Mt. Sinai (May 24)

Wake up call at 2:02am!! I woke up excited and determined.

See? I was so excited to hike! It was completely dark when we started and it was awesome to look up and see billions of stars. The only sky I've seen that's better is the Ranch.

Climbing to the peak to watch the sunrise.

It was freezing on top! This is the only time in 4 months that we're allowed to touch each other, so I figured- live it up!




Pictures don't even do it justice. The sunrise was perfect. It was breath-taking, at least when combined with the cold. I watched the sunrise almost everyday while I was in Hawaii and in Paris- I just love sunrises. This tops them all though. This was the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. I was so grateful that I felt well enough to enjoy this spectacular experience.

I stole this picture from someone. I wish I was cool enough to be in it. But I am cool enough to appreciate it.

I just like this one. I'm not sure why. You can too if you want.

The best part of this whole experience is Mandy. I love being here with her and learning from her insights and example. It has been a great bonding experience for us to share this together, especially moments like this.

Mandy bearing her testimony on the summit. I didn't get to hear it because we're in different groups for the majority of the time on field trips, but I'm sure it was great.
Bearing my testimony on top of Sinai was one of the most powerful experiences I've had so far. I didn't feel great so I hiked the whole thing by myself which gave me a lot of time to think. It was Kedra and Richard's birthday so I was thinking a lot about family. Standing there, I just started crying realizing that I was standing somewhere that very few people ever will and I was there because of the sacrifices and support of so many who will never have the same experience. I thought a lot about what it means to be a Foote and a Kelly, about what it means to be a diciple of Christ and whether I am living up to those responsibilities. I thought about how I am going to make my mark in the world, how I'm going to make it different because I lived in it. All of this was combined with thoughts of Moses and with Christ and what happened here. Between all of those thoughts and some great conversations I had with people on the bus I came to a great realization- those who have had the greatest impact in this world have been the weak and the simple, those who have not sought to glorify themselves. It has been those who have been prepared, worthy and available. That's not to say we shouldn't be anxiously engaged, but we don't have to make ourselves great we just have to follow Christ and trust that He has great things in store for us. I'm excited to find out what it is. All I know is that His plan for my life is always better than my plan for my life, and I have a pretty sweet plan- so life is going to rock if I follow His!

I loved this view. This is what I was looking out over from the top of Mt. Sinai while we were having our testimony meeting. Things look different from the summit and I don't think I'll soon forget this image.

And we had some fun... again with the jumping pictures. But this one's sweet. I take full credit for the photography, but I guess Dan deserves some credit for his ninja skills.

Look close. That's me and Daniel. He's fun because he has the same sense of adventure I do. If we see a peak, we want to be on top of it so we climb. He's always up for doing crazy stuff with me.