Youth Conference: Footsteps of Lehi

Hi, friends,

 I just got back from Youth Conference, 3 days and 2 nights camping in the Negev desert Bedoin-style with 19 youth and 10 leaders.   And 30 spoons.  Washed in sand.  I haven't heard of anyone getting sick afterwards, but I was really wishing for some biodegradable dish soap, especially after the camel licked the water tank we were all using to refill our water bottles!

Five  stars for the food, the bonding among the youth, and the moonlit night as our ceiling.  (Riding a camel gets 1 star--good view but painful, worse than an uncomfortable bike seat.)  Five stars for John Howell, Kevin Mayberry, and Mark Morrison, branch presidents who gathered youth and led out with support from Dennis Lifferth, district president.   Five stars for Erin Belnap and Larissa Properzi who traipsed all over West Jerusalem to find a dozen sleeping bags, which kept us mostly dry in a drizzle.  Five stars for Ben Midbar tours, for welcoming us to their desert, and for showing us that we really don't need as much as we use, that teens can actually survive 3 days without cell phones and processed foods, and grownups can actually survive even when their cell phone cameras are out of battery.  And five stars for the youth (including Amanda and Emily) who reached out to each other and hiked, sang, and played with fellow saints from Haifa to Beer Sheva.   

The desert seems to contain a whole lotta nothing, but by looking closer, we can see that it is full of space, full of stars, full of amazing creatures who are well-suited for its challenges, and full of spirit--think of all the prophets who came from the desert, but very few felt the need to build temples there because they considered the desert a temple already.  No pictures can do it justice, but here are a couple taken before my battery died!

More September-Laying Foundations

So many foundations to begin in September!

Meeting  84 new best friends, orienting them to their new home, cultural expectations, field trip schedule, committee assignments (like Arab night or Seder committee), callings, Come Follow Me groups, and oh, yes, squeeze in some classes, ostensibly the primary reason we BYU faculty families are here!  Not to mention explaining the rules, lots of rules!  Most rules are here to keep everyone safe.  Some are here to keep the administration sane.  Our family's goal is to not mistakes so glaring that they spawn a new rule, or at least to not have the rule overtly named after us.  Each amazing field trip requires reservations, orientation meeting(s) or verbal announcements (Frank's jobs) as well as visual flyers with all the important details (Frank and I tag team on this) and usually some form of tipping or cash outlay (my job).

Then, to help with morale and make things fun, we mix in a talent show, choir practices, ping pong tournaments, and a guided tour under the building to legally add our names to the walls of the utility space below. 

If morale is a problem and students want to talk to someone about stress or whatever, they can contact the ombudsperson (me) and talk about how they feel and I help brainstorm possible options.  I have been trying to assemble some handouts and guidelines for possible scenarios, like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and sexual harassment.  BYU Caps seems to have helpful resources; I hope they will be helpful in real actual use here.

I have been blessed to be able to meet with  members of the Relief Society from all over Israel and Palestine, some Ukrainian and Russian speaking members in Beersheva and Tel Aviv, some Philippina members near Haifa, some local members who joined the church in other countries and then came here, and some expatriate members who are here for only a few years.  I meet them, love them, learn from them, exchange What'sApp phone numbers, and then we all have to go back to our own lives until the next time we meet.  It is an interesting arrangement.  No time to hold back and wait for people to warm up before trying to love them and see them as God sees them.

According to Mother Theresa, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."  Of course we all study others closely and make judgments, but we can try to do it without blame or condemnation.  If someone is blunt or unkind, do I mentally label them a jerk and think, "How dare they?"  or do I secretly wonder if they're having a tough day or otherwise manifesting inner wounds?  If I choose the first, labelling and blaming, it will show in how I treat them, and they will likely continue to act that way in a vicious cycle that seems to prove my labels right but also makes me complicit in reinforcing their view of the world (of course, I am not responsible for what they choose to think, do, or say).  If I choose the second approach, observing without criticizing or blaming, maybe reflecting back whatever bit of truth I'm seeing in them, it will also show, and maybe hearts will soften, or at least they may feel safe to be their real, best selves.  I've seen that happen since I've been here, a frosty greeting turned into civility and actually resolving with an apology.  I consider that a moment of sacred vulnerability.

Arab Culture Night

This is the sign outside of the BYU Jerusalem Center.

Overlooking Jerusalem from the south

"Family Tree" pic in Jericho

Pizza in the Jewish Quarter after Hezekiah's tunnel

Shofar for Rosh Hoshana

Palmahim beach

Honey and Apples for Rosh Hashana

Cut paper art for a friend who is ill

At Qasr Al Yahud baptismal site

Our wonderful service couples:  Dennis and Margaret Lifferth, Mark and Mary Ann Morrison, Mark and Marvel Earnshaw (who just went home) John and Shawna Hilton, and Arvid and Kelly Carlson.

Getting Ready for Halloween!