Palm Sunday and city fun

I had the incredible opportunity of being in the Holy Land for Passover week/Holy Week! This week commemorated the last week of the Savior's ministry and life, and culminated in the Atonement, His death, and His resurrection! HOORAY!! Here's the general layout of Holy Week:

Palm Sunday: The Triumphal Entry; the Cleansing of the Temple

Monday:  The Marcan Cleansing of the Temple; Teachings in the Temple

Tuesday: More Teachings in the Temple; the Olivet Discourse

"Spy" Wednesday: The Anointing in Mark and Matthew; Judas agrees to betray Jesus

Holy or "Maundy" Thursday: The Last Supper; Farewell Discourses; Gethsemane; Before the Jewish Authorities

Good Friday: Jesus in the Hands of the Romans; the Crucifixion; the Burial

Saturday: Jesus in the Spirit World

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection

SO! To start the week off right, we participated in some really awesome Palm Sunday celebrations! We woke up and went to a mass at the Church of All Nations, which is right by the Garden of Gethsemane. It was an interesting experience! First of all, it wasn't in English, so I couldn't understand a word. But it was a really neat thing to watch and experience nonetheless!

There was a group of devout worshipers that got to stand in a special roped-off place close to the priest. Lindee, my wonderful roommates, somehow got in with that inside group and was sitting there awkwardly. They started shaking hands with each other, and then going around the circle and getting up and like bearing their testimonies, and Lindee started freaking out and hopped over the marble fence thing and came and sat by us. It was REALLY entertaining.

The beautiful ceiling of the Church. Maybe the stars represent the innumerable seed of Abraham?

Some of the pretty artwork inside of the church! :)

They all got to take the sacrament! It was cool to see :)

We joined 10,000 other Christians in walking from Bethphage on the Mount of Olives to Lion's Gate in Jerusalem! It was so neat to see so many people so excited to follow in the footsteps of the Savior!

I bought my own little palm leaf for 10 shekels :)

BUT of course, there is always someone who has a palm leaf that is WAY bigger than yours and makes yours look really stupid... :) That palm leaf was so huge! I got so excited!

Looking over the Jewish graveyard on the outskirts of Jerusalem on the way to the city. I love this beautiful place! :)

Let's talk about the story behind Palm Sunday! My favorite account is in  Matthew 21:

1) And they drew night unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2) Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with  her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3) And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4) All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5) Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a cold the foal of an ass.
6) And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7) And brought the colt, and put on it their clothes; and Jesus took the colt and sat thereon; and they followed him.
8) And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9) And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10) And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
11) And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
12) And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13) And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
14) and the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

We learned something really neat in a New Testament class I took a couple of semesters ago. As you're going into Jerusalem through the gate that Jesus entered in, there are two major buildings on your right and your left. The Roman fortress is on the right and the Temple is on the left. Many people expected Jesus to be a military Messiah, that he would free them from the Roman suppression that they were experiencing. However, when he entered into Jerusalem, he turned left and cleansed the temple. He came to be a spiritual Messiah, to free our souls from the bands of sin and death.

Another thing to note--Jesus riding on the donkey into Jerusalem to proclaim himself as the Anointed one was something that Solomon had done almost 1000 years earlier to proclaim kingship over Adonijah (story in 1 Kings 1). Really, he was definitely presenting himself as the Son of David.

Going into Jerusalem through Lion's Gate! Walking in the footsteps of Jesus, praising Him for His miracles and gifts! :)

It was so amazing to see so many people who love the Savior with all their hearts. I met people from all over the world who were here on pilgrimage, who had saved money for years to come here during Holy Week. I talked to Emmanuel from Sweden, Jing from China, and a priest who worked in the Vatican. Sometimes I feel like the world is too wicked and that Mormons are the only righteous people, but that is far from the truth! There are so many devout Christians who sacrifice and serve as the Savior asked. I also learned that my testimony and knowledge of the Savior stems mostly from the Book of Mormon, which nobody else knows about! I really want to study my Old and New Testaments and know them backward and forward so that I can relate and talk to Christians wherever I go! I want to know all my scriptures as well as I know the Book of Mormon! I am so grateful for all the children of God and their devotion to Him and His son. There are many faithful and good people in the world, and we are all working toward salvation together!

Yeah, not really sure about this picture. But there was a cool hand on the wall, so I put my hand on it. Somebody has a REALLY long thumb!

Monday activities

We gave blood on Monday, and we had to fill out information forms. BUT...they were in Hebrew. Can I understand Hebrew? No.

So the bottom picture is the form we had to fill out, and the top form is the one we had to reference. It was quite exciting to try to figure out where everything went... :)

Ha ha, they couldn't find my veins :) I had two people poking my arms for like, 5 minutes before they got sick of looking and just stabbed the needle into my arm. :)

AAAAUUUGGGHHH, HE GOT ME!!

My blood. All of it in a little packet. I felt like I had none left. Hope it saves somebody's life :)

We went out later in the day to explore the city! We hung out in West Jersualem (the Jewish portion, which is way nicer and cleaner than the Palestinian portion. Fair? No, but that's how it is) and got some delicious ice cream! I got lemon and strawberry sherbert and it was delicious :)

Look at this beautiful tree that we saw! It's the time of year that everything is blooming and the air smells good all the time :)

All right. This may be one of the most mind-blowingly mind-blowing things I've ever seen. CONCRETE PILLOWS. This sign authenticates my claim that they are indeed concrete.

These. Are. Concrete. They look like real pillows, just sitting out in the open! You can SIT on them, and they're remarkably comfortable...

Sitting on it. Like a park bench.  Made of concrete. Really, my mind was blown.

I found a statue made of glass and jewels!! SO sparkly! I LOVE sparkles :)

Cafe Hillel! According to my limited knowledge of Judaism, a short time before Jesus, there were two contrasting schools of thought led by the rabbis Shammai and Hillel. The schools interpreted the law differently. Hillel was a little more easygoing. I think I would follow his school of thought :)

Beautiful West J and Jaffa Gate :)

In the Old City there are spice shops everywhere! This is the BEST ONE! Look at all these beautiful and delicious spices! Oh man they smell SO GOOD! I want to have a spice shop in my house someday :)

The Tower of Za'tar! This spice mix is so yummy! I don't know what is in it except crushed hyssop, sesame seed, and salt, but it is DELISH. The shop owner gave us all a free package of za'tar!

I LOVE RAINBOWS! AND SHOES! SO I LOVE RAINBOW SHOES!!!! :)