Sabbath at the Western Wall

Western Wall on a regular week day (no cameras on the sabbath)

We went to the western wall!! It was the most amazing experience of my life!!  It was unreal. Tonight was the start of the sabbath, so there were TONS of people. Everyone was packed on top of each other to get to the wall. They were split men and women and they were singing and chanting and dancing and praying and crying and it was so amazing. We slowly worked our way to the wall and got to touch it and add to the paper stuffed between the blocks. Of all the things I've seen here, the wall has been the most powerful. The wall was different because of all those people. Their faith was palpable. We met a Jewish woman from New York and we asked her to tell us about what was going on. She was amazing! She was the kind of lady you would see on the street who is super stylish and in a short skirt and I would totally judge her. But she told us all about God and how she is trying to have a strong relationship with him and how she knows she wears bikinis and isn't as good as she needs to be, but she is working hard to be the kind person God wants her to be. She told us all about being faithful and making sacrifices like having to walk all the way back to her hotel since she can't drive on the Sabbath. Then we asked her about Christ. She said he is just a man and she doesn't even know much about him. She literally couldn't even tell us more than "he walked on water and died somewhere around here." She said she is waiting for the Messiah to come. The entire experience just hit me really hard. There are so many good people in this world who are doing their best to be close to God. All those people praying out there--kids, teenagers, adults. . . but they are lacking the most important part of the gospel--Jesus Christ. I got so emotional looking out at all of them. Christ is going to come. He is going to show himself to all those Jews and they are going to realize who he is. They may not know him now, but one day they will. I never understood how they could not get it, but they are just going by what they know, or don't know. They want truth and are doing their best, they just got lost along the way. I can't even describe what it was like to look out at all those people, knowing what I know, and literally not being able to tell them anything. But I felt Christ's love for all those people. Christ atoned for us so we can all be saved. Those people don't know him yet, but one day they will again meet their Savior. This experience has given me a lot of hope. There is a lot of good in this world. People are still doing their best, and Christ will make up the difference.