I'm out. Peace

This is it, jumping off point. I will be leaving the Jerusalem Center in about an hour and a half and that's really hard to believe. This place has become like home to me and the people here, like family. I am so glad I came. The other night I was sitting in the auditorium, looking out over the city and listening to the magical organ of Walter Whipple and it occurred to me that there was no where else on earth that I would rather have been this semester and probably nowhere else that I was supposed to be. The people I've met here have had such an impact on my life and I can only say, I know that this was all by divine design. I will never be able to convey to you all what this time was like. There is no explaining it. But we strived for Zion here. I will miss it. It was very difficult at times and my life took some funny turns at different points, but the whole experience has set me on the course of becoming the person I've been realizes that I have not yet become...but will...someday. Don't ever waste time or opportunities. Ever.

Red Sea, Med. Sea, Dead Sea!

Been there! Done that! Yesterday we took a trip to Eilat, to snorkel in the Red Sea. The reef there is fantastic, but they have it roped off so you can't actually swim over it - there's probably 3 or 4 feet of water above it and the reef itself is at least 10 feet tall. So at the point where it drops off into the "open ocean," there is a rope that the snorklers follow. So, you're swimming in 12-25 ft. deep water, looking at the reef from close by and trying to convince the fish that you're nice, so they'll want to swim all around you - it worked a couple times. Anyway, pictures of the three trips.

Red Sea

Med. Sea

Dead Sea

This was a field trip last week. The water is warm and feels and looks like baby oil. And....you float - you have no choice. It's really fun. And then there's the mud...

No joke. Best commencement address ever!! We had a gradutation party for seniors who are missing their graduation parties back at Provo, Idaho, Hawaii..... and our keynote speaker was the renaissance man himself, Walter Whipple. So, as we go into the world, we will seek to broaden our minds while exploring the real reasons behind... ...is at and expression of their aesthetic sense or simply the manifestation of biological tendencies?

Pictures from Galilee and Petra!!! sans explanations, for now...

Sandstone! We had to scale the sheer faces of many cliffs to find this. Do I sound tough? I think those are little sheep poos on the ground.

Awkward camel.
"The Treasury." Porbably a tomb. I have lots of other awesome pictures too. This is a tiny fraction of a fraction of what is there. Carved out of the side of a mountain!!!
Aqueduct
Sunset at Galilee, Tiberias on the other side.
Elizabeth being clever.
Golan Heights. Home sweet home.
Beth Shean! Don't worry, we were totally SAFE as we dangled our feet over a the edge of some ruins...like 20 feet up.
Seriously, I wanna move here.
In all fairness, that water was so ridiculously cold. Judge-free zone.
Again, I wanna move here. (Golan Heights)
I'm sailing! I sail. I'm a sailor. Ahoy!
The Sea of Galilee
Church of the Anunciation in Bethlehem - the Catholic one, anyway.
Arches! It's the remains of an aqueduct leading to Caesarea Maritima.
The beach at Caesarea Maritima has not sand - just shells.
People do it here too. Tel Aviv. Mediterranean. So cool.
Globe-trotting sandals.
Bummer. Check facebook for a new video.

Good Friday! The understatement of the year

We began the day with 2 hours of New Testament class, which helped us get in the mood fo the Via Dolorosa, which is the way the Savior walked, carrying the cross from His trial at the Antonia Fortress, by the Temple Mount to Calvary, to The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (traditionally). I read John 18-19 as we waited (and this couple from England who, when they saw that I was reading the Bible, talked to me for a bit and included a hearty “Praise the Lord!”) for the procession to be led out by the Franciscan Fathers. We (the Jerusalem Center people) have a long-standing friendship with one of them – Father Angelo, from the Philippines by way of LA. He served to translate the text that was read at all 14 stations of the cross in English. Admitted my group only followed the procession for about 2 stations – understand that it’s so uncomfortably crowded, plus we wanted to go acoustics hopping – a favorite pastime of me and my musicaholic, acoustic junky friends. So off we headed, beginning in Dormition Abbey, where we sang mostly sacrament hymns and were approached by a lovely french woman. I think the best part of all the singing we do in these churches is getting to meet people from all over the place. We continued our safari, stopping at a few smaller chapels along the way and eventually ended up at the St. Anne’s Church, where the Pool of Bethesda was found. We sang off and on for about an hour and a half. I mean seriously, what’s the point of vaulted ceilings and stone walls if you don’t use them? Of course there were plenty of tour groups coming and going and they were very polite and appreciative. We even got to hear a group from Indonesia sing. We made a few videos, and I’ll post them as soon as I have a good connection. I also spoke with a lovely woman from Italy on our way out.

Keep in mind that it’s also been Passover week, so we went to the Western Wall to welcome in Shabbat with the Jews (probably our last chance to do so). I’m impressed by the large number of adolescent girls praying at the wall. But I think that explains the continuity of Judaism because the influence of the mothers is probably the strongest in teaching the traditions and practices of the people and setting the tone of worship and observance in the home. Go, women! Afterward some of us wanted to go to the service and funerary procession that would be taking place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but since we’re not allowed to be in the Old City at night (keep this in mind), they ordered taxis, which took us from Dung Gate to Jaffa Gate, which is probably farther from the Holy Sepulchre than we already were, and since we were running late, we had to RUN through the streets of the Old City to get there. Slick, uneven stones, stairs, narrow corridors and lots of people – it was awesome. But when we arrived at the Christian Quarter, we found that we couldn’t even get into the courtyard of the church – too crowded. So, we ran around the block to see if we could get in through the Coptic church or the Ethiopian monastery. No go. What are we gonna do? Well, we’re stuck here until 11:00…in the Old City….at night….with nothing to do….(8D). NO ONE EVER GETS TO DO THIS, so we did our best to capitalize on the experience. Someone had been into a church earlier that day that led to the roof, overlooking the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre church, so by a miracle, we were able to convince them to let us in. We were pretty thrilled by that….but then my friend John and I were poking around on the roof and I was taking pictures of the view of the city while John climbed up a random staircase that led to a door under a dome. This shouldn’t be surprising – there are tons of domes in Jerusalem, but I just wasn’t putting two and two together, as far as this dome’s significance, so anyway John found that the door was only chained shut and could be opened about 10 inches, but the door was 15 feet above the ground and smack dab against a metal rail and the chain was at an inconvenient level…but that never stopped us – I love trying to fit through tight places – so, in a skirt, I squoze (haha – great word) through (and I have bruises on my legs to prove that metal door meant business), and found myself in a very dark, narrow, round balcony. When I stood up and looked over the rail, I realized, I WAS IN THE TOP LEVEL OF THE CENTRAL DOME OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE!!!! This is a big deal. No one can get up there. Not even our Ancient Near Eastern Studies professor who is not above paying people off to let him take pictures wherever he wants to, even when it’s not allowed. So, we got John in too and we very giddily and from at least 100 feet up watched the goings-on of the service that it had been impossible to get into. We were joined by a few more students, which scared us because it was dark and for all we knew, it was ghosts or angry priests or some kind of trouble. Pictures!! Then apparently we were spotted and got quick word that someone was coming up after us, so the excitement of living on the edge was intensified about 200 times as we rushed back around to the only door and try to get 8 people out really fast without sending anyone falling to their death. But we did it. Hahaha. So tricky! I think we’re gonna start a club – the 5 Levels of the Holy Sepulchre Club! So, I have pictures and video of the proceedings downstairs. Many of you will know better than I what was taking place. Apparently a manikin representing Jesus was brought in on a cross and taken into the edicule, which contains the tomb. Then the manikin is left in and the cross is carried out, followed by a lot of priests and other officials of the Catholic Church. So, it’s a pretty exciting affair, attracting to many pilgrims and very curious LDS young adults who haven’t seen something of this sort before. Great experience.

Whoops - more Galilee

I'm gonna be in Jordan for the next four days, and I'm well aware of the withdrawls my absence may send you into, so I'm posting the rest of my Galilee escapades. I know it's a lot at once, but here it goes.

Day 4) Another three hour session of Manscill’s New Testament class. We covered the Sermon on the Mount, which we actually got to visit yesterday and learn about. Some controversial things were said in that class, so I was a bit forced to do a little research and also for good reason read the Epistle of James. I did so while sitting with my feet in the water. Cool experience, because I love James and he grew up in this area. So, reading his “general conference talk” of an epistle helped me to remember the importance of faith and works and what pure religion is: caring for and visiting the widows and fatherless and doing your best to keep the commandments and live the gospel. This afternoon we set out to hike to a waterfall in the Golan Heights (a militarily controversial area which used to be part of Syria). The drive up reminded me a lot of Oklahoma – green meadows over rolling hills with a random tree here and there or a bunch around a creek. And there were flocks of gigantic storks in the fields and trees. The hike was so beautiful, taking us down into the Great Rift Valley, to the Jordan River (creek). The trial had us crawling up and down boulders and crossing the creek several times before it came to some great lookout points over a huge waterfall. Once we got down to the water and walked through the bamboo forest to the waterfall pool, some of us overcame trepidation and jumped in. Holy cold. Mountain runoff, my favorite temperature, but you only live once, right, so, we did it. The hike out was quick and we rushed back to the Kibbutz to leave again for dinner. St. Peter’s fish. Really not bad at all. I don’t know exactly how they cook it but the outside was definitely fried crispy – oh yeah, they serve you the whole fish, eyes, brains, fins, and all! Then we drove around the Sea to Tiberius and enjoyed the nightlife. Kalie and I found a great little dock to hang out on down in the little harbor. We lay in the dark, partially lit by stars and neon lights, listening to Jewish and Italian songs on the accordion, talking about Tongan men. Bliss. I realized tonight that the Lord is giving me this time to not focus on guys and romance but to focus on my relationship with Him. I think if I fix that then all other relationships I develop with guys or anybody will be so much better.

Day 5) Already?!? How have we possibly been here that long?! This time I right again from my cute blue chair on the shore of the Sea, but this time the water is perfectly calm and clear. This morning was fieldtrip time for our class. We drove up into the Golan Heights, through the Rift Valley or something like it to Gamla, a lone peninsula jutting from one side of the canyon out into the middle. “Gamla” means camel in Arabic and it’s called that because it looks like a camel’s hump. The Zealots made their last stand here. There are ruins of a synagogue and houses on it. It would be a well-fortified city, affording the inhabitants the advantage over invaders…unless those invaders are 25,000 troops of Roman soldiers. Anyway, the Jews’ city was sacked and probably never reinhabited. This is the episode during which Josephus turned on Judea and joined with the Romans. Anyway, we hiked out onto the gamla and took awesome amazing pictures, but cameras and nothing compared to human eyes. It was like Machupichu. So cool! Then we went to a really cool Talmudic era school and preservation. There were plenty of ruins of the houses and synagogues in the ancient community (7th or 8th century AD, I think), but what was really cool was a completely restored house, complete with roof and furnishings, which was actually built on the original foundation of the ancient house. Neat place. Lots of Jewish families and little boys from the yeshiva touring the place and learning the daily living activities of their ancestors the way we would by going to the Oregon Trail interpretive Center or having pioneer days at school – carding wool and making arrowheads and butter. We also made a stop at a lookout/memorial of the battles that have been fought in the area. The sounding land consists or the most beautiful, pastoral hills beyond the barbed wire fences, on which the “Danger: Mines” sign hang. Such an irony. No wonder Syria wants this land back.

Day 6) Today was a great experience. Sabbath at the kibbutz. Mostly it felt like we were just eating all day. The Galilee Branch meets in a lovely villa, which is aptly sized…for a villa, but quite small for chapel, so the classes had to go to church separately. My group went in the afternoon, but on the way we stopped are Yardinet on the Jordan River, the site where many Christians include a rebaptism in their pilgrimage. We actually witnessed a group doing this. You can rent white robes for $10, be baptized in whatever many you’d like and then you receive a certificate. We passed on that and continued on to our meetings to be “rebaptized” ourselves, as we participated in the Sacrament. (Sidenote: While we were waiting to get back on our bus at Yardinet, a lovely lady waited in the shade with us and it turns out she’s a Maussie! Ten points to the one who can tell me what a Maussie is.) Absolutely phenomenal Sacrament Meeting. I thought our view overlooking Jerusalem couldn’t be beat, but I’m sure that the Sea of Galilee actually provides a much better backdrop for a meeting centered on the Savior and His teachings and sacrifice. Some important and relevant points were made, such as the need to take time to be still (silent and faithful), in order to hear and feel the Lord guiding our lives, as well as how important it is to spend time with the Lord in order to know Him better. I was sad to have not been able to meet with the branch members, but a few of them came to the kibbutz later that evening for a fireside, during which they talked about the beginnings of the branch here and their experiences and answered questions. We were broken into groups for this and the sister who spoke with our group was a physiotherapist, who felt the need to come to Israel back in the 60s and never really left. She’s a Canadian but has been given Israeli citizenship, which is almost unheard of. She said she fell in love with Israel and that’s what has kept her here. Sometimes I wonder if that’ll happen to me. I really love some of the places I’ve lived. The more of the world I see, the more I want to see and feel brave enough to strike out and live in a remote village somewhere. It could be fun.

Day 7) Another lovely day of classroom study, New Testament, of course. We’ve been focusing on the time the Savior spent ministering in the Galilee, so today we discussed the miracles and sermons of His second and third years of ministry. We are flying through the scriptures. Something I like is the when the Gentile women asks Jesus to heal her daughter and He says to her that it is not meet to take the bread from the children and give it to the dogs, she understands right away and is humble as has enough faith to beg the crumbs from the master’s table. I always love the examples of the unlikely believers and converts, compared to those of the covenant who just seem to believe that their race will save them. These are very relaxed days because we get to spend hours on the beach. I was lifeguarding today, which is a no-brainer and almost a no-eye-r, so I spent the hour gleaning clay from the shore. There are ribbons of clay woven through the sand in and out of the water. With a little coaxing, it becomes very smooth and easy to work with, so I’ll bring some back to Jerusalem. I listened in on a conversation with two young jewish women who were American and Israeli, about their open-minded view of the conflict. So interesting. The more I learn about the conflict and each side, the more confused I get, however, one of the girls did say that she thought education would be the solution in the conflict, which I have believed for several weeks now. So, maybe I’m on the right track in my thinking, but still, it’s so complex, that no one thing is gonna fix everything…..but maybe the Second Coming….

Okay, that's not it, but this is way too long already, so I'll post the rest when I get back.

Happy Birthday, Carrie!

My lovely friend, Carrier Warner had the good sense to turn 23 yesterday and decided to modify the Jerusalem Center tradition of gelato in West Jerusalem sorta birthday party. It still included gelato and West J-ru, but it also included singing on the streets to raise money for the gelato. So, check out Facebook and the pictures of an activity looking like that. It was so much fun and I think I should probably pick up the guitar or ukulele and see how successful it could be.......maybe.
We made 125.8 shekels! Gelato for the masses!

Palm Sunday!!!

Don't worry, I'll still keep reporting on Galilee, but in the meantime, I have to tell you about the awesomeness of the Palm Sunday walk from Bethany through Lion Gate to St. Anne's Church. This commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, when He rode on a donkey, while the crowd hailed Him with palms waiving and shouts of 'Hosanna.' I imagine it was very exciting and was accompanied by a great feeling of love and brotherhood among the believers.

So, I'll tell you how we did it. We gathered in Bethany with Italians and Filippinos and Egyptians and Palestinians and Haitian/other Caribbeans - Christians from all over the place. MUSICA!! So lively! Eventually, it all turned into a massive parade and a few of us decided to march with the Filippinos, who were singing IN ENGLISH, so we proceeded to sing the most awesome song for at least 30 minutes as we walked down the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and up to the Lion Gate at the base of the Temple Mount. The really cool thing is that one of the girls in our group just got her mission call to the Philippines Iloilo Mission, so she was on cloud 9 as she shmoozed with 'em. When we got to the church, there was an Arab Christian rock band playing and plenty of dancing and waiving palms around. Exciting! We wandered through the Old City and out the New Gate, near which we watched a parade of scouts! Playing bagpipes! Even the little little ones! Tons of Arab Catholic Scouts! And I took pictures of it all. And someday you'll see them!

Spring Break in Galilee!

I love the Galilee!!! This trip (just shy of two weeks) has been the refreshing the vacation that my soul has needed for a very long time. I'll add one day at a time and pictures soon, so you don't get overwhelmed, because this was the crowning jewel of my Jerusalem experience and I want you to get the scope of the awesomeness. Enjoy!

Day 1- March 15th) We left Jerusalem at about 6:30 in the morning and headed for the coast. There are three ways to go from Jerusalem to Galilee: through the Jordan River Valley, through Samaria, and by the way of the sea. So, we went by the way of the sea. Our first stop was Caesarea Maritima, which was built by Herod the Great, to give Judea a big port and to gain favor and legitimacy in the eyes of Rome. As many times as Judea was conquered through the ages, this port was also conquered. We watched a movie and spent some time in the ruins of an amphitheater, which is actually the one in which the Roman soldiers celebrated the destruction of Jerusalem. There is also the remains of a hippodrome – if you don’t know what that is, you should watch “Ben Hur”…..actually, you should just watch “Ben Hur” anyway. And of course there were ruins from the breakwater, a temple and other important buildings, but my favorite thing was being at the beach. The Mediterranean is pretty awesome. The beach at this port is made of shells – millions of perfectly halved clam shells of all sizes and colors – that’s it, no rocks, no sand – just shells. I grabbed a handful.

After Caesarea, we drove up the coast and stopped for 10 minutes at the ruins of the aqueduct that carried water to Caesarea. We climbed on it, jumped off, took pictures. The whole bit. The fun very ended, as we hit Tel Megiddo next. Who can tell me the significance of that place? The valley of Jezreel, which the tel overlooks is so beautiful and verdant. We had history and scripture lessons there and tried to imagine Ahab chasing Elijah across the valley. Brother Manscill pointed out to us that he’s felt that all of us who come to the Holy Land and learn the lay of the land and such will have some sort of role in the last days in this area. We left and moved on to Nazareth. The entire city is set high on a hill or plateau. It’s beautiful and covered in churches that memorialize the Annunciation to Mary of Jesus’ birth. We drank from the spring where this supposedly happened, which is inside the Greek Orthodox Church. Apparently the waters are supposed to help you get pregnant. No such luck. The Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation is HUGE and contains mosaics from 100 Catholic nations depicting this event – even from China and Bolivia. Very cool. I didn’t think that we would find Palestinians there, being so far from the West Bank, but there were plenty. It looked a lot like the Old City of Jerusalem.

Eventually, we wound our way through the hills, passing herds of sheep and cows grazing in very green fields, and came to the lovely view of the Sea of Galilee. The sun was on its way down at the time, so by the time we got to Ein Gev (on the eastern side), we through our stuff in our rooms and watched the sun set with our feet in the water. There is a great feeling of peace and the luxury of taking one’s time to sit and relax and ponder for a change. There are many others here – mostly foreign pilgrims and even some nuns from France. Beautiful setting.

Day 2) I am grateful for a break. We had three hours of New Testament class and then some time before lunch to just spend doing whatever. Since half the group was gone on the fieldtrip we would do the next day, the kibbutz was very quiet. I sat on the seashore (love saying that) and journalled but took breaks to pick up some of the squillion seashells on the seashore. After lunch we had our first free time, which mean the first time to test the waters. It was really windy, so there were some pretty good waves. That made the water fun but also difficult to be warm in. But the water was warmer than the air. I was lifeguarding for the first hour and had to wear my coat along over my swimsuit and board shorts, as I stood in calf-deep water. I’m impressed with the students’ adamancy to make the most out of every situation we’re in. They go out in the city when it’s cold and raining. They swim when it’s cold. They go all out in every condition and I think it’s because we all realize that we’ve only got one shot at every day here, so we have to make it count and if that means making memories in uncomfortable and precarious circumstances, so be it.

Fill your canteens...

Bahhh! This has to be quick - a short ditty to tied you over until I get back from the Galilee....8D.

We were favored with TWO field trips this week. The first was Bethlehem, which you read all about in my last blog.....you did read it, didn't you? Anyway, the second was a great day of adventure at Neot Kedumim, a sorta man-made Bible Lands natural preserve. Thousands of acres of natural and old-looking stuff! We were educated quite a bit about land, climate, and daily life in the days of the Old and New Testament. We pulled water up out of a 2000 year old cistern, herded sheep and goats, visited the threshing floor about which was growing wheat and barley, made pita and popcorn wheat over the fire, watched a master writing calligraphy on a Torah scroll, ran in the giant hamster wheel that powers the water wheel that fetches water from the pond. It was like Outdoor School. Really hot out. Hydration cures all what ails ya! This was my favorite field trip thus far. Hands-on!

Shamrells will be proud of me. On Sabbath (oh, by the way, in case anyone doesn't know this, we actually observe the Sabbath on Saturday, which is basically in accord with most of the country. Interesting place, this - three major religions, three different holy days),...anyway, on Sabbath, there was a group of Italian LDS tourists visiting our church meetings. I wasn't able to talk to them during the meetings, but afterward I asked their tour guide to ask the group if anyone knew Sciammarelli from Calabria. No one did, but a very nice lady came and talked to me. She had just moved from Milan to Calabria, so we exchanged information, so maybe she'll be able to help me track down any relatives we may still have in the area. Cool!

Today, I took a trip to the sea with several classmates. Tel Aviv! All I really wanted to do there was go to the beach. I was so determined to enjoy it the way I would in Hawaii, that I ran out into the water (that's probably about the same temperature as the Columbia River - not warm!) and swam out to one of the jettis that protect the bay for swimmers. The Mediterranean has woefully wimpy waves. But no matter. It was beautiful. So, in and out of the water, burying people in sand and making them into mer-people here and there and the occasional llama or centaur. I wish I had time to post pictures before leaving, but you'll see that and more in about two weeks. So, hang tight and enjoy your fortnight.

Betelehemu! Betelehemu!

Yesterday morning, after a lovely run around the Hebrew University campus (I do run here and I still have to take showers afterward - no fantasy vacation here), we set out to go to Bethlehem, which actually implies leaving Israel and entering the West Bank, which is considered Palestine, and must therefore include a trip through the Separation Wall. This is a high security military operation. This wall is 8 meters tall and stretches 770 kilometers (by comparison, the Berlin wall was 3.6 meters high and stretched for 155 kilometers). They mean serious business. Palestinians may call it a land-grab (there are other parts to that, like LOTS of Israeli settlements being built in the West Bank) and Israelis call it security, but the fact of the matter is suicide bombings in Jerusalem have virtually stopped since the barrier was built. And a lot of land and freedom have been taken. Okay, on to the next topic…..

The Bethlehem University is awesome. If you need a cause to which to donate – this is a really good one. I haven’t really shared any political views throughout my blogging, but here’s a glimpse into my mind of what’s going to be an effective source of resolution for this conflict, at least on the Palestinian side. I think that a change of national identity and focus is vital for Palestinians, especially the upcoming generation. What I mean by that is that many Palestinians see their nation and people as martyrs and not much else. As Americans I don’t think we can imagine not having “Old Glory” and baseball games and “purple mountain majesties” and “The American Dream” come to mind whenever we hear, “America!” or “USA.” That’s part of our national image and it means that the sky is the limit. That is not the case for a lot of Palestinians. Children’s books catch this theme of being oppressed by the development of the state of Israel (and really, there’s a lot of truth to that), so from a very early age, they are often conditioned to not look at the possibilities for breaking out of the cycle and changing to situation, which is part of why the conflict continues. BEFORE YOU CAST STONES AT THIS…remember that this is only half of the story. Not even half. I have plenty to say about both sides, both for and against. But this is the part that has something to do with our visit to Bethlehem University. Anyway, the university gives many young Palestinians the chance to get a great education and make a great future for themselves. Most, even if they go to other countries for school, want to return to live in Palestine. This is a group of individuals who can help the effort to move into the future of trying to resolve conflict between the two countries. It is a Catholic school, so the student body is a mix of Christians and Muslims. We were toured around, had a Q&A session with three students and then got to mingle with the students in the courtyards of the school. Some of the guys even played pick-up basketball with the student. They are just like us.
We ate lunch in a Bedouin tent restaurant. Fun! But they forgot to tell us that another course was coming after the pita and dips course. I hate being overly full and I could commiserate with Mary a little bit as we strolled through the streets of Bethlehem toward the Church of the Nativity, which is the traditional birthplace of the Savior, feeling uncomfortable large. :P





The Church is really neat, and big, and OLD. It’s the oldest surviving church in all of Christianity. There was a huge crowd there, but we made our way down to grotto which is beneath the altar. It’s basically a cave. Stick your hand through the 14 pointed star and you’re touching the stone on which the birth occurred. Turn around and you see the manger (carved out stone), where Baby Jesus was laid. There are three denominations that share this church: Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic. I didn’t really get to see the interaction between them, but I’ve heard how a similar situation works (or causes scuffles) at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City.

Uncovered original mosaic floors, dating back to the 4th Century and Emperor Justinian

Really cool 4th century pillars

Rock where the birth happened(?)

Manger (?)

Pretty angel

Leading to the Nativity Grotto

For every church in the Holy Land there's a mosque

Hi, Allie!

Back to that separation wall. It’s easy to get through to Palestine (unless you’re Israeli, in which case it is in fact forbidden by your government), but coming back to Jerusalem is a challenge – basically impossible if you don’t have a proper permit, which you can get if you work in the Jerusalem (like our Relief Society President does – she’s my hero, by the way), are a student, are a Palestinian living in Jerusalem (interestingly, this group has no official nationality), or it’s Christmas and you’re lucky enough to get a permit to visit…or you’re a complete foreigner to the area and have a passport. But even then it can take hours to get through the checkpoint. Apparently, the Israeli soldiers guarding the checkpoint tend to give the crossing Palestinians a pretty hard time. For a few minutes our bus was stopped, straddling the border and it just so happens that I was sitting with one foot in Palestine and one in Israel! Talk about conflict! But eventually we got home. This was a really cool experience. We don’t get to go into the West Bank often. It’s such a touchy situation, but actually being there was wonderful. And I didn’t feel like I was in any danger.

Is anybody still there? ZOOOOOOO!

UPDATED WITH PICTURES!!!!!

You've been waiting for a while and I apologize. Slikha! The honest to goodness truth is....um...all of our fieldtrips for the last two weeks basically didn't happen due to bad weather and violence in the city. And we literally spent the rest of the time sitting in make-up sessions for our Islam/Palestine class and cramming for and taking finals.....literally. I kid you not. So, sigh of relief, exams are over and now we move into the phase of the semester in which we only take two classes (New Testament and Ancient NearEastern Studies) and spend the rest of the time beachin' it up in Galilee and exploring Petra and other parts of Jordan and generally just loving each other all the more. This has really been one of the coolest, funnest, most judge-free experience of my life. The people here are CRAZY!!....like me!
Today (hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to upload some picturas!!), we went to the zoo! The theme is (I bet you can't guess) Noah's ark!! Actually there was a big wooden ark at the end of the park. Highlights include a Hyacinth Macaw that used to belong to Winston Churchill (No joke, it's like 104 years old) and still shouts profanities about Nazis, a lion and began to maul the window through which I'm sure some other JC students were taunting it - I got a video, just like National Goegraphic, I swear! - and then there were Koi to pet:), and the chimpanzees - little ones picking fights with big ones and then getting clobbered and running off to their moms. I was totally impressed with this zoo. And after having been cooped up in our palace due to rain, fires in the street (check out http://www.blog.erictorrie.com/), stonings and FINALS, it was beautiful to take the day to be little carefree kids, frolicking in the sunshine through the menagerie and the Jewish quarter of the Old City. I feel like I can't do any of this justice with my descriptions.
I finally feel like I'm gaining an idea of the conflict in this area and what the opposing sides are wanting and upset about it. It makes me feel like a better member of society. Yay!!

Mamma's taken us to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow......and little Jon is a little hesitant.

Squirrel monkey

Climbing up rocks is super fun.



Bear

Three-legged leopard

Noah's Ark

Awesome scenary! Giraffes in the Holy Land!

Hebrew-speaking child-friendly Noah's ark story comics. The raindrop says,"Loooooooooooo!"

Koi are slimy.

I was totally impressed with this zoo. And after having been cooped up in our palace due to rain, fires in the street (check out http://www.blog.erictorrie.com/), stonings and FINALS, it was beautiful to take the day to be little carefree kids, frolicking in the sunshine through the menagerie and the Jewish quarter of the Old City. I feel like I can't do any of this justice with my descriptions.
I finally feel like I'm gaining an idea of the conflict in this area and what the opposing sides are wanting and upset about it. It makes me feel like a better member of society. Yay!!

Aloha.

So, I was missin' Hawai'i a bit...

Hey, it's Elizabeth, my bedfellow!

I hope you can see where this is going...

So, I've been missing science classes....

We needed an experiment...

...and a snack.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is the awesome, creepy Valentine I made for my secret Valentine. Yes, that is a bag made out of a corset. Yes, I made it myself. No, he didn't get it. (Like, understand it. No, I didn't decide to keep it....although, I might have to try to steal it back....)

I find that some things don't need explanations. This is one.

So is this!

This too!

But maybe this does. Creepy Valentine that my roommate got. Great pick-up line, yeah?

City of David Field Trip

Yo!

End of Hezekiah's Tunnel - the fake Pool of Siloam.

This is backward...(BLOGGER!!!!)...but here we've arrived at the end of the tunnel.

I got left in the tunnel....alone.....with a camera. It's really dark inside.

Hezekiah's Tunnel!!! So great. This is how the water gets from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam.

Remains of a house at the City of David excavation site. Can you find the toilet?

Olive wood carvings in Omar's store. I like 'em.

Back to Valentine's!! This store went all out!

That was all a bit mixed up. The past few weeks and the next few weeks we are in the classroom all the time. My hebrew script is getting awesome. I can write secret notes in class. We go on field trips every Monday, so tomorrow we'll go and you'll probably hear about it by the end of the week....hopefully sooner.

It's getting warmer! Yay!

Oh, I forgot that most of you haven't heard this. A couple weeks ago I lost my passport in the city. I'm not an idiot. I had it with me for a reason, but somehow it got away from me. For about a week I had to retrace my steps in the city, tear my room apart, and generally go crazy trying to figure out how to get a new one. Luckily I know a man who works for the US Consulate and he was very helpful in telling me what I needed to do...but it wasn't coming together until one morning about 5 days after I lost it. Suddenly I had a ride, new passport pictures and the time to go get a new one. Keep in mind that's $100 down the Jerusalem drain! So, I got to the Consulate and after waiting and waiting, I got to a window, handed the man my application and photos and as he was gluing the picture to the paper, he paused and said, "I think we have your passport. Someone turned one in here this morning." What?! Whoa! So, a few tense minutes later, I was called up to another window, where they handed me my passport and assured me that THIS NEVER HAPPENS!!!! So, I'm being looked out for!! It's a miracle. There is a God in Israel! And His timing is quite amazing, even if you have to live through a few very stressful hours or days.

All for now. Take care and be good!