Amman

Tuesday night we drove from Petra to Amman, the capital of Jordan, which was about a 3-hour drive. Robert Carroll and I had planned a BYU student get together which went great! He told all the BYU students studying in Amman and I told all the BYU Jerusalem students to meet up at an ice cream place on Rainbow Street. There ended up being around 60 American Mormon students on some random street corner in Amman mingling and eating which had to have been quite the site haha. 

At the BYU get together with Abigail's friend Isa. He asked me if I was her brother and as soon as he said his name I remembered Abigail talking about him! He was a really cool and nice guy.

The next day we visited sites all over Amman. 

Jabbok River was a cool place we visited first thing Wednesday morning. On the Old Testament it's mentioned in relation to where Jacob wrestled an angel. Sister Strathearn taught us that after Jacob's spiritual struggle at that site his name is changed to Israel.

Jacob literally means "he who deceives" which interestingly reflects his deceit in obtaining both his brother Esau's birthright and blessing. Israel means "God prevails." I love how this change of name reflects a change of heart but even more than that it reflects God's patience and mercy with his children. He chooses imperfect people to do his work and empowers them to change and grow and be better. 

Sister Strathearn asked each of us, "Are you at a place where you want a spiritual change more than anything else?"  I wondered as I sat there on the Jabbok River bank, "Where I am on my spiritual journey? What work does God hope to accomplish through me given all my strengths and imperfections?"

Our next stop was Jerash, the ruins of an ancient Roman-designed city right there in Amman. 

The entrance gate to Jerash.

A race in the hippodrome! Our class lost both boys' and girls' races...

Singing with Jordanian students and bagpipe players in the amphitheater!

There's the temple of Artemis behind us (Bro. Chadwick, Marianna, Clarah, Drew, and Jordan).

With Abby and Jessica - look at those nice ruins behind us!

Panorama of Aleena, Diane, Ashley, Matt, Jessica, Austin, Abby, and Sam in the main square which happens to look just like the courtyard from Hercules where he knocks down all the pillars domino style.

With the Gunthers (I LOVE these guys) with the main square down below behind us. They are the couple assigned to giving tours of the Jerusalem Center.

Then we went to lunch at a delicious restaurant where they made oven-baked flat bread!

The afternoon was a bit less exciting.

More ruins at a citadel...

And a decent view of part of downtown Amman. You can see the large amphitheater slightly on the right side and a bit below the middle.

We finished our field trip strong on Wednesday with a trip to the Royal Automobile Museum. The cars were amazing. The kings of Jordan have always had super nice cars apparently.

Yup. That's a thing.

Also I found a burgundy Buick that looks just like the one drive often in Provo...

Except that my car definitely got the short of the stick as far as looks go...

After the museum we headed back to the hotel to change, eat, and then go our in the town. It was fun to go with Lincoln, Matt, Olivia, and Lauren to hang out with Robert and his roommate Swara! We ate burgers, stopped by the mall for dessert, and then checked out Robert's sweet bachelor pad. I wanted to see what his expat living conditions were like - not too shabby! It was a nice place with a great rooftop view of the city and prime location.