Never Felt So Close to Harrison Ford

Dear far away friend, 

Our second day of Jordan we went to Petra! WOW. WOW. WOW. My pictures will mostly speak for the amazing things I did and saw this day. I will explain as it comes. 

 This is the Siq. Before you get to the ancient Nabatean city you have to walk down the path that is inside a really long and high canyon. 

Me in the Siq. It really was amazing to think of people living here but hold on to your hat because it only gets better! Cue the Indiana Jones theme song. "Da da da da! Da da daaaa! Da da da daaaa da da da da da!" Thats me singing it. 

You turn the corner and run into this. This is the treasury at Petra! It is so cool! The whole city is carved out of beautiful rock like this. It is so big! 

After we were given freedom from our tour to go wherever we wanted our first stop, or should I say trek, was up to the Monastery. We walked and climbed and walked and climbed. They called me a billy goat. Can you see me up there? I don't really like hiking but when I have a destination in mind my legs go for it. 

We rested in the glorious shade when we could. It was hot. Did I already mention that already? It wouldn't take long to die out there without water. Toasty toasty! 

Oh the joy of reaching the top! This is the Monastery! We had to catch our breath before we truly appreciated how cool it was! 

Look how little we are! This place is so large! It almost warrants the word huge. 

Me and my favorite Colombians in Petra. 

Once you get to the Monastery of course there is more hiking to be done. There are really cool lookout points up higher. The first one is the view of the Monastery. Uh. That doesn't even look real! It is though! It is so cool (I have to stop using that word because everything about this experiences was HOT)! 

The next stop was the top of the world! See? That is where I am headed! 

There it is! It was also called the end of the world.  I thought I was going to fall off the cliff and die but it was an amazing view! 

 This is my grumpy, hot, hiking Petra face. It got a little tense in the heat and opinions. You can't stay too grumpy in such an amazing place though. 

Jumping. It shows more of the excitement of being there. 

We made it. So glad to be there with these people. 

Me and Camila with more ancient ruins behind us. 

Guys I rode a camel. Can you see me screaming? It was slightly nerve wracking. 

Camels are tall lanky creatures. 

Smooches from my camel.  

I love it. I came out a little bit more sunburnt, exhausted, and extremely sore but it was so worth.
I hope you can all make it to Petra! 

Love, 

Mary Jane 

AKA

Indiana Jones 

A Jaunt to Jordan

Dear Someone, 

Guess where I have been for the last four days? Jordan! How cool is that? I know what you are thinking... What is there to do or see in Jordan? Well there are so many amazing sites! I was pleasantly surprised to find many of them! There are so many things I can't fit them all in one letter so be patient with me as I hit the highlights in a couple different posts over the next couple of days. 

Our first day in Jordan began bright and early so that we could be the first across the border. Although Israel and Jordan have a peace treaty with one another the border crossings are intense and very thorough. We had to get all of our passports checked as a group and individually and then change buses. It was quite the process. Once we actually got there we were already exhausted! But we knew we had so much to see! 

Our first stop was Mount Nebo. Its rather a funny thing, as Latter Day Saints, to visit the grave of someone who you believe was translated up into heaven. It happened to us in Turkey too when we saw a church and grave that was dedicated to John. It makes you understand how important the restored scriptures are! It was a cool place. Never thought I would make it to Nebo. (Deuteronomy 34:1) 

Our next stop was a straight walk up a mountain. Do you know how hot it is in Jordan? Well let me tell ya... It is the hottest I have ever been in my life. But we survived the climb and made it to the top. This is the place where John the Baptist was beheaded. I am so lucky to be able to learn more about the New Testament. We love ancient columns. Can't get enough of them. (Matthew 14:3) 

Pretty view of the brown brown desert. 

We are so happy to be there!
Kind of looks like a High School Musical picture.

After our exciting mountain excursions of the day we had to drive for a couple hours to be at our next hotel and destination. We stopped to see the amazing sunset. The sun sank so fast but we luckily got to catch a little bit of the Middle Eastern Sunset on camera. As you can see below our Hotel welcomed us with drinks and music. I love a good tropical punch to welcome you into a new country. It was exciting. You can also see how hot and tired I was after just one day of traveling! 

Welcome to Jordan! (Alicia in the background) 

More exciting things to come! Shokran!

Love, 

Mary

My Headlamp is Better Than Your Headlamp

Dear Someone, 

So for Christmas my favorite brother gave me the coolest gift. A headlamp. I never knew the joy that would come into my life from owning a top of the line headlamp. I could read at night, I could hike with it, and it was also the exact tool I needed to survive Hezekiah's Tunnel. Our field trip on Monday took us to the City of David. It is the oldest city in Jerusalem. David was the first Israelite king to conquer it and he built his palace there. The tunnel was built by King Hezekiah in the 8th century BC. It was to connect Jerusalem's water supply to a pool. The Gihon Spring to the Pools of Siloam. The tunnel was 533 meters long. I was so grateful for my trust headlamp to maneuver through the curvy dark tunnel! 

This is us on in the city of David. You can see all the Jewish
graves behind us. They completely cover the mountain. 

This is us getting ready to go into the tunnel!
Note the headlamp. 

"Down down down and the flames came higher"
The Ring of Fire is Camila's favorite song.
It seems to apply in many different situations. 

Me with my headlamp, in the tunnel.
Oh a scary Juanito in the background. 

Some it if was so short you have to crouch down.
Can you see the water? 

This one is for you Thomas!
The headlamp in action. 

This is us at the very end. It was so cool!
Literally and figuratively. 

You can see on my pants just how high the water came! 

The tunnel was really cool. It was definitely a highlight. As with almost everything we do here there was a spiritual aspect to our field trip too. The tunnel carries the water to the Pools or Siloam. Siloam is one of the places that we can say for sure that Christ went. He came to that very spot and healed a blind man. "The blind saw his eyes." The story is truly a miracle (John 9). The part of the story that touched me the most is when the apostles ask "Who has sinned" thinking that was the reason for this man to be blind. Christ replies saying no one has sinned, but he is blind so that "the works of God should be manifest in him. Sometime the trials in our lives are there so that we may be able to see the works of God in our life. How amazing it is to visit the places where Christ performed miracles. I love my Savior and I am so blessed to be here, learning more about his life and ministry.

I am so blessed and so happy.

Love,
Mary Jane

I Hear Jerusalem Bells are Ringing

Dear Someone, 

What a week I have to report on! On Sunday we had another free day. The coolest part was when I made the Jerusalem bells ring! The Squires are one of the service couple that live here in the center with us. Brother Squires is an amazing organist and they do a lot with music around the center and the city. Every week they go down to the YMCA tower and play the bells for an hour. They are nice enough to invite us and put up with our attempts to play the bells. 

Look how cool we are?

You pull down those handles to play the really big bells! 

This is the group with the Squires right in the middle. 

These are the bells. They are behind bars so people like my dad won't ring them .
Any one remember that Switzerland incident?

See how concentrated I am? I played the top hand of Lightly Row
for all of Jerusalem to hear. Aunt Jane would be so proud.

YMCA

Waffles

Want a bite? You will have to come visit me in Jerusalem. 

It was such a good day. It was so cool to play for everyone. We even played hymns for the whole city. It was one way of spreading the gospel without spreading the gospel. We got to ding the 12 o'clock bells too. It was an important job. As you can see we ended it right with a trip to the Waffle Bar. That place wins on presentation and taste. I got one with blue berries on it. I never knew I would do so many cool things in Jerusalem. Every day is exciting! I love this city so much.

"That was when I ruled the world"

Love, 

Mary Jane

Patriotic Passover

Dear Friend, 

Happy Flag day. I love a reason to dress in red, white and blue. As a Lund girl those colors easily dominate everything we wear. When in doubt add some red. The fourth of July is our favorite holiday! Deciding what to wear on that day is quite the debate. I think that comes from my mom. She is so patriotic. In Jerusalem we decided to celebrate flag day. It is fun to be patriotic. These people are still new friends here so I haven't been able to let out my favorite shower song , I'm proud to be an American, yet. But I am always patriotic in my heart. 

The flag day supporters
I am sitting in the bottom left. 

That night we also had the Sedar dinner. It was really cool to understand more about the Passover. We drank grape juice, ate Matza, read about the Exodus, and sang in Hebrew.

We sang the song that we learned in Hebrew. (This is just the pronunciation of the Hebrew words.) It means "Next year in Jerusalem" 

"La'shana ha'ba'a 

Be' Yerushalayim 

La'shana ha'ba'a 

Be' Yerushalayim

Habnuya" 

I had already taken off my patriotic scarf that I got in
Turkey for this picture but this is at the Sedar dinner

 It was so interesting to learn about everything that is a symbol in the passover dinner. My least favorite was dipping the celery leaf in salt water and eating it to symbolize the fruit that comes from the land but the sweat that they use to get it. It was gross. I also had a hard time saving my grape juice for the appropriate moments to drink. You only get to take 4 drinks over the 2 hour dinner. I wanted to drink it! Ah I guess that says more about me than anything else. It was a good dinner and super interesting!

This was the plate that had the symbolic features of the  passover. 

Love to be patriotic for all my passover dinners! Love from Jerusalem.

Love,
MJ

Yay Dad

Happy Father's Day!  

This is such a happy holiday, especially because I have such an amazing, loving father. Not even Jerusalem can distract me from missing my family on Father's day. At home we usually eat Boston Cream Pie, give my dad "head scratches" and let my dad think he has complete control over the "flipper".

My family members are my favorite people. 

My dad, AKA: James, "Jimff", "Leroy", "Sea Serpent", "Grandpa JJ", or "Jones" really can't be described in a few short paragraphs. If he were to use his editing skills on this post he would draw all sorts of triangles trying to get me to be both specific and broad. There are just so many things to love about him. I will try and tell you about a select few. 

My dad always disappears, but then always comes back with a treat. 

At our house it is "never a dull moment" with "Ferris Bueller" around. He is the biggest "mover and shaker" that I know. Even though I have grown up knowing this about my father it always astounds me how many friends he has dotting this world. He continues to, with many thanks to the "CC button", "touch bases" with all of them. He is always "reaching out" to others. He is especially good at finding the "poor souls that need the gospel." I am always amazed at his selflessness, and willing to serve those around him. 

Wanna be Rick Steves in Italy.
Italy is just one example of a dot in the world that loves him. 

My dad's philosophy of life mixes being "always on the go" and the idea that "rules are merely suggestions". He also instituted our family motto as "Go Big or Go Home". 20 years of following him around has led me to believe him when he says, "stick with me and you'll go places". He could get you into any concert or party you want. When, if ever, we go to the beach, coconut bowling is a classic. I have sat on front rows, seen world wonders, and been literally drenched by waterfalls thanks to this man. Although he does demand that you "read the guide book" before traveling with him, he makes a great tour guide. 

The Sacred Grove 

My dad never takes life too seriously. In turn, in our family it is illegal to take yourself too seriously or you are severely mocked. It is frequent for him to say "Go like this" while rolling his shoulders back. "RELAAAX" is also commonly exchanged between Lund family members. It is a good thing we have each other to create balance. By reminding us to "be a duck" we are able to achieve an equal portion of excitement, fun, and learning throughout our lives . We never forget to mock each other along the way. 

 I truly love his picture. I'm sure we are mocking my dad for something.
"Hi we're Americans" 

 "Candygram" He says this every time he walks in the door. What does that mean? I have no clue. It is just one of the many Jamie Judd Lund oddities. One of the first things he may ask you is, "What is your shoe size?" He refuses to throw things away. He loves speaker phone. LOVES it. He rearranges hotel furniture. Always. It is never in the correct position. He believes in "Feng shui." He picks his freeway exits based on the idea. When going to a restaurant the prize goes to the person who guesses correctly where dad will want to sit. No one ever wins that game. We are strictly a booth family, and when you go to dinner with only 5 you always, always say 6. Round up. As you can see he is strange and corky but I love him. It is especially scary to realize that all of his weird ideas and traits are rubbing off on me!

Sometimes we call him "Cramer" or "Jerry's kid"

My dad loves people. This extends to people he has just met and even people he doesn't know. There is one way to tell if my dad truly loves you. If you get a nickname. Refusing the one he gives you will only make him call you it even more. There is no stopping it. Trust me. I have about 7. His favorite source for nicknames is the obituaries in the news paper. Trust my dad to turn something morbid into something hilarious. Here is the clan identified by my father's chosen nickname for them: 

From left to right:
Meer-kat-kat Drucilla,
Thomff or Leroy
Helen
Van Burgess
Diddle-huff-diddle-doo
Jones
Grandpa JJ
Mervyl Dean

He is my favorite dad. I am so lucky to be his daughter. I may be the "forgettable daughter" but we all know that I am his favorite daughter. I am grateful for his example to me. I am thankful for the things he has taught and instilled in me. I am even more excited for all the things we will do in the future. 

I love you dad. "Double purple 39". Thank you for everything you do for me.

I hope you have a wonderful Father's Day. Wish I was there to give you a hug or be squashed as you"steamroll" me.

Love from Jerusalem. 

Love, 

Meerkat

(P.S. For those people who aren't a Lund by blood or marriage relation all of the "" are classic lines that my dad says very frequently. Hope you can appreciate Jamie Judd Lund as much as I can.)  

NEW REVISIONS: Well folks I definitely left out some important aspects of my dad. After talking to my family I have come to add these ones: 

"Shut-er-down" --  This is probably my father's most used phrase. I can't believe I forgot it. My dad says this every night referring to going to bed, turning off all the lights down stairs, turning down the heat (so we can see our breath all night), or making your friends leave. It is best known by significant others of me or my siblings. It is his kind way of saying go home. 

"If your lips were tires they would be bald" -- meaning you are kissing too much. My dad is never too shy about a good smooching conversation. 

"Here hold this" -- brown leather PGA bag. Closely followed with "Hey kids! where are we?" He loves a good video moment. Or should I say "Snipit?" Half of our footage is of the texture of his pants or of his feet. But we will always remember it and we may even be grateful because "This is for posterity."

Any more suggestions to be added can be sent to me directly so I can really give the "whole package" aspect of my dad. 

Love you Pops