Bethlehem = House of Bread

We went up on top of a hill overlooking Bethlehem and just talked about all the things that took place there:

* The Birth of the Savior

* The death and burial of Rachel

* The Birth place of King David

* It was also a place where they would separate the chaff by throwing it into the air and letting it blow away

As we sat there talking suddenly a shepherd walked up with his flock of sheep! 

He was carrying a lamb and let us hold it. And take pictures with him!

"Hold a lamb in the Holy Land" cross that off the bucket list!

This had to have been close to the area where the shepherds were that saw the star and welcomed the baby Jesus to the world...

The WaLls cAmE TUMBLIN.... doWn:.

What an adventure it was stepping back to the time of Joshua and the battle of Jericho... We went on a "field trip" to the Tel Jericho. 

 

Its pretty crazy to see the different strata that have been uncovered. We talked about the Battle of Jericho and how they marched around the entire city once carrying the Arch of the Covenant for six days and on the seventh day they went around seven times, as soon as they finished the walls came tumbling down...

 

This picture shows the different layers of wall that were built up on top of eachother....

 

These are the wonderful MEN in our Old Testament class building an alter :)

 

We also had the privilege of hiking up a mountain to the Quruntul Monastery. It is on the Mt. of Temptation above the river Jordan where Christ was Baptised. I was amazed that it had been built on the middle of the cliff! Monks still live there today! There were caves in the cliffs that we could see from the balcony where hermits used to live too. I cant even imagine being alone all the time! Its a good thing I'll never have to try it! Anyway, so this is the place where Satan tempted Christ after his 40 day fast in the wilderness. 

 

Supposedly this is the rock that Satan tempted Jesus to turn to bread.

Here is the view the monks had of the Judean Wilderness overlooking Jericho.

And this is the deadly but "worth it" hike we took up the mtn to the Monastery.... I was dripping by the time we got to the top. We had to wear scarfs on our heads to be respectful, I'm not sure how those women wear them all the time! It was so hot!

 

 

We stopped at this awesome lookout between Jerusalem and Jericho. Up the canyon you can see Jerusalem and down the canyon you can see Jericho. This is the route that John the Baptist would have taken when he left Jerusalem to the Judean Wilderness in his camel haired suit. Also this is the Scene where the Parable of the Good Samaritan would have taken place. It symbolizes Christ saving us from death and illustrates the question "Who is my neighbor"... Something to think about... who is your neighbor, do they know you love them?

Tel Aviv

A Day at the Beach!!! 

Yesterday, yes Sunday, but remember our Sabbath is on Saturday... A group of like 30 of us went to the Mediterranean Sea! Its only about 40 min away. Can I just tell you how wonderful it was! It really felt like a vacation from a vacation (but this study abroad is anything but a vacation) It was the 2nd "free" day that we have had since being here so we took full advantage of it! From 10 am til 8 pm we hung out on the ultra-soft sand and splashed around in the water when it go hot... Lets just say BEST DAY EVER! I definitely got my tan on!

 

Description to come... :)

J-RU

We just started our 5 classes and honestly I have NEVER had so many reading assignments! In the past 3 days Ive probably read 300 pages no joke. So between reading, field trips, and trying to sleep I've been super busy! I'm learning so much though! We have read through Gen 1-35 and seen quite a few of the sites where it all took place with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob... its amazing that I'm actually here! We are taking a Hebrew class too its way cool to learn the alphabet, it's kinda like a jig-saw puzzle... if you learn the letters you can pretty much read it... our teacher said that by the end of the class we should be able to read the 10 commandments! cool huh!

Funny story so in my Hebrew class we learned about this prayer that Jews say after dinner. It is Bercone like Beer-cone, translated to"Grace after dinner". Anyways so all they boys started saying, I'd like some Grace after dinner! haha so mow my nickname is Bercone.


We are taking a class on Islam and another class on Judaism, they are super interesting but like I said a TON of reading! They have a little room here with a basketball court and a little gym on the side. On Monday we had a 3-on-3 tourney pretty sure my team won haha it was really fun! Ive been riding the bikes while I do all the reading so i stay awake so far its working really well :) Monday we also had the Israel Opera come and put on a concert. I was a hostess and got to meet a lot of really neat people, plus the music was absolutely amazing! Ill see if I can get a few more posts up about it so you can hear more... those were some of the fun things from the past few days...

On our field trip we stopped by the place where they think Christ ascended into heaven, there are 3 competing sites so really no one really knows where but the church was super pretty and from the tower we could see nearly to the Dead Sea! We also visited a mosque where Samuel was claimed to be buried but my teacher said they don't really think so.... Ive had some really interesting insights on our nature as humans while Ive been here observing people who have come from everywhere to make their pilgrimage to the holy sites of their religion. We as humans need something tangible to worship or to remind us, and help us feel a closeness to God.

The Holy Sepulcher where they say Christ was crucified, anointed for burial, and where his tomb lie, all within 10 yards of each other in this old church. In all the reading Ive been doing they actually talked about the falseness of this accusation. the person who discovered it really had no idea. anyways I went there with a little group on Sunday morning before all the tourist groups come through and it was amazing to watch and see the intensity and sincerity that these people worship these places. They really just need something to represent their beliefs. This is the case with all the sites here in Jerusalem, some are discernible as true by the spirit as being the true place. it seems like every 5 feet you see someone from a different religion, everyone seems to have and feel a closeness to this place and knows of its sacredness.

Ive been thinking about it and we really don't have to make a pilgrimage to the Holy land to feel close to our savior, Heavenly Father has blessed us with the restoration of the Gospel and the knowledge that we don't have to take a pilgrimage to feel his spirit and be reminded of him and that he has not ceased to speak to man. Even though it is amazing to we don't have to visit the site where Christ was "supposedly" anointed for burial, or touch and pray to the last standing wall of the Temple of Herod to show our loyalty and worship him. We have been blessed with real tangible symbols of our covenants and reminders of our beliefs. The Sacrament that we take weekly helps us to renew those covenants, the garments that we wear when we are able to visit his holy temples and take out our endowments, and the fact that we have dedicated temples that dot the earth, its so sad to think that these religious people are trying so hard and want that relationship with their Savior so badly but they just don't have the knowledge of the restoration.
 
(I hope that all made sense. I had it all typed up once and the computer had a spaz attack and erased it so I'm not sure how good it sounds the second time... lame...)
 
Earlier today we made a stop at the Dome on the Rock the Muslim place of worship. It is breath taking! They don't let you in, but even from the outside you can see why they value it! The dome is leafed with gold and the whole outside is tiled with bright blues and greens making beautiful intricate designs and patterns.

Jewish Sabbath... Friday

Yesterday was pretty sweet! It is Jewish Sabbath and so there is a higher chance of violence during that time so we just had class and did homework until 3 when we could escape and explore the city on our own! We all went out in about 3 big groups there are 82 of us, 28 boys 52 girls, a lot of names to learn trust me! Anyways, we went out and worked our way up to the Old City gate Damasas. After a while we all split up into group of 7 or 8. Our first stop was the top of the Austrian Hospis, a hotel type place that has clean bathrooms (very important) and a magnificant view from the roof! We took about 5 billion pictures!
In one of the alley ways there was a group of old men playing Badmiton the board game. I stopped and talked to one of them, his name is Sam he owns a jewlery shoop. He told me they had different rules, Universal rules, they play everyday and if I came back with my frineds they will teach us how they play. I really want to go back I think it would be way cool to make friends with the people here.
We went through some different places than we can gone on our "tour" but I feel like I have a general feel for the city... at least if I get lost I know what the main roads are that will lead me to a gate haha We ran into a gorup of kids playing soccer in the alley and played with them for a while and Mya one of the little girls LOVED using our cameras to take pictures! She kept saying, "picture, picture" so she would take ones of us and than pose with us in a "sassy" pose haha she was darling! We are going to go back and try to find them someday.
Right after we let our group had been divided again and there was only Morgan, Lindsay, and I left together (which is fine, as long as there is 3 or more) so we were pretty much lost just walking when I saw a picture of the Dome on the Rock spray painted on the wall. Well of course I stopped to take a picture and when we turned around a group of about 10 boys stood up and walked towards us. They  probably aged between 8-18 most were little, I wasnt sure what they were doing but they were all speaking in Arabic to eachother so I just kept walking. When we got down to them the oldest asked where we were from. I said America and he nodded and asked a few general questions, I was nice but after a min I just said well bye and started walking again. They all broke out in Arabic again, you can imagine what they were saying, the youngest one yelled after us, "I like your ass!" the three of us looked at eachother and busted up laughing! It was so funny! Fortunatly they didnt try to follow us or anything.
When we were on our way back towards the City gate we stopped and took a picture with the Military men with their huge guns. One put his hat on my head and said, "Every beautiful woman needs a picture with me" I wish I could post it!
So I guess everyone decided to head back to dinner so lots of our group met up on the road and walked back together. On our way down the hill these 5 little boys, like really little boys ran up to us with packages of gum in their hands yellign something at us. I think they just wanted us to buy it but when we said no they started getting violent! they threw rocks at us and pushed us, they wouldn't let us pass them! Well I just laughed but some of the girls were getting really mad at them! They didnt think it was very funny. So I was assaulted by a 5 year old, no big deal.
After dinner we just hung out and laughed a ton! I ended up p[layign basketball with all the guys for like 3 hours! It was so nice to play again! We are going to have a 3 on 3 tournament while we are here! I cant wait!

1st taste of the Old City

Ok so it has taken me a few days to catch my breath and find some time to write everything down! on Thurs we had breakfast at 6 am, dont worry though I had been up since 4 when the Jewish Call to Prayer started. We had some more orientation meetings and then went on a walk/tour of Jerusalem and the OLD CITY!!! You guys it is so cool! The roads are all paved from huge rocks that are so worn they are a little slippery. You walk down a hill into Kidron Valley and up the other of the little valley (its seriously like 50 yards across) they call them Waddlys they are actually dried up river beds. So we climbed up the other side of the valley and from the West Wall of the Old City (the Old City is what Jerusalem was during the time of Christ) across the valley on the Mount of Olives you can see the Jerusalem Center, Orson Hyde Garden, the Mary Magdeline Church, and the Garden of Gethsemane! It's amazing that everything happened so close!
We went up the wall and through some of the city outside the wall and than went into the Old City through Jaffro Gate. Inside is crazy! Its pretty similar the Canal Street in New York with all the venders except they are Arab instead of Asian but the allys/streets are super narrow! They sell everything there like a giant swapmeet! It is like stepping back in time like Aladdin with the overhangs and little kids running around. Mixed in with all the vendors are old churchs! Like the place they say Christ was prepared for burial and the Dome on the Rock. Apparently the city is kind of divided like what dominations worship where... Well our walk was about 4 miles long it was awesome! I wish i could show you pictures! We came back to the center and had lunch and I've been doing homework most of the afternoon. on the top floor of the Center there is some grass that overlooks Jerusalem so we sit up there in the sun and read. I didnt think that the classes were going to be too strenuous but you know what, I was wrong... It is going to be crazy busy!

The Holy Land

I am in Jeruslaem!!! Im here for the WHOLE summer on study abroad! The 18 hours of flying was super long and boring... for some reason I had a really hard time falling asleep?  Which was really strange considering I'd gotten 45 min of sleep the night before! Ive met a TON of people! Everyone is so so nice and seems just happy and genuine. We landed in Telavi and took the hour drive to Jerusalem! It is so beautiful! Jerusalem is up on the top of the mountains and you drive up a canyon to get there. People have been living here for ages so there are old terraces carved into the hills and lots of white rock! Once you get to Jerusalem you come to the top of a hill and all of a sudden you can see the Old City! The Dome on the Rock.. the cemetery... the white square houses and buildings all around it on the hills, some with red roofs.. awe its gorgeous!
We got settled in the Jerusalem Center which is also amazing! It terraces down Mount Scopus/ the Mount of Olives! My roommates are Rachel, Ashley, and Abby they seem super nice! Our bedroom window looks straight across to the Dome on the Rock! It looks like a picture! It's so amazing! We get to go out tomorrow! I can't wait! The Center (where we are living) is all white stone with huge arch ceilings and doorways! I cant wait to show you pictures! The "cafeteria" is not really a cafeteria... they had like halibut and gourmet food! It's called the Oasis and pretty sure Im in heaven! Everyone has been so exhaused! We have been forced to stay awake to help us get adjusted faster... I just want a hot shower and my bed...
We have been "blocked" from using facebook, utube, twitter, skype, and uploading/downloading pictures so I cant show you any yet, I guess it's because the internet will go into overload... it just cant handle pictures, lame... But here is the solution! Hebrew University is pretty close though, I'm going to go over there soon and post pictures, yes be excited haha