Sabbath in Jerusalem

There are several things here that take a fair amount of getting used to. Like the smells of a city without laws against littering. Or the protein-filled, curry-infused, unfortunately-mushroom-laced food at the Center that still causes problems with many students' bowels. (Luckily not mine, or else I wouldn't have mentioned it.)

One of the hardest things for me to get used to is the idea of having Sabbath services on Saturday. In Israel, Saturday is considered the holy day because that's when Jews have their Sabbath, and Israel is rather filled with Jewish people. So, out of respect for the Jewish tradition, and to accommodate the schedule of Center activities and the schedules of the permanent Branch members, we have Sabbath meetings on Saturday. It makes how we phrase things a little tricky; we don't have "Sunday School" here, and it's never "during our meetings next Sunday." People are still getting used to the idea of replacing "Sunday" with "Sabbath," and it's just as funny now as it was a month ago when the second counselor in the Presidency accidentally slips up while making announcements in Sacrament Meeting. You'd think we were all seven again, the way we giggle at the occasional mention of Sunday.

But even though our meetings aren't held on the normal day, they're just as phenomenal as any other ward or branch. In fact, sometimes I think they're even more amazing. When we sit in Sacrament meeting, listening to talks about the Atonement, we can actually see the city of Jerusalem stretched out below us, and actually visualize the words of the speaker happening just down the road. How cool is that?! Plus the amazing view makes it easier to stay awake (in my opinion), so I tend to get more out of Sacrament meeting all around. Definitely a win-win.

Besides the amazing view, the amazing people of the branch are what make it so wonderful. We have families from America, who are here for a few years because of the father's job. We have single people just passing through, or attending Hebrew University down the road. And we have locals, who have converted to our faith. The Relief Society president is a Palestinian living in Bethlehem, just down the street from the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Christ's birth. Unfortunately, there are a fair number of locals who cannot actually attend because of the travel restrictions in their various areas, so receive their meetings through weekly emails. It's been an eye-opener, and I'll try very hard from now on to never complain about going to Church again, because at least I can actually go.

When I first arrived here, I was astonished by how evident it is that both Jews and Muslims live their religion, or at least their standards of clothing. But now that I've gotten to see what's below the surface, I realize that the faith of the Jerusalem saints is just as, if not more, astonishing.