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.

Easter Sunday

We woke up at the crack of dawn (4:45 am) to head down to the garden tomb for a sunrise service. We sat right in front on the steps and had a great view of the tomb. There were thousands of people from all six continents (nobody really lives on Antarctica...) all celebrating the resurrection of Christ. There was a worship band complete with electric guitars, drum sets, and back up singers. Though very different from our own church services, the Spirit was very strong. It was such a neat morning!

The rest of the day was just like another free day (we celebrated Easter more on the sabbath the day before). We wandered over to West J and played the carillon bells at the YMCA tower, did some shopping, and ate the best hummas EVER!! Then I had to head home and finish my homework. It was interrupted by hula lessons from Malia who goes to BYU-Hawaii (so much fun!!).

Though not a traditional Easter, definitely one to remember!

Zoo!

In Jerusalem, they don't have just any zoo, they have a biblical garden zoo. When I heard there was a zoo, I wasn't sold on going. Then for one reason or another, we didn't have anything else to do and it fell into place! The weekend before, Erika Larsen had fractured her ankle and at the last minute we got permission for her to take the wheelchair out of the center and come with us! I was so glad she could come! It was the perfect zoo day- not too hot, not too cold- sunny with a soft breeze. After running runninh running for a while, it was nice to slow down, relax, and enjoy Ourselves. There's something about zoos that beings out our inner child in everyone and brings back happy memories. We saw some beautiful animals in a gorgeous setting with a giant arc, rainbow flowers, and over priced but delicious magnum bars as well. Fun place, awesome animals, perfect weather, great friends: incredible day!

Palm Sunday

A week before Easter, we went up to A church on the outskirts of Jerusalem with thousands of other Christians to re-enact Christ's triumphal entry at the beginning of his last week. We walked down the mount of olives to the city gates with giant palm fronds. It was so neat to see so many people from all over the world singing Hosanna and praises to Christ. We were exhausted by the end if the day, but it was so neat!

Churches churches!

After Church one Saturday, we went to the mount of olives and saw some churches. We went to the Pater Noster, which means The Lord's Prayer in Latin and they had it written in so many different languages. It was really neat! We also walked over to Dominus Flevit which is supposedly where Christ overlooked Jerusalem and cried. The church built commemorating that site had a beautiful view of the old city. It was a little bit windy, but we had a wonderful day!