Places I have been this year...

From August 2011 to August 2012:
Utah - here for obvious reasons
Colorado - to get to Texas
New Mexico - had a pit stop here at Jodie's relatives
Texas - final destination of the road trip
Arizona - drove for like 20 minutes through this place to get to Four Corners
Washington - for Christmas break with cousins
Oregon - decided to drive down here for fun. We were planning on going to Canada, but I didn't have my passport at the time.
New York - stopped over here to and from Israel
Israel - here for most of my spring/summer 2012
Turkey - the spring break I never had (literally, because there's no such thing as "spring break" at BYU)
Jordan - the true Middle East
California - stopped over here going to Hawaii from Israel
Idaho - drove up there for a wedding reception
Hawaii - here for like 2 weeks

Back in Provo

Round 3 at BYU.

My apartment is pretty exotic. We have a ESL student from Argentina, a Filipino from Hawaii, a Missourian that's into Japanese things, a South Carolinian, and a Texan (Texas is practically another country). Our apartment knows how to speak English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, and some Hebrew (Hebrew probably doesn't count considering that we only took a half-credit worth of Hebrew).

In all my classes, except for my Analysis of Variance class, I will have at least one friend. I'll have tons of fun talking to them.

I'm going to go play kickball now at the Opening Social with the ward so this post will be continued.

Playlist of My Life...in the Jerusalem Center

Sad day. The day after I landed in Hawaii, my laptop broke. There is a chance that everything on my computer will be wiped out when I get it back after it's repaired. That means pretty much all of the pictures that I ever took of the Jerusalem Center experience will be deleted. I took several thousand pictures and there's a possibility that they will go "chow-see-ya-go-bye-bye."    :(
At least there's thousands more that my fellow JC students took, so I could just rip their pictures off of Facebook or something.

The whole Jerusalem Center experience is over. After arriving back home from 30 hours of traveling, I felt like that whole experience was just a dream (kinda reminds me of Inception). I seriously need to remind myself that it was not a dream. The best way for me is to listen to the music that remind me of the whole experience. Throughout the semester, I compiled a playlist of songs that will remind me of the Jerusalem Center.

1. Fall Apart Today - Schuyler Fisk
2. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
3. Summer Love - Justin Timberlake
4. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
5. So Good - B.o.B.
6. Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
7. Jerusalem - Matisyahu
8. Helena Beat - Foster the People
9. So This is Goodbye - William Fitzsimmons
10. Consider the Lilies - MoTab
11. Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Wedding Version) - Iron & Wine
12. King Without a Crown - Matisyahu
13. Homeward Bound - MoTab
14. This is the Christ - MoTab
15. Time of Your Song - Matisyahu
16. On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons

I'll give some explanations to why these songs remind me of the Jerusalem Center:

• 2, 3, and 4 were the songs that were played in Turkey constantly. Since then, if there's songs being played on the intercom on the bus or at a dance, these three songs would definitely be in the mix. 5 was also played at like every dance party. And the fact that this song talks all about traveling, it reminds me of all of our adventures.
• 6 reminds me of the Old Testament. It describes the feeling I get as I read about King David and Samson.
• 7 obviously reminds me of Jerusalem. It mostly reminds me of the Old City. 
• 8 reminds me of the desert. It reminds me of the long bus ride down to Eilat to go swimming.  
• 9 actually reminds me of the middle of my Jerusalem experience. That was when it kicked in that we were actually going to leave Jerusalem for the states in no time. 
• We (the ward choir) sang 10 and 14 in sacrament meeting. 10 reminds me of the nature found in the Jerusalem Center/around the Jerusalem Center/Galilee. 14 reminds me of our last Sabbath day in the Holy Land. We sang 14 as the closing song in sacrament meeting.
• 11 reminds me of the sunsets in Galilee. I would listen to this song as I watched the sunset over the Sea of Galilee. It reminds me of calm waters, birds gliding in the air, a watercolor sky, shimmering Tiberias across the sea, and peace.
• 12 reminds me of driving around to our field trips in Galilee.
• 13 reminds me of going home. More specifically, being happy about going home.
• 15 reminds me of leaving the Jerusalem Center to go to the airport for the states. This song pretty much reminds me of the last things I see in Israel before we reach the airport.
• 16 reminds me of the whole Jerusalem Center experience. This song was on one of the memories videos.

AAAHHHH!!!

LESS THAN 24 HOURS UNTIL CHOW-SEE-YA-GO-BYE-BYE (THE WISE WORDS OF BASHIR).

On a happy note, here's a Primary song gone awry:

I looked out the window and what did I see?
Skinny dippers in the Sea of Galilee.
Summer has brought me such a nice surprise,
Naked Mormons right before my eyes.
I could take my swimsuit and wave it in the air.
Brother Jackson is coming but I really don't care.
Don't you want to be swimming bare and free.
Skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee.


Once I get back home, I'll have legit internet so I could post pictures on here (not pictures that relate to this song though).

I'll Be "Homeward Bound"

I have 4 more full days at the Jerusalem Center program. I can't believe the final week in Jerusalem is here. I could not even fathom leaving the Jerusalem Center during that first week being here. I have mixed emotions about leaving. On one hand, I'm sad that this whole 4 month experience is coming to an end. This whole experience has been unbelievable. I love the people, places, and everything here. On the other hand, I'm happy to go back home to Hawaii for a bit and then to BYU Provo. I feel like I have a lot to come back to. The song "Homeward Bound" that the Mormon Tabernacle sings reminds me of the Jerusalem Center coming to an end. I am posting the lyrics because they are beautiful:

In the quiet misty morning, when the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing and the sky is clear and red,
When the summer's ceased its gleaming, when the corn is past its prime,
When adventure's lost its meaning, I'll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture. Chain me not to the plow.
Set me free to find my calling and I'll return to you somehow.

If you find it's me you're missing, if you're hoping I'll return,
To your thought I'll soon be list'ning; in the road I'll stop and turn.
Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end,
And the path I'll be retracing when I'm homeward bound again.

Bind me not to the pasture. Chain me not to the plow.
Set me free to find my calling and I'll return to you somehow.

In the quiet misty morning when the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing, I'll be homeward bound again.

This song changed my perspective on leaving. The phrase "set me free to find my calling" makes me excited to apply and teach all that I have learned in the Jerusalem Center programs. I feel like I can fully apply and teach what I've learned once I return to the states. 

I absolutely love the 3rd verse. It's my favorite verse out of the whole song. The 3rd verse made me excited to come back to loved ones. "To your thought I'll soon be listening; in the road I'll stop and turn." If you hope for me to return, I promise I'll stop and turn.

A Little Humour at the Mt. of Beatitudes

I had a very spiritual, yet amusing time at the Mt. of Beatitudes. Is it even possible to be super spiritual, yet be bursting out laughing all at the same time? Like every other site, there is a church that is built wherever Christ has done something. Brother Harper sat us down in front of the church that commemorates the Sermon on the Mount. We were yards away from it though. When Bother Harper gave his devotional, a little old lady would start screaming in a microphone saying, "Be quiet! There are people praying in the church!" She had pretty good English. I could only hear a slight hint of an accent. The whole time Brother Harper was giving his devotional, every other ten seconds she would yell into the microphone. Brother Harper started feeling self-conscious after a while and thought that he was the one being too loud. He was not talking loud at all though since we had headsets to hear him clearly. I thought it was ironic that she was yelling into a microphone to tell people to be quiet. I am pretty sure she herself was disturbing those who were praying. She was a cute, well-intentioned lady though.

Megan and Rachelle then performed "Consider the Lilies" right where we were. I was freaking out because I was expecting the little lady yelling in the microphone to tell them to be quiet. Luckily, she did not say anything because that would have been super awkward. Megan played the violin and Rachelle sang. It was such a beautiful rendition. I started tearing. During the middle of the song, an African tour group were passing right behind them. They stopped to take pictures and videos of them. I could not help but laugh at this sight. They seemed so eager to get a shot of them singing. After Rachelle and Megan finished singing, the same lady that was yelling into the microphone started clapping. She even came up to take a picture of them. There was just so much going on around us while we were having such spiritual moments, that I could not help but laugh at this whole episode on the Mt. of Beatitudes.

I am pretty sure this does not sound funny at all to whoever is reading this. These are one of those moments where you have to have been there to understand. Or maybe I was just slap happy and immature at that time and I was the only one that found this all funny.

Christ's Purpose on Earth

I decided to post a writing exercise of mine that I did for Brother Harper's class. My mind was blown after writing this writing exercise. I always thought that Jesus' disciples knew during Jesus' ministry why He came on earth. The disciples had no idea that Jesus would die, that He may save all mankind.

Below is the confusingly worded prompt that led me to figure out Jesus' disciples:

This essay should reflect your accumulation of insight over the course of the semester (the passage of time/experience) relative to seeing or understanding and its relationship to memory.  Use John 12:16 in context as your guide.  In your first well-developed paragraph, explain to readers why even Jesus’ disciples did not understand everything “at the first.”  According to that verse, what transpired before the disciples could understand what they had witnessed in Jesus triumphal entry?  According to that verse, the disciples did not “remember”--a scholar of memory might prefer “recognize,” a specific component of memory—until what they already knew until “then.”  What is the “then” in John 12:16?  A combination of two things catalyzed the disciples’ ability to discover the meaning in Jesus’ triumphal entry: namely their knowledge of scripture and their personal experiences.  Comment on that combination.

With all that in mind, reflect thoughtfully and specifically in your second paragraph on what you did not understand about Jesus “at the first,” meaning, for our purposes, before you came to Jerusalem.  Then assess in a thoughtful sentence or two how little you still know and how your future experiences, combined with your Jerusalem experiences, will enable you to remember as Jesus’ disciples remembered in John 12:16. 

I wrote a pretty basic essay, but I felt like sharing what I analyzed through the scriptures:

Jesus’ disciples did not understand everything “at the first” because they did not expect the Messiah to save all mankind through the atonement. The Jews believed that the Messiah would be one that would deliver the Jews from the rule of the Romans. At first, His disciples did not perceive that the acts of Jesus riding on a donkey and going straight to the temple to preach were acts of the Messiah. However, the disciples understood that before Jesus’ triumphal entry, He was a divine being. Jesus manifested His divine nature through His miracles and words. Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and raised the dead. In the chapter before Jesus’ triumphal entry in the Gospel of John, Jesus testifies He is the resurrection and the life. Jesus resurrects Lazarus from the dead. This last miracle in the Gospel of John foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection. Despite Jesus foreshadowing His glorification through His resurrection, Jesus’ disciples did not understand Jesus’ true purpose on earth. The disciples only understood Jesus’ true purpose after the atonement was complete. The time Jesus was resurrected was when the disciples are referred to as having “remembered” in John 12:16. Jesus was glorified after His resurrection. Jesus was glorified after the completion of the atonement. The disciples discovered the meaning of Jesus’ triumphal entry through their scripture knowledge and their personal experiences. The prophecy of Zechariah was fulfilled through Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In Zechariah 9:9, Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah be lowly and riding upon a donkey into Jerusalem. His disciples realized that their preparing a donkey for Jesus was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah. The disciples then realized that Jesus was the Messiah that came to earth to suffer that all mankind might have salvation.

            Before I came to the Jerusalem Center, I did not understand that Jesus had a different will from Heavenly Father. If there were any other way to save all mankind, Jesus would choose the other. I did not take into account that Jesus had His agency while He was entering Jerusalem for the last time. He could have easily chosen not to go to Jerusalem. He was aware that the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem were out to kill Him. Instead, He chose to follow God’s will and enter into Jerusalem to die for all mankind. I realized being here that I know very little of the nature of Jesus. I hope that my future experiences combined with my Jerusalem experiences will enable me to remember that the word of God is being fulfilled.