Ok friends and family, here is a little update of the past few days in Jerusalem. There are a few things that I have learned that I am so excited to share and that I truly have loved:

• The people here really do LIVE their religion. Religion for them is not something that they only do on the Sabbath. Religion truly is a way of life and they form everything else about society and how they live to fit into their religion. This is something that I want to work harder at. I want people to be able to just look at my life and know what it is I live by my everyday actions.
• This city is spectacular. The history of this place is endless. Walls that were built date back to the 1400's. This is the place where Christ performed many great and important acts. This city truly is a holy city. 
• The smells here can either me so spectacular that your mouth waters or they can be horrid. Some of the spice shops just blow my mind! (see below)
• And last, the spirit that I constantly feel while here is the exact reason that I came. You cannot set and partake of the sacrament and be looking out over the Garden of Gethsemane and not have it bring on an entire new meaning. 

Below are some pictures of the past few days... ENJOY!!!

My first shekels. We were given 30 shekels for the first day out to spend as we wish. (Don't worry, 30 shekels doesn't get you far!)

"First day of school" picture... just for you mom! I am the luckiest person to be studying in such a majestic building.

Garden Tomb? Really? Is this real life? These are 2 of my new friends Andy and AJ! 

Such an amazing experience! And I will be back here so many times. So excited for some of the experiences to be had here. It is such an interesting cite. You come from being in East Jerusalem and in the middle of the busy city to all of a sudden being in this beautiful garden full of flowers and pretty palm trees that has the garden tomb. AMAZING!

The door on the tomb. Truth.

This is the Holy Sepulcher (another building where many believe is also the place of Christ's burial). They believe that this little statue marks the center of the UNIVERSE! So of course... we had to take a picture.

This is one of the spice shops. Smelled SOOOOOO good. Amazing!

Setting in the Holy Sepulcher looking up at the beautiful murals on the ceiling. 

Setting on the wall at the Jerusalem Center overlooking the city. Truly beautiful.

First sunday with two of my besties, Rachelle and Melissa. 

Just out on a little hike looking at some old caves and other cool stuff! 

(Lane, Rachelle, and Melissa)

So, cool story behind this picture. Other than the fact that I love Rachelle, the hillside that is behind us and looks completely white is because it is. This hillside is the location where countless people have been buried. Yes, this hill is covered with headstones. Crazy!

This picture is for my grandpa and all of my other "farming" friends. Yep, its a tractor. Small but still a tractor. Funny thing is that you see them driving around all of the time here in the city. So fun. 

Alrighty, friends, that is a good update for the past few days. This week has some fun things planned so I will keep you all updated. LOVE YOU ALL.

And the journey begins...

My wonderful journey to the Holy Land started with a tearful good bye. I sure do love my family and miss them oodles already but knowing that it is only a few short months and that I will be so busy learning makes it all the better. Oh how I love these two people. 

Next came way too many hours on a plane. We flew from SLC to JFK and then from JFK to Tel Aviv. We technically left at 11:00 am on Tuesday in Utah and arrived at 2:30 on Wednesday in Tel Aviv. Here are a few things that I noticed while traveling: security will ALWAYS be stressful, the plastic airplane food is not my favorite, the people of Israel already are some of the most kind people I have ever met, and that I already have made 80 new friends. This is going to be a wonderful trip!

(This trip was so fun with these two)

WELCOME TO THE BYU JERUSALEM CENTER FOR NEAR EASTERN STUDIES!!!!

This was our first view when getting here. We were greeted by the staff and service couples with hugs, hand shakes, and lemonade. What a beautiful sight this was to see. The Jerusalem Center truly is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen! 

Melissa, Rachelle, and I as we first entered the Jerusalem Center. Pay no attention to the fact that we have all been traveling for almost an entire day... but yet so excited and amazed by the fact that we are actually in Jerusalem.

Is this real, might you ask? YES!!!! We came into the center and immediately sat down in the chapel/organ room. The blinds were closed. As the President of the university stood to talk to us, the blinds slowly opened for this to be our view. Yes, just to the left of center is the Dome of the Rock. The Jerusalem Center is located on Mount Scopus which is part of the Mount of Olives. Our center mainly overlooks the Old City and the Kidron Valley. SO BEAUTIFUL!

Some of my great friends so excited to be here in Jerusalem! Alvin, Rachelle, and Melissa.

Alrighty, this is the view from the balcony of my room. Overlooking the Old City with beautiful roses to enjoy up close. I am truly the luckies girl in this world!!!

This is our cafeteria... the nicest cafeteria that I have ever been in. We call it the Oasis. 

Some of my new friends with Jerusalem in the background!

This is Jerusalem at night from our balcony. Yesterday is Jerusalem's Memorial day and today is their Independence day. So last night we watched as fireworks were lit off over the horizon. Such a great experience! Oh and don't worry, the Call to Prayer goes off every few hours throughout the night. I'm sure I will get used to that at some point but needless to say, not much sleep last night!

a journey is about to begin....

In 13 days I embark on the journey of a lifetime. 

I cannot even begin to express some of the feelings that are going trough my body right now... but here are a few: excited, nervous, not prepared, ready to embark, curious, anxious, sad to leave family and friends, excited to make new friends, and how grateful I am that I get to spend almost four months studying the life of my Savior. 

This most definitely is going to be a trip to remember!