Living Life - Shalyn Style

Readers Digest Version of the Last Two Weeks

2011-12-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

Panoramic of a part of the Temple Mount

Finals time!.....need I say more?

So, to give some closure to my Galilee trip...it was the highlight of my time here in Israel. I can't even begin to describe the feeling that resides there. After being in the desert so long, It was a breathe of fresh air to be among the greenery, waterfalls, and sea itself. We finished off our week there with a bonfire devotional and testimony on the seashore of Galilee. I can't wait to go back someday.

So last week we had 3 different field trips. The first two included the Burnt House and Wohl Museum as well as portions of the temple mount. We saw the remains of the rich priest's homes that overlook the Temple Mount right before it's destruction in 70 AD, some of the stones you could still see the burn marks from when the romans swept in and destroyed everything. We had a tour of the remains that have been uncovered around the temple mount. They are limited in the excavations they can do because the Muslims have control of the actual mount, so we explored all the excavations around the mount. You could see the street below that was completely destroyed from the walls that had fallen on top of them. We had a tour of the Kotel tunnel, a tunnel running along the west side of the temple retaining walls. Because the city has been so built up over time the majority of the temple mount at the time of Christ is below ground. We saw the largest stone Herod cut, It was HUGE, estimated to be about 600 TONS...AND it was placed 30 feet above ground level. How Herod's people got a 600 ton limestone that high, we have no idea! It's incredible!

We saw the remains of where the entrance gates and arches were, as well as the main staircase where most would enter the temple mount. It was incredible. The retaining walls Herod built are MASSIVE, lots of the upper levels fell at the destruction in 70 AD and have been rebuilt by the turks or crusaders who came in later years (you can always tell which rebuilt specific parts because of the types of stone they used.)

Our last field trip this week was a tour of multiple christian churches within the old city. They were beautiful! Some I had been to, but there were so many I had never seen before! There was a little arabic christian church with a lady named Justina. She sang us the lord's prayer in Aramaic (the language spoken at the time of Christ), and told us about the miracles that have happened at that church while she's been there. That church is one of the possible sites for the last supp

er, and has a painting they say was painted by Luke (Whether or not it's true, it's nice to think that Luke may have had an artistic side to him;) We also went to Church of the Holy Seplechur (traditional site for the tomb of Christ), and some lutherin and russian orthodox churches. One of my favorites was a Russian orthodox church directly east of Church of the Holy Seplechur. They had outlined the walls of their chapel with huge paintings of events from the last week of the Savior's life. It had a Carl Bloch feel, SO beautiful. I love this city. There are so many treasures everywhere!

Yesterday we went to Tomb of the Prophets. It's this little cave in someone's yard, they give you candles and you can explore the tombs of Haggai, Malachi, and Zachariah. I don't know if it's their actual tombs, but it was really neat! I felt so ancient going in there with candles.

Anyway that's basically it. The JC is filled with people trying to get in last minute visits, shopping, and experiences in before we come back to the USA in a week, and while I love it here, I'm excited to be with family and friends that I love so much. So until then!

My Beloved Galilee...

2011-11-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

I love it here. I feel like I'm in my own little heaven on earth, and I can see why Bro. Skinner keeps saying we're in Christ's "beloved Galilee." I'm coming to feel the same way.

Every day we switch off between field trips and class room time. We've been to Caperunaum, Mount of Beatitudes, a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, Tiberius, the River Jordan, a hike near the border of Syria in the Golan Heights, as well as lots of different traditional sights of many miracles. It's been wonderful! Classroom days we have 3 hours of New Testament. I feel like this is the only chance I'll have to really dive in and immerse myself in the New Testament, so I'm taking advantage of it.

Instead of reviewing about all the ancient rock sights we've been to, you're going to get gold nuggets I've been learning about Christ and the New Testament.

“Therefore those things which were of old time (law of Moses), which were under the law, in me are all fulfilled..."(3 Nephi 12:46, 15:4, 7)

Many say Moses' law was done away with Christ, who brought the "higher" or "new" law, making the assumption that Moses received a "preparatory" gospel. But I learned otherwise.

When Christ came he didn't bring a higher law. He restored the "fullness" of the gospel that was lost through decades of man-made tradition, rules, laws like those changed by the Pharisees and Saducees. etc. "Fullness" in greek means to make complete, fill completely etc. He didn't bring new "law" (eternal principles that existed with Moses and continued) he completed the parts the people took away or blurred. While the ritualistic practices ended, the law continued - until our day, found in the fullness of our temple ordinances.

Nazareth derives from the hebrew word neser which means "branch." In Jeremiah a prophesy of Christ says: I will raise unto David a righteous Branch...(Jer. 23:5). Both Mary and Joseph (who were branches of the Davidic line) were from Nazareth and Christ (the "branch") was raised here. Think on that one;)

Christ was said to have descended "below all things." The river Jordan is the lowest body of water on the entire planet, being around 600 ft. below sea level. When he was baptized, he literally, descended below ALL things.

While we take pride that the Book of Mormon has not lost any "plain and precious" truths through the centuries, I didn't realize how many changes it's had since it's first publishing. True scripture is vivid, constantly changing to assure that it's readers understand the scripture in it's original context. Brother Harper, who is a church historian, said the original BOM has very 1830's farm like vocabulary, that was perfect for the people of that time, but wouldn't portray the correct understanding to use now. Along with this, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible did more than restore lost text or clarify incorrect translations, but restored what was originally intended by the text, making it a scripture we could understand more effectively in our days.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan - in ancient Christian Tradition, was read as an allegory of the fall and redemption of mankind - which to us is a type and shadow of the Plan of Salvation. It's beautiful to ponder on this one!

The genealogies in Matthew are SO facinating. Matthew's purpose is to convince Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. Jews expected a messiah through David's line, and not only does Matthew prove it through the family tree, but he also proves it in 3 sets of 14 generations. In Hebrew each letter is associated with a number. David's name is DVD in hebrew (they don't have vowels), D's are the number 4, V's are the number 6, So. D+V+D=4+6+4=14. Christ is fulfilled in the Davidic line.

“Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery." Under the law of Moses they could only divorce if someone was unfaithful, but as time continued, leaders started hedging this law, even making laws that if the wife burned the food, he could divorce her.

Anyway, there's a VERY small bit. I'm loving it here!

Bethlehem

2011-11-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Remember how once upon a time I actually blogged consistently?

I feel like finals have taken over my life making me a prisoner to the Jerusalem Center. Don't get me wrong, I love it here! But one can get pretty stir crazy being so close to the Old City, but not going into it. We had one of our biggest rain storms since I've been here. It was sweet, especially because it made all the electricity go out. The JC is blessed with emergency generators, but the Old City, (including Dome of the Rock) aren't so lucky. I've never seen it so dark in the city. It was beautiful though!

So this last week we went to Bethlehem. It was probably one of my favorite field trips thus far. Bethlehem is just outside Jerusalem, but past the separation wall, making it a part of the west bank. We went to Herod's palace, saw a beautiful overlook of the whole holy land.....and.......

we went swimming in his gigantic ancient swimming pool!!!! Pool party!

Afterwards we went to Bethlehem University. They gave us a few hours to interact with the students there. It was so fascinating, they told us about their experiences in trying to live in a territory of Israel, while not really being a part of Israel. Depending on their nationality they have green or blue cards that allow or restrict access to enter Israel. To even leave the country they need to go through multiple countries and approve passage. It made it seem coming to Israel was a walk in the park with ice cream cones and cotton candy. They let us informally tour the campus. I started walking around with 2 Palestinian girls studying English Literature (see above). I just fire hosed them with all of my questions about their lives, families, their perception of the political situation ,their hopes, their goals. Wow, what an eye opening experiences. I didn't realize how much the recent events within the past 20 years had intimately affected the lives of so many. They were so sweet!

Afterwards we went to Church of the Nativity. Thanks to the church we know "exactly" where Christ was born. See here it is!

Pretty sure it didn't look like this at the time;) The Catholics sanctify a place by building churches. For members of the church, we like to recreate the actual experience, which is probably why so many prefer the Garden Tomb over Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the site of the resurrection. Anyway we had some good time in the crowds of the church and loved how the main entrance made every person bow upon entering.

But my favorite place, by far, was the shepherds field overlooking Bethlehem. We had a beautiful devotional by our professors, we sang lots of Christmas hymns, and had some good pondering time. The icing on the cake was 2 groups of shepherds and sheep who passed right through our devotional. It was really surreal sitting on a hill, overlooking the lights of Jerusalem, imagining what it must have been for them. It really is such a humble quiet place. I loved it!

Olive Harvest

2011-10-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

I've always noticed the symbol of the olive in the scriptures, but I never really knew what it actually meant...until now.

The olive tree is said to be the supreme among all trees. It can live thousands of years (in fact we have one here that is 1200 years from Galilee). They are always green.

The olive or olive tree is frequently seen as a symbol of the house of Israel (particularly in Jacob's allegory of the olive tree) but even more so it's a symbol of the atonement. Here is a short summary of a few of those symbols I learned from Dr. Skinner.

1. The olive tree is native to the Holy Land - Christ too was a native to the Holy Land

2. The olive tree is known as the tree of life, in that it offers all necessities to sustain life - food, oil for cooking and light, medicine, lumber for shelter etc. Christ in the book of Mormon is represented by the Tree of Life. He is the life of the world and it is only through him we can achieve eternal life.

3. It is known as the Tree of Light. Not only because it provides oil for lamps, but one side of the leaf is a silvery color, giving the trees a shimmery look as the sun hits it in the breeze.

4. The olive branch is a symbol of peace. Christ is the Prince of Peace.

5. Getsemene means "oil press." He suffered in a garden of olive trees and the long and hard process of the olive harvest is symbolic for his atoning sacrifice.

6. The intense pressure of the grinding stone bruises, breaks and crushes the olive, only leaving the pure olive oil. He replicated the olive in that he was bruised and broken, so that we may become pure, and asks us to do the same.

7. The olive and it's pulp has a very bitter taste, but as it goes through this process, the oil becomes sweet tasting. The atonement helps remove the bitterness of live to become sweet

8. As one pushes the olive press, it becomes more difficult and intense through time - just as Christ's atonement became progressively harder for him to achieve.

9. The olive oil is a healing agent - The atonement too is a healing agent for all our infirmities

10. The oil is purified in the pressing process - we too are purified through the atonement

11. The oil used to anoint. "messiah" means the anointed one and Israel anointed prophets with the oil.

12. Jacob's allegory describes the scattering and gathering of israel - Christ is the scatterer and gatherer of the house of Israel

13. The pure olive oil to anoint is a symbol of the blood and atoning sacrifice of Christ - the process causes the oil to spill out as the increased weight is bore down on the olives.

14. Even if the olive tree is chopped down, branches will spring from its roots. This can symbolize the a rebirth, or the resurrection, Christ makes it possible for us to be born again, or resurrected.

6 Steps in the olive oil production - (With pictures!)

1. Harvest the olives - Olive picking!

2. Separating of olives between large and small

3. Crushing the olives - (It was HARD work! It started out easy, but as we continued it felt like the friction became more and more)

4. Gathering the crushed pulp into baskets

5. Squeezing out the oil

6. Refine the oil - letting the dross and water fall to the bottom and skimming off the pure oil from the top.

And there ya go! Pure olive oil! So great!

The past few weeks...

2011-10-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

They wanted to give us a real live experience in herding sheep and goats, so it was sweet! Nothing better than experiencing things you only hear about in the scriptures.

Here we are, crushing our hyssop seasoning;)

We went to a Bedouin village. It reminded me of biblical Amish....they live very similar to how abraham lived. Such an interesting place. The woman above is making a hand woven rug. It is amazing how intricate it was.

This is the mount of olives right next to where the Jerusalem center is. The Jews believe when the Messiah comes he will descend on the Mount of Olives, instigating a mass resurrection. So, in order to be the first to resurrect, the've made the entire side of the mount into a cemetery. THOUSANDS of graves my friends! The large above is Zedekiah's grave.

Last week we went to visit the site where David slew Goliath (of course we slung our own rocks), and where Sampson was born and raised. We went to some beautiful bell caves afterwards and sang some hymns. Bell caves are man-made by chipping a small hole into the limestone, then as they get farther down they widen the hole, creating a bell shape in the end. Makes for amazing acoustics.

We've had two dinners in the last few weeks, the first was our Arab dinner night, complete with yummy Arab food and dancing!

We had a Seder, or passover dinner with our Jewish Professor, Ophir Yarden. The passover dinner is a huge process/program with singing, reading of scripture, partaking of symbolic food i.e. unleavened bread, bitter herbs, parsley etc. It was so yummy, and we had some incredible songs!

While we were having our passover dinner, the rest of Israel was celebrating Sukkot, or what is known as "Feast of the Tabernacles" in the bible. Everyone makes makeshift huts in their yards, or homes, and they eat, or simply campout in the huts (brother Huntsman made one on his balcony, you can check it out on his website http://www.hunstmanintheholyland.blogspot.com) The rule is that there has to be at least 3 walls, the roof has to allow rain in, and you must see at least 3 stars through the roof. This is the time of year when Christ rode into Jerusalem and the people used palm fronds to welcome him. So, they still use the fronds today at the end of the week long sukkot holiday. Everywhere we go there are little tents and makeshift huts. So fun!

Long time...

2011-10-01T04:39:00.000-07:00

Adam and I conqured Assos, the site where Paul traveled through to get back to Jerusalem.

Inside the Sultans Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. Um. Amazing.

Tiff and I in front of the Mosque, Hagia Sophia.

Inside the Hagia Sophia, one of the biggest Mosques in Turkey. AMAZING!!!!

I look cold, and who could blame me, look at all that ice!!! Just kidding, it's not ice at all, but travertine deposits from all the hot water springs. So awesome!

Natalie and I at the Theatre in Ephesus. SO HUGE!
Basilica Cistern in Istanbul. This was where they originally stored their main water supply.

They love their sea food! There's so much of it! This is the oyster we found on the beach one night. There is so many oysters here!
Playing ballerina on the beach.
At the Necropolis (ancient grave yard)....aren't we pretty zombies.

Well! Theres a small taste of Turkey! It's been a crazy week. We're already starting mid-term prep so my life has been taken over by homework. (which let's be honest people, who wants to be stuck inside doing homework when you have Jerusalem as your back yard.) But, for the first time in my life, GPA is not my #1 priority, and it feels so good! I love it here!

Check this out!

2011-09-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! Until I have time to load up some pics of our Turkey trip, I want to refer all of you to Brother Huntsman's (my old testament professor) Blog. I may just let him blog for me...just kidding. you'll get some pics from me as well....eventually....http://www.huntsmansintheholyland.blogspot.com His blog is SO much more detailed than I could ever do, and you get videos! So check it out!
I love you all! (and to answer a question, I can get emails at shalyn.blackhams@gmail.com, so if you want you can email me:)

Jericho/ Herods Winter Palace / Temptations of Christ

2011-09-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to the blazing and bustling metropolis of Jericho. Ok, so maybe it wasn't quite the metropolis you would think of (see below)

But Random Facts 101:
It's the oldest known inhabited city in the world.
They've found a tower from 8000 BC. 10,000 Years old. Seriously?!
It's been rebuilt at least 20 times
It's the lowest inhabited city on earth at around 1300 BELOW sea level
If you think you'll miss the heat by being there at 8:30 AM....you won't.
The site of the ancient city of Jericho is Tell es-Sultan. A tell is a mound that's built up over centuries and centuries of rebuilding the same city over and over again in the same spot.
Jericho is on the palistinian side of the separation wall in the West Bank
Anyway, Jericho is in the middle of the hottest, driest desert I've ever been to. The desert between Jericho and Jerusalem is the site for the temptations of Christ (see below)

Herods winter palace (I would hope it was his winter palace...it would have been a sauna in the summer)

and this is where Joseph and Mary traveled on their way to Bethlehem. And FYI...Mary didn't ride on a donkey. Only the richest had donkeys, and if they had them, the donkey only carried their packs. They would have been walking. In intense heat. Miles and miles and miles. 9 months pregnant. Mary is my new hero. Anyway it was great! WE had a blast!

TEL AVIV BABY

2011-09-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Weekend trip+Pure powder+Clear Turquoise WARM water+Tel Aviv Sun = BEST BEACH IN THE WORLD!

Shipwrecked at the "Mormon University"

2011-09-10T02:56:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest place on the planet! The people here don't recognize the term "Jerusalem Center" but when you mention "Mormon University" they get an understanding look in their eyes and say "OH!" haha. They make me laugh. There is always so much going on here! The culture is SO different, lots of it reminds me of chile, but in other aspects it's completely different than anything I've ever known. Religion is the center of all the cultures here, it's a beautiful thing to have religion at the base of all people do. They dress in religious clothing all the time, we see them praying or reading psalms, and we hear prayers 5 times a day over a city wide speaker system. It's such a neat place!
Our adventures slowed down a bit this week because we started classes. I forgot this was going to require a full load of classes. I have never read so much in my life, most days we have over 100 pages to read, But it's fascinating reading so there are no complaints. We have an ancient middle eastern history class, a modern Jewish history, and modern Islam history class, Hebrew, Old Testament, and New testament. Our Modern history professors come from Jewish and Muslim backgrounds. So interesting to hear their perspectives.

Last week I went on the "Ramparts Walk." The Old City is surrounded by a wall that runs about 2.5 miles around the border of the old city. Usually we just walk through various gates that permit entrance into the old city, but we found out you could walk around the ramparts of the city wall to get a GREAT overlook of the outside, and inside quarters within the Old city. There are 4 quarters to the city, the Muslim, Jewish, Armenian, and Christian and each has it's similarities and differences.

We also went to the "Church of the Holy Seplechur" Many believe this is where Christ could have been buried, the other being the Garden Tomb. This was SO different than the Garden Tomb! Apparently there's was a proclamation made centuries ago that nothing in the church could be changed, so there's even a latter sitting outside the church that's been there since that mandate. It's the most immaculate place I've ever been. There is so much detail on the ceiling, and floor, and chandeliers. It has so many levels, as we were exploring we found a very deep basement with some more places to worship. It's run by the Christians by a few denominations, in fact the Catholic priest was doing some sort of ceremony when we got there and as he was flinging his incense ball back and forth, he almost knocked over one of our students. I'm not going to lie, I laughed.

On Monday we went on a field trip to 5 areas overlooking Jerusalem. This is my wannabe EFY counselor pic I took with Ben, sporting the orange polos;) The biggest surprise came when I realized how close in proximity everything is here. I thought everything was far away from one another, but on the Tower of the Ascencion (where they believe Jesus ascended into heaven) we could see Jericho and Bethlehem right outside the city limits of Jerusalem and within Jerusalem we have the City of David, the Kidron Valley, Mt. Scopus, Mt. of Olives, Garden of Getsemene, Mt. Zion, etc. and he said on a clear day you could see the Dead sea as well. We are so close to everything! It's amazing!

We went to the Pool of Bethesda and St. Ann's Church, and met this awesome Priest named Michael. He's 70 years old, speaks multiple languages, and is currently learning russian through Skype for his assignment here. He has been on assignment in Africa and numerous parts of Europe. He was so kind. He said St. Ann's church, (commemorating the life of the mother of Mary) had some of the best acoustics around, he showed us that the pillars are offset in this church, providing a better chance of the sound waves bouncing out, instead of bouncing into each other. Interesting! I guess we're known for coming there to sing so he asked us to sing. Our small group of 8 sounded like a group of 20, it was amazing! Such a beautiful sound!
Outside the church were the pools of Bethesda. It was so different than I anticipated. I was expecting one pool, like it shows in the Carl Bloch painting, but it was like a huge stone playground, with numerous bathes and pools, and deep cisterns to hold all the water. I wouldn't want to get stuck at the bottom!

A few days later after some intense studying, we decided to go exploring in the city. Without a plan we came in, and found some pretty sweet stuff! First of all, I tried Lemon Mint Geltato. Sounds weird...I know. But it was SO good! It was like a strong lemonade flavored ice cream with mint leaves crushed inside. SO yummy.

Afterwards we went on an overlook of the Western Wall and saw hundreds of the Israeli National Army being sworn in. Somoeone near us explained that throughout their 3 year term in the army they go to various locations to swear their allegiance to the State of Israel.

On our way out of Damascus gate the Arabic Circus was doing a presentation to invite others to their circus. It was SO cool! It was a dance thing, with a big medal circle thing...haha I can't explain it, but I got a sweet movie that I will show you when I get back. It was amazing! Such a unique country!
Yesterday, after a long day of studying, we went to the Garden of Getsemene with Kristine, because SHE GOT HER MISSION CALL!!!! Yeah! I can't imagine a better way of opening a call, than opening it in the Garden of Getsemene. she's going to CROATIA!
District Conference was today. We heard from President Porter, and all of the leaders here. It was really neat! There were a lot of talks on 1. Having the right priorities. 2. Following the promptings of the Holy Ghost and 3. Unity. This district has people from ALL over the world, so it's was a good message for us. Anyway we've had a blast! and it's the only first week! Ah!

I'm Here!

2011-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

Am I actually here?!
I keep asking myself this. I feel like I'm in a dream. Looking out the windows I see the dome of the rock. The Jerusalem center is nuzzled right next to the Mount of Olives. In the background I hear (through a city-wide speaker system) the intonations of a prayer being sung. When I go to Google everything is in Hebrew and English, and is aligned on the right side of the page (they read right to left...) White buildings and synagogues cover the steeply hilled terrain. The dark orange moon, just a few moments ago, set deep into the sky. The city is lit up, but only by street lights and porch lights.The center is probably the brightest place in the city. Holy Cow....The Jerusalem Center is PHENOMENAL. I can't describe in words what this place is like. So I'll just say is again THIS PLACE IS PHENOMENAL! I wish that everyone could experience the Jerusalem Center. I was just shocked at how beautiful and immaculate my home is for the next 4 months. I feel like I'm living in a temple. In fact, they just told us every single limestone here is hand chiseled....this whole place is covered in this limestone.

Where we eat our meals

View from my room

View from my room at night

Our Cafeteria overlooks the old city, in fact my apartment, and every classroom overlooks the city. The food is great! The israelis eat so healthy. Its' very normal to have a half a cucumber, cherry tomatoes, or fruit as a snack. We had 4 or 5 different salads to choose from at lunch and dinner. They also love their pita bread, or artisan-ish bread covered in sesame seeds. It's so yummy!

Anyway the branch is AWESOME. So diverse. We have members from all over the world, many from here, the US consulate, some from Hebrew University, service couples, and of course, us. Our branch has 50ish members across a separation barrier in another part of Israel, so the Palistinans cannot come to church here. The Branch President has been given permission to cross the border on another day other than the sabbath, so these good members can take the sacrament. The country is so different in the way they have the church because there are tender feelings and laws to prevent any type of proselyting. This is the only branch where visitors are not welcome. If people want to learn about the church they have left the country, been baptized, then returned. I can't believe the stories of some of these members. Our sacrament meeting auditorium overlooks the old city. With that view, it was difficult to maintain attention to the speakers. I kept finding myself moving my gaze from the speakers, to the view.....and losing myself in thoughts about the city. Ha I'm sure it will get better.

So after the flights, the first few days were filled with orientation of the center and the city. Jerusalem is divided into East Jerusalem, the Old City, and West Jerusalem. 50 of the student never arrived after a mechanical failure in Arizona, and will be trickling in for another 2 days within a series of 7 flights. So we cancelled classes until they get here, and have just been exploring the city. We went to the Israeli Museum yesterday. SO COOL! It's massive! Bigger than the smithsonian. We took 3 hours in the historical artifacts, looking at the artifacts basically since the beginning of time. They have the Dead Sea Scrolls on display! Wow...I thought the Dead Sea Scrolls were only scripture, but I learned that they also had scrolls of the Rules and Laws of the Land, the Scroll of Thanksgiving and prayers, the Apocrypha, and scrolls of the Temple ordinances and rituals done. They mentioned the scrolls of the temple were different because it seemed like "God was speaking in first person to his people" Interesting. Afterwards we went to the Garden Tomb. It was a neat place. A London Christain group runs it. They are such great people. it's 1 of 2 sights where they believe Christ was risen, and President Hinckley said about this area, that Christ was risen here or near here, and I can see that. It was such a special spot. THey have places for people to come and meditate whenever they want. We sang some songs there, and the spirit was so strong. There are few times in my life where I can remember feeling the spirit like that. It was so so neat.

The Garden Tomb

Where they believe Golgatha is

Afterwards (this is getting long...I'll finish soon!) We went exploring in the Old city. No agenda, no map, we just went around and looked at the shops and tried to orient ourselves. All the people here know us. So many kept asking "Are you mormons?! Oh, all the Mormons love my shop!" One shop owner invited us in, gave us grapefruit juice, and showed us all the scripture covers, BYU Jerusalem Center hoodies, and "charity never faileth" magnets he has. He's a good business man, he definitely knows the audience he's gearing towards. He offered to let us dress up in traditional dress, and of course we took it! Ha! He was so funny!

They sure love their spices! They have tons of spice shops!

The roads in Old Jerusalem remind me of old european streets, there is no organized street system, they are narrow uneven cobblestone streets, that have steep uphill and downhill climbs, lined with tall white limestone buildings. They are filled with shops and homes, and lots of hidden alleyways and random churches you can only point out because there is a sign above the doors. Old stone walls surround the city so we can only enter in at a few gates around the city. In fact, random fact, the Jerusalem Christ walked in is far beneath the actual city that is there now, but there are still portions that are higher and lower, in fact they are excavating some old parts of the city far down beneath (photo below)

Anyway, this place is awesome! So rich in culture, and I'm so excited to explore more. I'm so grateful to be here!

Post-Mission Bliss:)

2011-05-25T21:10:00.001-07:00

Coming home from the mission brings a lot of mixed feelings. You love your mission. You love the people and the culture. You think in spanish. Dream in spanish. You live a completely different lifestyle than the life you lived before. But there comes a time when it needs to end. And you know, it's ok! Overall, it's been a lot better than I expected. I'm not a person of many words, so I'll give you a picture slideshow of my last 2 months!

Family Pictures!

Practicing piano with Charlie.

Oh Cafe Rio. Oh how I love a good Cafe Rio! YES!

Catching up with Ben

My date with Adam. We fulfilled his life long dream...we went to Subway.

Working at Badger!!! (this could be a post in it's own, but I'll just give the sneak peek right here...)

Blog Change

2009-09-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

6 days my friends! I can't believe it's already here, I am SO excited! Seeing as I will be gone for the next 18 months, my dear mom will be updating a mission blog with my letters and pictures for those who are interested.

hermanablackham.blogspot.com

See you on the other side!

Love, Shalyn
(AKA soon to be Hermana Blackham)

My heart is still at Badger...

2009-08-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong. It's been good to be at home, doing last minute preparations for my mission. But a part of me is still at Badger. Who wouldn't miss this crazy bunch?!

Best Job EVER!

2009-07-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Incredible staff + Badger Creek + sweet ropes courses + "BEST DAY EVER!" + Amazing kids (VC, daBomb, and Alakazam!) + incredible sunsets + gallons of mosquito repellent + Good rain gear + very little sleep + no longer having a personal bubble + pudding fights + incredible view of the Tetons from our backyard =

...yeah...I have the best job in the world

Where is Natalie going?

2009-06-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Cinncinatti Ohio. June 10th.

Santiago Chile. September 16th.

????????

We'll find out soon! Yipee!!

And it happened...

2009-05-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes my friends. I am going on a mission!! I'm leaving September 16th for Santiago Chile East Mission. Yup, I couldn't believe it either (as you can tell by my reaction. I would never put such a scary picture up...but I couldn't help it, too perfect) I'm SO excited to go!!! Woo Hoo!!

Project Inspire

2009-05-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Riddle. What do you get when you put 20 college students in the snow, sticky mud, and consistently below freezing temperatures for a week to do landscaping in the mountains? Yes my friends. . . see results below. They aren't pretty.

Yet...the best week EVER!

(Photo credits to Carlee A. Painter)

Anyway

2009-05-04T21:35:00.001-07:00

Mother Theresa - what a wonderful example to us all.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you may win some false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Be good anyway.

Honesty and sincerity will make you vulnerable. People may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

Give the best you have, and it may never seem be enough.

Give your best anyway.

People need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.

People can be unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

---Mother Theresa

What a semester to remember...

2009-04-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

Winter Semester 2009. Oh the memories! Here are the highlights.

Hours and hours and hours of Hebrew (see two posts below)...the Lexicon and I are so tight now.

I don't think I have ever had so much adrenaline rushing through me in a basketball game, way to win in overtime Natalie! It's all thanks to her muscles:) ya!

This is the lake (aka skating rink) behind Bishop's cabin where we had some wonderful ice ballet and human curling with our FHE brothers. I will never forget our dear Adam's Buzz Lightyear run after we decided to have a race across the lake (last one standing wins!) Yup, haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Wednesday night parties...I will never look at popcorn in the same way again.

Need a way to stream line dish duty when your dish washer is out of commission? Yes folks, we have an answer for you..
.

Photographics Society was a GREAT learning experience for me, and now I'm a hopeless photoshopper (hmm...I think I just made that term up) Carlee and I had some fun shots when we went to work with her horse Milo.

My sisters from another mister. "Sure do love ya!"

This will forever be a sweet memory. Last week of school Carls got her mission call! So, yes, in the midst of finals week Natalie, Carlee, and I dropped everything for the evening, drove 2.5 hours down to Logan, opened her mission call, then drove back up to Rexburg (what were we thinking?!:) So worth it...

And of course...HOURS AND HOURS OF HOMEWORK. Oh yes, Believe it or not my friends I am a student and do find time for homework somewhere in there.

I have the best dad...hands down.

2009-03-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

"Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad."

--ANONYMOUS

Alef, Bet, Gimmel...

2009-02-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

You know you've done too much Hebrew homework when you wake up in the morning with Hebrew songs running through your head. (The link goes to a sing-along video we memorized the first few days of class. Best song ever:) They have some pretty catchy songs that have a tendency to want to stick around, even when my mind needs to be elsewhere.

Aside from the catchy songs here a few more things I have been learning in hebrew.

1.In the Book of Mormon when it says "one jot and tiddle will not pass away" it's referring to hebrew characters. For example the characters of resh ר and dalet ד are almost exactly the same, minus the small overhang on the dalet, yet that small change completely alters the sound and name of the letter. Those small discrepancies and the smallest letter yod ' are the "Jot and Tittle" the Lord refers to. Interesting huh!

2. When you read the Book of Mormon there is a tendency to say a lot of "and's" to begin the sentences. That is the way the hebrew write narratives called the "vav consecutive" form. For example.

"And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear."

3. In Israel they orient their maps differently. At the top of the map is where the sun rises, and it's important to realize they still use the same directions as we do. So, east would be towards the top, north to the left, west to the bottom, and south to the right side. So, when the Lord says he will scatter Israel to the "north country" ... the north would be on the left side of the map. On his left hand ... definitely wasn't the best thing for Israel when the Lord scattered them to the north country.

4. In 2 Kings chapter 1 Elijah is sitting on top of the hill and the king sends a captain and fifty men to Elijah where they call "Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down." Elijah responds by sending down fire from heaven that consumes the company. The king again sends a captain and fifty men and the same response happens. It again happens with two more companies. They call for Elijah the "man of God" and Elijah sends down fire from the heavens.

You ask why I'm telling this story? You see, man in hebrew is pronounced ish and fire in hebrew is pronounced esh...if you heard both they would sound almost exactly the same. They thought they were calling for man of God but instead they got fire of God. I can imagine the hebrew scholars were chuckling at this one.

5. Hebrew is not an easy language. I can see now why Joseph Smith's journal periodically contained the one line "Spent the day studying hebrew" (sounds familiar...my journal has had similiar entries this semester:) It definitely takes a lot of time and effort, yet there is so much to learn and gain from it. What a rich language. I just wanted to share a few insights I have learned!

Personal Ministry

2009-02-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

"Some years ago, at the conclusion of a Utah Board of Higher Education meeting, Elder Neal A. Maxwell submitted his resignation. He said he needed to make time for his personal ministry. Most of the board members assumed he was referring to his apostleship. However, he explained that his personal ministry was different than his apostleship. His personal ministry was to comfort fellow cancer patients.

The work of the ministry is to do the work of the Lord on the earth - to represent the Lord among the people ... Therefore, what he does “according to the will of the Lord is the Lord’s business” (Bible Dictionary)...

...Each of us has a personal ministry. I believe we received our personal ministry in the premortal world. It was divinely given and lasts a lifetime...

...Just as ministering doesn’t always need to be planned, it doesn’t need to be spectacular. It is something we can do every day in natural, comfortable ways. Mother Teresa suggested that we “ do small things with great love.” --SISTER BONNIE D. PARKIN

After reading this talk by Sister Parkin I've been thinking a lot about it. My personal ministry. How to know the Lord's plans for me. How to have the courage to follow his plans. How to genuinely show and have a greater portion of love. How to walk where he would walk. How to do the "small things with great love" better... It definitely struck a chord in me. I would highly suggest the talk. It's incredible.

Reflecting on a year.

2008-12-31T12:41:00.001-08:00

This year has been pretty crazy yet I look back and am so grateful for the incredible people, learning experiences and opportunities that have been placed in my life. Below is a conglomerate of 2008 that has made me who I am today.

(Thanks for the idea Ashley!!)

Rexburg Temple Dedication. What a neat time to be in Rexburg. I will never forget the opportunity to be a part of it.

Family trip to Hawaii. We had a BLAST!!!

Carlee called me up one day and said "Hey Shalyn what are you doing in two days?" and I said "Nothing much, why?" and she said "I want you to fly out to visit us in Nauvoo" and I said "Deal!" Pretty spontaneous and best trip ever.

I got hooked on Longboarding. Can't wait for Provo Canyon to open up this summer!!

Fun times with Ben. This was one of the best hikes I've been on. We hiked so far to get to the waterfall, we decided to go all of the way into it!

Working with inner city girls in Chicago. Most amazing experience of my Life. I miss it SO much.

Andrew got his mission call to Belem Brazil.

Best apartment ever. (I may or may not have said that with all my other apartments:)

Thursday Night Parties. As an apartment we decided to invite those we love to enjoy good food and fun. These were the highlight of my semester.

(This picture is incomplete without Kayla, but is the only one I had access to.)
These girls have been so life changing, patient, loving, hardworking, and christ-like. I have been SO blessed to work along side them in the ward. I love them so much! This year wouldn't be what it was without them.

Last semester I and a few other students were invited to a luncheon with President Clark, President Eyring Jr. and Gerald N. Lund. Inspiring.

I'm excited to see what 2009 will bring!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Tis the Season

2008-12-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

Being at home has been SO good!! Here are the highlights!

Listening to my little sisters choir on Temple Square.

(Which wouldn't be complete without the lights...too bad I forgot the Tripod so they are a little blurry:)

Visiting the Gateway and watching the synchronized water fountains and Christmas music.

Laughing at the simple child-like innocence of Charlie. After we cut a piece of pie he said he wanted to cut his own and proceeded to cut the little miniature piece of pie you see on the left side. So cute. (As you can see by the burnt crust we are also learning how to bake:)

Attempting to make a mad gingerbread house. It was quite the experience...and I think we ended up eating more candy than we actually put on the house (isn't that the point???) It turned out really well!!!

Lovin the Family

2008-12-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

I know...I should be doing all the final projects, tests, papers etc. But I just got really really excited to come home because Coming home is always HILARIOUS! These are the types of things I have to look forward to for the next three weeks.

Memory #1
Adam was asking questions to his Furby on Sunday. Simple questions like "are you hungry?" "Are you sleepy?" that the Furby would answer, based on it's pre-programmed voice recognition database. Then Charlie, observing the questioning from the other side of the room ran up and told Adam that he wanted to try asking the Furby a question. Adam relented. Then Charlie, with a clear confident voice questioned, "Furby....Do you want to go hunting?!?" Needless to say the Furby didn't quite respond to that question:)

Memory #2
Getting into an exercise program at home is sometimes hard, so Alex and Adam are helping me! Before I left for school Alex was very diligent in waking me up at 6 AM to go running, and we go every morning, even if it's only for 15 minutes. He's a great running partner! Adam also LOVES to go running with me, except we have to go inside the Rec Center track, or it's a no go. He's convinced that the only way he can run well.

Memory #3
There was one day we sat around the ENTIRE day and did absolutely nothing ... But it was quite fun talking about my dads lesson for his fireside he was doing. We've been bouncing ideas back and forth for the past couple of days and it was fun to sit next to him for a couple of hours and talk with him.

Memory #4
Human Tetris - I know, sounds amazing right? One evening my dad was telling us about a game show from Japan called Human Tetris so we pulled up a video of it and ended up laughing over videos for half an hour. It was such a waste of time in terms of the movies, but so fun to just laugh with the family.

Memory #5
I've enjoyed enhancing the state of my very very messy room. Everyday I try to organize something new to bring to Idaho, or keep in Utah, or get rid of completely and end up creating a new and greater mess. Yet, Kalista has been the best sister in the world and has been so patient with me even though she can't quite see her carpet.

Memory #6
Coming home I always get the BIGGEST hug from Kalista or Adam. Particularly Adam has a very energetic hug that says "I want to squeeze you in half! (or at least until you turn blue in the face from lack of air)" He is such a loving kid!

101 Things I am Grateful For

2008-11-28T15:59:00.000-08:00

I challenge everyone to do one of these lists sometime this Christmas season. See how many you can get:) I am so blessed!

(In no particular order...)
1. Mom and Dad
2. The Gospel
3. Best brothers ever
4. Kalista
5. Incredible Roommates
6. Charlie making me laugh
7 Relief Society
8 Loving friends
9 Warm Home
10 The ability to read
11 Warm shower
12 Temples
13 Technology
14 Scriptures
15 Work
16 Vacuums
17 Georgina (my car)
18 Crunchy leaves
19 Journals
20 Laughing
21 Chocolate Dream Pie
22 Daily Planners
23 Fleece Blankets
24 Cell Phones
25 Chapstick
26 Sunglasses
27 Air to breathe
28 The atonement
29 Hugs
30 Beautiful Sunsets or Sun rises
31 Pianos
32 Scissors
33 Pens and Pencils
34 Debriefing time
35 Picture Frames
36 Windshield Ice Scrapers
37 Radios
38 The prophet
39 Cuddly pets
40 Alex's smile and laugh
41 The Priesthood
42 BYU-Idaho
43 Clean water to drink
44 The Sun
45 Fresh flowers
46 Hot Chocolate
47 Donut Runs
48 Josh Groban Christmas Music
49 IPods
50 Shoelaces
51 Mashed Potatoes
52 CTR Rings
53 BYU Mens Choir
54 Lotion
55 Google
56 Conference Edition of Ensign
57 Awesome Ultimate Team
58 Hikes
59 Shoes
60 Underarmour
61 Mrs. Phillips for being one of the best teachers in elementary
62 Good neighbors
63 Free Country
64 Supportive, True friends
65 Love
66 Carrot Sticks
67 Flip Flops
68 Cameras
69 Professors who care
70 Dancers who are willing to share their talent
71 The Ultimate Gift
72 Clean Rooms
73 Supportive presidency
74 Longboarding
75 Straws
76 Easy open aluminum cans
77 Tomato Basil Soup
78 Hymns
79 People who push me beyond what I think I can do
80 Whole Wheat Bagels with Honey or Orange Butter
81 Wassail
82 Memories
83 Eyes that can see
84 Examples of Inspirational Women
85 The Freedom of Speech
86 Quiet time
87 Storage Space
88 Learning
89 Ability to sleep through the night
90 Jogging
91 MVHS Bruins
92 Feeling safe
93 Shampoo
94 Tony's deep thoughts
95 Thumbdrives
96 Combs
97 Beautiful Mountain Ranges
98 Toe Socks
99 Vacations
100 Andrew being my "older" and younger brother
101 Christmas Season

Group Projects...gotta love 'em!

2008-11-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

We have a group project that is graded based on the number of hits we get on this website. If you're from Rexburg or have personal experience, please comment! If not, then just enjoy the rad cinematography of our movie:)

Go to http://www.whatdoyouthinktank.blogspot.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Little Moments

2008-11-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

Wow...This week has been FILLED and OVERFLOWING with so many incredible things going on! Here are a few of the highlights.

Last week I went to the Idaho Falls Temple with some of the presidency. It was 5:30 AM, and last minute I realized I probably needed to fill up my tires because they were low. After stopping at three different places we finally found an air pump that worked and Jana taught me how to fill up the tires (thanks Jana!). I know I should know better, but it's good to learn those things better late than never, right?

Anyway we were running SO late, but eventually got to the temple and had a wonderful time. As we walked outside the temple we saw the most IMMACULATE sunrise I have ever seen. This whole week we've had incredible sunrises and Carlee was able to take a picture from Rexburg (as seen above). We decided that was the reason we were running late was so we could see that sunrise. Tender Mercies.

Due to our late temple trip, I was running late for my Family History Lab and arrived right after it began. Unfortunately the entire lab was filled and no more computers were left, but the cute elderly Family History Missionary let me sit next to him in the back. I went to a computer outside the lab afterward to find a specific line my grandpa had told me to research. I haven't been able to find any information on my 3rd great grandma, Elizabeth Belknap and have been trying to find her parents, to no avail. The missionary came out after a few minutes and asked me how everything was going. I told him I was looking for Elizabeth and he helped me look through different census's for a few minutes to no avail. Both of us were stumped. But he said "Well, you know, there is one more option we can check out..." and he opens up his account to the new Family Search website. For those of you who aren't familiar with the New Family Search and without going into tons of detail, the New Family Search is only available to those outside the Utah, Idaho area until 2009 when it will open in our temple district. But this missionary was given privileges because other students from around the country have access to the new family search. The new family search combines all the Church Records, ordinance information, duplicates etc. into one pedigree and gives you an incredible amount of information that I don't currently have access to. Anyway he opens it up, types in her name and her parents were right there! They are in the process of having the ordinances done and everything. What an incredible blessing! So even though it wasn't a lot of information and some things need to be verified, it's a start in the right direction. What a sweet missionary. I don't think he'll ever know how much that meant to me.

Then, I wasn't prepared for a case study for my media class because I was working with the missionary for awhile. These case studies are intense and you need to prepare for them in order to get a good grade on the lecture. I decided to go anyway and it was canceled. Wow...someone is watching out for me.

One last Tender Mercy that made me smile. Yesterday morning I got a garbled text of pictures and random letters with a disclaimer from my brother Andrew - "This is from aaron, he was bored, so I was teaching him to text." Aaron is my 4-year-old brother. It was hilarious. I didn't stop laughing all morning.

So much to be grateful for...

2008-10-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days I've been filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for so many things. I'm not sure if our recent devotional on the atonement (look it up on http://web.byui.edu/devotionalsandspeeches/ by Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchikick) pricked these feelings, or if our new gratitude wall in our apartment (as seen on Carlee's Blog @ http://www.adventuresofcarlee.blogspot.com/ ) gave me an opportunity to recognize how many things there are to be grateful for. Particularly this week I'm recognizing little blessings that have been here all semester, yet, I've just barley begun to feel an overwhelming sense of love and gratitude for those people and things who are placed in my life at this time.

From quarter slices to carmel apple parties, good roommates to an incredible university filled with good people, apartment prayer to scripture study, there has been an abundance of tender mercies and great miracles this semester.

Sure, bad things happen. We've seen the economy make the biggest downturn since the depression. Newspapers are filled with ever increasing pessimism. Values are on the decline, and in fact California is facing a great decision within in the next week (Vote Yes on Prop 8!:). Yet, life is so good. I can't believe how incredibly blessed we are to not only live at such an exciting time of life, but to have the knowledge and hope that comes through the gospel. Because of this, I've decided to dedicate my blog to those little moments that make life worth living. Those little bursts of sunshine are there more often than I think we realize, so why not discover them along the way!

I love life

2008-10-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.

-Gordan B. Hinckley

Theme of my semester...I will post more soon.

Now I know why it's called the "Windy City!!"

2008-08-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, So much has happened since I've last blogged. Usually a blog a week is enough to catch up on my life, but a blog a day wouldn't even be enough to say everything that is happening. I need to leave in a few minutes but I just wanted to take a minute and give a quick catch up!

We're halfway through camp and it has been amazing! Every morning the girls come in and we play a few games, have a devotional, then break up into workshops. Each of us councilors have the opportunity to teach different workshops on crafts, cooking, sports/activities, cultures, self-improvement, etiquette, etc. I LOVE teaching the workshops!! The girls are so awesome! My favorite workshop was our discussion on the power that lies within each of the girls to do something great. As we discussed different people who were powerful to us and different ways to be powerful I was in awe at the insight these girls had. At the end of the lesson I gave each girls a rock to write something to remember when they felt the rock in their pocket. Some of them wrote courage, believe, or faith. Others wrote CTR, drew a smiley face to remember to keep a positive attitude or wrote "I am somebody" or "I can be powerful." I loved that workshop.

Anyway we have lunch then do more workshops or other activities. For example, on Friday we had a camp wide water fight between the girls and the councilors. Those girls were relentless! Every single person was SOAKED to the bone! it was SO fun to forget how tired we as councilors may have been and just played with the girls. These girls are so sassy, funny, energetic, crazy, sweet, celestial and loving all at one time. It's so tiring, but so worth it.

Anyway every night after camp we go into Chicago to experience the city. We've seen Wicked (Twice). The second time Jenessa and I entered a random drawing to win front row tickets and won 3rd row tickets. It was incredible! We've also been to Comedy Sports (chicago style), played in millennium park, seen every art, field, natural science museum we could ever imagine, been to baseball games, shopped, been to a sacrament meeting with Dallin H. Oaks, went on a boat architecture tour of the city and have eaten really really well (almost too well). This is a very cool city. There is so much to do and experience. And in reply to my title, I found out it's called the Windy City, not because it's WINDY, but because their politicians are known for being long winded. . . of course it's known for the long winded politicians, who would ever think their would be any other reason for the nickname of "windy city" haha.

Anyway all is well. Chicago is awesome. I will post more later! Til then!

Walkin the Streets of Chicago!

2008-08-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. There is so much to say and so little time to say it, so I'll just post the essentials! First of all, I'm in Chicago! We arrived Thursday afternoon and spent the rest of that day organizing supplies and food for camp. That night we were introduced to the families are staying with for the next two weeks. I definitely lucked out. Jenessa, Edna and I are staying with the beautiful Edwards family. They are so gracious! Some of the best people we have met so far. They are all members of the church and have a beautiful daughter and son.

On Friday we spent all day in Chicago. Getting to know the bus and subway system was quite the adventure in and of itself. Once you understand how it works (which is easier said than done) you can basically get anywhere! It's also quite the adventure. 11 white girls stick out like a sore thumb in this city.

Anyway we started Friday morning by going to the Cook County Juvenile Court. One of the administrators of the juvenile court spoke to us about the background of the kids who are coming in and the purpose and intent behind what the administration does to help them. It was very eye opening to realize how prevalent drugs and crime are in certain parts of Chicago. It was also incredible to see the amount of love the administration has for the kids. The administrator told a story about a time he was trying to have a group discussion with some inner city boys about an extremely difficult case in order to help them realize what is and isn't right. (because an abnormally high percentage of parents don't teach what is right and wrong). Anyway he said those boys were so indifferent to the details of a particularly gory case and he became frustrated and said to one of the boys "You know why I'm telling you all of this?? You know why I'm having this discussion with you?? It's because I love you!" and the hardened inner city boy started crying. He explained that experience changed everything because he realized although these kids actions didn't reflect a need to be loved, they had a very tough shell, and a very soft inner side that needed love, just as all of us do. To quote the beatles, "All we need is love:)" We also had the opportunity to sit in the courtroom of the Judge who had a very famous court case a couple of years ago, and were able to ask her questions about the intervention programs and her experiences particularly with that case.

The rest of the day was spent trying out new foods (such as mongolian pancakes and indian food), visiting india town, going to the cheesecake factory and the art museum. They definitely kept us busy. There is SO much to do here! Yesterday we went to the Science and Industry Museum which was really cool because it was so hands on, then we went into the shopping part of Chicago for the later part of the evening. For dinner we went to Ed Debevics...it was quite MEANingful. Pun very much so intended. Their waiters are famous for being overly sarcastic and rude to the customers. There is an incredible amount of people who come there for that fact alone. They definitely lived up to the hype.

This picture was the best picture of about...8 pictures. It wouldn't stop being blurry, or the boat was in front of the city, or we blinked, ha! we finally got a good one!
I don't know how we handled it but we soon got out there and headed to Navy Pier for a full 10 minutes before the bus was supposed to come to take us home. So Janessa and I ran past the shops, got a quick (ok, maybe quick is being optimistic, it took me awhile to figure out my camera and avoid the blur) shot of us with the background of the city then ran back to the Bus which arrived an hour later. yipee! its super crazy trying to get everything done in a few weeks, but it's good.

I LOVE NAUVOO!

2008-08-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, first of all I need to give a disclaimer on the photo above. Although I would love to claim being the official photographer, I actually stole the photo from Carlee from our trip to Nauvoo last May. I decided it was much better than all the pictures I personally took of the temple. She's incredible! Ok, with that said...

After two wonderful days in Nauvoo I’m in awe of how much I truly love the spirit here, especially at this time of year. There is an incredible amount of things to do and see. We did all the little sights to get a prairie diamond, cookie, and a brick. I spent some good time walking down Parley street. Made a rope at the family living center. Went to Sunset on the Mississippi (it was the cutest program I have ever seen in my entire life, everyone should try to see that whenever they come to Nauvoo). Went to the Joseph Smith movie, did baptisms at the temple, and just spent some good time walking through the city. The saints that lived here have left a spirit of excitement that is tangible! Last night as I walked to the pageant grounds I heard the band playing and saw thousands of people laughing together, dancing, or playing games. I don’t know how to describe the feeling that was there, but it was just so happy! Little does Disneyland know that Nauvoo seems to be the happiest place on earth. It was incredible.

The pageant was phenomenal. I didn’t fully appreciate it when I was 18, but it was the best pageant I have ever seen by far. The person who played Joseph was incredibly powerful. Janessa and I had to go talk to him afterward to thank him because you could feel his testimony as he spoke. Even as a person he acted like Joseph Smith. He took a lot of time with each person that came up to him. You could feel his love for everyone he spoke to. What an example. That would be amazing to be able to do that pageant.

I've been to Nauvoo a couple of times and my favorite part of Nauvoo has been just sitting and feeling and observing everything around me. The cute missionaries and performers. The historic buildings. The sight of the temple on the hill and the mississippi below. Everything works together to create an incredible place where the spirits of the saints definitely are.

After the whole Nauvoo experience we all went to Carthage. I love Carthage. Despite the violence that happened there, there was an incredible peace and sacredness on the grounds. They've maintained the building very well since that time and I loved sitting on the grounds with the girls.

Travelin the Road...

2008-08-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today was a travel day and what a WONDERFUL day it was. We drove through the flat lands and corn fields of Nebraska. I could probably end today's synopsis right there but then you would lose all the small memorable experiences that made today so wonderful.

First of all, we've passed into the HUMIDITY! The first time I stepped out of the car I felt like I was drowning because of all the water in the air, but it was a beautiful day and after a few minutes I got used to it. I love humidity! We passed tons of Harley Davidson's in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, heading to a conference. (Sis. Bergstrom said it was like General Conference for all Harley owners, what an experience that would be) Then we played a bunch of games in the car. We definitely found some interesting things to keep us entertained during a day of riding in a van.

Above is the Sod House Museum Historical sight. We stopped at a rest stop in a town that practically didn't exist and found a sod house museum in the back of the gas station. The nice tour guide lady told us that when the people settled in Nebraska there was no trees to build the houses so they built their houses with Sod. I definitely am glad to have a modern home!
Along with the beautiful Sod Home , there was a buffalo and horse in front of the yard, made out of (are you ready for this...) 14,000 lbs of barbed wire. It was amazing. Janessa and I had a good time imitating our buffalo friend.After over 8 hours of traveling you get pretty stir crazy in the van. So Janessa and I started doing an Ab/kick boxing workout (at least as much as you can in the middle seat)I couldn't stop laughing so I definitely got the Ab workout in. We had dinner at a family buffet called the Iron Skillet Buffet and they served foods on these small iron skillets (hence the name). It was definitely an experience. . . we definitely got some weird stares from the people:) I think it would be incredible to be a missionary back east. There are so many good people who haven't had the opportunity to hear the truth, and we're right here!!! I love it!

Tonight we played 8 intense adrenaline pumping rounds of Nerts. It was extremely competitive, just the way I like it. Man oh man what a good time. Life is so good! I'm excited to have a Sunday tomorrow. We're not traveling so I'm excited to have a day to chill.

Day 1

2008-08-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today was mostly a travel day. We started out 7 this morning, and got into Casper about 7 this evening. It took a bit longer than expected, but it was so fun to spend time with the girls in the van. Let me tell you it is the ultimate bonding experience. I love it. They are all so amazing and funny!

Anyway more about our trip. After a BEAUTIFUL ride through the palisades area we came into Wyoming and stopped at a small lunch place in the middle of nowhere. I can't even remember the place but they had some first prize potato soup and OH MY it was amazing. I could see why it was the first prize, incredible. Anyway afterwards we stopped at a place called Sixth Crossing. Although we didn't have plans to stop here it was definitely a blessing. It was an incredible place. The missionaries told us some incredible stories I have never heard before and I was amazed once again at the sacrifice the pioneers made. It seems every time I reflect on it I gain a greater appreciation for everything they had to go through. I also found out that Berg and I both have ancestors that went across the plains together in the Martin Handcart Company.

Martins Cove was also amazing. We heard the story of sister Hinckleys grandmother as well as stories about the Rescue Company. I saw the names of my Blackham and Murdock ancestors in the lists of the martain handcart company as well as in the rescue company. After Martins Cove we drove into Casper, had a wonderful dinner, and went swimming at the hotel. We played a rousing game of Marco polo and Sharks and Minnows. It was good to move around after sitting the whole day, especially in the water. It was very Therapeutic. Anyway today has been a great day. Tomorrow is another travel day and I"m excited to spend more time in Bruce (our big Grey van) Until then:)

50th Wedding anniversary.

2008-07-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a great weekend! It was my grandparents 50th Wedding anniversary and we had a huge family celebration/reunion. I loved seeing them once again. I think the mexican food and climate has gotten to them, my grandpa had lost a lot of weight, but they both look great! We had a family party at the water park, a nice luncheon on Saturday and an open house for friends and extended family that evening. My uncle Steve and Debi did a great job planning everything for them.

On Saturday night I spent some good time with the cousins. We played an intense game of Catch Phrase, boys vs. girls (the boys totally cheated). I don't know how I feel about the guys screaming while the girls are trying to read each others lips because it was so loud. It was SO funny. I couldn't stop laughing the entire night. I have the coolest cousins, they are great!

I think all the fun and food from the weekend caught up to me so I'm trying to overcome a small flu bug, but it happens. I don't anticipate it will stay too long. It's been good to get caught up on some reading and blogging that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. Overall life is good. I have one more month until I go to Chicago. . . I am definitely looking forward to that!!

Summer Livin

2008-07-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

Oh my, summer has been SO incredibly busy I can't even face myself. I'm working full time at a place called Hepworth Electric doing receptionist work and customer care. It is an incredible company. I am so blessed to have a job that I (usually) look forward to going to every day. I've been doing fitness classes at the rec every morning and have been attending the usual evening institute classes, playing with the family, or catching up with old friends in the evenings. The last few days my family has been at a Condo in Sun Valley so I've had some good Shalyn time to get lots of things accomplished while they've been gone. It's been especially good to have some quiet time to plan my lesson for Sunday (I'm the dating and courtship teacher in my singles ward, it's quite the experience :).

In other news my dads birthday was yesterday and my sisters birthday is tomorrow! My grandparents 50th wedding anniversary is also this weekend. I am so excited to see them! They are currently serving as assistant temple presidents in the Monterrey Mexico temple. We haven't seen them since they left in February, so it will be really good to see them again. We're having a huge celebration, open house, family reunion all in one weekend so it should be a good time all around (especially with the 4th of July being the same weekend)

Anyway, that's the short lowdown on life. I'll try to post some pictures as they come, unfortunately I'm not the best at taking my camera to all the major events. Hopefully that will change!

Here I go

2008-06-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally made the move towards posting on my own blog . . . it's about time! I had a major family history moment during a family reunion today I decided to make the dive. We visited a number of sights my grandpa was involved in. We met some people who told us memories they had of his family. It was incredible to hear the little stories and memories of the past. I went to the cemetery and saw TONS of Blackham headstones, only to recognize a few of the names. I realized that each of these names has a history, a story, and we their ancestors are only able to find out as much as memories and information allow, other than that, their lives and legacy are lost to the passage of time. I may as well make it easy for my family to have a history of me. So, here we go:)