's church
And then we were in the Old City! Which is cobblestone. So Tye and I got creative to get around--here is Tye getting a piggy-back ride (which is easier than crutches on cobblestone)
Our next stop was the Church of the Flagellation
So apparently, "flagellation" means "flogging" So this church commemorates Jesus' flogging before he was crucified
We had a chance to talk about Christ and the flagellation (as referenced in Matthew 27:28-31)
After that, we had free time in the Old City for a few hours before meeting up as a group to visit the Garden Tomb together. Romeo, Eden, Tori, Tye, and Sarah appear to be excited.
Myself, Sarah, and Spencer enjoying lunch on the roof of the Austrian Hospice. These two are so great--they helped me get around the city all day! I love them!
Brother Judd passed out outside the Austrian Hospice...
And this is how I got around all day--Spencer is such a champ! He gave me a piggy-back ride up all these stairs in the Old City, and Sarah followed us around, carrying the wheelchair. We made quite the site! haha These two are seriously some of the most Christlike individuals I know!
Katie in the Old City
Sarah holding my crutches outside of Damascus Gate
Spencer and me outside of Damascus Gate--I'm holding my "visit Palestine" poster, which some Arab guy who is just outside the frame of this picture saw and gave me a thumbs up :-)
Our final stop on our final field trip was the Garden Tomb (which was also our first stop on our first field trip)
I was able to take a few photos in front of the tomb (something that was on my "to do" list all semester but that I never got around to until now! haha
Likely, this was not the actual tomb that Christ was laid in, however, this is a beautiful spot to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and to reflect on His atonement.
Me with the Garden Tomb
Golgotha--this is one of the spots believed to be the hill on which the Savior was crucified. The side of the hill looks like a skull, so it is believed it could be Golgotha (which means "skull")
Also, I took a photo with this "do not slip" sign...Maybe they should post these at the Red Sea?
The best way to end our field trips and semester--we had a chance to sing a few hymns and have a testimony meeting at the Garden Tomb. It was really neat.
All in all, it was a perfect last outing to end the semester!
-E
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