A day in Jordan! Roman ruins!

Jordan and its capital Amman are the remnants of the Old Testament Ammonites. A little history of the place: The Ammonites were decendants of Abraham's nephew Lot. They were a weak nation, and thus the children of Israel were able to pass through their land. The israelites later fought against the Ammonites during the time of the Judges. King David conquered the Ammonites and forced them to pay tribute. During an Israelite attack on Rabbath-Ammon, Uriah the Hittite was killed. Eventually, two Greek-speaking dynasties controlled Amman: the Ptolemys and the Seleucids. Amman is also known as "Philadelphia," Greek for  "brotherly love."  It remained Greek-speaking through the Roman period, and has a Roman theater and a Temple to Hercules. It was also under rule of the Byzantine empire and the Umayyad Caliphs. 

This is what archaeologists supposed the Temple of Hercules looked like in it's original state.

This is what it looks like now, when I got there. It's interesting how gods and mythologies pass into history, but the concept of Jehovah has survived for thousands and thousands of years. The ancestry of our religion is Jewish, and we have them to thank for staying faithful and preserving Jehovah's name throughout the centuries.

Look...I'm strong like Hercules!!!!

Look at these ancient columns!! If I'm correct, they are built in the corinthian style...check out those decorative curlies!

Hmm. Just can't get enough of the Hercules pose! Here I am with Sawyer, who is one of the coolest people I've ever met.

The muses and Hercules himself. Aubreigh, Lizzy, Alyssa, and Lindsey are the muses, and Mikkel is posing as Hercules. I feel like we're all in the appropriate character roles :)

Remnants of the giant statue of Hercules at the Temple of Hercules. Look, I'm holding hands with Hercules :)

Pretending to be smitten by this demi-god, but really I'm just smitten by Dan.

This is Hercules' elbow. Look, elbow bump.

Ha ha, I'm licking Hercules' elbow :) I've licked people's elbows in three different countries!!

A pretty view of these ancient ruins. I like this picture because it's a little contrast with the gods of ancient Greece and my God, Jehovah. I love mythology and I think it's fascinating, but there is one true God, and that is the God that I worship. I've always associated God with the sky, because I can't ever see an end to the sky, and it's always beautiful. The sky has always been there, but these ancient temples are falling into ruin. The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He does not age!

Just another view of these absolutely awesome pillars. They just stand majestically, standing the test of time, reminding people of an age long past. Ooh, I love epic-ness :)

Jabbok River

The Jabbok river is a special place for Jacob, son of Isaac. When traveling to the land of his forefathers in search of a wife to marry within the covenant, he spends a night (not here, but it'll come into the story soon enough) with rocks as his pillows. The story is found in Genesis 28:

11) And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12) And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13) And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14) And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15) And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goes, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Jacob was alone here, and no doubt felt the uncertainty and loneliness of what he was supposed to do. His brother Esau wanted to kill him, and he had to travel far to try to seek a wife within the covenant. He didn't know if he would find anyone and he didn't know if he would be provided for. The Lord, in His multitude of tender mercies, sent Jacob the exact dream that would strengthen his faith and resolve and help him find comfort. The dream represents a ladder of covenants that we make with the Lord. Angels ascending up and down the ladder symbolize making the covenants of baptism, priesthood, and finally, celestial marriage. The Lord is at the top of the ladder, showing that to reach exaltation  one must enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. The Lord reminds Jacob of the blessing that He gave to Abraham, one that says their seed will be everlasting. Jacob, alone in the darkness of evening, is reminded that the Lord has promised him a family that will last through the ages. No doubt this was comfort to him as he faced the unknown of his journey. We are also recipients of Abraham's covenant. We are of the House of Israel, and as such, the blessings and promises of exaltation and eternal families are extended to us. If we are faithful, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we too can ascend the ladder to God. We can make covenants with Him that allow us to enter his presence, and we can look upon our endless families from our exaltation.

It was kind of cool--I sat on a big rock while we were talking about the Abrahamic covenant and the blessings of eternal family, and I was able to look at all 82+ people who had come on the field trip. I was able to see the thousands of stones and grains of sand in the riverbed, and I felt the magnificence of the power of the promise that the Lord made to the Patriarchs. I want to be worthy of those covenants and those promises someday.

Later in his life, Jacob crossed this stream with his family when he was coming back to the land of Canaan, after spending years serving Laban. He learns from scouts that his brother Esau is coming to meet him, and Jacob is greatly afraid. There are 3 steps to the story. Notice them. First, he offers a beautiful and humble prayer, found in Genesis 32:

9) And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac  the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
10) I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
11) Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12) And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Second, he wrestles with a messenger of the Lord. Later in the chapter, once again under the cover of night, he

22) And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven son, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 

24) And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
26) And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And [Jacob] said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27) And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28) And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed.

Third, he faces Esau, who he has not seen in twenty years. The meeting is found in Genesis 33:

4) And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Jacob provides us with a beautiful account of how faith in the Lord is always proved. Jacob's humble prayer to God is answered in a way that perhaps he does not expect--a literal trial of his faith, in the form of wrestling with a messenger of God to get a blessing. His new name, Israel, can be translated as "He perseveres (with) God," or "Let God prevail." This is part of the fulfillment of the blessings that  the Lord showed to him in his dream, years before. Jacob, at this point, has been blessed with a large family. He only needs to go back to the land of his inheritance and reunite with the estranged part of his family to have all the basic promises of the covenant. In the third part of the story, the Lord has softened Esau's heart and Esau and Jacob reunite with love and rejoicing.

What can we learn from this? Well, if we are humble and we supplicate the Lord, we know with certainty that He answers our prayers. It may not be in a way we expect, and there will always be a trial of our faith before the witness and answer can come. And when it comes, we find out that the Lord has known all along, and He has put into motion all that is needed to answer our prayer and fulfill His promises to us. Just remember the three F's: Face your Fear with Faith!!!! The Lord will always provide a way to prevail and blessings to accompany.

Jerash

A little history and archaeology of this EPIC place!! Archaeologists found evidence of occupation at Jerash from the Stone Age through the Iron Age. When Abraham traveled to Canaan from Haran, he passed through a city called Jershon, possibly another name for ancient Jerash. Under Roman rule, Jerash was included among the ten cities of the Decapolis, as well as Philadelphia (Amman), Hippos, Gadera, and Scythopolis. To prepare for Emperor Hadrian's visit in AD 129, Jerash was renovated and further enlarged. 

Archaeological remains at Jerash reveal primarily an ancient Greco-Roman city! The sheer size of Jerash in the late Roman era required more churches for its population, and at least fifteen have been discovered from the Byzantine era.

So basically, there are a bunch of really cool Roman ruins, and it felt like I was in Italy. So epic. :)

The gate entering the little archaeological site/park thing that we went and explored! It was HUGE! and ANCIENT! and ROMAN! Three of my favorite things :)

This is the remains of an ancient race track! The Romans used to race chariots and horses here. Ben-Hur IRL!!

Our tour guide had us race. Of course I volunteered, because who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to race in an ancient racing stadium?

3....2.....1.....GO!!!! She's in the lead, followed closely by someone wearing a skirt...that's embarrassing....

I won the race :):):) I won a race in an ancient chariot stadium :) Imagine hundreds of roman citizens clapping and cheering for my victory!!!! Bucket list item I didn't even know I had :)

Some more of the ancient ruins that weren't able to explore, but I got a little picture of it! Super cool!

Another really cool gateway...I love it when people make huge dramatic buildings as a symbol of power. It's definitely awe-inspiring!

This is  a large space. I don't remember what it's called. Dang. The only thing I know about this place is that it's in the Disney movie Hercules. This is the place that collapses like dominoes  Recall? I was there :)

Lean on me...

This road has Maximus somewhere in it's name....Gladiator. Maximus. Roman ruins. Oh yeah. It's all comin together.  <--Emperor's New Groove quote.

Chariot wheel marks. They're still in the stone! 

Ancient Roman fountain! The best preserved in the world, actually. The little holes in the top layer were for water...obviously...but the holes in the lower layers divvied out the water so that multiple people could access it at once.

Some pretty designs on the stone. Can you believe the detail?

Another bucket list item that I didn't know I had: our tour guide was demonstrating how the fountain still worked, and he poured some water from his water bottle into the fountain hole. And I made him do it again, so I could drink out of it. Don't think about how many people have probably put stuff down that hole, and how many germs there were in it. Just think, "How epic. Lizzy drank water out of an ancient Roman fountain, the coolest one in the world."

A road and a bridge. Ruins. See how the cobble stones are laid in a diagonal? Brilliant engineers realized that it reduced the bounciness of chariot rides, because only one wheel was going over a rut at a time. Isn't that cool? They thought of everything!

My friendly friends! Michelle, Preston, Alyssa, and me!

A theater!! It was HUGE!! They would put on plays and concerts here. The acoustics were amazing! We sang some hymns here, and maybe I did a little dramatic acting... :)

There IS such a thing as a Jordanian Bagpipe Company. Yep. Wow. Really neat :) They were playing songs for the tourists that came through the theater, and they played the national anthem for everyone to hear. Also, it was President Abdullah II's birthday that day, so they played him happy birthday :)

The last picture before my camera died. I really love the people here! They are all so wonderful, happy, and sweet!! From right to left: Top row: Katie, Emily, Bethany, Michelle.
Middle row: Erica, Jen, Amber. Last row. Courtney, Lizzy, Sarah. Bottom row: Alyssa. I feel like I'm naming off the kindergarteners in a school picture.... :)