Our last day in Egypt started bright and early, or should I say dark and early, at 2:00 a.m. so that we could make it to the top of Mt. Sinai in time for sunrise. It was an amazing experience and the Mt. Sinai experience was the absolute highlight of my entire trip to Egypt!
The hike was intense-three hours long at a steep incline with 700 steps at the end-and all I can say is that Moses must have been a pretty in shape guy to make that trek six times as an old man! We had a great time hiking it though and ignored the hundreds of bedouin men along the path trying to convince you to hire them and ride a camel up the rest of the way.
getting ready to start our hike ...it was two in the morning, don't judge!
Stacey's hiking footwear of choice...nice
we made it!
We arrived at the top of the mountain a few minutes before sunrise and sang hymns as we huddled together trying to stay warm. As we sat there the spirit was so strong and you could just feel that you were standing on holy ground. As the sun started to come up over the mountains, it was honestly one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my entire life. I don't even know how to describe it and no picture can do it justice.
After the sun came up and we finished singing hymns, we had a lesson from Brother Manscill, a testimony meeting, and some quiet time by ourselves. It was such an amazing spiritual experience. Brother Manscill taught us that God brings his people to mountains when he wants to speak with them and how this particular mountain is especially sacred. You could definitely feel how Mt. Sinai is a temple place and I felt so close to Heavenly Father while I was up there. After a few hours we reluctantly hiked back down the mountain, visited St. Catherine's Monestary, got back on the bus, and headed back to Jerusalem. It was such an amazing way to end an amazing trip and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to have my own personal Mt. Sinai experience!
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