Our 100th post... and our first time sight seeing here in Israel

Anabelle woke up today with a smile on her face and this on her lips: "We are going to Dome on the Rock today Daddy." Today the Tel Aviv, Tiberias, and Jerusalem congregations from our church met together at the BYU Jerusalem Center for a district conference (on Mount Scopius, next to the Mount of Olives). The meeting was great (though between the great view of the Old City that dominates the meeting hall, and a wiggling, cookie-obsessed, sugar-charged 2-year old, I'm not sure how much of the 2 hour meeting I heard). We loved the peaceful feeling that permeated the place.

A view of Jerusalem from the BYU Jerusalem Center



After our meeting and luncheon, we headed into the "Old City" with two good friends, Erica and Carla, who go to Church with us in Tel Aviv. Because of Shabbat we went to most of the Catholic and Muslim sites.
The Garden of Gethsemane, oldest olive tree in the background

On the steps of the Church of the Nations (next to the Garden of Gethsemane)

The Church of the Nations

A view of The Golden Gate (currently sealed shut with stones), where it is believed by most Christians and Jews that Christ will enter when He comes. It is Jewish belief that when He does he will waken the dead and bring them in with him. Ironically, the cemetery you see below is Muslim owned.

Entrance to the Church where Mary's tomb is found


Lion's Gate, entrance to the Old City and to the "Via Dolorosa" which is believed by Catholics to be the route Jesus took on his way to Golgotha


Ecco Home Convent which houses below it ancient Roman cisterns, ~1st and 2nd Century A.D.; as well as ancient roads that now lie under the convent.

Here we are descending into the actual cisterns. Erica and Carla are behind Nate and Anabelle.



The stones you see right in front of this picture are part of the ancient road originally found during Christ's time and which is part of the Via Dolorosa, thus the mural of Christ carrying the Cross.

Muslim Quarter

I love this picture because the board sign on the bottom left advertises "hubbly bubbly." We almost bought some just to see what it was, but we figure there was a good chance we would end up "hubbling" home if it was bubbly, so we passed.

Family pose in front of Damascus Gate

Garden Tomb

We are glad we decided to come here today. There were several different religious services going on all around the Garden, plus a good size LDS tour group was singing hymns near the tomb itself. When we entered it we could still hear them. It really made us ponder the infinite beauty and mercy of the Sacrifice of our Savior; and the miracle of His resurrection. Anabelle wanted to sing too, since she heard others singing, so we sang "I know that my Redeemer lives" in Spanish. I (Maria) am not one to usually do something like that, but it felt good. As we came out, Anabelle ran over to this rock and said, "this is to cover the tomb, it got moved so Jesus could come out. It was amazing to see how much she remember from what Nathan told her before coming here, even though she only saw the pictures from the internet and guide book, she remembered the names of a lot of the sites, as well as some of the history.

Our little tour guide was so pooped at the end, she passed out in Nate's arms even before we got into the bus home. Nathan and I fell asleep soon after taking this picture.

Even though Anabelle squealed with glee when she saw the Dome on the Rock from the bus as we entered Jerusalem, she never got to go inside. It is usually closed on Saturdays (although both the internet site and the guide book said it would be opened). So this is as close of a look as she got of it today. I guess we'll have to go back!


-posted by Nate and Maria

Where did all the cars go, mom?

Anabelle!! Watch out for the cars!!!

No, I didn't finally loose it and let Anabelle run wild in the middle of Rehovot's main street. This week Israel celebrated Yum Kippur, and in honor of this special day all the streets are closed off to cars. Families than set out on their bikes and ride on the streets. This is why this day is also known as "bicycle day." There are absolutely no cars allowed and thus it is safe to let your child run wild down the middle of the main road.

The blob you see towards the back near the round-about is actually a group of five boys on their bikes that almost ran over Anabelle.

Although it was fun to see all the bikes what Anabelle and I found most refreshing was all the time we had to ponder. Anabelle really enjoyed stopping along the way at different spots and for some reason she would just sit quietly. It was really interesting and very unlike Anabelle.






As I was explaining what Yom Kippur is to Anabelle, I asked her if she knew what repentance meant, and she said, "you say, 'sorry God,' and you be nice." So simple and yet so many of us find this hard to do. I thought about how grateful I am for the opportunity Christ has given me to say,"I am sorry" and to know I am forgiven as I feel peace fill my heart. I am amazed that through his grace and love I can be a nicer and a better me.

Now, what can we do?

Anabelle does not have a lot of toys here in her "Israel home." So, we have to get creative about our pass-times. Some of the things she loves to do are:
play with her Playdough,

build castles in the park with daddy,

knock down castles in the park with daddy,

and practice her tumbling.

The wheels on the bus go...

As you may imagine, there are not a lot of LDS members (or mormons) in Israel. So, unlike in the U.S., there are only a few congregations spread throughout the country. We are very lucky, in that there is a "branch" or small congregation, just twenty minutes North of us. The bad news, however, is that because our Church keeps the Sabbath on Saturday here (partly out of respect, partly because it is more practical) we thought we had no way of getting to Church (all public transportation is down on Saturdays). The first Saturday we rented a car the day before and drove to church. This, however, was not something we could do every weekend, since it cost $50 per day (minimum two days)to rent a compact size car!!!! Luckily once we got to church and got to know some of the members, we found out about the church's "sherut."



These little buses usually operate as scheduled during the week, but because there is no public transportation during the day Saturday, they can be rented by a group to operate on a "custom-made" route. So... now we have our own personal little bus!
This is us waiting at the bus stop.


We are actually not the only ones who ride it, there are a few other members (most of them Russian speaking) who are picked up along the way (we are the furthest out and so we are usually the first ones on the bus). Here we have two of our beautiful Russian sisters.



Things have seemed to work out so well for us here, it is hard to believe that it is all just coincidence. We are so grateful for the small things that remind us that we are not alone here, and some ONE is ever mindful.