Hezekiah's Tunnel: a break from the blistering sun

What could possibly be a better solution for a hot day in Jerusalem? Nothing but the one and only Hezekaih's Tunnel: originally built as water storage/constant source of water for the City of David, now used as source of fun and relief from heat for JC students. It was so fun and definitely needed. The water at first truly was cold but it felt oh soooo goooood! Hezekia's tunnel was chiseled out during the day's of King David's reign. This tunnel is 1/3 of a mile long. At some points the ceiling is really high and at some points you have to bend over to keep from hitting your head. At the highest point the water came to mid thigh but for the majority of the walk it was just above my ankles. All in all, such a fun trip. A group of us hope to go back and do the entire tunnel without lights. Exciting? YEP!

Dwight and I just getting excited to enter the tunnel! WOOT WOOT!

Heather and I heading down into the tunnel. And then me cheesing it up in the tunnel. Clearly I was super excited!!!

History in this place goes SOOOOO far back! I love it! We were just walking through the City of David... 

Here a group of us are being statues where the tunnel comes out! Maybe we should work on our "Statue" faces?

Ok... so we had to do it! We are fountains! YEP!

If you can't tell, we are all spitting water out of our mouths. Yep fountains at Hezekiah's Tunnel! 

Note: Luke (bottom right corner) is really good at the whole fountain thing!

Here is Brother Harper (aka best teacher EVER) teaching us about the Pool of Siloam. This is the actual place where Jesus healed the blind man. There are very few places here in Jerusalem that are the ACTUAL places that Jesus walked. Most places would be 20 feet below the current ground because of build-up over time. But this location has been excavated and preserved so well over time that it is the actual place that Jesus walked. Powerful!

Brookie setting on the steps at the Pool of Siloam. 

This is a picture of the town that is across the Kidron Valley. It is relatively close. It is so easy to see how David could have been on his roof and looked across to see Bathsheba bathing. This story reminds us of the importance of being in the right place at the right time. 

Look at how condensed this city is. Everyone is literally on top of each other. I love that everything here is required to be built out of limestone. So pretty! 

Overall, this field trip was super fun and a nice little break before we started all of our finals. The rest of this week is FULL of tests, tests, and more tests! blah! Just a good reminder that I really am at school!

Passover Seder Meal

Last week we celebrated the Passover by having a Passover Seder Meal. Ophir (our Israel teacher) came with his daughter and we went through the ritual Passover Seder Meal. It was so interesting and fun. The meal was delicious and I learned a lot about the Jewish religion. 

This was my place setting. It was a pretty fancy night here in the Oasis! 

This is most of my table: Natalie, Rachel, Me, Alyssa, Pam, and AJ. What a good lookin' bunch!

LUDLOW SANDWICH!!! 

Ludlow sandwiches are the best kind of sandwiches. 

This is J-Rowdy (also known as Brother Ludlow) and his son Josh (also known as my little brother)! Oh how I just love this family! 

 Such a fun night full of fun, friends, food, and traditions!!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

Today is the day I celebrate having the BEST FATHER IN THIS WORLD!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!!!!

This last week I had a particular experience that made me realize/remember how wonderful my father is! I was on the bus setting next to a close friend who wanted some advice about being a father of a girl. He asked me what my father had done in my life to help my grow spiritually. As I thought about this question, I came to realize that I truly have the best father in this world. He has taught me to work hard in all that I do. If I am going to put work into something then I need to put my whole heart into it. He has taught me to love everyone. My dad is the most open and loving man I know. He has taught me to not be judgmental. He has taught me to turn to the Lord when I need him most. And most importantly he has always been there to talk to. I am definitely my "daddy's little girl." 

One of my favorite songs is "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw. I love this song and how much it reminds me of my dad!

Gotta hold on easy as I let you go.
Gonna tell you how much I love you, though you think you already know.
I remember I thought you looked like an angel wrapped in pink so soft and warm.
You've had me wrapped around your finger since the day you were born.

You're beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl.

When you were in trouble that crooked little smile could melt my heart of stone.
Now look at you, I've turned around and you've almost grown.
Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I Love You!" in the moonlight at your door.
As I walk away, I hear you say, "Daddy Love You More!".

You're beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl.

Someday, some boy will come and ask me for your hand.
But I won't say "yes" to him unless I know, he's the half
that makes you whole, he has a poet's soul, and the heart of a man's man.
I know he'll say that he's in love.
But between you and me. He won't be good enough!

You're beautiful baby from the outside in.
Chase your dreams but always know the road that'll lead you home again.
Go on, take on this whole world.
But to me you know you'll always be, my little girl.

Even though I may be half way across the world, I still love you daddy! Happy Father's Day! I love you and I'll see you soon!

NEOT KEDUMIM

For our field trip on Monday, I learned how to herd animals, make pitas, make lentil soup, and crush spices! So don't worry, mom, my consumer science skills have not been completely forgotten! 

We went to a place called Neot Kedumim! It is a Biblical natural reserve that is located here in Israel. This means that almost all of the plants that are mentioned in the Bible can be found growing somewhere on this reserve. It was extremely interesting and fun to have a "hands on" field trip. 

Here are some of the exciting things that happened throughout the day:

• We herded sheep and goats across a small field. It is fun to see the "farm" side of everyone. 
• A goat stepped on my skirt and wouldn't get off! But don't worry, I didn't leave until he did.
• Seth, Thomas, and Abby (three of Brother Harper's children) joined us on this field trip making it so much more fun. I loved how honest and straightforward they were with everything. 
• At lunch Seth caught a small lizard. 
• We even did a little team building activity ropes course. SO FUN!
• Lastly, a man who writes the Torah showed us what he does and how he does it. 

All in all, it was an awesome day full of fun activities and learning.

Who goes snorkeling in the Red Sea? Oh ya I DO

As proof that I am living the dream / perfect life / and I am the luckiest girl in this world, on Sunday (remember our sabbath is on Saturday) we all went down to the Red Sea and spent the day on the beach and snorkeling. SO FUN it kills me. Is this really for real? I ask myself almost every day, "When am I going to wake up from this dream that I am living?" So here is how the day went:

A four hour bus drive from Jerusalem to Elat 

Dancing on the bus + napping on the bus + and telling boy stories on the bus = best bus ride ever

Arrived at Elat (Red Sea)

Got in our swim suits and slathered ourselves in sun screen

Jumped in the water with attractive snorkeling gear and swam to our hearts content

(side note: my first pair of goggles were leaky which meant that I had burning eyes full of salt water and I even swallowed salt water through my nose... not natural) 

After getting a working pair of goggles, we swam around and observed the stunning fish/coral. 

SO COOL

We spent the rest of the day sunbathing, playing football and frisbee on the beach, and braiding hair. 

Below: Beach at Elat, AJ being "cool", Mike caressing my face as I hold him like a baby in my arms, Rob and I catching some rays, the group in the water, and Staley... being Staley!

I had to add this stream of pics. MELISSA, MIKE, NATALIE, CRAMER, and RACHELLE! I just love these guys and their snorkeling faces!

Last week we had the opportunity to go to the separation wall. This is a wall that was built to try and separate the Palestine and Israeli people. In an effort to create peace, hatred and frustration was the result. It is powerful, the conflict that so predominately is in every part of this society. 

So, here I am... in the middle of what could be considered one of the greatest conflicts in the world: 

The hands that build can also tear down. 

Love conquers all. 

Ignorance reigns. Lives are lost.

Pray for the refugee.

Pray for Israel...

Yad Vashem: Holocaust Museum

Our field trip on Monday was centered completely around the Holocaust and the history of the Jews during that time period. Our Judaism teacher, Ophir, was our guide all throughout the day and it was so interesting to hear this story from his point of view. The museum goes into great depth about the history and happenings of the Holocaust. It was an extremely humbling and sobering museum. At the beginning, we sat in a grove of trees that were planted to represent all of the people who were not Jews but helped to protect the Jews. Next, we went to a museum for the children. Over 1.5 million children were killed during the Holocaust. This part of the museum was overwhelmingly powerful. You walk into a dark room that has mirrors everywhere and candles but other than that it is completely dark. In the background there are names of children being listed off, where they were from, and how old they were. It was very sobering. After this we walked through the main portion of the museum that had a ton of displays and amazing facts. Overall, this museum was beautifully done and very impacting.

After the museum, we walked up a small mountain and through a "Soldiers Cemetery." It was beautiful. 

Monday was a great day where I learned so much about Holocaust and the Jew's history. 

Israel Museum and The SHUK!

Sunday are our free days here in the holy land. This past Sunday, we did some pretty exciting things:

For our Ancient Near East class, we have an assignment to visit the Israel Museum in West Jerusalem. At first, I was not that excited to go to this museum (partially because I'm not a huge "museum" kind of person). But, to my pleasant surprise, the Israel Museum was AMAZING! The history in this museum dates so far back that it blows my mind. A few of my favorite displays were the Isaiah's Scrolls, the beautiful mosaics, and things relating to the life of Christ. Something that I found interesting was the fact that the history of Israel is extremely congruent with the religious history of the bible and things that I have been taught about my entire life. It is so cool to be living in the place that much of my beliefs actually took place. I LOVE IT!

This weekend we also had the fun chance to visit the Shuk in West Jerusalem. The Shuk is an outdoor market that sells mainly all sorts of food: dried fruit, meat, veggies, fresh fruit, olive oil, breads, pastries, and all sorts of other yummy things. It was fun to spend a little bit of time in west Jeru as well as to be involved a little bit more in the culture. Something that I have found interesting is that the culture here is so much more laid back than it is in Provo. I often will find myself frustrated because I am stuck walking behind someone that wants to walk really slow. I just have to remind myself that we are in no hurry and to slow down and enjoy myself a little bit. Also, the people here are always out on the streets and spending time together. While visiting the Shuk, I realized that there were so many people just relaxing in the walkway and talking to one another. Sometimes I wish that our culture could pick up some of these awesome customs. 

And don't worry, while at the Shuk we picked up some delicious dried fruit (mango was the best) and some yummy pastries.

John Schmidt: A Sabbath Surprise

This past Sabbath was such a treat for all of us students here in the JC. Each week there is at least one if not multiple tour groups visiting the Jerusalem Center for our church service as well as to see the beautiful center. This week we had the special treat of having John Schmidt in the tour group that visited on Sunday. John decided that he wanted to perform for any that wanted to attend that night up at the Augusta  Victoria Church. First of all, this church is absolutely beautiful! Second of all, the piano was a dusty upright piano (funny... I bet he has never performed on such a simple piano). But lastly, he still amazed everyone. His talent on the piano is striking. There was such a spirit as almost 80 students, faculty and families, and his tour group (so a bunch of Mormons) sat in this church and listened as he played beautiful music! Overall, such a treat. It amazes me how we can travel half way across the world and still run into people that are members of this church. One thing I have come to learn is that no matter where we go in life, the church will be there. I love that!