So I have been a major slacker and have not blogged forever! Sorry it has been super crazy with my Israel trip and then the Holidays..... But I have been wanting to share my thoughts and feelings about my trip to Israel and how amazing it was. So the first day there we flew into Tel Aviv and then met with our local guide Sam and the bus driver Emeal. They drove us to Joppa and we walked around the little town center. We walked past Simon the Tanner's house and then down to the Mediterranean Sea. While down by the Sea we had a great lesson on Jonah and the Whale. Several of the people in are group started to discuss what they were feeling and many of them talked about how when the Lord tells us to do something we need to do it. So we then all sang I will go and I will do. It was a nice reminder to know that when the Lord asks us to do something that we must have the courage to do it. We then headed for the hotel for the night and relaxed a little bit. I ended up rooming with an older woman named NaDene Archibald. She was such a great gal! Her husband had passed away the year earlier and she really wanted to come on the trip, but did not want to room alone. So I offered to room with her and it worked out really well.
That night we also got to know everyone in the group. We went around the room and told why we wanted to go to Israel and what we wanted to get out of the trip. I explained to everyone that my boyfriend was on a mission up in Tacoma Washington and that I had been super worried that he was learning so much and growing spiritually that I did not want to be left behind. I wanted to learn more about my Savior and his life and ministry. After the meeting I had two couples come up to me. The first was Steve and LuAnn West. They were a cute couple from Colorado and wanted to come and tell me that LuAnn waited for Steve while he went on his mission. They said that it was totally worth it and that it will go by super fast! They were cute! Then the next couple was Ben and Paula Brossard. They had to tell me that they were from Nik's Mission. They actually work with one of the couples the Houskeepers that Nik has lived with. Small world huh!!!! So much fun!!!
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| The whale statue in Joppa |
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| Me in Joppa in front of the whale statue |
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| Cool sign that was next to a house! Have no idea what it says... but it looks neat! |
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| Simon the Tanner's House |
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| Patty in Joppa |
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| Mediterranean Sea |
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| Me with Tel Aviv in the background |
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| Tel Aviv |
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| Patty and me in Joppa. (Patty is Nik's Aunt!) Love her so much! |
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| Travis is Nik's Cousin... He just left on his mission when we got back! |
So here are a few pics from Joppa... I will be posting here and there and hope that you all enjoy my adventures and stories. I hope that you will feel something by them and know that the Savior loves you and that He Lives. My testimony has been strengthened and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow. It might take awhile because I took quite a few pics! :)
