Things in the Holy Land are so great. We just had our first all-day field trip that took us to a lot of overlooks of the city like the Seven Arches Hotel Overlook, the Augusta Victoria Tower (Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension), Nabi Samwil (the traditional birthplace and supposed burial place of the Prophet Samuel), Tayelet (the spot that Abraham possibly first had a good look of Mount Moriah on his way to sacrifice his son Isaac), and a Bethlehem overlook (about 6 miles south of Jerusalem, how appropriate that we were there in April!). To catch up on some of the big events of the week, I have copied paragraphs from emails sent home to family and friends already, so I apologize if this is a little choppy. On the Sabbath (celebrated on Saturday here in the Holy Land), we had church. Our auditorium has a massive window that shows a view of the city. It is incredible. I sang in choir practice before church and we performed today. (Dad, there's a huge ward choir made of all BYU students.) Two permanent ward members spoke and were very inspiring. One man is working for the military training Palastinian soldiers and the other was a BYU grad who is getting her master's at the Hebrew University in Ancient and Near Eastern Studies. After sacrament, I taught the valient girls! It was SO FUN. They are little angels and I love being in primary. I was only volunteering today so I hope that it becomes my calling. Two of the girls are faculty member's daughters and the third is a girl living around here with her family. They were so sweet and they hope that I teach them next week. After church, we took a trip to the Garden of Gethsemane. One of my friends asked about the spirit of the Garden of Gethsemane compared to somewhere else that's important to us like, say, Nauvoo. Here is my response: That's actually a great question about the spirit of Gethsemane vs Nauvoo. It's strange here. The spirit isn't just in the air like it is in Nauvoo. Things here are very dirty and busy and loud and smelly. I had to really mentally and spiritually prepare myself when I heard we were going to Gethsemane for the first time because I wanted it to be a special experience and I knew that anywhere outside of the Center is not peaceful. I was prepared for a spiritual experience and I prayed and read my scriptures while I was there and a huge feeling of gratitude came from within me. I had a very powerful experience because of that preparation. Because of my thoughts and prayers and because I held that ground holy I could feel love for the Savior and especially gratitude. In Nauvoo it's dedicated ground and it's like the spirit is coming at you from all sides. Here, there are so many people who hold certain spots sacred and some do not. It's a very interesting dynamic. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. It's an interesting experience visiting sites here. Some people are going about their normal, every day life and aren't particularly religious. Some are here in heart-felt worship and hold these grounds very sacred. Other people are here as tourists and are glued to their cameras and treat this place a little like a zoo or something. I guess the conclusion is that I can feel the spirit but it's very different from Nauvoo or Temple Square. Don't get me wrong, visiting the Garden of Gethsemane was a very spiritual experience for me. It's very close to the center. I was surprised at how small it was. It's surrounded by a cathedral and walls. There's a small, well-kept garden area that's surrounded by a fence (you can't enter the garden area, only walk around it). There are several olive trees in the garden but 8 are said to be whitnesses of the atonement because they're old enough to have been there when Christ was. I sat on a bench and read the accounts of the atonement in Matt, Mark, Luke, and John and read the Bible Dictionary on the Atonement. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude when I was there. What a special place. I have seen the place that my Savior suffered for our sins. I am so grateful for what took place there. I am so thankful that all of us can be forgiven and can enter the presence of God forever because of what happened in that Garden. This place is where it happened, what everything rests on. It is the center of my universe. I thought of each of you (my family) while I was there. We went into the cathedral next to the garden where there's the very rock that Christ supposedly bled on. It was so beautiful and it was silent. There were signs up asking for total silence. One of the guys in our group asked a priest if we could sing and he said yes. A tour group had just left and it was pretty empty. About 25 BYU students gathered around the huge stone and we sang "I Stand All Amazed". What a cool way to reflect on the Atonement on my Sabbath day. Another day this week we went to the Western Wall (sometimes incorrectly called the Wailing Wall) which was SO COOL. It was a very reverent spot. Apparently that's where you go to pray to God and connect with your heritage. This was particularly meaningful for me because of my Jewish ancestry (even though my ancestry is European). One of the coolest things out here is to see the dedicated people worshiping. It is inspiring to see them so worshipful and to see them hold certain things so sacred. It is improving my dedication and my personal worship. I need to get going now but things are going well! I'm so happy and still can't believe that I'm here! I would love to hear from you and to hear your responses! Love love love Emily