Coming to a Close

Well, my friends, my time at the Jerusalem Center is coming to an end. I don't think this will be my last post, so don't expect it that way. I might not even talk that much. The past few days we had our last field trips, retracing Christ's steps from the last week in His life. We have had almost all of our last free days (we have one more tomorrow before people leave for the airport at 7 PM). We have had our closing socials, watching our semester slide show, had our final fireside, and have started packing. But it still hasn't registered to me how close it is to over. So for now I will just post pictures of some things I have done since Galilee. I will post more over the next couple of days, or next week or so, so don't expect this to be the end. It's been an awesome adventure, and I have way more to write about it before I conclude everything.

So here's a bit of what I've been up to! I hope you enjoy it!

I went to the Israeli Museum and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I visited Terra Sancta church and had a really cool spiritual experience about the reality of the Atonement.

Who will move the ladder at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? Maybe I will! ("Oh no you won't!" -Brother Judd)

LOOK WE GOT TO WEAR SHORTS IN MASADA LOOK HOW EXCITED I AM. Except this was in Qumran. So we can pretend that I was excited that the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Except really I was excited about the shorts.

LOOK MY FRIEND ROBERT GAVE ME A BANDANA TO KEEP MY NECK FROM GETTING SUNBURNED. It worked. Unfortunately I didn't have that same bandana today and I'm going to go back to the states as a redneck. BUT. In Masada, I didn't get burned! Look at me as a boy scout with my friend Becca.

THE WILDERNESS OF MASADA. It was 110 degrees that day. Many died from heat exhausted. Well, maybe they didn't die. But they came close.

Brother Judd in all his glory.

Floating in the Dead Sea is one of the weirdest sensations ever.

My DELICIOUS LAMB SCHWARMA. And Becca and Amber's burger. With Shelby and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the background.

Jacob's pizza excites Amber a little too much sometimes.

Walking on Roman roads that Christ would have walked on.

Went to the Western Wall one last time.

I secretly love all the graffiti in the Old City.

Went to St. Peter's En Gallacantu (one of my favorite places in the city).

VISITED THE POOLS OF BETHESDA. Finally. A picture of me in front of them.

Me at the Garden Tomb for the last time.

Visited Gethsemane for the last time.

Visited the Temple Mount for the last time. Le sigh. I hate all of these "last times." But. To cheer you up, here is a picture of a Muslim man on the Temple Mount sleeping because it's Ramadan.

Kerri Allyson, Becca, and me in front of the Dome of the Rock.

Visited Hezekiah's Tunnel (which I affectionately refer to as Hezzy's Tunnel), again, for the last time....

My second-to-last JC Sunset.

It's crazy to think we have only one day left. (One day, one day....Matisyahu reference.) But seriously. One day. I'll try to make the most of it as I spend my day packing, paying fees, getting last-minute souvenirs, and saying goodbye. Le sigh. Expect a lengthy post or two in the near future. At least one about what I learned while here, one about my favorite sites in the city, and one that is advice for future students coming to the BYU Jerusalem Center. Keep an eye out for them. They're gonna be huge. (In a huge as in popular way. Not meaning length. Although they could be huge in that way, too. But don't let that deter you from reading them.)