JRu 12: What the world needs now is love, sweet love.

Wednesday, September 14st

When classes start I become a JC prisoner. Seriously, I don't leave the JC except on weekends because I have so much homework and so many things scheduled in my day. That's how Tuesday and today were.

We had an under center tour today. The JC is super cool because it is built on Pylons (I don't really know what that means, except it means that there is space under the center.) And you can walk underneath all the levels which is great for upkeep of the building. Because it is unfinished and a slightly dangerous, they take us on a tour to satisfy our curiosity. We got to wear hard hats and write our names on the walls there. It was really cool.

The interesting thing about Wednesday is that we have a forum address where someone from the local community comes in to address us about the current situation in the middle east. Last week it was an Israeli.

This week, it was a Palestinian named Dr. Bernard Sabella. Personality wise, he was a huge contrast to the last speaker. He was more informal and had a very different message for us. His dream for the future involved both groups of people to build a state together. They would not have walls and all this division but would live together in harmony.

The likelihood of that happening is fairly small since neither political entity wants to even consider that option. Personally, I feel this would be the best option because right now no one is getting what they want. The last speaker metioned each side needing to compromise and this solution would be the greatest compromise of all. However, it is pride and fear holding everyone back.

I do understand the fear that Israelis have especially after all the fighting that has happened. But the current situation is not a solution to this problem. One of my favorite quotes is by Benjamin Franklin, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." I feel like this is a problem with most people around the world. It takes a lot of faith to not sacrifice our liberty for safety.

JRu 11: Joshua fit the battle...

Monday, September 12th

Today we went to Jericho. Yep, that historic site where Joshua and the children of Israel blew their trumpets and clapped and those walls came a tumbling down. Well, Joshua did a good job because it is pretty much just a pile of dirt now. Actually, it's a tel. For those who don't know, a tel (or tell) is an historic site where many cities were built, one on top of another. Archaeologists have excavated parts of it which we were able to see, but not a lot.

Jericho

We also saw the spring of Elisha, Herod the Great's winter palace and the Judean wilderness. Bonus points for whoever can comment with the story of Elisha and the spring.

Me at the spring of Elisha

It was really fun and SUPER hot. Especially the Judean wilderness. Let me paint a picture for

you. Close your eyes and picture a desert, sand as far as you can reach. Now imagine that all this sand forms 150-200 foot high mountains. Now add the sun beating down on you and no food or water. Yeah, you wouldn't want to get lost in the Judean wilderness. It amazes me that anyone could survive fasting for 40 days in that weather. Obviously, only the Son of God would be able to do that.

The Judean wilderness and I

It was fun. At the end of our field trip I bought Sycamore nuts. YUM. Seriously, I could eat my way through any country.

JRu 10: If everybody had an ocean....

Saturday, September 10th

It is Sabbath again. It always throws me a little off guard because having church on saturday, a day after classes is not normal. It was district conference today!!! There are three branches in Israel: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Galilee. Since it was District conference, we all met together for church. The Auditorium was so full!!! Plus, all the students were here, so it was especially full.

I attended branch choir in the morning and JC (Jerusalem center) choir in the evening. Being here and singing in all these different venues has reminded me how much I love to sing. My relationship with singing has changed over time and due to some situations in High school, I stopped singing for a while. However, on my mission and here in Israel I have come to realize how important music is to me and how much I love to sing.

Sunday, September 11th

WELCOME TO TEL AVIV!!! A few days ago, we heard that there was a group going to Tel Aviv on Sunday. We heard they were going to the beach and we were not really interested in going to the beach and we were planning on just staying in Jerusalem. However, one of our friends, Lottie, convinced us to go to because she didn't want to hang out at the beach the whole time and wanted to explore the city. So, we signed up to go.

We left at 10 am, gear and sack lunch in hand. After we arrived in Tel Aviv, we wanted to explore the city before we went and got wet and sandy. Everyone else wanted to go to the beach. We headed down to the beach to eat our lunch and we were starting to be really disappointed because no one wanted to go into the city anymore. Finally, my sister and I decided to go without everyone else. Kelly decided to come with us and we began our trek.

First we walked down the beach. Then we walked up the beach. Then we

walked into the city. We weren't finding Jaffa, which is the historic part of the city. After eating some really expensive ice cream, we walked back the way we came and met up with some of the guys in our group. They had just found a market and they gave us directions. It was the a authentic market. There was everything from fruit to VERY fresh fish to souvenirs. We bought a few things before heading back to the beach.

We went swimming and played in the sand a little bit. The beach was fantastic. White sand and warm blue water. I was glad I came to the beach and I really enjoyed my time in the water and in the sand. Half the group, including us, headed back to the JC at about 5 and got dinner there.

It was a GREAT day!

JRu 9: Shabbat Shalom

Thursday, September 8th

Not much to say.

Had classes.

Did homework.

Passes cleaning checks and got a candy bar.

Friday, September 9th

Today was great. We had old testament in the morning and then a group of ten of us left for the Israel Museum. We had already been there so we were mostly going back to get more information on what to write about for one of our assignments and to explore some other wings. We hung out with Jeff most of the time. We saw the kid's section and learned how to tango and we saw the modern art section which had a cool display with sand. They set up people like they were at a Jewish wedding and then they threw red sand everywhere after they carefully removed everyone, so you can see the foot prints of what happened. We also toured the gardens.

We were hungry after the museum so we walked into the city (western Jerusalem). We found a few bakeries and bought bread before going to a nearby park to eat and wait for our taxi. We got back with enough time to work on a little homework before going to our western wall orientation.

Tonight was exciting because we got to be at the western wall as shabbat started. There was lots of singing and dancing and praying which we got to participate in. It was a very unique experience and every time I participate in something like that it makes me want to be Jewish. They sang one song that we learned in our hebrew class so we were able to sing along. It was a great night!

JRu 8: Welcome to the Circus!

Wednesday, September 7th

After classes today, a group of us (Jeff, Shalyn, Annaleah, my sister and I) went into the old city. We didn't really have plans so we just walked around. We entered through the lions gate which is on the east side of the city. We stumbled onto this quaint little church called the church of condemnation. It has this tiny little chapel with 14 pews about three people wide. The pastor was singing and we just sat there for a few minutes. I have come to appreciate the spirit that is felt in other churches. I know that God respects all who worship him with true purpose of heart.

After that we ended up in front of the Austrian Hospice. It was there we decided that we wanted to try to go visit the Dome of the Rock. So, we took a left and headed for the Jewish Quarter. We came to the Western Wall and looked at it for a few minutes. There were a ton of soldiers there and we weren't sure what was going on. We left to head to the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock. Well, we were denied. It was closed. So, then we thought we might visit the archaeological gardens that are right there. After trying to get in, we decided it cost too much.

Finally, we just walked around the Jewish quarter. We had some gelato, which was really good. Then we found some cool ruins. Then we started to head back. Just as we were going back, we discovered that something was happening by the western wall. There was some military procession going on. We happened to be in a higher part of the city and there was a great overlook where we watched the procession for a while. We learned that there are three of these programs that happen during training and one of them happens here. It was really cool.

Then we walked back and we decided to exit out of the Damascus gate. Good choice. Actually, BEST choice. As we exited the gate, we were surprised to see that all the shop booths were gone. Instead we found some people dressed up and setting up some circus equipment. They started performing and it was SO cool! These acrobats did all these cool tricks inside and outside the wheel while it was rolling. (Picture of the wheel not of what we saw.)

We hurried back for dinner and then we had a forum. Every Wednesday night they invite someone to come speak to us about the current political situation in Israel. Today it was Paul Hirscherson who is an Israeli. I am very easily swayed and he brought up some really good points about how The Israeli government doesn't know if they can trust the Palestinian government. He also mentioned how both states were not going to get everything they want, so they will have to learn to compromise. It was a very interesting discussion and a lot to thing about.

JRu 7: Why you Trippin'?

Monday, September 5th

We had our first fieldtrip today. We went to different spots around Jerusalem that we could orient ourselves and have a better understanding of where all these Biblical events took place. Sadly, my sister and I are not in the same old testament class, so we won't be on field trips together. This will probably be a good thing because that means we will make new friends and get to experience things on our own.

One of the cool places we stopped was by the Mar Elyas Monestary. We hiked up a little behind the monestary and we were on the hills of Judea between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, looking out over the city of Belthlehem. Bethlehem is part of the West Bank, which is part of the Palistinian teritory. Because of the current political situation, there is a wall separating Belthlehem from Jerusalem. It is kind of sad that there is this separation and it was a very visual reminder of the conflict going on.

The amazing thing about my Old Testament Teacher is that he has been a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the past few years (eight, I think) and he loves to sing. After talking to us a little about the geography of the land and what we were seeing, we sand a few hymns. It is so powerful to be in these historic places and to sing about them. It brings the spirit of God so quickly.

After our field trip, we returned to the center, had lunch and then started our classes. We had an hour of Old Testament and an hour and a half of Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Since I have not been in school for over two years, I am super excited to start school again. I was really excited about these classes and for the many things I will learn this semseter.

Tuesday, September 6th

More classes!!! Today we had the rest of our classes The classes I am taking this semester are:

Old Testament (for the first part of the semester) - Brother Huntsman (He is a professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU. He sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He and his wife have one daughter and one son who will live here in the center for a year.)

New Testament (second part of the semester) - Brother Harper (He is a professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU. He has two daughters, three sons and his wife. They live with us at the center and will be here for a year.)

Ancient Near Eastern Studies – Brother Ludlow (He is a professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU. He was my New Testament Teacher when I was at BYU. He and his wife have three sons and two daughters here with them for a year. One of their sons is participating in the program with us and should be leaving on a mission soon after the semester ends.) Ancient near eastern studies is a history class about this region of the world.

Modern Near Eastern Studies: Judaism, Israel and Zionism - Ophir Yarden (He is Israeli and a practicing Jew. He is married with kids. We think he teaches at Hebrew University)

Modern Near Eastern Studies: Islam and Palestine - Bashir Bashir (He is a Palestinian living here in Jerusalem. We suspect he was raised Muslim but he simply told us he was not religious.)

Basic Hebrew - Judy Goldman (She was raised in Sacramento, California but married an Israeli who was living there. She is Jewish, has four kids and has been teaching here for a long time.)

Field Trips - nuff said.

These first few days were mostly orientation, but we got all our text books and it is going to be a LOT of reading. That is a big adjustment for me since I don't really have reading assignments as a physics major. Plus, I haven't been in school for over two years.

JRu 6: Saturday is Sunday?

Saturday, September 3rd

It's our first sunday, and by that I mean sabbath. Yep, because the state of Israel is a Jewish state, the sabbath begins on Friday night at sundown until Saturday night at sundown. That means that we have church on Saturday.

Our little branch has very few members. The BYU students make up the majority but there are American families as well as some local members who joined the church elsewhere. We have this beautiful auditorium with the stage at the end of the room toward the old city. Behind the stage there are huge glass windows, so all during sacrament meeting we are looking out over the old city. I can't think of a better place to take the sacrament.

Before church we had choir practice. It was really fun to sing again but it was way to early for me and my voice was not warmed up yet. The choir was pretty big considering all 80 of us weren't here yet. I can't imagine how big it will be when we are all here.

The rest of the day we realaxed. My sister was sick and so we took it easy. I did some school stuff and blogged and emailed. Our big group went to the garden of gethsemane. We decided not to go since it was fast sunday and I was afraid I would pass out.

The last thing we did was have a musical exploration. We all got together and shared with our branch president/music director our musical talents. People played their instraments and sang. It was amazing how talented everyone was.

Sunday, September 4th

Yeah, so it is kind of weird that Sunday is our saturday. Which means today was a free day! My sister was still feeling sick so I mostly just did my homework all day. It was super boring but it was nice down time. I know, I am in the most historical city in the world and the holiest city in the world and I stayed in my room and read for class. BORING. But hey, I will be here for 4 months. It is better to take it easy and not lose people with our rush to see everything.

JRu 5: Wandering the Old City

Okay, I'm way (a week) behind. I will try to do some extra updating in this post. I am supposed to be writing a paper but blogging is way more fun. My last update was for Thursday of last week. On to Friday.

Friday, September 2nd (Happy Birthday, Mom!)

Because half of our group had not yet arrived, they cancelled classes and created a mini-field trip for us. We went to the Israel Museum in the morning. We had about two and a half hours to wander the museum. They have a huge archaeological wing and we have an assignment to complete a museum checklist. We had to find a bunch of items in the museum and then we have to pick four items that we want to write a paper about. We just barely made it through the checklist before we had to leave. Here are some of the highlights we saw:

• Really old churn
• A cartouche on a sea shell (In the Egyptian section)
• hanging loom
• Canaanite and Israelite artifacts
• "Sword of Laban" (the type of sword he would have had)
• The dead sea scrolls (there is actually quite a controversy about that.)

We had a little picnic with our sack lunches out in front of the museum before we headed off to the garden tomb. The garden tomb is owned and run by a christian group based out of London. A few of the council members have some issues in the church, so we comply with their rule to not bring any restoration scripture (BOM, D&C or Pearl of Great Price) into the garden, which means I can't bring my scriptures at all since I have a quad.

We got to the garden tomb a little early, so we waited outside for them to open the gates. They close between noon and two to eat and pray. While we waited, we sang a few hymns. When they opened the gates, one of the gentlemen came out and said, "You must be mormons!" We will be singing a lot on this journey.

We went in and had a tour, spent some time at the tomb and then we all met again in a little canopied area. We had a short biblical devotional and then we sang "I Believe in Christ" and "I know that my Redeemer lives." Considering we have never practiced or sang together, we did really well. We even had some other people who were in the garden come and listen to us. The spirit felt so strong as we sang and it was so nice to be in a place where there was peace and we could feel close to the Lord.

They gave us the option to explore the city or go back to the center. We decided to explore the city. My sister, our new friend Elyse, and I wandered through the city. We went in Damascus gate and then wandered over to the Church of the Holy Seplecher. Then we decided to try to find the Jewish Quarter and the western wall. We were really lucky because we ended up there before leaving out the Dung gate and wandering back to the center. It was super fun and super exhausting.

{Okay, this took me a really long time to write, so I am going to post it and then work on a new post.}

JRu 4: I am the Beibs (part 2)

Our flights were thankfully not eventful, well besides the cute little jewish family that sat in font of us on the way from JFK to Tel Aviv. They were a little crazy. Oh, and we had some crazy medical emergency on our flight from Atlanta to JFK. Yeah, they had to ask for medical specialists and everything. Luckily, everything was okay and we made it here in one piece, luggage and all.

That was the good news for the 30 of us flying Delta. The sad news was that the rest of the group was flying US Airways and they were stranded in Phoenix. Yeah. It sucks. Their flight to Philly got canceled, so they missed their flight to Tel Aviv. We hate US Airways. My family and I flew US Airways this summer and 4 of our 5 flights were delayed and one was canceled. My sister and I were so glad we were flying Delta and we had good reason to be glad.

We arrived at the center and that evening and the following day were orientation. We had our pictures taken, learned the rules, talked about the new schedule they were changing because of the late arrivals. Originally they thought that the other students wouldn't be getting her for a week. But things keep changing.

The reason I bring up the Beibs is that we feel famous. First, I took a class from one of my professors. Now he is my professor again. Plus, we are getting a lot of attention because we are sisters. We have been nicknamed the sisters Quist. Also, we were in Israel for two days about a month ago and our tour guide, Gio, is best friends with one of the directors here at the center.

When we went to go take pictures for our security cards, the security guard heard my sister's name and asked if she had been here for a month. She said no. I then explained that we had been here about a month ago. He said, "yeah, with Gio, right?" We confirmed that, but we felt so famous.

It has just been a lot of famous this week.

JRu 3: Urban Camping

The rest of the weekend was not quite as eventful. We stayed with some family friends our second night. Our third night we stayed with a good friend of mine. She and her two roommates just moved into a house that is HUGE. It is only zoned to have three single people live there, so they have tons of extra space. So, they were letting friend stay there. My sister and I were staying there so we got to participate in "Urban Camping."

"What is Urban Camping?" you ask. Well, they had 5 extra girls staying with them, so they didn't have exactly enough beds. So, my sister and I made beds on the floor using couch cushions, pillows and blankets. I actually slept well considering the random conglomeration that I was sleeping on.

We had orientation in Provo for the program. The point of the orientation is to scare us into submission. I was going in prepared and it still scared me enough to keep me from sleeping that night. They talked about getting assaulted and getting pick pocketed. I was just in Jerusalem and it wasn't a problem.

We spent the night in Salt Lake. It wasn't much of a night because we had to get up at 3:30 to be at the airport at 4:30. Yes, AM, 4:30 AM. And I didn't sleep, so our cross continent travel started off with a bang.

JRu 2: Marry a Football Player?

To continue my saga. My last weekend in the US was a crazy whirlwind of adventure. After Temple Square we headed down to Orem to stay at my Aunt's house. My cousin, B, returned from her mission a few weeks ago and we wanted to see each other before I left the country, again.

The crazy part was that B was going to start school on Monday at Utah State University. Therefore we were going with her up to Logan on Saturday. We had a really good time catching up before we took the perilous journey north. Okay, it wasn't so perilous but it was adventurous. We stopped at two Best Buys to find a computer for B and we stopped at Hires Big H to have a family lunch. It was preshically awkward. I don't really know how I am related to all these people sometimes. It was good though to be reunied after so long.

Now the most hilarious part of this whole story happened in Logan. After dropping B's stuff off in her new appartment, we all went and got ice cream at the USU creamery. As we are getting ice cream, I notice that one of the girls working there looks really familiar. I am pretty sure she served her mission with me, but I couldn't remember her name. I looked at her nametag and it said, ", English." I knew that I didn't serve with a Sister English, so I brushed it off. Especially since I thought she had seen me, so she didn't act like she recognized me.

Just as I was about to order, she looks at me and says, "I know you." I then asked if she served in my mission, she said yes. Then I told her my name and she told me her last name, Irish. I explained that I had seen her nametag. She laughed. The second part is not the last name, but the major of the student working there. No wonder it wasn't familiar. Man, I'm back to being the Beibs again...

We ate our ice cream outside on a bench. My sister, my aunt, my younger cousin, my grandma, B, and I were sitting in a row and my grandpa stood in front of us. This college boy walked behind our row looking at all of us and then stopped right in front of me. Then he looked down. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was a ring check. I looked up at him and he said "Hi." The following conversation is what really happened.

Me: Hi.

Him: (with reference to my BYU-Idaho shirt) Oh, you go to BYU-Idaho and are just down here hanging out?

Me: Actually, my cousin goes here and we are helping her move in. (gesturing to B)

Him: But you go to BYU-Idaho? (as he sits down next to me)

Me: No, I got to BYU.

Him: Provo? (Sidenote: I HATE it when the call it BYU-Provo, it's just BYU. If you have to distinguish, it would be BYU-Utah)

Me: Yep.

Him: So, are you really good friends with some football players?

Me: Actually, I just got back from a mission, so I don't really know anyone there anymore.

Him: But you want to be friends with football players like ?

Me: Actually, I am not really into football.

Him: But you want to marry a football player?

Me: um....

My Grandpa: Was that a proposal?

Him: I'm not a football player. (runs away)

No joke.

What is my life coming to?

Although, he did present a good question; do I want to marry a football player?

JRu 1: I feel like the Beibs

As I promised here starts my log of my time in Jerusalem. We got on our flight the morning of Tuesday, August 30, 2011, however, my journey was prefaced by a short jaunt in Utah. My sister and I left California the friday before (August 26^th). Upon arrival, we took a shuttle to Temple Square. Right now at Temple Square, it is about 50/50 of sisters that I know vs. sisters I don't know, which if you do the math, is about one sister in each companionship.

Of course, that mean that I was stopped by almost every companionship to talk to them before I could walk another few yards. The problem with this was that I was trying to meet two of my companions for lunch, so the constant stopping was not really helping. However, there were a lot of sisters I wanted to see and it was great that I got to see them.

I finally met up with my two companions and we headed off to lunch. We went to a nearby food court to eat. Almost as soon as I walked in I was greeted by a missionary I was with in the MTC. She served in a different mission, but we were really close in the MTC and we wrote to each other. I was so excited to see her but rather surprised by the miracle of running into her.

Later, as I was leaving the food court, I ran into another missionary I served with. We chatted for a few minutes before I headed back to Temple Square. I was a little overwhelmed by all the people I was seeing. I am not used to getting so much attention.

As we walked around the Square, I found more sisters I knew. The best reaction came from one of my favorite sisters. I lived with her my last transfer of my mission and she was in her second transfer. As I walked into the south visitor's center, she looked at me like I had returned from the dead. She gave me a hug and touched my hair. She acted so shocked.

It was then that my sister and her friend decided that I was the Biebs (aka celebrity status like Justin Beiber). This continued as we walked around the square. I felt a little bad that they were my little possy. Sometimes it is really hard to be the Beibs.