Staffs Serpents and Synagogues

It's been another great week in Jerusalem! When is a week in Jerusalem not a great week?? I'm sorry if I've said that before but I mean it one-hundred percent. Nothing too exciting happened this week so I will just tell you all the highlights.

At the beginning of this week we had a Midterm in Old Testament so that is pretty much what I spent the majority of the first of my week doing. We were tested on the first 5 books of the bible which included the creation story as well as the story of the serpent on the staff. Through studying with some of my friends here I learned some really cool things. We talked about how the serpent is a symbol of Christ which always confused me because of how Satan appeared as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. One of my friends that brought up the point that Satan appeared to Eve as a false Christ in the garden and that is why he was in Serpent form. That made so much more sense to me and cleared up a lot of confusion which is great. We also talked about the serpent on the staff story and one of my friends told us something their mission president taught them about that story. He talked about how many of the people didn't look upon the snake because they did not believe that it could heal them. That always confused me because I didn't understand how they could see people around them getting healed by the snake and not look at it themselves. His mission president said that a lot of people think that those people think that the people did not believe that it could HEAL them when really, his mission president thinks that they did not believe that it could heal THEM. They knew it could heal others but they did not thing that it could work for themselves. He related it to the atonement and how many people believe that it works, but not for them for one reason or the other. I learned a lot and it's really cool to think about the scriptures in such a different way.

On Friday of this week I had the opportunity to go to a Reform Jewish Synagogue. It was a pretty good experience. It is so interesting being here and learning about all these different cultures and religions. The more I learn about these different religions and their customs, traditions, pracitces, etc, the more I grateful I am for the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints and it's complete simplicity. At the Jewish Synagogue service there was a lot of ritualistic singing and recitation done which was really cool, and had a great meaning, but I'm grateful that I get to go to church each week and learn something new and feel whatever the spirit wants to tell me. I respect other religions 100%, and I admire the devotion of the members in them. I am grateful that there are so many people who love and believe in a loving God in heaven and who answers our prayers. While at the synagogue I met a woman from the states who is here in Jerusalem studying at a Jewish school. I told her a little bit about our program here at 'Mormon University' and she seemed really surprised that we learn so much about the land here and about both Judaism and Islam. She was also baffled that our Jewish professor would bring us to the service at the synagogue when we really couldn't understand much of what is going on but she also thought it was really cool. She saw a man there that she had met through a mutual friend a few days before who I also met. He didn't speak English so I didn't talk to him too much or learn a lot about him, but after the service he asked me for my facebook and when I looked at him with a confused face he clarified that it was for his friend, not for him, to which I gave a more confused (and probably somewhat frightened look). After many awkward exchanges of glances between me, the man, the Jewish woman I met, my friend Kaylee who was with me, and back to the man, the woman I met (Shawnee) finally started exchanging hebrew words with the man about this whole situation. I understood nothing and finally she just said "It's not appropriate!" He understood and left me be which was a relief.

Well, exhaustion has overtaken me, which I must battle with tomorrow morning for our early field trip, so I must now retire to slumber.

Remember the wise words of Henry Ford, "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."

Make every day the best day of your life!