Jordan River

    On our way out of Jordan we took a nice little stop at the Jordan River. I'm not going to lie, it was not exactly what I was expecting (you'll see what I mean in a second.) When you picture Christ's baptism, you think of a large open river with people lining the banks waiting for their turn. Or at least that's what I always imagined. Well, here they had a spot where people would have come to enter the river in ancient times. It had steps leading down into the water, a little covered area, and at one point a memorial to some Mary. Now, the river only fills it during the rainy season (which is now) but even then a lot of time the river never reaches it.

Here's a picture of what it looks like when there is water in it

     Alright folks. Here it is! The big reveal! Are you ready for what the Jordan River looks like for reals!?

Look at those excited face! We can't wait to see it!!

And there she is! In all her glory. Probably not what you expected either huh?

If you look at the top of that wall, you can see a rectangular sign. That marks the level of the river in 2013. You can see how much it has dropped. Who knows how large it was during the Savior's time. 

     

    When we first got to the spot where we could sit by the river, there was a big group there getting baptized. It was really neat to just sit there and watch that. It was a little different than how we do it. They were all in swimming suits with white t-shirts on and would go into the water and dunk themselves 3 times. At one point, one of the ladies took off her white t-shirt and just had on her bathing suit. She was older and a little heavier and wearing a bikini. We'll just say that more of her backside was showing than would be culturally acceptable in America let alone in Jordan. Actually she was in Israel because they were on the other side of the river. The little Muslim teenage girls who were sitting next to us couldn't contain themselves. They would giggle and laugh and kind of look away every time she turned around. It was pretty funny. 

     Although I don't feel like I had any huge ah-ha moments at the river, it was still a great experience. This is one of those times when I can relate to Nephi who said, "behold, I, of myself, have dwelt at Jerusalem, wherefore I know concerning the regions round about" (2 Nephi 25:6). Reading the story of Namaan this last week in Old Testament suddenly made a lot more sense. If the prophet told me that I would be cleansed from washing in this river, I definitely would have thought he was crazy. I don't think anyone is coming out of that water cleaner than they went in! It's times like that when I am once again reminded of what an amazing opportunity I have here.

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

Jordan Museum and Temple of Hercules

    The Jordan Museum was really neat. We've been talking about all these things in class and now we actually got to see them! I took a lot more pictures but most wouldn't be very exciting. So I just picked out a few good ones. 

                                     

Mesha Stele is the first time the Israel is mentioned as a people 

Dead Sea Scrolls!

Hayley, Mary, and I rocking the tennis shoes and skirt look!

    Our short pit stop for the day was the Temple of Hercules. This wall, built long before the temple, was actually where Uriah the Hittite was sent to be killed. 

Our awesome Hercule's poses

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

The Church Is the Same Everywhere!

    The LDS church has a building in Jordan and we got to go visit it. When I say building I actually mean a floor. Nevertheless, it is amazing! We walked in and it felt like walking right into America. It looks exactly like the chapels and architecture there. From the pews to the ceiling tiles everything was the same. It felt just like home. Honestly, none of us wanted to leave. The Branch President/Service Couple that oversaw the building project spoke to us about some of the miracles that went on. It was very neat. Apparently I didn't take very many pictures (as in none) but just trust me that it looked the same. The area has a chapel, classrooms, kitchen area, guest bedrooms (for when general authorities visit), and a little apartment for the service couple. It was really nice.

This reminded me of a fun fact. The church couldn't actually buy property in Jordan. So, LDS Charities bought the land and the church rents it from them. 

The outside of the building.

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

So Many Cultures, So Little Space

    Amman was full of great treasures! One perk of being in the Middle East is that you actually get ruins and architecture from all over the world. Here is another great example! This theater could seat about 6,000 people. The size of it was pretty amazing. Our guide stood in the center and we could hear him clear from the top even when he was just talking in a normal voice. Super cool. 

   The Greek actor was called a hypocrite. Why? There was never enough actors for all the parts in a play and so one actor would play many parts. Well, the audience needed a way to know which part the actor was playing and so they would put on different masks. Actors make their living by being someone they're not. When Christ tells us to not be like the hypocrites, he is telling us to not wear masks and not change who we are depending on where we are. It's worth taking a minute and asking yourself if your actions are reflecting your heart. 

The seating

Classic Roman Statues

A view of the Theater from Hercule's Temple

    On to our next culture/country/experience. We stopped at the King Hussein Mosque. Because of the religious tensions in Jerusalem, it is hard/impossible for us to go to any mosques. We took this opportunity to be able to have a quick tour and explanation while in Jordan. One thing I love about the mosque was the "art." To avoid worshiping idols, they have no pictures of people. Instead, calligraphy has become their form of art. I think the calligraphy on the mosques here is amazing. 

Some of the calligraphy

Me, Coulette, Tyra, and Kristen

Calligraphy again

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

Big J little j what begins with J?

   Jabbok River and Jerash! J J J! Early the next morning we were out the door and headed to the Jabbok River. The modern name is Zaqra or Blue River. However, it is anything but blue! There has been a lot of pollution and it was more of a brown color topped with nice bubbles.
    This is the place where Jacob wrestled with an angel and got his name changed to Israel. It is also called Penuiel in the Bible. Penuiel means the "face of God." When Jacob enters the presence of God, this spot becomes a temple. When we go to the temple today the purpose is still to enter the presence of God.
     I will say, it felt really good to be back by the river. Besides the color, it felt a lot like Big Smokey! It was about the same size and had really similar scenery.

That's actually Rorie Hewitt sitting on the rock!

     After that we went to my guide's hometown of Jerash. I say that because he said it about 2382 times a day. He was really proud of his hometown. This didn't make a ton of sense until I actually saw it. I would be proud of it too! Jerash was one of the coolest things we saw on that trip. Going by Jershon in the Old Testament, the city of Jerash is one of the largest Greek/Roman cities in the world. This is what Jerusalem would have looked like during Jesus' time. It was amazing!! The pictures don't really do it justice but it's the best I've got! 

This was the hippodrome where all the games would take place. 

We had a little race between classes. Our girls were close but our boys were killed! 

This is part of the forum. The big open area right as you walk into the city. 

The Temple of Zeus

They had stacks of ruins everywhere here! They just haven't reconstructed it yet. 

This is the Nymphia which is the main fountain area of the city. 

The pillars lining the Cardo

Cardo

The view overlooking the forum and Cardo from the Temple of Zeus

The entrance to the city. 

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

Lindiana Jones and the Last Crusades

    You guessed it! Our second day was spent in Petra! Or maybe you didn't get it, only about 10 minutes of that movie actually took place there. But we definitely watched it in preparation for our trip. Petra is pretty much as amazing as it looks. You would not believe how massive these buildings are that are carved out of the rock. It's insane! I felt so tiny next to them. Unfortunately, another thing I learned in Jordan was sometimes if you turn off all your lights, it actually shuts off the electricity in your room. True story. So my camera died very shortly into the trip. But I got a few pictures.

Apparently this was the kind of bush that was the burning bush. Not sure how they know that, but lots of Bedouins told me so it must be true. 

This is where you start singing the Indiana Jones theme song. 

TA DA!!!! It's the Treasury. You can see the little person in background to give you a better idea of scale. 

Oh ya! And I rode a camel!! 

My friend Hayley and I in front of the Treasury

The treasury is really cool

We hiked up to a The High Place that had a great overlook. Then we decided to be ambitious and hike up to the Monastery too. It was a TON of hiking and we were feeling pretty beast by the end. I didn't get any pictures of the awesome view. Kind of a bummer. 

Until my next adventure,

Lindy