Wandering around West J

On our free day, after stopping by the lovely golden Dome, we walked for miles around West Jerusalem. Though my feet were very tired by the end, it was fun to see parts of the city I hadn't seen before! West Jerusalem is such a beautiful part of the city- hopefully these pictures can convey some of that!

Front Page Jerusalem News

This is how cool the country I'm living in is: the front page story is about two teenage boys winning a Bible Quiz contest (granted it is on the bottom corner of the front page, but still...)

The headlining story is about the bombing in Boston half way around the world. Living in America I am often too focused on myself and my own country's problems to give too much thought to problems around the world. Seeing the article about the tragic events in Boston reminded me that we are all children of God, and that He loves all of us around the world. Let's pray for more love in our world.

Galilee

Sorry I posted so little about Galilee- I didn't have many pictures and was busy having so much fun! On a side note, my camera is all better now!

Spring

While the wet winter season is ending in Jerusalem and most of the city is turning brown, the flowers at the center are blossoming beautifully! I feel so lucky that I get two springs- one in Jerusalem and one in Utah!

Book of Mormons

All of us at the JC go to Aladdin to exchange money. He is very good to us! Because there are so many of us that come through, he has us sign a book of all the Mormons that come through his shop and I got to sign it today! I also got to hold 100,000 American dollars! Kind of crazy! I can't believe I only have one more week in this place.... I'm having a hard time focusing in finals with te beautiful city right in front of me. Wish me luck!

The second best view from an LDS Chapel

We are very spoiled by our chapel in Jerusalem. The wall behind the podium is all glass overlooking the old city- absolutely breathtaking. On Saturday, we drove around the Sea of Galilee and had church in Tiberius. The church building used to be a member's house, with a wall replaced by glass overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The branch is very small here, only about 20 members were there. We had a testimony meeting; there was something very special about bearing testimony of Christ in the place he spent most of His ministry. There is such a special spirit here in the Galilee-- I love it here!

Separation Wall

One Friday morning, we took a short bus ride over to a section of the Separation Wall dividing Israel from the West Bank. Just another physical reminder if the conflict here. It's hard to see the city I've grown to love torn apart by politics and prejudice.