Week 3

I am over halfway done with the MTC. 19 days left until I fly to ITALY!!! It is crazy when I think about - after my time here in this strange world of the MTC, I am going to ITALY. Not for a semester, not for a trip, but for a whole 16 months. Isn't that weird?! I am so used to moving and changing my life every few months ( think of the life I lived last year - Jerusalem, EFY, and BYU) but now I will be in one country, doing the same thing for a year and half. The best part is that I will being doing what I love!!! Serving the Lord on a mission. Every now and then, I will look down at the name tag over my heart and just think "WOAH.... I am a MISSIONARY!" I love my name-tag, I love my companion, I love my district, I love Italian, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!

This week has gone by so fast, it's hard to believe that it is already P-day again. What has happened in the last week? Sorella Stephen's and I are slowly but surely getting a little better at Italian. When I teach a lesson, words just come out of my mouth that I didn't think I knew. Isn't the Spirit amazing? Afterwards, S. Stephens gives me a huge hug and we immediately thank Heavenly Father for His help throughout the lesson. I still LOVE my companion SO much! Seriously, we get along so well together. I couldn't have asked for a better companion! On Tuesday, M. Russell Ballard talked at our devotional!!! CRAZY!!!! We were like 7 rows back too. ( we were supposed to be in the Choir but we were one seat short .... literally have THAT many people who want to sing) :) He didn't say anything that was mind-blowing but he said some important things. Here is what he said - We know a LOT! Have confidence when you talk because you KNOW things!! The work is important and WE are important. The work does not end after our mission either. I had such a strong thought about my future family and how I need to remember to always TEACH the gospel, just how mama and daddy did that for me. Anyway, I need to let an Anziano on the computer. Oh!! My district is INCREDIBLE!!! I love them soooo much! The Anziani call me "Mom" which literally makes my day every time they do it.

Week 2- MTC

I finished week 2 of the MTC!!! It is so crazy to think I have been here for 2 weeks already and yet I think to myself "it has only been 2 weeks!?" That means I have only 4 weeks left of the MTC before I hit Italy. Does this make me excited? Yes. Am I scared? Yes. I am freaking out. The language is definitely difficult but when I stop and think about it, I realize that I have definitely been blessed by our Heavenly Father with the ability to learn a language. I know a LOT more than I would have with out the Lord. Seriously though, it has been two weeks and yet I can Pray in Italian, bare my testimony in Italian, and almost have simple conversations in Italian. Sorella Stephens and I are still struggling quite a bit and have felt pretty humbled while learning. I still love her SOOOO much!! I was really blessed to be given her as a companion. Whenever I face new and difficult challenges, I deal with them sooooo much better with a good and constant friend by my side. That is how Sorella Stephens is for me - an AMAZING companion who is ALWAYS there for me!

So I want to share a really cool experience I had this week.  On Monday we had the opportunity to teach in TRC - Teaching Resource Center. Basically we get to teach church members for 20 minutes or so on whatever they need, whether it be a spiritual thought or addressing a concern. We ended up teaching an actually working who was fluent in multiple languages instead of a volunteer b/c of the high number of stinken Italian missionaries. Neither of us understood a single word that she said. Her accent was sooooo thick and spoke sooooo fast that S. Stephens and I would simply turn and blink at one another. It was great. But then we shared our favorite scriptures. I shared Alma 26:35-37 and Sorella Stephens shared 1 Nephi 3:7 in Italian. While I was reading, it just clicked in my mind what I was saying. The Spirit poured over me and in the room and I started to CRY. Sorella Stephen's scripture had the same effect. This same experience happened with our second volunteer too who was an RM from Milan. WOW! We learned that the Spirit  makes up from what our language lacks, whether we can actually speak it or not. It was so testimony building and gave us faith to keep working hard. This IS the Lord's work that we are doing. I love being a missionary!

Fun events at the MTC: Last Thurday I ran into my friend Carlos at the MTC. I haven't seen him since my freshman year of school and it was soooooo wonderful to see him! This week I got a package from the Mendivil family. Yes, the Mendivil Family. You know, the cousin's of Erin Ramberg Hoff? It made my whole day and week! I also ran into another friend, Brok, who I haven't seen for almost 3 years. I love it!!

Io so che Dio ci ama! Io so che il Vangelo di Gesu Cristo e vero.

February 14, 2013

I would LOVE letters from Dear Elder!

I still cannot believe that I am a missionary. Almost every morning I have woken up so confused as to where I am and what I am doing. Then I think "dang... I am a missionary!" It is so GREAT!! I love being called Sorella or Sister by EVERYONE! So far the MTC is amazing. I absolutely love it here. 

My companion (mia collega) is incredible!!!! She is soooooo much like my roommate Lauren and has the funnest and most carefree personality. I love her :) 

The Italian has been... difficult but good. I keep trying to pronounce things with a French accent instead of Italian which is funny because Italian is VERY straight forward. Sometimes I sit in class and think "How in the WORLD am I going to do this?!" I'll get it. Last Friday we began teaching in Italian. Yep. Two days after entering the MTC. The most I could say was "Mi chiama Sorella Jameson" so you can imagine how that went.

The thing I wanted to share the most about my experience so far is just HOW important missionary work is - along with my purpose. It is on the first page of chapter 1 of PMG. "To invite others to come unto Christ by receiving the Restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." WOW!

I just feel like this will be one of the MOST important things I have EVER done in my entire life!

Palm Sunday

I am pretty sure I experienced one of the coolest days of my entire life today!! This day is traditionally celebrated as Palm Sunday or the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem which marks the last week of his life. This makes me think as I am writing this right now… what would I do if I knew I had one week left to live and mission to fulfill? Anyway, it was full of amazing experiences and memories that I will never forget!

The day started with a trip to the Temple Mount which I haven’t gone to since the first weekend that I was here. I think I appreciated it about ten times more just from everything I have learned about Islam and about the biblical history that occurred there. We decided to go to the Temple Mount today to celebrate Jesus’ “Cleansing of the Temple” which is actually traditionally celebrated tomorrow but we won’t be here. Apparently hundreds of other people also wanted to go to the Mount so we had to wait in line for about an hour (oh tourists…) There are two things that I loved the most about visiting – first, I gave a beggar woman some shekels. Immediately, she pulled my hand to bring me closer and kissed my cheek saying “Habbibi! Habbibi!” This means “I love you” in Arabic and all I can say back is “Habbibi!” back to her because I honestly felt that towards her. I just feel like I can do more to serve others (after listening to conference yesterday) even if it is a couple of shekels. Second, I oriented myself on the Temple Mount as to how it would have looked with the temple on it. Due to my lack of geographical expertise, my friends helped me out but it was so amazing to just picture! I love it! We walked back through the city to the center and got some egg bread on the way. It was like a pizza with a layer of ground beef, some onion tomato sauce, and then topped with egg. I must admit, I was a huge fan! As we approached the center, a man followed us, offering all the women in our group a kiss. He is the same one who attempted to kiss Annalise two months ago in West Jerusalem. Hahah! Also, I had my favorite lunch in the center – raviolis in a vodka sauce, sweet potatoes in a cream sauce, borek, peas, and a salad. I love it!!

Here comes the most exciting thing EVER!!! I celebrated Palm Sunday with thousands of Christians and Catholics today!! We met at the Beth- church that is located on the top of the Mount of Olives. The night before Jesus Christ enters Jerusalem, he stays with Martha and Mary in Bethany, which is located just past the Mount of Olives. At this church were so many different kinds of congregations, ethnicities, and races all gathered together to celebrate Jesus entering Jerusalem!! How amazing is that!? David and I bought a palm leaf together (which was honestly overpriced and a tourist trap but what can you do?) that we were able to carry. Random side note: before we headed out, a random guy came up and started to dance with me. It was fine until he practically suctioned me to his body! Luckily David came to the rescue and pulled me away from him. J Anywho, we finally headed out to make our way slowly down the Mount into the city.

There were so many groups singing joyously around us it was really amazing! There was an Asian group singing in front of us with guitars and speaks, a Hispanic group with tambourines and men in robes beside us, and an African group with drums behind us. Every group let us come over to join their singing and dancing. At one point, a nun came over and started cheering with us as we shouted “Jesus!!” to the African songs. I never thought of the Triumphant Entry to be so joyous and celebratory!! In fact, I have never seen so much excitement and praise for Jesus before. I joined a Filopino group at one point too and the leader came over to sing with me and teach me songs. I loved it!!! What I loved the MOST about the whole experience is the gathering of so many believers of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I think we forget that there are so many other good and faithful believers of Christ in the world besides us. I loved celebrating Palm Sunday with all of them too – it was so wonderful to shout joy with thousands of other believers. I also think we should praise Him more with joy – even the Atonement. It is such a special and reverent subject and I believe in treating it with respect but I also believe it is meant to be celebrated because of the Resurrection. Jesus Christ really did come to this earth and he did walk the lands of Galilee and Jerusalem. I don’t know this because I am HERE but rather because I have studied the words of the holy book of God and felt a confirmation of the Spirit. It is absolutely amazing to be here in Jerusalem though and to feel the Spirit so strongly here – for this I have been truly blessed. I do know that my Savior and Redeemer lives! I LOVE JESUS!!!

Scriptures: Matthew 21:1–17; Mark: 11:1–11; Luke 19:28–46; John 12:12–19). Suggested Music: Sing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.”

Also, I will update on Turkey and Galilee when I return home and have more time than here. :) Thanks for reading!!!

Leap Day, Snow, and Turkey

Hello all!!!

I get to leave for Turkey in an hour and a half and I am SOOOOOO excited! Finals are all done for most of my classes so the rest of this semester will be devoted to learning about Jesus Christ and having a BLAST. :) What could be better than that?

So this week has been full of exciting twists and turns. Most of my time was devoted to studying but that was fine because the weather was really not the best outside. Speaking of, it totally SNOWED March 2! It snows about every 3 to 4 years here so it was really pretty neat to see it.

Okay, here is a quick story of something that I did this week. It all happened on February 29... :)

Today has been such an incredible day!!! To start it off, we had our last class of Old Testament (which wasn’t the incredible part – I will actually really miss that class) and we ended it by singing “Hope of Israel” because Brother Harper told us we were the Hope of Israel. It was really quite emotional singing it to him – I have honestly learned more from him than I think I have ever learned from any teacher before. Now I can actually READ the scriptures, understand the Old Testament (including a little bit of Isaiah), understanding how to read more critically, and writing better. It will be sad not to have him as a teacher but luckily I will see him around a lot.

This afternoon I was getting ready to go study when SarahBeth stopped me to ask if I wanted to go with them to a Palestinian home. Well… I had so much to study today for finals but I decided to go anyway. Oh my goodness… am I glad that I did go! We were immediately welcomed in such a friendly manner and greeted with those side cheek kisses. The little girl who wanted SarahBeth and Sarah to come over is 11 years old and her name is R…… Her mother is short, which is how the other children are as well, and her name is M ….. We met the other daughters (age 13) and (age ). It was just amazing how kind and generous they were! They immediately brought out some drinks (white grape fruit juice) and offered nuts, raisins, and other goods. Then R… left briefly to bring us some “charms” to remember her by – it turns out these charms were beautiful braclets, earrings, and rings that M… made herself. She kept telling us to take whatever we want saying “Anything you want – you can have!” She also offered us a plate full of fruit and kept telling us “we like to eat!” Oh my goodness! I loved it so much! Then they brought out a gelatin dessert with fruit in it – she told us she wanted to make cakes but didn’t have time. Their generosity is something I need to learn.

Here are some things about the family: The father is injured and cannot work so M… works two jobs to pay for the family. She said they don’t have very much but it what they need to get by in life and their children understand. M… doesn’t know much English so communication was a little rough but she still chatted happily with us and translated for her children. The girls love Justin Beiber, Rihanna, Cascada, and Celine Dion so we need to bring music next time to listen to them. OH!!! I am going to COOK with them sometime! M… asked me to teach her how to bake some sweets in return for her teaching me – and she wants to feed us dinner sometime soon too!

When we left, they were all sad and want us to come back again. It was absolutely amazing!!! I can NOT wait to go back and become friends with them. I will have to think of something nice to give them in return for their hospitality. :)

*Names are not given due to privacy.

On a sad note, our dear friend Sterling had to leave us on Friday. It was really quite sad to say goodbye because he was such a fantastic person and wonderful friend. Our reunion will be so sweet when we all come back home. :)

ANYWAY, I need to finish getting ready to go. Hopefully I will have lots to update on when I am back from Turkey. :)

I love you!!

Sterling and I! Notice the snow and the Done of the Rock in the background.

You know cake balls? This is something kind of like it with an Arabic twist. There is also some kind of nut in the center. I think it might be hazel nut

Really funny signs... :)

At the the David Museum (this is basically a castle for the kings in Jerusalem) - Emilie and I :)

Some spinach and onion stuffed bread. There are tons of different flavor and stuffing types in the city. And it's only 7 shekels!

2 months left...

Hey!!!

Woah… it has been forever since I last wrote for the blog. I really would LIKE to write more often buuut it might not happen. The last few weeks have been very busy and I didn’t go out in the city very much but I am still learning every day. We just finished some intense midterms that consumed almost all of our time but I snuck away some days into the old city.

Maybe I'll just have to post little spurts of information now and then on the blog. So today we had a little field trip to explain the country / countries we are currently living in. Let me tell you... I had no idea how confusing the Israeli and Palestinian conflict really is and how much of a real problem it seems to be. When we visited the separation wall today, all I kept thinking about were the LDS members living on the other side. During District Conference this weekend, we learned about some of the families who live on the other side of the wall who can't even come to church with us. One family has lived without a church building for almost 15 years and yet their testimony still burns strongly. (This was a reminder of the Lord's love for his children - both the needy and the privileged, like myself - He loves them ALL) Anyway, the wall is real and is so dominant within the state of where ever I live. There is also TONS of graffiti, all of which is written in English. Why is that do you think?

Well, finals are approaching but I should have MUCH more to tell once school work isn't consuming my life. :)

I love you all!!

Codi Layne

One Month...

Hello all!!!

It has been one month since I have been here in Jerusalem but it really hasn’t felt like a month. In some ways, it feels like I have barely been here and in others it feels like I have been here forever – just because of everything that I have experienced! Okay… so I am going to try to come up with a lame excuse for my lack of “blogging.” Most of my classes are actually ending in March (this includes Judaism, Islam, Old Testament, and Arabic) so February is going to be pretty packed, as this past week has clearly demonstrated. Luckily, most of this past week was consumed in studying so I can focus on last week and my wonderful trip to Jordan!!

JORDAN!!

January 23, 2012 – the beginning of this day consisted of a couple of hours to cross the border, which was an exciting process to complete. Jordan is actually only about 30 to 40 minutes away from Jerusalem; it is the luggage checking and passport stamping that takes most of the time. When I walked up to the man who was checking my passport, I excitedly (ie with a lot of energy that consisted of a high pitched tone) said “Hello!!” The man jumped back and slowly said “Hello…?” as he took my passport from me. Oops. J

Mount Nebo was the first stop we made in the country of Jordan. After taking an extremely windy (and somewhat sickening) road, we made it to the top. It was a little bit chilly up there so I may have not gotten as much out of it as I could have but it was still awesome. There was a giant sculpture of a serpent on a pole (even though it wasn’t the place it happened) but it was such a beautiful reminder of the power of the Lord and the sacrifice of Christ.

St. George Church was the next stop but to be honest, I am not really sure what was super significant about it. It did have a giant mosaic on the floor of the church, which was uncovered about 100 years ago. After this, we made a 4 hour drive to PETRA!!! We pulled up to the hotel and were given a grand welcome. There were live musicians, people serving orange juice, and horses available to take pictures on. The hotel itself was … well it could have better. (I ended up having to take a cold shower – aka freezing) Oh!! There was also snow on the ground in Petra – weird to think about huh?

January 24, 2012 – PETRA!!! Okay… this was one of the best days I have experienced yet!! You know the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where they go to Petra to get the Holy Grail? Yep, I was there! We pretty much just spent the whole day playing in the ruins ancient structures all Tuesday and Wednesday. The coolest thing about the architecture in Petra is that all of the structures were carved OUT of the limestone rock – nothing was added built into the rock walls. So this construction had to be carved without mistakes. The hardest part about going to Petra was the little children. While I was walking down from “The Monastery,” a little girl came up to me and asked for my scarf. She said things like “Can I please have it? I need it! It looks so pretty. It looks so pretty on me! Can I have it?” It was so hard to walk away from her. A little bit further down, another little girl tried selling me something and was literally shoving it into my hand. I had to forcefully pull my hand away and shake her off me – it broke my heart. The best part of Petra was… I rode a CAMEL!!! It was awesome! Then we all rode horses back to the entrance of the park. I wish we had more time to spend there but I am so grateful to have spent as much time as I did. J The day ended with a 4 hour drive back North to the grand city of Amman.

January 25, 2012 Okay… this day was PACKED with fun adventures so I will try to sum it all up. The first stop was King Abdullah’s Mosque – which is the most famous mosque in Jordan. Our tour guide explained the beliefs and practices of Islam. Now I must admit, I was extremely proud of myself for knowing almost everything already (Thanks Rabea for teaching me the ways of Islam!!) Then we went to the Citadel of Amman, home of the Temple of Hercules in Jordan. Jabbok River followed which is the location where Jacob wrestled with a man in Genesis 32. Afterwards, we went to Jerash, home of the ruins of a Greco-Roman city. Playing in the ruins commenced once more here with my friends along with lots of pictures. It was so fantastic to walk past giant, elegant columns - it felt like I almost stepped back in time, just walking down stone pathways, lined with columns (well with what was left of the columns of course) We ended the day to see King Hussan’s famous car museum. I must admit that it was honestly quite boring to me but it was fun to see all the boys get super excited looking at the vehicles. Later that night, I went out with a handful of friends to get some gelato. It was not only delicious but the people at the pastry shop were so kind.

January 26, 2012 Part of the day consisted of crossing the border for a couple of hours (I was the last student to cross the border by the way) but it started with going to a Roman theatre. We all sang hymns and then had a performance of beat boxers. The guards loved the beat boxing! It was astonishing to see how HUGE the theatre was and hard to imagine filling up with people. One side note – I absolutely LOVE singing hymns here. We sing ALL the time and the Spirit just floods in. It puts a whole new meaning to the music and words behind the hymns. Afterwards we went to the Jordan River. This was such a special experience for me – to be in the place of Jesus Christ’s birth. Did you know that the Jordan River flows through one of the lowest places on Earth? It brings a whole new meaning to think of Christ, the Son of our Living God, to go to the dirty waters of one of the lowest places on Earth to be baptized. Once again, we sang some more hymns as others were dipping their feet into the water. It was so wonderful and the perfect way to end our trip to Jordan. Also, the weather was absolutely perfect the whole week.

Pretty much… Jordan was incredible! From what I have heard, Turkey and Galilee are supposed to be even BETTER. I can NOT wait for my future adventures.

Okay now I need to make a shout out to some of my friends that I have made here. I have met some unbelievable people that I feel so blessed to know and become friends with. David, Annalise, Jason, Sterling, Kyler, Emilie, and so many others. I spent most of my time in Jordan with Annalise and David in particular along with Jason and Emilie.

I want to just say that I have learned so much here, about the history of the area as well as the gospel and my Heavenly Father and Savior. It has been such a blessing to be here and have such great teachers who care so much about my learning. The thing is, our Heavenly Father loves us all so much – this is evident in the scriptures, even the Old Testament. He has provided so many tools in our life to search and find Him and I am so incredibly grateful for having the gospel in my life. It is during times of this realization that I want to proclaim the word of the Lord to the whole world! He has blessed my life so much. I thank my parents, family, and friends who have influenced my life so much and for helping me come to Jerusalem. Anyway, hopefully that wasn’t too preachy; I just feel so much gratitude and happiness. J

Hopefully I can explain my daily life here in Jerusalem next post. Thank you so much for reading!! I love you all!!

Codi Layne

PICTURES!!

Temple of Hercules - David and Annalise :)

Jerash - David and Jason thought this would be an epic pose but it just ended up hurting...

My entrance to the treasury

The Monastery! Also in the picture: David, Annalise, and Jason

The Treasury - home of the Holy Grail :)

CAMEL!! I must admit, I felt a particular attachment to him afterwards. :)

Brother Harper and I - he is such a great teacher!!

Top of the Roman Theatre (and people crawling for a picture...)

KFC for lumch! This is my Arabic wet wipe.

The Jordan River