Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The van ride back sure was fun! I took lots of pictures of the landscape, I finished the "what did you learn"? sheet early, I talked, listened to my ipod and tried to sleep. I was in the very back of the bus with Jake and Rachel and it was so bumpy! I was trying so hard to fall asleep but I couldn't!! We moved around so much too try to get comfortable. I think I ended up on the floor. We ate at a huge U.T. Wataburger and we made video diarys about our experiences so we can encourage the eighth graders to come next year. I thought that Jakes was by far the best. I did mine with Alex and we talked about the Ozark Statue. It was an interesting ride, but after we got back to the school Rachel and I went to The Cheesecake Factory. It was so nice to have real food rather than Mc Donalds!
The Passion Play was great! That was definitely the BEST part! The cooler weather and just being outside was so fun! I loved how the doves flew around and around and then went down except for one, that was great. The lip-syncing wasn't all that bad, but it still bothered me.
I love the set layout and the scrip. The play was very unique, like an older broadway show, but outside. The story was very informing and factual and kept me entertained through the entire performance. I knew that Jesus went though a lot of torment but it was very shocking to see him get that type of ridicule and punishment. "Hosanna Jesus"! "We love you Jesus"!
The Parable of the Potter helps me visualize that we need to open our hearts to let him soften them. God has to mold us to what he wants us to be. I really took that to heart not just because the actor was phenomenal and showed such emotion, but because I believe that I try to think more for myself and what I want to do rather than what God wants me to do. That is what I am here for, right? To serve God.
The Holy Land Tour was one of the longer, but interesting parts of our trip. We all got on trams and stopped at several places to learn about different parts of Jerusalem. We started at the gates of Jerusalem and traveled past the Ten Commandments and many alters until we finally reached our first stop at the temple where we witnessed the daily duties of a priest. Then we traveled passed wells and an animal pin before we reached the inn keeper. The inn keeper showed us the town well, the carpenter shop, her house and her inns. The inn keeper had her own personal well and as we were walking past it I stepped into it on accident. We then walked up into this steep hill and Mary was there in this cave. She told us the story of Jesus birth and we sang a quick hymn then we were back in the tram. We passed a grape watch tower and then we arrived at Peter's station by the river. He joked and talked with us as we walked along the river and back. Once the tram picked us up we traveled up hill to three stations The Upper Room where the last supper was held and we were taught where and how they sat. Then we walked over to the second station where Mary Magdalene showed us Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified and showed us that Jesus had risen from the tomb.
The Sacred Arts museum was one of my favorites! To see ways people use the creativity God gave them and use it to serve him was amazing! My favorite pieces were the Mother of Pearl carving and the Picture of Jesus sitting in the desert after being baptized and in the background is a big city and how Jesus was thinking of us even then. Another one that stood out to me is a painting of people in our past and there is a blank spot that you put your self into. Meaning that Jesus loves you, but he also loves the people that my have been ridiculed or have had a huge impact on out culture.
The parable of the shepherd is about if a shepherd who looses his sheep and he tries to find it and it symbolizes if you stray from God then he will find you. The man who played the shepherd had this very cool sling shot to protect his sheep and he had a staff to bring the sheep back if they went astray.
The Christ of the Ozarks Statue was one of the biggest attractions besides the Passion play itself. It is a 90 Foot tall white marble statue of Jesus. He has many features that make it incredible. Besides overlooking a breathtaking mountain side the Ozark Statue had arms spread wide open to resemble that Jesus is a very open person and also to show that he is very accepting. The sculptor, Emmet Sullivan, has created the eyes of Jesus to appear to follow where ever you walk, which represents that he is watching you all the time.
In the quiet atmosphere of the mountains we sat down individually and had to keep a very open mind so that way we could just talk to Jesus. I really thought about how I spend way too much time with my electronics rather than enjoying all of the beautiful creations God has provided us with.
The hotel was so much fun! Who knew that conjoining two rooms of six girls would be so much fun? My roommates were Rachel and Alex. The girls and I, being new at TWCA, got to talk in detail of what we thought of the school and how it is way different than our old schools. We shared about other topics too, but I truly remember all of us laying down in the dark around getting ready to fall asleep around 12:30 p.m when someone threw in a question about Faith or something. We all sat up to turn on the lamps and crawled into the same bed to talk more about our relationship with God and how we think this trip was going to unfold. I thought it was a great bonding and learning experience.
Our joined roommates were Rebecca, Rachael, and Caroline. We had fun with them too. Jumping on Mr. Thame's room and talking in Morris Code with the boys was so much fun!!
The hotel in general was nice. Except we had I fly infestation I swear!! The hot tub, freezing cold pool and mini golf coarse was fun too. There were so many old people. It seemed that we were the only kids in the whole town!
The van ride up to Eureka Springs was really interesting. I got to sleep a lot and listen to my ipod, but the best part was really getting to know lots of stuff about my classmates. I thought that the ride up there would be more quiet than coming back, but was I mistaken. Everyone was very talkative and excited to be out of school and with our friends. We took lots of pictures, messed with the people that slept, (like Jake) shared stories and joked around. I enjoyed it a lot!
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