Christmas with Grandparents Part 1

Both Frank's parents and my parents flew from Utah to Jerusalem for what was meant to be an 11-day stay.  Their vacation expanded to 14 days because of stateside storms, and we were thrilled to postpone our goodbyes a little longer.  They were all supposed to arrive on December 17, but my parents took a detour to Los Angeles by way of Detroit.  Frank's parents Frank Sr. and Carole arrived as scheduled, and the first presents didn't even wait until Christmas. 

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This is a picture of the cheddar cheese Frank's mom brought.  Scrambled eggs have never tasted so good, and we even had tortilla roll-ups again.

This is Frank's dad, still smiling after a day and a half in airports and planes.  We talked and had birthday cake that night, and Saturday morning Frank drove his parents to several overlooks to give them an overview of the city.  Church on Saturday was cozy with the students so recently gone, but the Christmas songs and talks were extra sweet, not only because we were near the Savior's favorite places, but also because we were with some of our favorite people. 

That evening Frank returned to Tel Aviv to pick up my parents, Bruce and Ann Fillmore.  I drove his parents and our kids to a site known as Shepherd's Fields overlooking Bethlehem.  It is a rocky slope covered with small thorn bushes, dirt trails, and hundreds of bulbs (lilies?) sending up leaves. 

As the sun set over Bethlehem, a shepherd riding a donkey drove his sheep and goats south along the rocky path between us and the rock wall behind us.  We don't know exactly in which field the angel appeared two millenia ago, but being here sharpens our mental picture; now when I think of shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night, I think of hills, rocks, and thorny plants rather than a grassy meadow. 

 

 With other branch members, we perched on rocks and sang Christmas carols by flashlight.

The young women are good friends and welcoming to visitors. 

We could hear the church bells of Bethlehem ring, and I figured that was as close as I'd get to Bethlehem this season.  It is on the other side of the separation wall, and therefore BYU faculty need special permission to enter the city. .

When we returned from the Shepherd's Field, we were thrilled to see my parents safe and sound.  The airline had given them food vouchers and a hotel room for the extra night, so they had been relatively comfortable during the extra day of travel, aside for wearing the same clothes for three days!  We had a second Christmas as they brought us more cereal and cheese and other American items we missed.

Sunday morning we showed everyone around the Jerusalem Center, then Frank drove the grandparents to Seven Arches overlook and Dominus Flevit, the vantage point from which the Savior may have looked on the city and lamented its future struggles.   

We drove our parents to the Bethlehem checkpoint and waved as they entered the cement walkways, turnstiles, and gray hallways.  In the photo above you can see the outside of the gray separation wall cutting through the middle of the photo.  A smaller road curves in front of the wall to the right allowing access to the tomb of Rachel outside the separation wall.  Sahar Qumsiyeh greeted our parents on the other side of the checkpoint and took them to the Church of the Nativity, a local restaurant, and then sacrament meeting at Odeh Marcous' house.  This was a real highlight for their trip, and they truly enjoyed meeting both families of the Bethlehem Group. 

Monday morning found us heading north to Galilee via the western route through Tel Aviv.  If you want to follow on the map, click here.  En route we stopped in Hadera to see the ancient Roman city of Caesarea Maritima, where Paul almost persuaded Agrippa to be a Christian (Acts 26). 

The ampitheater has been restored, and the acoustics are still great.  No one would doze off in these stadium seats. 

This is a replica of an inscription which formed a dedication to Tiberius Caesar by Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea.  It dates back to 26-37 A.D.

Lisa is such a supportive little sister.

The Mediterranean was playing tag with us; my mom got all wet trying to take a photo of Carrie getting wet.  Recent storms had eroded the beach to the left of this walkway.  To our right is a hippodrome, where the Romans would have raced their thoroughbred hippos.

After the races, the upper class Romans could relax in this snazzy bathhouse.  They sure knew how to make cool mosaics. 

 

This is Carrie underneath some arches in a Roman ruin.

Megan was enjoying the weather which changed from cool to perfect and back again. 

The beautiful man-made harbor behind my parents would have sheltered the boats carrying people and goods all over the Mediterranean, so Paul would have embarked for Rome here. 

We drove along the coast, then turned east and climbed back into hill country to Nazareth.  We went to Nazareth Village, a Christian sponsored recreation of an early Jewish village.  Behind Lisa is our nice Mennonite tour guide from Lancaster, PA explaining the process of winnowing grain. 

A shepherd poses with his sheep and goats in the background. 

The gap in the sheepfold is just the size of the shepherd, who became the door by lying across the opening at night, thus risking his own life to protect the sheep from any predators.

Megan exits the reconstructed tomb.

Lisa, Megan, and Frank Sr. learn the intricacies of grape squishing.  For instance, no shoes were worn while treading grapes, or else the seeds would be crushed making the wine bitter.

In contrast, while harvesting olives, it is ideal to crush the seeds, because that is where much of the oil is found.  Hus-hus the donkey demonstrated the use of animal power to crush olives.    

A weighted press illustrated the great pressure which would squeeze the oil out of the mash, and we were reminded of the great weight which the Savior took upon himself on our behalf in Gethsemane.  We learned that the first-pressed oil was used for anointing, the second was for cooking, and the last pressing was for cosmetics and fuel. 

A carpenter would have also had the skills of constructing with stone. 

Grandma Fillmore keeps Lisa warm while our guide explains ancient dyeing and weaving techniques.

In this replica of a synagogue, stone walls and columns support a wooden roof and enclose a central rectangular area lined with stone benches.

In this view of the synagogue entrance you can see a Torah scroll on a wooden platform.  The synagogue was a place where the Torah was read and discussed, such as when Jesus entered into a synagogue in Nazareth, read Isaiah 61:1-2, and declared, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21).  His message was not well received, and the listeners wanted to throw Jesus from a cliff, of which Nazareth has many.  

But we were a good audience and gave our Nazareth Village tour guide a round of applause.  

As dusk fell, we drove to the city center and hurried to the Basilica of the Annunciation.

We arrived just before the 5 pm mass in Arabic, so we quickly walked through the lower level...

and then took our time enjoying the upper level.

On the left was a beautiful Christmas display.  In the center, the floor opened up to a view of the church below. 

The octagonal walls were covered with murals from around the world  honoring Mary in a variety of artistic styles.  On the left is the mural from Japan, and above is the mural from the U.S.A.  Then we returned to the narrow city streets and drove down to Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, where we spend a comfortable night.

The next morning, we drove clockwise around the Sea of Galilee to the Church of the Beatitudes.

(Thanks to Chad Emmett for permitting us to borrow some of his wonderful photos.  Besides having an excellent camera, Brother Emmett is also quoted in the Nazareth Village display.)  The Church of the Beatitudes.  This is a beautiful site for contemplating the Savior's discourse on the kind of people we should become, striving for the purest motives as well as actions.

Mural

BYU Students have painted murals at several local venues, including the Princess Basma Hospital for disabled children, but this past semester the administration wanted to have a mural on our own playground wall.  I was asked to help Amy Faust lead the committee of talented students such as Rachel Reese, Jamie Price, Ally Mocan, Kylie Jones, and others who sketched ideas for the 200 yard-long mural. 

Above, Emily, Sabrina, and Amanda enjoy climbing and sliding at the playground.

The final plan consisted of 4 arches framing 4 scenes: an olive tree and view of the city as seen from the Jerusalem Center, an underwater aquascape reminiscent of snorkeling in Eilat, an open air market similar to those found in the old city or the shuk, and Egypt. 

 I was assigned to work on the arches and the city silhouette.  This is the view from our balcony, so you can see that the imitation could never match up to the original:

Our excellent maintenance staff bought paints, brushes, and a huge roll of cardboard to protect the rubber surface of the playground.  This worked really well during the dry November weather, but not so great during the windy rainstorms of December.

The kids drew on the wall with pencil before the mural covered all their scribbles.  We fit in one painting session before the students went to Galilee, and everything went smoothly, excep that we ran out of the "Maple Pecan" paint for the arches.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get more immediately because it was after 3 pm on a Friday, and the paint stores were closed.  But it was good to make some progress.

 Heather Benefiel, me, Lisa, Aly Seifert, Lexi Goates, Amy Carsten, and Jocelynn Maughan lent a helping hand.  Only two shirts were ruined in the making of this photo.  Below is the beginning of the cityscape and the original arches. 

The next painting session was ten days later around Thanksgiving, however the new cans of "Maple Pecan" didn't match the previous one, so we ended up painting over the arches we had done before and redoing the "Herodian stone" edges.

Below, Jamie Price sketches her adorable fishy scene.  Jamie is studying medical illustration, but the others are majoring in fields other than art.  And all sacrificed study time (or city time, or sleep time) to work on this project.

Ally Mocan filled a last-minute vacancy with her wonderful Egypt landscape. 

More helpers fill in fine details: Megan, Amy Faust, Lisa Compton, Carrie, and Tashara Muhlestein. 

 Caitlin Clark helped straighten out our final arches.  The arches were described with a pencil taped to a jumprope.

McKell Jesperson, Rachel Reese, and Lisa work on the shuk scene.  My kids begged to help, and the older ones were graciously allowed to use the "grown-up paint."

Tahna Black and Ally Mocan progressed quickly on Egypt.  Great teamwork! 

B.J. "Jack Sparrow" Muhlestein helped paint around the light in the background.  

   

Cherysh Hubbard, Sabrina Muhlestein, Amanda, and Jamie Price bring the sea to life.

 The Judd and Muhlestein children added their handprints to the grass under the cityscape

.Progress continues on the Shuk and Egypt as well.

Some wet days slowed the project, but the accompanying clouds brought new beauty to the real cityscape.

 As the end of the semester drew near, the mural moved closer to completion.

Working around the clock, and determined to finish before they got on the plane, Justin Haslem, Austin Ko, Jamie Price, Cherysh Hubbard, and Amy Carsten finalized the mural just in time.  I wish I had a Zane-quality camera to show off the student's marvelous paintings!

So lifelike, you wish you could reach out and pick a pomegranate!

What would Egypt be without a cat?

It was hard to watch our first group of students leave. They will always hold a special place in our hearts, and I am so grateful I had this opportunity to work on an amazing project with them. Our kids and the future children of the BYU Jerusalem Center will enjoy their artwork for years to come.

Hanukah Fire

Last week I had a wonderful conversation with my friend Nino who works in the administrative office here.  She told me about celebrating Hanukah with her family and friends, and said it was good to think of the happy things.  She had been so worried about the fire up north near Haifa when it was still burning.  For a whole day, she said, she couldn't stop checking the news.  Millions of shekels of damage and nearly 4 dozen deaths were reportedly the result of a careless teenager and some hot coals.  Some houses and neighborhoods were taken, and others just nearby were spared. Nino even recognized a woman she new among those whose houses were lost.  But the next day, she decided to stop focusing on the bad news and spend more time thinking about the good.  The fire has since been contained. 

I asked Nino if it is hard during Hanukah, a celebration of a great miracles, to consider sad news where people really needed a miracle.  She said, "Some people think, we have too many sins, and that's why our brothers got the fire.  But it's all the way you think.  Not everyone thinks that way.   Look how we have breath every day.  That is a miracle.  Look at how the city is at peace, with nothing bad happening.  That is a miracle.  There are always miracles around us.  Every day is a miracle." 

Hanukah

What would a stay in Israel be without celebrating Hanukah?  We were invited to the home of Eran and Naama Hayet on the second night of Hanukah.  Eran is the Associate Director of the Jerusalem Center and lives in Modi'in, a 45 minute drive from Jerusalem.  Their daughters Noa, a videographer in the army, and Hadas, who is Lisa's age, graciously hosted 11 playmates.  Kent Jackson and Jeff Chadwick were experienced Hanukah guests, but this was our first time at a "real" family Hanukah celebration.

We arrived at 5:45 and walked up stairs past potted herbs to a warm, bright two-story house with a terraced yard.  The kids immediately found the swing hanging from a tubular steel sukkah and entertained themselves with a hammock, trampoline, and soccer ball while the grownups chatted.

After socializing, we gathered around a table and watched Hadas and Lisa light candles on a pair of Hanukiah as the family sang traditional songs of blessing.  Next came more songs, Sevivon about a spinning dreidel and Maoz Tsur or Rock of Ages (below).  

MAOZ TSUR
Click to hear song on YouTube

Ma'oz tsur yeshu'ati
Lecha na'eh lesha be'eh'yach
Tikon beit te-fi-la-ti
Ve sham toda neza'beh'eh'yach

Leh et tachin mat be-yach,
Mi tsar ham'na be-eh-eh-ehyach
Az egmor beshir mizmor
Chanukat hamizbe'eh'yach
(repeat last two lines)

Rock of Ages let our song
Praise thy saving power
Thou amidst the raging foes
Was our sheltering tower.

Furious, they assailed us,
But thine armour veiled us.
And thy word broke their sword
When our own strength failed us.
(repeat last two lines)

Then the Hanukah Menorahs were placed in the windowsill. The children got to paint wooden tops and pots made of clay. 

We all ate cauliflower, potato, and sweet potato latkes (click here for recipes). There was also yogurt and little smoothies (kinda like Danimals). For dessert we had donuts filled with jelly, chocolate, and halva. We hadn't seen any donuts here until Hanukah, and now they are everywhere!

 

Everyone enjoyed the evening and we were all sad to leave this fun family--tears were shed as the young ones bid adieu to Noa's Playmobil knights and castle. Hadas saved the day and ended the tears by handing out chocolate coins as we departed. 

Besides the wonderful social, cultural, and worshipful experience of Hanukah, the events commemorated at Hanukah played a pivotal role in the prelude to Christianity.  Had the Maccabees not revolted against Antiochus in the intertestamental period (2nd century B.C.), the Syrian ruler would have succeeded in obliterating every trace of Jewish culture and covenant, and, some1, including Jeff Chadwick, assert that there would have been no Jewish community in Nazareth nor Bethlehem into which the Savior could have been born.  The letters on the dreidel stand for "nes gadol haya sham," or, "A great miracle happened there."   The military victory and preservation of the Jewish people is a great historical miracle, and yet the holiday is named "Dedication" in honor of the spiritual miracle, the multiplication of oil to complete the rededication of the temple.  May the miracles all around us, great or small, remind us to rededicate ourselves to the best and the brightest lights we can!  Hag Sameach !

Galilee

This was only a quick trip, but so enjoyable it really refreshed those of us who weren't preparing for 7 field trips in 11 days.  Frank and the students had spent nearly a week in Galilee by the time we joined him, and lingered for 4 days after we returned home, but we drove up to join him for three days and 2 nights.  After school on Friday Nov 19th, we drove north through the Jordan Valley road, which twists and turns from one "dangerous curves" sign to the next.  The road dips down below sea level and follows the Jordan River from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee, or Kinneret.  Megan pored over the map as we caravanned with Julianne Muhlestein and her kids.

All went well until we reached the checkpoint heading out of the West Bank.  Right during my standard "just act natural and don't insult guards with automatic weapons" speech, Emily threw up and her sisters started screaming.  I tried to be calm as I showed my passport, but there was so much commotion in the back of the van that I don't recall what I was asked or what I answered.  Mercifully we were waved on, then I pulled over and ran a quick triage on the problem.   Luckily, depending on how you look at it, Emily's favorite blanket contained most of the biohazardous material, and we arrived at Ein Gev ready for a buffet dinner and a comfortable room. 

We were located only meters from a sandy beach on the east side of the lake.  On the far side, we could see the lights of Tiberias, where the meetinghouse was located.  We woke up early Sabbath morning for our turn at the buffet, then boarded a bus for a 45-minute drive around the lake.  The meetinghouse is in a converted home, and the view is breathtaking.