Adventures in Jerusalem

We’ve had several more enlightening, exciting, and scorching days in Israel.

Yesterday started with a tour of the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine in the Old City of Jerusalem. Muslims believe that this was the site of Muhammad's ascension into heaven. Interestingly, this holy site of Islam sits on the Temple Mount, an area where the Jewish temple used to stand before its destruction in 70 A.D.

As we entered the Temple Mount area, we were approached by a guard who inspected our group for admittance. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he pointed at me, my dad, and our friend Suzanne and rattled off some angry-sounding Hebrew words. He was motioning to his arms and knees and looking upset. (Let me add that having an angry Arab man talking about me was not the most comfortable feeling I’ve had in my life.) The guide then translated and told us that the guard thought that we were dressed immodestly.

Huh??

My dad and I looked at each other in disbelief. I mean, yeah, we all know that my dad wears some pretty short and somewhat disturbing running shorts...but that is only when he is running. Yesterday, he was wearing knee-length khaki shorts and a polo. And I was hardly a sexy Marilyn Monroe...I was wearing a frumpy, Old Navy t-shirt and a knee-length skirt. To make matters even more confusing, everyone in our group was dressed exactly like us! Almost all of the men (including the guide) were wearing long shorts, and the women were all wearing short-sleeved shirts. (Remember, it's over 100 degrees!)

Well, for some reason, us Westovers were on the guard’s immodesty radar, and he escorted us to a stall where we could purchase (at extremely overpriced rates) some coverings for our provocative arms and legs:

I must say, if the guard was trying to prevent us from looking sexy, he should not have recommended that shawl for my dad. Dad looks even better in a man-sarong than he does in shorts! (Just wait until I tell Deborah!) In fact, I was so taken with his new look that I insisted he pose for a couple of glamour shots. This is what he came up with:

After the tour, our group members were all chuckling about the fact that we got targeted for being immodest when they were dressed exactly like us. One of the ladies said, “Well, I guess this means that Rachel and Suzanne have the sexiest arms of all of us. I mean, maybe the guard looked at them, and those arms were just too much for him.”

Since I have been somewhat concerned lately about my ever-floppier “church chorister” arms, I was quite pleased with that explanation! :)

The whole event was just fun and funny...and we didn’t mind. We were happy to comply in order to be respectful to another religion. (Our guide insists that we were dressed appropriately and that he’s never seen a guard be so picky. Maybe the man selling shawls was the guard’s brother?)

Anyway, one thing that our guide told us before we entered the Dome of the Rock area was that men and women are not allowed to touch each other on the temple grounds. Well, part-way through our tour, I heard Penny Parrot, the southern 62-year-old lady in our group who I absolutely adore, suddenly shriek out, “Don’t touch me!!” I turned briskly in concern--hoping she was not being accosted by a pickpocket or other such villain. It was a relief to see that she was not fleeing from an unsavory character but was instead shrinking away from her husband, who had temporarily forgotten the rule and had tried to put his arm around her. After her harsh rebuff, he looked a little shocked and then said in his darling accent, “Oh, but honey, I just love you so...I don’t know what to do when I can’t touch you.” It was the absolute cutest thing I have ever witnessed. I hope Ryan and I are so in love after 43 years of marriage!

Here I am with Penny and Oren Parrott, two of my favorite new friends:

The tour of the Dome of the Rock was very very interesting, and then today, we went to experience a little of the Jewish religion at the Western Wall. (This area is known as the Wailing Wall to outsiders, but that is considered somewhat offensive to Jews.) It was Bar-mitzvah day, and it was incredibly fascinating to watch the young boys engaging in their religious traditions--reading the Torah with their fathers, binding the phylacteries to their heads, and singing the ancient Hebrew songs.

I’m overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of religion in this country. It is extremely touching how three major religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) all have sacred roots in this place, and so many people worship so devoutly here, every day of their lives. I aspire to be like these people--who are humble, faithful, and fiercely committed to what they believe.

I know most of my blog posts are lighthearted and funny, but--hot weather, Dedos, and man-sarongs aside--the most meaningful aspect of this trip for me has definitely been growing spiritually and personally. With that in mind, I thought I’d end with something a bit more serious. I’m not one to get church-y on a blog, so I hope you don’t mind me sharing something I thought about the other day as we rode across the choppy water of the Sea of Galilee.

Several accounts in the New Testament recount Jesus walking across this same body of water to reach his frightened apostles in the midst of a storm. In Mark 6:47-51, it says: “And when evening was come, the ship [of the disciples] was in the midst of the sea, and [Jesus] was alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea...He talked with them, and saith unto them, ‘Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’ And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased...”

It’s so interesting to me that Jesus stood on the shore watching the disciples struggling and toiling before he intervened and calmed the storm. He was there all along, watching over them, but they didn’t know it. This has so many parallels to my life experiences. Christ doesn’t always immediately calm my storms, just because I want Him to. He often waits until the “fourth watch,” meaning that I often have to struggle and toil for a long time before He lightens my burdens. Nevertheless, He is always there, “on the shoreline,” watching over and protecting me in the midst of my storms.

This afternoon, we had the opportunity to go to a hillside above Bethlehem and read the stories from the Old and New Testament that occurred there. As I sat on that peaceful hill, I contemplated my own faith and the way that this trip has deeply impacted my convictions. I am grateful I’ve had the opportunity to come here...heat or not!...to feel of the spirit of Israel.

It’s been an awesome experience.

Overlooking the city of Bethlehem

Holy Hot Land

Here we are in the HOT Holy Land. Yes, indeed, it is hot. Yesterday, we journeyed to the Judean desert next to the Dead Sea, and it was about 115 degrees. Today, we visited the area around the Sea of Galilee, and I was sure it would be much cooler. I was wrong. It must’ve been at least 100 degrees with sweltering, heavy winds. I must admit, I am not thrilled about the weather. Luckily, there are plenty of other things to be thrilled about:

1. Delicious homemade hummus...at every meal

2. Unusual outings such as floating in the Dead Sea

It was salty, nasty, and desolate--but still pretty cool to float in. I guess the water is so salty and full of minerals that if you swallow it, your throat will swell shut and you could die. Unwilling to risk such an unpleasant demise, I kept my mouth shut tight...except for an occasional smile to my dad who was onshore with the camera. (He was a wimp and only stayed in the water for about a minute.)

3. Spiritually uplifting outings such as wading in the headwaters of the River Jordan, boating on the Sea of Galilee, and reading scriptures on the Mount of the Beatitudes

It has been an incredible experience to actually see the places where Christ lived, taught, and walked. It has made the scriptures much more “real” in a lot of ways, now that I can picture where and how the events took place. Our guide is a Jewish Mormon, and with his insights on Jewish religious traditions, stories in the Bible take on new, deeper meaning. Plus, he’s able to explain how Christianity “fulfilled” Judaism (Matt. 5:17) and how the two are much more closely connected than I had ever previously thought.

Headwaters of the Jordan River

"The tempest is raging" on the Sea of Galilee...

not really, but it was pretty windy and choppy on our boat ride and, thus, we look less than stellar.

Mount of the Beatitudes--a lovely garden and Catholic church

overlooking the Sea of Galilee commemorate the spot

4. Spending time with my goofy Dad

We ate a fish at lunch today called St. Peter’s fish, which is only found in the Sea of Galilee. It’s name refers to a verse in the New Testament (Matt. 17:27) in which Jesus instructed Peter to catch a fish and then look in its mouth to find the shekel that they needed to pay the temple tax. At the restaurant, some people were served fishes that actually had shekels stuck in their mouths. Dad wasn’t so lucky, but he still seemed pretty excited about his smiling fish friend. SICK. I opted for chicken.

5. Quirky people in our tour group

The beauty of tour groups, in my opinion, is that you get to meet interesting, nutty people from all over the country. We have a really fun group of 12 wonderful people, and many of them just crack me up. I love the Parrotts, an older couple from Georgia that are cute as can be. (The husband is always calling his wife “my love” or “my dear.”) I also quite enjoy Mary, a daffy middle-aged mom who reminds me of my crazy aunt Merlene because she is always shouting out in excitement, telling animated stories, and getting the gossip on everyone’s lives. And my favorite pair of all is...THE DEDOS.

Dedo, in my family, is a code word for “delightful dork.” If you have ever heard us call you a “dedo,” do not be offended...in the Westover family, “dedos” are held in the highest regard, and we mean it as nothing but a compliment. A dedo is someone who is delightfully unaffected by social expectations--and just goes around making the world a happier place for all of us.

We have two such people on our tour--and they are brothers. One just graduated from college, and the other just graduated from high school. From the beginning, we suspected that they might be dedos, but this suspicion was confirmed on Sunday morning when the older brother emerged for the day wearing...church clothes. You may be wondering, “What’s the big deal? Church clothes on Sunday...that doesn’t seem too out-of-the-ordinary.” Well, you have to remember that, in Israel, the Sabbath is on Saturday. So most people, even some Christian congregations, go to church on Saturday because Sunday is the first day of the work week. Dedo #1 (can’t reveal names in case he’s someone’s cousin) knew this, but he declared that he just “could not feel comfortable wearing normal clothes on a Sunday.” My dad and I looked at each other and grinned.

Well, it got better: Sunday’s journey was to a ruin on a plateau in the middle of the Judean desert..and, as I mentioned, it was 115 degrees. So there was this poor fellow, hiking through the dusty ruins wearing his black church pants, polished black shoes, and white collared shirt. He must have been melting!

Can you imagine church clothes in this terrain??

Then, when we went to the Dead Sea, he slung his church pants and collared shirt over his arm and tromped down to the shore wearing his swim trunks...and his black church shoes! Again, my dad and I couldn’t help but grin

I absolutely love people like this. DE-LIGHT-FUL. Doing what they think is right...and they don’t care what other people think.

As you can tell, we are having a great time, learning a lot, and having a few good chuckles.

Moral of the story: DO come to Israel, but DO NOT come in July! :)

Stay tuned...more to come...and perhaps some scriptural insights, not just fun stories...

Rachel's journey to the Holy Land

A few months ago, my dad called and asked me an unexpected question: "Do you want to go to Israel with me this summer?"

It took me -.5 seconds to reply, "Hmm, let me think about this---YES."

My dad has always wanted to travel to the Holy Land and do a religious tour based around the life of Jesus Christ, but since my mom passed away, he hasn't had anyone to go with. Well, I happily agreed to be his lucky traveling companion for this adventure. (My sisters have both had international daddy-daughter trips while they were in college, so they don't get to come on this one! Sorry, girls!)

So, Dad and I are heading to Israel tomorrow. To quote my favorite SNL skit ever, "I'm excited and a little scared." (Thanks, Brian Fellows!) I'm very excited to bond with my dad while learning about the life of the Savior, but I am a little nervous to be in such a foreign place, so far from Ryan (who will be stuck in Buffalo studying for the Boards), during a time of some international upheaval. But hey, I'll have my dad with me...surely, he'll protect me, right?

I am hoping to post frequently throughout my trip--photos and stories--so stay tuned!

Fun and games in the Buff...

Ryan's mom and sister came into town last week. As you can tell from the photo, we had fun. (As you can also tell from the photo, Ashley is a former cheerleader, Ryan is a good basketball player, and I am...well...uncoordinated. I am a pathetic two inches off the ground.)

We went to Palmyra for a spiritual uplift. The church historical sights were crowded and therefore not quite as peaceful as usual; but the Hill Cumorah pageant was awesome. I was amazed by the special effects!

We also ventured into Canada for a day of shopping and fun in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We got in trouble for taking this photo in a hat shop. We didn't notice the 100 signs all over the store that say "no photos." Oops.

Ashley and Ryan were also quite excited to see Lake Ontario.

In fact, they were so excited that they just had to jump for joy again. (I, however, chose not to embarrass myself with a repeat performance of my uninspiring leap.)

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"Miss Ashley" (who is a fabulous cook) hosted the Cookie Club one afternoon. She helped the kids make caramel chocolate cookies, and I have to admit, they might be the yummiest cookies those kiddos have ever had at the Nielson's apartment. (I've been shown up!)

A highlight of the trip was the "cookout" with Deborah's family. Deb's mom, Patricia, was so excited to meet Sally and Ashley. When I called her a few days before their arrival to make final plans for the BBQ, she asked if we could come a little early to help her set up and grill the food.

"Sure!" I responded. "What time would you like us to be there?"

"How about 11:00?"

"Sounds good!"

"And if you come at 11:00, I figure we can eat around 3:00."

UHHHHH.

What was I supposed to say to that?? I was speechless. (And that doesn't happen very often.)

So, long story short, we learned that a real Buffalo "cookout" is an entire day event with lots of stories and soul food. (We especially enjoyed the greens.:)) It was rainy, so we sat in the garage and ate and listened to rap music. We also played a rowdy game of Jenga. They are delightful.

Deborah lost this round but blamed me for distracting her.

She knocked the tower over just as I snapped this photo. :)

The moms did all of the grilling.

Check out that old school grill...the ribs were smoky and delicious.

Before we left, Patricia found out that Sally and Ash (or Janice and Gail as she kept calling them) have never tried a buffalo wing. She immediately insisted, "Well, you'll just have to come over tomorrow after church and I'll make you some!"

I wasn't sure if I could handle two full-day cookout events in a row...but (perhaps fortunately), we already had dinner plans for the following evening. So Ash and Sal will have to wait another year to try one of Patricia's famous wings. The Tilleys are so generous and welcoming. We love Buffalo.

Overall, it was a great week. Sally spoiled us, and it was a treat to have a mom and a sister around.

Thanks, Ash and Sal, for coming to hang out with us in the Buff!

What Ry's been up to...

Studying, studying, studying!

Board Exams on the 25th of July!

(At least he's still smiling!)

A few days ago, one of the neighbor boys rang the doorbell and asked Ryan, "Will you play with me?" (pronounced "Will you pway wif me"...the kid has a serious lisp.) Um...how could Ryan resist that? So, Ry set up a make-shift tennis court in our driveway, and he and the boys have been having a grand old time on his study breaks! This photo was taken from our upstairs window.

Funnest!

I'm cranky.

I had a lot to do this week to get ready for our upcoming visitors, as well as my upcoming international adventures. I had to do laundry, recreate my stolen journals, clean the house, put together some projects for the orphanage, pay bills, submit our renters' insurance forms, grocery shop, etc.

I told myself I would be productive.

I wasn't.

I've spent almost the entire week in my pajamas. I've dinked around the house, doing a little here and a little there, getting distracted by articles online, taking long naps...

Sigh.

When I am busy, I am unhappy and wish I had more time to relax. When I am not busy, I am unhappy and wish I would be more productive. It's a vicious cycle.

I know you are all thinking that I am being too hard on myself. But I'm really not. It is appalling the amount of stuff that I have not gotten done this week. Really, it's appalling. Just ask Ryan; he's been studying for the Boards from home, so he witnessed the depressing, disorganized affair. (He didn't say anything about it, but I know he noticed.)

And here I am, online again, avoiding my to-do-list.

I'm cranky, and it's my own fault.

What I do when I have "free time"...

I've been reading two books lately that I quite enjoy:

I am in a book club with some of the ladies from my church, and this is the book we read last month. I absolutely loved it. It is set in the late 1800s in the Arizona territory, and it is loosely based on the life of the author's great great grandmother. It has sort of an Anne of Green Gables feel to it, and maybe that's why I liked it so much: a spunky, strong heroine enduring the ups and downs of life while clinging to her family. It wasn't a deeply profound book--just very very pleasant and life-affirming. There's also a great love story, and let's face it, I am a sucker for romance. (Ryan was wondering why I kept snuggling up to him and kissing his cheek while I was reading the book--it's because it put me in a romantic, grateful mood!) The characters in the book are very endearing and realistic, and I love that.

The title of this book is horrible (as is the cover art). Who would want to be a "surrendered wife?" When a friend at work first told me about this book that she claimed had dramatically changed her marriage, I was skeptical. Ryan and I already have a great marriage, I thought. We're really happy. And we are. But then one day I took a good, hard look at myself and realized what most people probably noticed about me a long time ago: I am a perfectionist and a control freak. This may lead to me being an excellent teacher, but it doesn't always lead to me being an excellent wife. I think I am a pretty good wife--but not an excellent wife. I think Ryan is a much better husband than I am a wife, and that's because he doesn't try to control me or make my decisions for me. So why do I sometimes try to do that to him?

So I started reading the book, and it really has affected the way I look at my relationships with people--not just Ryan. The premise of the book is that when we can surrender our need to control everyone and everything, we will be happier. And when we treat others with respect and trust, they will rise to meet our expectations. As my mother once told me, "you can't change anyone but yourself" (great advice that I think of often), and reading this book makes me want to change my behavior so I can be a better, more supportive spouse. I don't agree with everything that the book says, but I agree with a lot of it, and I've enjoyed looking more reflectively at my actions, reactions, and treatment of others.

I have so many books on my summer reading list, but I am finding that, even in the summer, I don't have enough time to read! :( I should have more time on my upcoming plane rides...