Ramadan

Ramadan has started this week. This is one of the five pillars of Islam, fasting from sunrise to sunset for the entire month! For me that means my favorite shwarma place is closed for the month.  

look at the puff of smoke: the highest looking cloud on the left hand side. Every evening a canon is fired to let everyone know that it is now ok to start eating. The cloud is the puff of smoke from the canon. The canon is fired from the cemetery that overlooks the skull hill which some people think is the hill of golgotha/calvary. Some people also think that the canon firing is not very good for skull face because the vibrations mean that the hard na’ari rock cracks and then crumbles. In time the skull face will no longer be visible.

Before Ramadan started, Jimmy—one of the people that sells olive wood—took us out to lunch.

This is the meat presentation! I think that it looked a little more impressive in real life. The photo doesn’t do it justice. The guy on the left is the owner of the restaurant, and in the picture is Dr. Heiner (left) and Marybeth and Brent Jones (the music service couple who live next door to me at the Center.

Jill and I at En Kerem. This is a beautiful, Park City type of place where we sometimes go to eat dinner onFriday nights. It is absolutely beautiful and we got to eat on the roof this time with a gorgeous view. En Kerem is the traditional place where John the Baptist lived. A major reason why we go here on Friday nights is that it is in West Jerusalem, but it is open on Friday night (the Sabbath) when most of the West Jerusalem stores are closed—hence the Park City comparison.

We had two field trips this week. On Monday we went to Neot Kedummim, the Biblical reserve park. The students love the opportunity to learn how to herd sheep and goats. A number of the guys wanted to recreate Luke 15:5 “And when he had found it [i.e., the lost sheep], he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Bryce finally getting the sheep up on his shoulders. Unfortunately the sheep did NOT like being up there and jumped off as soon as he could. Luckily I got the photo seconds before he did! 

Our second field trip was to the city of David. The part that the students love the most is going through Hezekiah’s tunnel. I enjoy that too, but I also enjoy talking about Jeremiah’s experience in the City of David as a prophet and then to talk about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem when the Jews come back from the Babylonian exile. I particularly like to read selections from Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk about Nehemiah 6:3 when confronted by his enemies who try to get him to leave the work of rebuilding the wall around around Jerusalem to come down and talk with them. Nehemiah responds with, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?” Then Pres. Uchtdorf says,         

"We live in times of great challenges and great opportunities. The Lord is seeking men [and women] like Nehemiah--faithful brethren who fulfill the oath and covenant of the priesthood. He seeks to enlist unfaltering souls who diligently go about the work of building the kingdom of God--those who, when faced with opposition and temptation, say in their hearts, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

        When faced with trial and suffering, they respond, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

        When faced with ridicule and reproach, they proclaim, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

        Our Heavenly Father seeks those who refuse to allow the trivial to hinder them in their pursuit of the eternal. He seeks those who will not allow the attraction of ease or the traps of the adversary to distract them from the work He has given them to perform. He seeks those whose actions conform to their words--those who say with conviction, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

Today we had our last Old Testament class. I actually caught up and was able to do Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi in a two hour class. This is always a challenge for me because I’m always behind—but there’s just too much good stuff to talk about. But finishing Old Testament means that we switch classes and I’ll start with a new class on Friday for New Testament. I hate to let these students go.  We’ve spent 7 weeks together and have got to read scripture  together on a daily basis, bear testimony and feel the Spirit. These are all activities that build bonds, wonderful bonds. Even though I will certainly see them around the center, it won’t be the same. But, I am looking forward to getting to know the new class—and it’s New Testament, and I LOVE NEW TESTAMENT!!!!!