Jordan

Four days in Jordan was an interesting experience. I had opportunity to apply every lesson I have learned about large group travel and long border crossing patience. As we left Jerusalem I was able to announce to the class my new-found cousin within the group. Celeste and I are fifth cousins through Samuel Claridge--she picked out my last name and made the connection!!! Three of my favorite sites were Mt. Nebo, Madaba, and Machaerus. Mt. Nebo provided a great view over to Israel. One story of the site is where Moses and the children of Israel were able to look over to the promised land but not go in. It was a good spot to contemplate my goals in life. At Madaba we visited a chapel with an incredible mosaic floor of the Byzantine map of the Middle East. Especially prominent is Byzantine Jerusalem! Machaerus is Herod's fortress where John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed. Brother Judd gave a great devotional on following the prophet that was especially meaningful given that we just watched parts of General Conference. [Side story-since we are on the other side of the world, Conference is a different experience. We were only able to watch Saturday Morning 7-9pm and Saturday Afternoon 11pm-1am. I gained a whole new appreciation for Grandma's couch and at the same time was hugely grateful for the technology that allowed us to participate as much as we were able] We also got to see a couple of Crusader castles, a few more ancient city tells, and of course Petra. Due to the fact that few tourists are visiting Jordan right now plus incredible luck of the draw, I ended up in sweet suite in our Amman hotel. My roommates and I gave tours...one girl's comment was "wow, we weren't this excited about Petra!" Basically I got my own king-sized bedroom and adjacent bath and the first true alone time in over three months. The two nights spent there were wonderful battery-charging time to power through the final stretch in the last weeks! Actually my goal isn't to power through. I had a great conversation with my friend Jenny about goals as the clock ticks down. She brought up two great points that poignantly apply now, and to life in general so I'll share. One, it is better to slow down to appreciate things than to follow the natural inclination speed up and try to cram too much in. Two, what better way to prioritize every moment than to seek for the Spirit to direct the balance between all aspects of life.