Happy Halloween!

It's not a phase, it's my personality . . .

“Not all those who wander are lost.”
- J. R. R. Tolkien

I love this quote because I feel like it sums up my life right now. I have been pondering a lot lately about the incredible experiences that I have had over the past five years and the amazing people who I have met along the way. I've seen more sights in this short amount of time than most people get to see in a lifetime. I've completed a first-class education and worked with an organization (ILP) that has changed my life. I've done two semesters of service abroad in Ukraine and Mexico. I've served a full-time mission in Russia. I back packed Columbia, Peru and Western Europe by myself or with friends I met along the way. I studied abroad in the Holy land and traveled to Egypt, Jordan and Israel. I've seen things that people have only dreamed of, and I've had so many people, places and experiences etched into my heart that I feel an incredible fusion of enhanced wholeness and longing emptiness at all times, wherever I am. I suppose that once so many people and places have so much meaning for you, you can never be the same person you once were. I am certainly not the same as I once was. I hope that I am always a wanderer, searching for experiences in life and jumping at any opportunity that comes my way. I am so blessed to have the life that I do, and I hope that the desire I have to see the world and understand God's children is not just a phase.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

When in Rome . . .

Here it is . . . THE Colosseum. I opted for the audio guide, which was a great choice.

Here I am sitting on the Spanish steps. Last night we saw a free classical concert here.
Trevi Fountain.
I really am happy to be at the Vatican. Really.

Well, I've had 48 hours in Rome, and I've hit all the major things on my list. Yesterday we saw the Colosseum, forum, Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Caravagio works, an out door classical concert and lots of other things. Today was also a really busyIn between my breakfast of croissants, lunch of lasagne, gelatto #1, pasta dinner and gelatto #2 for dessert I managed to tour the Vatican, including St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel and take public transportation out to some catacombs. There was no cistern, but it made me feel at home to be underground again.

Vienna and Venice

We had chocolate parfaits for lunch at the posh Demel chocolate shop in Vienna
On the train from Vienna to Venice the three of us shared a sleeper cabin with an Albanian man and a Chinese couple and their daughter.
Ah, Venice.  Doesn't it look like I just photo-shopped myself into this one?

What an Experience

I don't even know how to begin to talk about everything that has happend over the past two weeks. We spent ten days staying on the Sea of Galilee at a Kibutz, which is a communal living compound. They run a resort, and we stayed in little bungalows right on the beach. We had class every other morning and then took fieldtrips every other day. We went to Caesarea Martima, Armageddon, Mt. Tabor, Nazareth, Dan, Gamla, Tiberius, Capernum, the Mount of Beattitudes, Taghba and much much more. We saw a lot of ancient cities and we sat and read scriptures and taught each other in all the places we know the Savior went. It was so incredible.

My favorite part of any field trip we took was crossing the Sea of Galilee. We took a boat with just our class accross the entire sea one morning. It was totally clear and the rays of sun were shining on the water. This was the highlight so far of my entire time in Israel. I felt the Spirit so strongly testifying to me that Jesus Christ had walked on these waters and calmed the storms. A lot of the sights we go to here have huge churches built over them, so they don't appear as they most likely did 2000 years ago. the Sea of Galilee was the real thing. We ate a fish restaurant, walked the shops at Tiberius and went to church in a branch building (it's really just a home) across the Sea. Beautiful.

After the first few days of being in the Galilee I decided that the best time of day was the morning, so I started waking up at 5:30 every day so that I could have time down on teh Sea by myself as the sun was rising before anyone else got up and we got going. It was so sweet to read the Gospels and sit and watch the water in this very special place. Each night we sat on the beach and watched the sunset. Nothing could be so beautiful. I think that this place is perhaps the most beautiful I have ever been. Not because the beaches were great, but because everything that the Savior did in His ministry seemed to come to life in Galilee.We got back to Jerusalem a couple of days ago and have been very busy finishing all of our finals. Yesterday we took a fieldtrip to Bethany and Bethphage where we saw the tradition sight of the tomb of Lazareth and Mary and Martha's house. It was very sweet. Today we took our final walking tour throughout the old city. We followed Christ's path from Bethany, his triumphal entry into Jerusalem then to an upper room where the last supper may have taken place. This morning we started in Gethsemane and then went to the House of Caiphas and the church of Peter Galicantu, where Christ was first tried before Caiphas and where Peter denied him three times. We then went to the Church of the flagelation where Christ was scourged and followed his path throughout the city as he took up his cross and eventually ended up at Golgotha outside the city wall. Today we concluded all of our fieldtrips and class time in the Garden next to the tomb where Jesus came from the grave. It was quite an experience.

I really feel like I can't express how much this has meant to me. I feel like I have learned so much walking in the places where Jesus walked. To think that today I sat in the only place in all of the Father's many creations where the Savior of the World atoned for the sins of mankind. Today I was there. I sat and I read scriptures and prayed and wrote in my journal, and I felt the Spirit testify that Jesus is the Christ, and that this is His church. I truly hope that all of you get the chance to see this things and be in these places. On a lighter note, we finished all our finals, had an awesome talent show and are now trying to get in all the extra sights we can before we leave in two days. This has been the fastest, craziest 6 weeks of my entire life. It has flown by, but I feel that I have learned enough and experienced enough that it feels like I've been here at least a year. What a strange thing time is.Life is wonderful!

The Galilee

We just spent 10 days on the Sea of Galilee. We held class every other morning and then spent all of our free time swimming, studying and seeing all the sights. It was absolutely beautiful. Highlights include the Mount of Beattitudes, Sailing straight across the Sea of Galilee, going to church in Tiberias overlooking the Sea, Capernum, Caesarea and Meggido (Armageddon).
Walking around the boardwalk in Tiberias was kind of like a carnival. You could buy really expensive icecream, tatoos, bags, skirts and crazy rockstar sunglasses (like the ones John and I are sporting.)
Sailing across the Sea of Galilee has been my favorite part of my entire experience in the Holy Land. There really was such a strong spirit as we crossed the sea where Jesus had walked and calmed the storm. It was awesome.
We stayed in little bungalows right on the beach, and each day we had time to swim and play. We were really ambitious one day and spent two hours building the best sand castle that beach had ever seen. Unfortunately we didn't really consider the tide, so by morning it was gone.
We visited Capernum where Christ spent a lot of his ministry. Here the Savior performed many miracles. The traditional location of Peter's house has been excavated as well as some ancient synagouges.

We drink all day long, and it is never enough. We make hydration look good, don't you think?

Here is Petra . . . one of the wonders of the world, and the location of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It was really spectacular.
For $5 we rode donkeys up a mountain to the great sanctuary at Petra. It was one of the most frightening things I have ever done. We were riding up steep steps and rocks along big edges, and the donkeys may have been suicidal. I was definitely scared for my life, and I fell off once because the make-shift saddle swung underneath the beast.

Here we are sitting in the only shade we could find in Oman while listening to our tour guide use really bad English to explain this ancient Roman city. It was really hot and I had just taken an allergy pill because my eyes hurt, which I did NOT know would cause drowsiness. I think I almost passed out about three times that morning. It was terrible.
We had to put on these very modest black robes to go into a Mosque in Oman. It was very fun. There were no Muslims there, but we got to take as many pics as we wanted.

There are really large pictures of leaders all over Jordan. I think this guy is the king, and a total babe. Check out that mustache. All the men here sit around and smoke those things.
I have become addicted to playing Phase 10. Kader, Dallin and I are playing in Petra by the pool. In the past week alone we have played over 20 full games. It is really addicting.
This is Elder Matson (i.e. John). We served together in Moscow and then both ended up coming on the program. Here we are sharing a head set for our tour as we begin to walk into Petra. John is one of the coolest guys I know, a really good friend and a really good influence.