Happy Shabbat!

Today is Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath and the day we have church. Switching to a Saturday worship schedule took a little getting used to, but I love it! After church today a group of us went to the Orson Hyde Park and the Garden of Gethsemene. It still seems so crazy to actually say that I am going to these places. The Orson Hyde Park was beautiful and looked more like what I thought Jerusalem might look like with lots of terraced rows of olive trees and rocks. The church apparently donated the money to create the park, although the city still owns it. The picture below is a plaque that stands at the top and bottom of the park commemorating the donation. I especially love that it was made possible "trough" the Jerusalem foundation.Not exactly sure what that means. :)The Garden of Gethsemene was also beautiful. Like many other holy places in this country, there is a church built right by it and and a wall surrounding it. I don't think it was very smart for us to go on Shabbat because there were lots of tour groups there and we weren't able to find a quiet spot to read our scriptures or write in our journals. We decided we're going to try and go back down on another day. In spite of the crowd, it was still wonderful to take and moment and remember our Savior's Atonement and the events that transpired at the garden. As I was reading one of the plaques at the church that described Gethsemene simply as the place the Savior came "to pray before the passion," I was struck with gratitude for the fullness of the gospel that we have and for the Book of Mormon that explains the Atonement of our Savior in a more complete way.
I am still so happy to be here and to be learning so much. Tonight at dinner we were all commenting about how wonderful it is to study the scriptures together and then actually go to the places we are reading about. Sara told me before I left, and I completely agree with her, that you absolutely do not have to come to the Holy Land to gain a testimony of the Savior. However, there is something wonderful and tangible about actually seeing what you are reading about and having the scriptures come alive. I know I say this a lot but I am so grateful for this opportunity!