David and Goliath

The field trip I'd been waiting for finally happened this week!! We went to a ton of places throughout the day...

First stop was Beth Shemesh, a hilltop overlooking the Shefelah (low hill country). 

Then we went to Brother Chadwick's excavation site at Gath, the largest ancient civilization in the Shefelah and where Goliath was from. 

The hike up there was pretty grueling...

But we made it! Really cool panoramic view of the surrounding area. 

In Azekah (another ancient hilltop site) Brother Anderson shared a powerful message about how The Lord prepares us our whole lives for small moments where we can make a great impact. 

We visited an ancient underground dove breeding center at Mereshah. 

Even though everything about this picture with Olivia at the dove center went terribly (lighting, focus, etc) I still kinda like it... 

Here's a picture we took with Brother and Sister Anderson at Lachish! (Ron, Mike, Hannah, Lauren, Christeen, Kasdyn, Christina, Rachel, and Jill)

While we were at Lachish the other class was at Azekah a few miles away. We reflected the sun off mirrors to send each other signals like they did anciently. I was amazed at how bright the signal was from so far away! Brother Whitchurch caught it on camera. Who knows what else he caught with that lens... #telescope

The highlight of the day was going to the 

the Valley of Elah where David killed Goliath with a sling:) 

The class walking up to the valley. 

Here's the stream bed where it's likely David got stones to sling at Goliath. They are so dense!

Jordan and I got to reenact the David and Goliath scene from the Bible :) Brother Anderson asked me to be Goliath since I'm the tallest person in our class (and the entire program) and I told him Jordan needed to be David because he loves that kind of stuff and would be hilarious. We memorized lines from the passage and had a fun time :)

That's me with my spear (stick), shield (straw hat), helmet (safari hat), chain mail (cartigan), and greaves of brass (fannypack) haha. 

This is Jordan monologuing as David. It was hilarious :)

And David slayed Goliath. 

After our reenactment we got to try out our slings! Sister Anderson helped me out by taking pictures for me. Here's a quick play-by-play:

Up-close view of the sling. The rock I put inside is too small but you get the idea...

Picking up a stone to sling. 

I carefully place the stone in the sling and fasten the sling to my finger. 

I get into my slinging stance (Sister Anderson coached me) and wind up...

Then I let her RIP!! Goliath didn't stand a chance. 

I never could fathom how David could kill Goliath or even knock him down with a sling and a stone. Then I saw the stones and felt how heavy they were. They can do some major damage! And if you got good with a sling you could easily get that stone going over 100mph. It made me think that David was never really the underdog. He had the skill and the resources to win the fight with Goliath and he knew it. He didn't need the same strengths as Goliath to be a good warrior. He used the ones he had and came out on top!

We talked throughout the day about strengths and how David used his to defeat Goliath. I've put a lot of thought into strengths. Last fall I read a book called "Now, Discover Your Strengths" and it totally changed my perspective on strengths. The greatest takeaway from the book was that when we focus our energy on developing our specific talents they have the potential to become world class strengths. When we spend all our time focusing on our greatest weaknesses we become frustrated and unmotivated because our progress in those areas, since they don't come naturally, is slow and has limited potential. Imagine if David had kept on the armor he'd been given and tried to kill Goliath with a spear he probably couldn't even lift! We feel much more energized and fulfilled when we use our strengths and find success in applying them. 

A lot of people here at the Jerusalem Center have felt discouraged with the school workload and have expressed to me insecurities surrounding their performance in school. They put in so much time and effort and are unable to perform at the level of their peers who put in less work. How frustrating! I've experienced that in my life with things like using technology, writing music, or playing sports. It's hard when our environment puts so much emphasis on certain skills yet we don't seem to be able to excel in those areas no matter how hard we try. 

What I've learned is that each of us has a unique combination of strengths. If we focus on them, we will find success in what we do best and enjoy most. Ability to perform well on tests in school doesn't define our character and is irrelevant if our top talents deal with positively influencing others or effective communication. I took an online StrengthsFinder assessment a year ago to identify some of my top strengths and many of my friends have taken it as well. It's helped me appreciate my individual strengths and understand my friends better. (If you're interested my top five strengths are Strategic, Connectedness, Ideation, Individualization, and Empathy.)

If only we lived in a world where everyone's individual strengths were recognized, appreciated, and leveraged appropriately. We could celebrate each other's strengths and rely on those around us to manage around our weaknesses. I'm grateful I've become more aware of my specific strengths as well as the strengths of others through StrengthsFinder. It's helped me see people the way God does and not judge their character based on their success in measurable things that our society emphasizes. There is so much more to each one of us.