Ibrahim and Noor's Wedding

I just realized that I never posted this.  Better late than never? 

Our sweet landlord, Abu Ibrahim invited Michael and I to his son, Ibrahim's wedding on August 30.  We were able to experience a real Muslim wedding, and I tell you what... it was quite the party!  First things first, all the grooms family starts at his house and drive to his bride's families home, all the while honking their cars like mad.  In America we have funeral processions... in Jordan we have wedding processions.  When we got to the bride's home we (all the groom's family) walk inside clapping and hollering, having a jolly time.  Once inside, the groom's family gathers on one side of the room and the bride's family on the other.  When the bride, her name is Noor, comes into the room everyone stands and all the women whop and holler. The father of the groom Abu Ibrahim, (literally means father of Ibrahim) then has an exchange with the father of the bride in which he asks for the bride to become part of the groom's family.  The bride's father consents to give his daughter away and she is free to go with her husband. 

Ibrahim then takes his bride to their lovely ride (courtesy of his brother who was kind enough to let him borrow the Camaro).  And we all follow along honking the whole way to the reception location. 

At the bride's home there are always traditional dressed dancers/drummers of her nationality.  In this case, these are traditional Palestinian dancers. Ibrahim is Circassasian, and apparently, a  Circassasian  marring a Palestinian is an unusual event.   Most of Abu Ibrahim's daughters have married  Circassasian  men.  Your family roots mean so much in this part of the world. 

We had a Ferrari in our Wedding procession, no big deal. I have seen more Ferraris  in this 3rd world country than I have ever seen in the states.  I think the owner is part of Abu Ibrahim's family. 

     

The reception was held outside the city at an event center with a great outdoor set up.  It is tradition to throw candy at the couple as they arrive and coins as they leave.  I tried to fight the urge to jump in with the little kids. 

It was a beautiful outdoor area, with white sofas, a dance floor and a lighting system you wouldn't believe.  They even had one of those cameras on a big arm so they could film above the dance floor. 

There was dancing, dancing, and more dancing.  This is Circassasian dancing, an integral part of their culture.  It is a fun dance to watch.  Have you ever seen those birds on Animal Planet strutting their feathers for the women...
Circassasian Dancing Video 1
Circassasian Dancing Video 2
Circassasian Dancing Video 3

Then the Arabic music began and everyone got on the dance floor.  One of Abu Ibrahim's son in laws even drug Michael and I up there.  And yes, believe it or not, Michael danced!  Turns out Arabic dancing isn't so hard.  All you have to do is twirl your wrists and snap every once in a while.  I just mimicked the other women. 

Muslim weddings have adopted many of the Western traditions such cutting the cake, and a daddy daughter dance.
Cutting the Cake Arab Style Video

Dancing with one of Abu Ibrahim's daughters.  

Robin, Muhammad, Dana, and me. 

We arrived at the reception center around 6 or 7.  They fed us a wonderful meal at around 11pm.  It was worth the wait.  After we ate, Zaid, one of Abu Ibrahim's son in laws asked us if we were ready for "round 2!"   "haha, of course we are!"  Apparently he was not kidding, like we had thought.  After people finished eating they turned up the music and everyone started dancing again.  You'd think (we thought) that people were full and wouldn't dance too much, but boy were we wrong!  They danced harder than before.  The party went on till 3am and we didn't get home till after 4.  It was worth all the lost hours of sleep though.  

We love this family and are so blessed to be considered part of it. 

Here, I'll try to name everyone.  Some people in this picture are from Noor's family so I don't know them.  From left to right back row: ?,?, Dana, Muhammad, Aiya, Adan, mother of the bride, Abu Ibrahim's wife, Norr, Ibrahim, Nancy, Zaid, Farah, ?, Hamza, ?

2nd row left to right: ?, ?, ?, sister of the bride, Simon, ?, Hannah, Adan. 

On the chairs: Father of the bride, Abu Ibrahim. 

With Zaid, one of our favorite of Abu Ibrahim's son-in-laws. 

The beautiful bride and Abu Ibrahim's adorable grandchildren. 

Abu Ibrahim's beautiful family. 

Handstand Man

Here is a little video to go with the Tel Aviv trip.  This is Michael's beach routine:

Pbars on the Beach

Pbars backflip

The old man has still got it.  :)

Michael's Family @ Ben Yahuda St

Mike couldn't leave without another shawerma sandwich, and no one blames him.  Our last night we spent  on Ben Yahuda St, enjoying live music and great food.

We packed up early the next morning to tackle the border.   

I should have included these pictures before Jerusalem, but here they are.  

Around Christmas time we put together quite a few puzzles with Amy and her boys.  

Christmas with kids is so much fun.  Their reactions were priceless.  Michael just hasn't given that kind of enthusiasm when we've had our own quiet Christmases.  

The boys made Santa's sleigh and a reindeer. I especially like the markers and legos for arms and fingers. 

Michael's Family @ Galilee

We didn't have much time here before sunset, and the fog settling on the lake made it difficult to get good pictures, but the peacefulness of the Sea of Galilee was radiating.  The glassy water was almost still enough for Michael to walk on water, but not quite.  Maybe we'll work up more faith for next time we come here.   It was easy to imagine Christ on this water and in these hills.  He spent so much time in the Galilee.  On lds.org I learned that Galilee was a busy crossroads leading to Damascus, Egypt, and eastern Israel back in Christ's time.  The  fertile soil and abundance of fish by the Sea of Galilee made this a weathly area. 

Here are some scriptures of Christ miracles and ministry in Galilee:

Matthew 4:23 Christ ministers, teaches and performs miracles in Galilee

John 2:1-12 The miracle of Christ turning water to wine at the marriage.  After the miracle He went to Capernum, which is where these pictures were taken. 

John 4: 43-54 A nobleman came to Christ and said he son was dead.  Christ told him, "Go thy way; thy son liveth."  Through the man's faith the miracle happened and his son was brought back from the dead.  

John 6  Jesus feeds the five thousand, He walks on the water to His disciples

Matthew 28:16-20 Christ rises from the tomb and tells His disciples to meet Him in Galilee.  There He teaches them to teach all nations and be His hands. 

Matthew 15:29-38  Christ heals the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others and then feeds them from 7 loaves and 7 fishes. 

John 1:14 Christ calls his disciples to come follow Him.

And my favorite: John 21 After Christ's death, some disciples decide to go back to what they knew best; fishing.  Christ appears to them and kindly scolds them, teaching that He needs them to feed His sheep, not go back to fishing. This reminds me to prioritize my life.  Do I love Christ? Do I show Him my love? Because we all know that actions speak much louder than words.  The picture of this biblical story is so well painted by Elder Holland in the last October General Conference.  The Fist Great Commandment.  Here is an great reminder for myself from His talk: 

"I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty."

I have a testimony of Christ and I am certain that He lives; all my spiritual senses tell me so.  I have not seen Him face to face, and I don't expect I ever will in this life, so I suppose I do not have a perfect knowledge.  But, I do believe that after all is said and done and I meet my Maker, I will be so glad that I chose to believe in Him.  And, if for some reason I am wrong in my beliefs, and it all ends at death, I still would be happy that I chose to live my life for something good.  It is better to believe.  I am happier because of my faith in God and an eternal plan. 

Michael's Family @ Mediterranean Sea/ Tel Aviv

As we drove to Galilee, we got closer and closer to the Mediterranean Sea.  We could see it on the GPS, and it looked so close we could touch it, but sadly, a hill obstructed our oceanic view.  Seeing it on the GPS wasn't enough for me, and I couldn't pass a chance to dip my toes in the Mediterranean, so with Janice's help I convinced the guys to take the next exit to the beach.  The weather was beautiful.  You'd never had believed it was the end of December.  The sand was so perfect and you could pick up seashells by the bucket full.  There were even some random parallel bars on the beach so Michael showed Tel Aviv his mad gymnastic skills.  

Michael's Family @ Jerusalem

We are still trying to figure out how our rental car was meant to fit five people.  All we can figure is that on the rental website they must have meant five gnomes.  Luckily, our apartment was nice and roomy for all five of us.  It had a beautiful garden and we ate grapefruits and lemons fresh off the tree every morning.  There was a bitty kitchenette that we found very useful.

We ran ragged all over the hills of Jerusalem.  We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, David's Tower Museum,  The Pools of Bethesda, The Garden Tomb and Skull Hill, and the Garden of Gethsemane.  On Saturday we attended church at the BYU Jerusalem Center.  The chapel overlooks an incredible view of the old city.  It was such a neat experience to listen to the speakers talk of Christ while we looked out on the very city He walked. 

We shopped, we walked, we had a picnic, we walked, we got lost, we walked, ate some great new foods, we walked, and we had the time of a lifetime.  When we asked Granny if she was seeing everything she wanted to, she said she didn't even know there was so much to see. She even got her hair done right there within the walls of the old city!