Shephelah

Yesterday (February 9th) we took the kids out of school so they could do some on site learning. Sarah and Joel both have religion classes at school so they thought reading bible stories on site with their dad was a good substitute. We traveled to the Shephelah (Judean lowlands) via Jerusalem Orient Tourist Travel buses. Our first stop was Beit Shemesh overlooking the Sorek Valley. Samson was born across the valley in the village of Zorah. He eventually headed down the valley to Philistine territory where he met his demise. We also recalled the story of the Philistines, who when their god Dagon kept falling over, decided they had to get rid of the captured Ark of the Covenant. They returned it in a new wagon pulled by milk cows to the wheat field in the valley (behind the kids) below Beit Shemesh with offerings of golden emerods (that would be a interesting to see) and golden mice (see 1 Samuel 6)
Last semester our kids enjoyed getting to know Kate Hoffmire, their third cousin on their mom's side. Kate's great-grandfather John and Sarah/Joel/Will's great-grandmother Elva Carlson Tueller were siblings. This semester they are getting to know Kate Thompson (smiling in the photo), their third cousin on their dad's side. Kate's great-grandmother Thelma is the older sister of Sarah/Joel/Will's great-grandmother Harriet Dudley Emmett
This was a wonderful time to visit the Shephelah--cool and green with plenty of wild flowers thanks to the winter rains of a Mediterranean climate. Last September it was a hot dusty, brown field trip. We enjoyed seeing dainty red anemones throughout the day.
Our second stop was Lachish--one of the strongly fortified cities of Judah. The ramp on the left leads up to the L-shaped gate that led up to the large tel. The rocky slope on the right is where Sennacherib had a siege ramp built for the Assyrian conquest in 701 that was recorded in large relief carving in the palace of Ninnevah (which we saw in the British Museum in December). After defeating Lachish, the Assyrians moved northeastward to Jerusalem, there righteous king Hezakiah listened to the prophet Isaiah and did not surrender. The Lord then delivered Jerusalem by sending an angel to wipe out the Assyrian army in their sleep (see Isaiah 37).
Prior to the Babylonian destruction of Lachish in 589 BC, someone wrote some letters on potsherds that were found in this gate house room. One of these Lachish letters told how the signal fires of Azekah to the north could no longer be seen which meant that tall, fortified Azekah had been destroyed by the Babylonians and Lachish was next. I told this story to the students up on top of the tel as we looked north to Azekah and encouraged them to imagine the fear such news would cause for the Judahites in Lachish. I bet that fear was much the same as that experienced by the people of Jericho when the Israelites encircled their city. From Lachish the Babylonians moved up to Jerusalem which this time lacked a righteous leader and enough righteous inhabitants to warrant divine protection.
The man-made bell caves at Beit Guvrim (aka as Maresha) were quarried in Byzantine and early Muslim times in order to provide limestone for building. The quarry started out at the top where there is a layer of harder limestone and then continued downward in a cone shape which usually kept the top from collapsing. As the cone shaped caves expanded outward they connected with the lower levels of other caves.


In other parts of Maresha we explored unground structers (also carved for buiding marterials)
that were then used for columbarium (pigeon roosts--pigeons were used for food, sacrifices and a source of fertilizer) as seen above, for underground olive presses, for cisterns and for storage. This is now a well managed National Park but back in 1982 it was undeveloped which meant we BYU students got to explore many more of the hundreds of underground human carved caves. One poor student back then started down the stairs into a cistern without a flashligth. She didn't see that the stairway had collapse and so she suddenly fell a dozen feet down into the cistern. Luckily she was unhurt. Winter wheat growing in the Valey of Elah. This conjures up all kinds of biblical images of sowers, gleaners, wheat and tares, the blessing of rain etc.
One of the students sprained her ankle and could not wander far from the bus. Marie gathered some smooth stones from the stream bed for her.
Joel is a determined slingger. He keeps practicing. I was hit with one mis-fire, but not at the same velocity as a David slung stone.
We then explored some limestone carved caves dubbed Micah's Cave because it is near where the prophet Micah is from. We stopped here earlier but there were three bus loads of Orthodox Jewish girls on a field trip who were mobbed around the cave entrance so went sligging first and then backtracked a little. Joel and Will are right at the entrance.
To enter the cave (also used as a colubarium) everyone had to crawl on hands and knees for about 20 feet and then turn around in the tunnel so your feet come out first and climb down the ladder. Last semester the ladder was shorter and didn't quite reach the tunnel exit. When my colleague Bill Hamblin tried to turn around and reach the top of the ladder he misplaced his foot and fell to the cave floor. The injury to his shoulder kept him for going on the Egypt Field trip the next week.
There were no such injuries this time--only one skinned elbow. We all got head lamps for Christmas 2008 which were put to good use today.
Sarah (with mom's permission) took off with some of the students through another tunnel into another big cavern. Here she is crawling out. This cave is a favorite stop for all.
Final stop was Azekah with its great view down on the valley of Elah. The valley circles around the hill of Azekah and then where the road crosses the valley it turns left and heads eastward towards Bethlehem again. The Philistines were on the hill side on the far/south side of the valley near where the road cuts through the trees and the Israelites were on the north side (on the back/unseen side of the closer forested hill).
Walking down from Azekah the kids enjoyed finding more potsherds for their collection. Sarah and Joel both found nice parts of pottery handles. A great day!

Walking the Walls II: Damascus Gate to Dung Gate

Last Sunday (January 31st) afternoon we walked the rest of the walls of the old city from Damascus Gate to Dung Gate. We entered through the Roman Gate of Hadrian built after the 70 AD destruction of the city. This is the level of the city at the time of Jesus. At the upper right you can see the current street level leading into the current gate.
Looking west from Damascus gate. The Roman Catholic steeple of St. Savior's Church marks the Roman Catholic portion of the Christian Quarter. Outside the wall on the right is the Notre Dame Hospice.
Skyline of the Christian Quarter
Notre Dame Hospice.
Nice statue of Mary hoisting the Christ child up on her shoulder.
A view through the turrets of the wall to the south wall of Notre Dame. From 1948-67 the border between Jordan and Israel ran between the hospice and the old city. Israeli soldiers used the hospice as a front line battlement facing Jordanian soldiers on the walls. I remember the walls of Notre Dame in 1979 when its facade was still pockmarked from Jordanian bullets.
The view from the top of New Gate looking into the Christian Quarter. Most of the shops are Christian owned and therefore closed on Sunday. Notice the narrow tractor hauling garbage out of the old city.
The view from the NW corner of the old city wall across to City Hall and the Mayor's office. Its pockmarks from the 48-67 period are left as a reminder of when the city was at war. The street to the left of city hall is Jaffa street which is torn up with construction for the light rail system that connects downtown with settlements to the north east.
Looking west (on a hazy day) to the large rectangular shaped King David Hotel and the tower of the YMCA.
Looking south to Jaffa gate and the citadel (with flags flying and an Ottoman era minaret) . The underpass is on an elevated road because when it was being constructed burials sites were found and Orthodox Jews always oppose any buildings atop burial sites. It is consider a minor miracle that no burial places were found during the construction of the Jerusalem Center given that most of the Mount of Olives is checkered with burial sites. If tombs had been found the center may not have been built. The UN policed Jordanian-Israeli border once ran down this west side of the old city.
For many years the Israeli side of no-man's land running along the border was the site of vacated bombed out buildings. Over the years there has been a big push to redevelop this area. The over pass walkway leading out of Jaffa Gate now leads to a parking garage (three hours free parking!) under the tree lined terraces and an upscale shopping center. It is quite a contrast to go from the many small shops in the crowded streets of the old city to the nice wide walkways, plazas and modern shopping arcades across the one-time divide.
A wider view of the Jaffa Gate area.
The view from the SW corner of the wall towards the Armenian Quarter--which is a walled quarter within a walled city. The right side of the road is the quarter wall. This is a busy street linking Jaffa gate with the Jewish Quarter.
The German built Dormition Abbey (where Mary slept before rising to heaven) on Mt Zion just outside the city walls. It is surrounded by Christian cemeteries.
An interesting view across the Jewish Quarter and then the Dome of the Rock to the BYU Jerusalem Center.
The south wall of the city with the Jewish Cemeteries on the Mt of Olives in the distance.
Looking southeast across the Arab neighborhood of Silwan. Notice the Separation Wall running along the hilltop in the distance.
Happy trekkers. We walked down to the city and all along the walls and then back through the old city to Herod's gate where we hailed a taxi to take tired feet up the hill to home.
Dung Gate on the left with a new gate (hole in the wall) to the right that is a new addition to accommodate all of the pedestrian traffic coming in to the western wall area.
We had some nice rainstorms during the week with non-materializing possibilities of snow. This was a bright morning after a few days of rain. The hillsides are all green. It is a great time to be in the holy land.
Today was a bright brisk day. We walked down to East Jerusalem for lunch. Will had falafel and the rest of us had delicious swarma--roasted lamb meat in pita bread. Here the lamb meat is being shaved off the rotisserie.
Once the pita is filled with either falafel (fried balls of mashed chick peas) or swarma it is then topped with various salads and sauces. Marie and I had the works, Joel and Sarah chose just the tomato and lettuce salad.
The many toppings--I especially like the sumac covered red onions, the purple cabbage cole slaw, and the Arab salsa.
We walked along Saladin street looking for socks for Joel (no luck), then we ventured through a gate between the many shops and climbed up some stairs to a Muslim cemetery that sits atop the hill of Calvary (Protestant/Mormon preferred site). The minaret is for a small mosque located down below just to the east of the rocky face of Calvary. The Garden tomb is to the right (west) of the mosque and Calvary. We tried to walk further over to look down on the Garden tomb, but were shooed away by a caretaker. I used my best Arabic but to no avail. Tomorrow the kids get to miss school so they can go on the student field trip to the Shephelah (Valley of Elah etc.). Should be fun.

Mt Sinai

Thursday January 28th I climbed Mt. Sinai for the fourth time. Up at 2:30 and on the trial by 3:30. It was a 2 hour climb up a winding snake path and then 800 rock stairs to the summit. It was a cold wait for the sun to rise. It was wonderful to watch the dark sky slowly morph into a bright sunrise.

Hymn singing kept us entertained while waiting for the sun.
Some of the happy BYU students.
My first time up Mt Sinai was in 1982 when I was a student. We camped in sleeping bags at the base near St. Catherine's monastery. There were only a few others on the summit. Nowadays the summit is packed with pilgrims from all over the world.
Church and mosque side-by-side on the summit.
Proof that I made it. I'm glad I bought a hat near Trafalgar Square last month.
The hike down the upper stair section.
Scripture study and testimony meeting near Elijah's spring.
We hiked the rock stair route down. My knees held out better this time. At the base is St. Catherine's monastery.
A quick tour of the monastery complete with the "burning bush" !
The monastery with part of Mt Sinai to the right. The stairs come down between the two peaks on the right. The snake path winds out and around the central peak.
The view from the monastery out to the plains where the children of Israel could have camped (assuming this is the real Mt. Sinai). I'm looking forward to making the hike in May with Marie and the kids. I hope we all make it.

Sacred Places

The Emmetts have visited some pretty impressive places the last two weeks. On Monday January 11th, I led the new students on a geography orientation field trip. Our first stop was the Mt. of Olives overlook with the above view. While I was orienting the students to the lay of the land, Marie and the children were across the Kidron Valley in a special tour of the Haram al-Sharif which was arranged by our friend Kyler Kronmiller of the US Consulate. He worked with the religious communities of Jerusalem and as a last hurrah before leaving at the end of the month for a new posting, he arranged for a visit to the Dome of the Rock (gold dome) and al-Aqsa (black dome) for some of his friends. We were lucky enough to be invited--since non-Muslims are no longer allowed to visit these mosques unless they have special hard-to-obtain permission. I was unlucky enough to have other duties to attend to. I was especially bummed when I learned that Kyler asked to also visit the new Marwani mosque built in Solomon Stables in the vaulted chambers underneath the SE corner of the Haram (aka Temple M0unt). Kyler had asked in previous special tours, but this was the first time he was allowed to visit this mosque.
Marie and Sarah took some photos. Here is the mihrab (prayer niche) in the Dome of the Rock pointing south to Mecca.
The beautiful interior of the Dome of the Rock. I have been inside many times, but not recently. It is one of the most beautiful, peaceful sacred places I have ever entered.
In the chamber underneath the rock--while never certain, this rock is associated with the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, where the temples of Solomon and Herod were located and where Mohammad ascended on his night journey into heaven.
Sarah reaching in to touch the actual footprint of where Mohammad's foot left the mount on his journey to meet with previous prophets in heaven. This mosque is the third most holy shrine in Islam.
The stained glass windows of al-Aqsa mosque. This is the main mosque on the mount. Men pray here while women usually pray in the Dome of the Rock. This mosque commemorates where Mohammad first prayed.

In front of the mimbar (pulpit of al-Aqsa)
The interior of al-Aqsa.
The vaulted chambers of the new Marwani mosque. I visited these caverns in 1982 when, as a BYU student, I convinced the Muslim authorities to let a group of us to take a look. Back then it was a large pigeon roost with soft floors padded with piles of pigeon poop. When this mosque was constructed all of the debris from the excavations was thrown over the wall. It is now being sifted through by Israeli archeologists just down the hill from the center (see previous post).

Marie and the kids loved the visit and are proud to have seen something I haven't seen.


On the 14th Marie, Will and I went on a faculty field trip prep to Jericho. We visited Hisham's Palace with its amazing Tree of Life Mosaic.
The mosaic is in the diwan where the Umayyad ruler welcomed guests.
Will playing on Umayyad ruins.

We then visited a Greek Orthodox Monastery east of town. The dome was decorated with a nice anthropomorphic view of the godhead (trinity). Notice the Father with the Son in his lap and the Holy Ghost as a dove under his chin--three distinct personages. It fits with Mormon theology.
Friday afternoon we walked through the four quarters of the city--much to Joel's delight. It was our first time in the Armenian quarter. We eventually met up with all of the students at the western wall where we enjoyed watching Jews of all types welcoming the sabbath. In the foreground soldiers and others danced and sang.
At one point they all rushed into the center of the large circle and started to then sing and dance their way down to the wall.
The Jerusalem Branch primary with the just released primary presidency and teachers.
Saturday after church we accompanied the students to the Garden Tomb.
I was happy to visit with a group of friendly Christians from Indonesia.

Marie visit teaches sister Arceli (left) from the Philippines. She works as a care giver for Elias. Marie has become good friends with them both. Elias (aka Abba) loves Marie. He is a holocaust survivor from Poland who spent most of his life in Guatemala. He now lives in Israel. He came and spoke to the students about his amazing story of survival. Joel and Sarah were able to hear his story.
Showing us his number. He is a kind, gentle man. In many ways he reminds me of my Grandpa Bill Fife.
Monday the 18th was the student field trip to Jericho. Here from the Monastery on the mount of Temptation you can see the oval mound of dirt that is the Old Testament tel of Jericho where the walls came a tumblin' down.
We climbed up to the cliff side monastery. On the other side of the wadi are caves where hermit monks lived during Byzantine times.
It really rained (yeah) all over the country the day before and on the morning of the field trip. It was fun to see rain and water falls (both a first for me) in usually dry Jericho.
The interior of a rain soaked monastery.
My old testament class (and two Bedouin boys) at the Judean Wilderness overlook.
We talked about rain shadows and wilderness, the parable of the Good Samaritan, and sang "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd". The clouds and cool weather made for a great day in Jericho--which is usually way too hot and humid.
After the field trip I hustled down to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for an afternoon Christmas Mass celebrated by the Armenians. It was celebrated in front of the tomb of Christ. On Christmas Eve the Armenian held mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
None of the singing was familiar, but it was nonetheless nice.
Armenian clergy in their finery
Roman era tombs in the Syrian Orthodox Chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. These tombs help to establish the veracity of this church as the site of the burial and resurrection. Both the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Garden Tomb fit the biblical narrative and both could be the place.
A pilgrim praying on the stone of unction (anointing) near the entrance to the church. This is where it is believed the body of Jesus was prepared for burial as illustrated on the mosaic.

Sunny January

January is supposed to be the coldest, rainiest month in the Holy Land. Not so this year (today was sunny and in the 70s). Perhaps it is a sure sign of global warming or maybe a reminder to keep the commandments (Deuteronomy 11:12-13). Or it could just be bad luck for me in that I have always wanted to ski Mt Hermon which will probably not even open this year. Israel is in its third or fourth year of drought so it is certainly OK to not only pray for snow at Beaver Mountain but also for snow at Mt Hermon (a snow day in Jerusalem would be nice too).
Friday is an early out day for the kids so after their school and my morning of teaching two hours of Old Testament we headed out to enjoy the January sun and warmth. Just north of the BYU Center dividing it from Hebrew University is the Tzurim Valley. It is a recently created national park intended to preserve the traditional landscape of the Mount of Olives (it also prevents Arab neighborhoods from expanding). The upper entrance to the park is thirty yards up the street from the upper entrance to the center. We started there and hiked down through the valley enjoying the olives, the newly sprouted green grass and the sheep--very pastoral.


At the lower entrance to the park we passed an interesting archeological site. A few years ago, Muslims turned the underground pigeon pooped filled caverns in the southeast corner of the Haram al-Sharif (aka Temple Mount) into a mosque. In order to transform what was once known as Solomon's Stables into a mosque, Muslims builders excavated out a lot of materials and then dumped them off the mount down into the Kidron Valley. This was done to the horror of biblical archeologists who would have loved to systematically dig down through the layers in hopes of better understanding the history of the temple mount. It was also done to the horror of temple focused Israelis who were hoping that such a dig would reveal artifacts and evidence of former temples. Once the Muslims had discarded the rubble over the edge, the Israelis gathered it up and moved it to the above tent in the Tzurim valley where archeologists and volunteers sift through the rubble for temple treasures (no Ark of the Covenant yet). We walked past the tent out to the main road and then 40 yards up the hill to the lower entrance of the center. A great walk.
Today (January 10th--Happy Birthday brother Bill) we headed southwest to the Shephelah--the low lying hills and valleys between the the Judean highlands and the coastal plain. Our destination was the Sorek Stalactite cave. This cave was discovered about twenty years ago when blasts from a limestone quarry opened up access to a wonderful cavern with a rich variety of stalactites, stalagmites and columns. This photo was taken near the entrance to the cave and is looking down on the limestone quarry, the town of Beit Shemesh and beyond that the Sorek Valley of Samson and Delilah fame. Samson comes from the town of Zorah which is located a third of the way up the forested hill on the right/north side of the valley. The biblical tel of Beit Shemesh is across the valley to the south of Zorah and beyond the modern day town that bears its name.
Soon after we pulled up to the caves another LDS family (the Lewis family) from our branch pulled up too. It was a nice coincidence. He is our home teacher, she is Sarah's activity day leader and their five kids are close in age to our kids--which made the visit much more enjoyable for all.

After a picnic in the USA Park we drove south to the Valley of Elah where we walked along the brook (no water flowing in this year) where David gathered his five smooth stones. The Israelites were encamped on the north side of the valley (seen here) with the Philistines on the south side.
Smooth stones and wild flowers
We all tried our hands at slinging. We certainly need some more practice. Sarah said David is her new hero since he figured out how to use a sling successfully.
We then drove a forested back road up to Jerusalem. We all enjoyed the openness and uncrowdedness of the Shephelah. We were surprised that there was so much open space and so few towns. There is certainly room for future Israeli growth here.

London

For Christmas break we decided to fly to London for a wonderful week of fun and a nice change of venue. Our 6:15 AM flight the day after Christmas necessitated leaving the center at 2:45. We flew BMI, took the train to Paddington station and then a cab to the BYU London Center where a good friend and colleague (from the BYU Kennedy Center) is serving as director. He allowed us to stay in one of the student dorm rooms for the week. The room may have been the very one that Shackleton (of Antarctica fame) stayed in for over a year. The location of the center is very convenient to the Underground (aka tube) and we all became quite proficient at navigating our way around London. Our first stop was Subway where the kids got their favorite--ham and cheese sandwiches--something they haven't had since arriving in a kosher land. We then walked to nearby Kensington Park where we enjoyed the Princess Diana play ground with its Peter Pan themed pirate ship. Thai food for dinner.
Sunday morning we walked across Hyde Park to 9:00 services at the Hyde Park Ward. After the full three hour block we then spent the afternoon exploring the nearby Natural History and Science Museums.

The Natural History Museum is housed in a beautiful building. We were tempted to ice skate but didn't.
Great stone work and interesting gargolyles.
The dinosaurs were a big hit as were the scientific hands-on exhibits in the science museum. McDonalds for dinner.

Monday was a clear day so we joined with people of all lands to watch the changing of the guards. Nice Russian speaking women let our kids slip in front of them to see, while a pushy French speaking family tried to crowd us out. Pizza Hut for lunch.

Trafalgar Square. The Christmas tree is an annual gift from Norway as thanks for UK support during WWII. I think it was a Norwegian spruce just like the two at G & G Emmett's "Twin Pine Ranch". The church on the right is St. Martin's in the Field.
In the middle of the public square was an interesting nativity. I liked the reclining Joseph.

The grand lions at the base of Nelson's Monument.
The London Eye and the Thames River. We thought to give it a ride, but it was very expensive and very slow moving (thirty minutes to make the loop).
Big Ben and Parliament at about 4:00 in the afternoon.

Tuesday was a very rainy day. We spent the morning at Hamleys--Britain's oldest and largest toy store. We had fun exploring the six floors of toys. The kids each got to pick out one to keep. That afternoon we went to a fun musical adaptation of "A Christmas Carol". Our front row seats made it all the more exciting as characters came on and off the stage. Dinner at the Princess Diana Cafe (photos on the wall proved that she had even visited there) near the BYU Center where the kids enjoyed fish and chips. It was run by Arabs so Marie had fettoush salad and I had lentil soup.
Wednesday we enjoyed exploring the amazing British Museum. Sarah enjoys reading Greek mythology so she was familiar with who's who of all the gods and goddesses.
It was packed. Marie and Will were not as entertained as Sarah, Joel and Chad.
Many great exhibits. I especially enjoyed the Lachish reliefs from the Assyrian palace walls of Sennacherib. If shows the siege ramps and the Assyrian Army destroying the Judean town. I have visited Lachish many times and teach my students about this attack. It was amazing to see the originals.

That afternoon the boys went to Lion King and the girls to Wicked. We met back up for microwave frozen dinners at the center and regaled each other with our favorite scenes and songs. I will always remember the excitement on Joel and Will's faces as the large puppet animals paraded down the aisles to "Circle of Life". Priceless.

Thursday we started out at the Tower of London. We followed advice from one of the many guide books we borrowed from the center and headed straight to the crown jewels. No line for us, but by noon it was out the doors. No photos were allowed inside, but a nice guard (over all we were very impressed with the kindness of the British) upon finding out we wanted to take a photo of William in front of the seat representing William the Conqueror gave his friendly OK.
The Beefeater tour was quite entertaining and educational. Sarah was taken with all of the royal history and for her souvenir bought a pocket book of all the British monarchs--Joel and Will opted for Manchester United football shirts.
The White Tower (the largest and central tower of the twenty towers making up the Tower of London) was build as the royal palace for William I back in the 11th century. Joel was unimpressed with the antiquity of these old British buildings for he has seen much older in the Holy Land.
The Tower Bridge.
We spent over four hours exploring and eating (more fish and chips) at the Tower. We then rode a double decker bus to St. Paul's. It was getting late and so we hustled up to the top of the rotunda for an excellent view. All the stairs at the Jerusalem Center put us in good shape for the 800 stairs. The survival of St. Paul's during the German blitz bombing of London is quite a story.




No one was on the front steps feeding the birds. Waffles and fruit, plus berry smoothies for dinner then the kids watched a video and ate microwave popcorn to ring in the New Year.
New Year's Day we ventured out to King's Cross train station to see if we could catch the train to Hogwarts at platform 9 3/4. No such luck, but it made the Harry Potter fans (shown in the photo) happy. (Some day when I have more time I may finish reading beyond book two).
Next stop Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. Oh to be able to watch early leaders of the church preaching here.
We then enjoyed another brisk walk across Hyde Park. It snowed/hailed a little over night so this remnant white stuff was the closest we ever got to a white Christmas. This photo was taken at about noon--notice the long shadows.
Marie (who along with her sisters is a great fan of British royalty and Victorian era novels--all with scenes set in Hyde Park) led us to the Princess Diana memorial fountain.
That afternoon we visited the City of London Docklands museum. It is in East London where the wharves and warehouses helped build the British Empire. The museum in housed in early 19th century tea warehouses. Great displays (no photos allowed) on the history of shipping, colonialism, slavery, trade and the changing urban geography of London.
The docklands are now the home of the new London with its banks, trading companies and high tech industries. The London Olympics will be centered in this eastern revitalized part of town.
We rode a Thames ferry back to old London just at sunset. Wonderful views.


This last day in London was the coldest. Marie and the kids enjoyed a final ham and cheese sandwich at Subway but I held out for a later dinner at a Malaysian restaurant. Next time maybe there will be more enthusiasm from the younger members of the family for the great ethnic foods of London.

How far is it to Bethlehem?

I feel somewhat guilty writing this post for it is not everyone who gets to experience Christmas in the Holy Land. We have had a wonderful few days and offer these photos in gratitude to good parents and loving family and friends who we are missing this Christmas season.

One of our favorite Christmas carols this season is "How far is it to Bethlehem" Its lyrics fit much of what we have felt and experienced this Christmas season:

How far is it to Bethlehem?
Not very far.
Shall we find the stable room
Lit by a star?

Can we see the little child,
Is he within?
If we lift the wooden latch
May we go in?

May we stroke the creatures there,
Ox, ass, or sheep?
May we peep like them and see
Jesus asleep?

If we touch his tiny hand
Will he awake?
Will he know we've come so far
Just for his sake?

Great kings have precious gifts,
And we have naught,
Little smiles and little tears
Are all we brought.

For all weary children
Mary must weep.
Here, on his bed of straw
Sleep, children, sleep.

God in his mother's arms,
Babes in the byre,
Sleep, as they sleep who find
Their heart's desire.

On Tuesday the 22nd the Mahaba Kindergarten at Augusta Victoria put on a Christmas program. It included three costume changes and carols in Arabic and English. Most of the Palestinian children were Muslims so at the program there were a lot of mothers with heads covered with hijabs watching their children singing carols while dressed in nativity clothes or as little Santas. Will and Nirvana (to his left) sang a duet of "We wish you a Merry Christmas". Marie helped a lot with the program. Miss Margaret knows that Marie can do anything and so she has made Marie her right hand volunteer. During the fall Marie taught the children to sing "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee" and "Five little monkeys" so Miss Margaret had Marie lead the child at the Christmas program. Marie also helped by hemming santa costumes.

Miss Margaret (at right) is the sister of the Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem (left in photo). He and the director (right) of the Lutheran World Federation of Jerusalem, which runs the kindergarten and Augusta Victoria hospital, were the honored guests and had front rows seats.
For Christmas Eve we journeyed to Bethlehem. We had hoped to spend the whole day there, but ended up having to scale back our activities. What we did get to do was awesome (and that is not a word I use very often). Our first stop was at the security check at the Wall. As we drove up in our hired van we smiled at a sign posted on the Israeli side by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism wishing all the pilgrims passing into Bethlehem a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Next we were greeted by smiling Israeli soldiers who upon seeing three kids in the van offered them bags of treats. Amazing! We loved the good will toward men and hope it will continue each and everyday. The final security stop was equally friendly and easy.
Once in Bethlehem, graffiti on a wall reminded us of reality: two peoples inextricably linked and yet unwilling to work together.

By previous arrangement we spent a few hours at the Holy Family Children's Home (Creche de la Sainte Famille) playing with Palestinian Arab children (infant to five years old)--some are orphans but others have been abandoned because of health problems or because they were born out of wedlock and thus rejected in order to restore family honor. I love the statue of Jesus with outstretched arms.
Sister Sahar (in red) is the Relief Society President and helped spear-head the visit after several families expressed interest in making the visit. She brought new items of clothing for the children. She is being helped by branch members.
Marie made bubbles and salt clay for the children to play with.
The children had a hard time figuring out how to wave the wands to make bubbles, but this little girl improvised and had a great time blowing a bowl full of bubbles.
Joel using a bottomless water bottle to blow a bubble.
Sarah was wonderful with the children and bonded with this girl while playing with salt clay.

After playing outside for a while we moved inside for the highlight of the visit--holding the little children.
I held Ehab--he shares a name with my good friend and Nazareth roommate Ehab Abunuwara. He was a happy content little boy who enjoyed looking at Christmas tree lights and bouncing to "trot trot to Boston"

The "orphanage" is a beautiful facility with a dedicated staff. We were all impressed with the women caregivers and with how clean, healthy and happy the children are under their care.
It was hard to leave. If travel conditions were better Marie and I would love to make visiting the Holy Family Children's Home a weekly tradition. Back in 1982 we BYU students visited a different orphange in Bethlehem every week. Since then, one of my secret desires has always been to run an orphange. Anyone want to provide the funding?
We then traveled through the crowded streets of Bethlehem to the town of Beit Sahour to the home of Sister Sahar. She invited all of the Latter-day Saints in Bethlehem that day for a wonderful Christmas Eve gathering--half of the crowd were Bethlehemites who could not go to a branch outing on the other side of the wall. Here is the view from Sahar's street looking north to "shepherd's field". In the distance is the southern Jerusalem settlement of Har Homa. Interestingly, at the same time I took this photo other members of the branch were gathered on the Jerusalem side of the wall near Har Homa for a shepherd's field nativity program. This gathering included U.S. consulate employees who are not normally allowed to travel into Bethlehem.
We ate delicious stuffed roasted chicken. Then wonderful Sahar treated all of the children to gifts. This gathering with family and friends was a great substitute for us having to miss the annual Tueller and Emmett family Christmas gatherings. Our return drive through Bethlehem felt a lot like Christmas--there were lighted decorations on the streets and many of the homes. As we approached the Israeli checkpoint we all pulled out passports, but there was no need--the soldiers upon learning and seeing we were Americans waved as through with a smile. Nice. On this side of the wall the lighted decorations were blue and menorah shaped for Hanukkah. For the twenty minute drive back to the center the Emmett and Allen families enjoyed singing a host of Christmas carols.
For our tree this year we borrowed one (after the students had departed) from the lovely decorations at the Center. This one was in the main office. Sarah then spruced it up with home made decorations.
Christmas morning with new scarves and hats for our day after Christmas trip to London.
Christmas morning view. At midnight all of the bells of Jerusalem's churches peeled out loud. It was a wonderful sound.
Christmas breakfast: Swedish pancakes (with fresh strawberries and cream or lemon and powdered sugar) in honor of great grandmother Elva Geneva Carlson Tueller whose parents came from Sweden; sliced oranges with powdered sugar (an Emmett tradition), chocolate milk from Kibbutz Yodvata and real Hormel bacon bequethed to us by departing nursing professor Susan Dicus and her husband Ken. The kids have enjoyed staying home today playing with gifts and watching DVDs. We'll have pot roast for dinner and then a carol sing-a-long with branch members this evening. At 2:45 AM we'll leave to catch our 6:15 flight to London, where we're hoping to see some snow.