Monday, May 9, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Western Wall
This is the second of two blog posts in a half hour's time. So be sure to go and read the other one I posted, too. I just posted this one separately so as not to overwhelm you with a plethora of information.
Tonight, as a class, we went to the Western Wall to welcome in the Sabbath. (For Jews, Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday night and ends at sundown on Saturday night). This was an amazing experience for me. I'm so tired, so I will probably keep this really short, even though this was probably my favorite night so far.
The Western Wall really was a spiritual experience. While I was there, I felt the spirit so strongly. The scripture kept popping into my head from Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I realize that's Christ speaking, and the Jewish people don't worship Christ, but they worship the Lord, and the Messiah in whom they trust shall come, so I believe it still counts. I could feel the spirit of the Lord. And that was really neat to me.
I took the opportunity to place a prayer in the wall. Afterwards, I placed my hands and my head up against the wall, and it was warm, which was neat because it was dark out. I said a prayer, and it felt like everything except my prayer wasn't even there. It was really neat.
After my prayer, I joined in the festivities of the welcoming in of the Sabbath. There were tons of people there tonight because it's the last Sabbath before the Israeli independence day. That also meant there were tons of Israeli soldiers there celebrating, which was really neat, because, as soldiers, they only get to go there twice a year. There were all sorts of people there, whether they were diligently studying scriptures, singing at the top of their lungs, dancing, praying, or just observing. It was so fun. I definitely joined in the singing and dancing. There was this circle of people singing a song, that went, "La la la la la" and I was like, "I KNOW THOSE WORDS!" so I included myself in the circle and joined in. It was so much fun! Hahaha. I loved it. I feel like we, as Latter-day Saints, could learn a lot from the Jewish people about worship. Besides learning from their devotion, we could learn about how to usher in the Sabbath. If we started church by singing and dancing like they did at the Western Wall, it would be much easier to stay awake. I'm just saying.
Later, Brother Muhlstein (my future New Testament teacher) read a few of us sections from the prayer book in Hebrew, and I got the opportunity to read an English portion of it, which was neat. Some of the prayers are really beautiful. I think the prayer for the children was my favorite.
Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from tonight, because cameras weren't allowed. Extreme Orthodox Jews do not use electricity on the Sabbath, so it would have been offensive for us to have cameras. But I kind of enjoyed it more: it let me enjoy the experience without worrying about documenting it. But here's a picture of the Western Wall that I took a few days ago:
Note the Dome of the Rock in the background. Isn't that cool?! I love how sacred this land is to three major religions. It was the site of where Abraham (almost) sacrificed Isaac, it was the site of the Temple of Solomon, the site of the Temple of Herod, it has the Western Wall, it has the Dome of the Rock, it was the site of where Muhammad ascended into Heaven, and so much more. It is a sacred site to three of the world's largest religions, and I was there worshiping tonight. It was amazing.
After we got back, a group of us were still excited from the partying at the Western Wall, so we had a dance party in the Student Lounge. It started with us simulating a Jewish dance party, then playing Ride that Pony, then having an all-out dance party. Haha. It was a blast.
I love the people here. I love everything. Everyone. The cultures. The people. The languages. Everything.
Everyone should come here. Right now.
Sleep time. Happy Sabbath, everyone!
Tonight, as a class, we went to the Western Wall to welcome in the Sabbath. (For Jews, Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday night and ends at sundown on Saturday night). This was an amazing experience for me. I'm so tired, so I will probably keep this really short, even though this was probably my favorite night so far.
The Western Wall really was a spiritual experience. While I was there, I felt the spirit so strongly. The scripture kept popping into my head from Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." I realize that's Christ speaking, and the Jewish people don't worship Christ, but they worship the Lord, and the Messiah in whom they trust shall come, so I believe it still counts. I could feel the spirit of the Lord. And that was really neat to me.
I took the opportunity to place a prayer in the wall. Afterwards, I placed my hands and my head up against the wall, and it was warm, which was neat because it was dark out. I said a prayer, and it felt like everything except my prayer wasn't even there. It was really neat.
After my prayer, I joined in the festivities of the welcoming in of the Sabbath. There were tons of people there tonight because it's the last Sabbath before the Israeli independence day. That also meant there were tons of Israeli soldiers there celebrating, which was really neat, because, as soldiers, they only get to go there twice a year. There were all sorts of people there, whether they were diligently studying scriptures, singing at the top of their lungs, dancing, praying, or just observing. It was so fun. I definitely joined in the singing and dancing. There was this circle of people singing a song, that went, "La la la la la" and I was like, "I KNOW THOSE WORDS!" so I included myself in the circle and joined in. It was so much fun! Hahaha. I loved it. I feel like we, as Latter-day Saints, could learn a lot from the Jewish people about worship. Besides learning from their devotion, we could learn about how to usher in the Sabbath. If we started church by singing and dancing like they did at the Western Wall, it would be much easier to stay awake. I'm just saying.
Later, Brother Muhlstein (my future New Testament teacher) read a few of us sections from the prayer book in Hebrew, and I got the opportunity to read an English portion of it, which was neat. Some of the prayers are really beautiful. I think the prayer for the children was my favorite.
Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from tonight, because cameras weren't allowed. Extreme Orthodox Jews do not use electricity on the Sabbath, so it would have been offensive for us to have cameras. But I kind of enjoyed it more: it let me enjoy the experience without worrying about documenting it. But here's a picture of the Western Wall that I took a few days ago:
Note the Dome of the Rock in the background. Isn't that cool?! I love how sacred this land is to three major religions. It was the site of where Abraham (almost) sacrificed Isaac, it was the site of the Temple of Solomon, the site of the Temple of Herod, it has the Western Wall, it has the Dome of the Rock, it was the site of where Muhammad ascended into Heaven, and so much more. It is a sacred site to three of the world's largest religions, and I was there worshiping tonight. It was amazing.
After we got back, a group of us were still excited from the partying at the Western Wall, so we had a dance party in the Student Lounge. It started with us simulating a Jewish dance party, then playing Ride that Pony, then having an all-out dance party. Haha. It was a blast.
I love the people here. I love everything. Everyone. The cultures. The people. The languages. Everything.
Everyone should come here. Right now.
Sleep time. Happy Sabbath, everyone!
Oh So Many Things Happening in the Holy Land
WELL, HI! I feel like it's been forever since I blogged (not counting the quote). Not because it has actually been forever, but because so much has happened.
I never blogged about this, but this past Monday I went all around Jerusalem and looked at it from a bunch of different angles. It was amazing.
Our first stop was the 7 Arches Hotel. You could see the entire Old City of Jerusalem from it. Behold:
I was, however, disappointed that I didn't get a picture of a camel kissing me. We were in too much of a rush. But I will survive. *le sigh*
Stop # 2 was the Augusta Victoria Church! AH! I loved it here! We sang "Be Still, My Soul" inside it, and it had an 8-second reverberation. We are not the best singers. But inside this church, it sounded amazing. My friend Becca and myself are trying to get a group to go there to sing hymns on our own time. We will probably do that soon, because it was amazing.
My friend Jess and me in the Augusta Victoria Church:
Stop # 3: The ancient site of Gibeah! Don't tell me that that sentence doesn't strike excitement into your soul. This was where Jonathan fought the Filistines. And it is right between the ancient lands of Benjamin and Judah. Yeah... Additionally, it was the site of the ancient temple of Saul. Unfortunately, King Hussein of Jordan wanted to build a palace there, so he destroyed the ancient ruins. *moment of silence* But we still found a rock from the originial temple! *cue excitement*
The rock:
Next spot was Nabi Samuel. نابي سامول. ّIt's apparently the ancient burial site of the prophet Samuel. Except they got it wrong. But it was a valiant effort!
This spot was neat because the Muslims built a mosque here when the Ottoman Empire conquered the area (Muslims, Christians, and Jews all believe in the prophet Samuel), but the Jews turned parts of it into a synagogue. So it's a Mosque on top and a synagogue on the bottom. I actually got to go into both, and there were Jews studying in the synagogue (which was super small)! My friend Sharla laughs all the time because of how Jewish she thinks I look, and to verify her point, the Jews in the synagogue thought I was Jewish. They kept speaking Hebrew to me and were confused when I told them I never had a Bar-Mitzfah. Haha. They eventually got the point, and then talked to me in English. But it was funny.
Outside Nabi Samuel was a view of the ancient city of GibeoN (different than GibeaH). This place is cool for two reasons: 1) it was the site where Joshua told the sun to stand still so he could protect the people of Gibeon. Also, in 1 Kings 3, it is the site where Solomon asks for wisdom. Here's a picture of my friend Jess and me outside of Nabi Samuel. I just like it because it's super adorable of both of us:
I already uploaded a picture of my friend Troy and me battling outside this area, so I won't upload it again. But pretend I posted that picture here.
2 MORE STOPS AND THEN I'M DONE!
The next stop was the Haas Promenade look-out point. From here we could see the UN building (built, ironically, on the Mount of Evil Counsel), and a bunch of other stuff. This was mostly just a lookout point. Picture of myself on this one. I hate pictures where I'm not with other people, but it gives a better view of the city:
And here's one with my friend Becca:
The FINAL stop: Mount Eljas, a place to commemorate Elijah when he fled from Jezebelle. Roger would be interested to know that from here you could see trenches from the Jordanian side of the 1967 War. So crazy that it was so recently. (this place literally is living history).
On the other side, though, you could see the City of Bethlehem (which is considered to be in the West Bank). We were in what was traditionally considered the Shepherd's Fields, so here we sang "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." It was fun. :)
Brother Judd also pointed out that this could easily be the way that Abraham, David, Ruth the gleaner, Joseph and Mary, as well as the way Jesus Christ walked. He also said that it could be the way Nephi and Lehi came. It was a cool thing to note. :)
I'm not uploading any pictures from here because I don't have any particularly good pictures, and it takes a long time to upload. And I'm tired. But pretend like I did because it would be neat.
(/end blog post).
I never blogged about this, but this past Monday I went all around Jerusalem and looked at it from a bunch of different angles. It was amazing.
Our first stop was the 7 Arches Hotel. You could see the entire Old City of Jerusalem from it. Behold:
Stop # 2 was the Augusta Victoria Church! AH! I loved it here! We sang "Be Still, My Soul" inside it, and it had an 8-second reverberation. We are not the best singers. But inside this church, it sounded amazing. My friend Becca and myself are trying to get a group to go there to sing hymns on our own time. We will probably do that soon, because it was amazing.
My friend Jess and me in the Augusta Victoria Church:
Stop # 3: The ancient site of Gibeah! Don't tell me that that sentence doesn't strike excitement into your soul. This was where Jonathan fought the Filistines. And it is right between the ancient lands of Benjamin and Judah. Yeah... Additionally, it was the site of the ancient temple of Saul. Unfortunately, King Hussein of Jordan wanted to build a palace there, so he destroyed the ancient ruins. *moment of silence* But we still found a rock from the originial temple! *cue excitement*
The rock:
That picture of a rock took me ten minutes to upload. Totally worth it.
Next spot was Nabi Samuel. نابي سامول. ّIt's apparently the ancient burial site of the prophet Samuel. Except they got it wrong. But it was a valiant effort!
This spot was neat because the Muslims built a mosque here when the Ottoman Empire conquered the area (Muslims, Christians, and Jews all believe in the prophet Samuel), but the Jews turned parts of it into a synagogue. So it's a Mosque on top and a synagogue on the bottom. I actually got to go into both, and there were Jews studying in the synagogue (which was super small)! My friend Sharla laughs all the time because of how Jewish she thinks I look, and to verify her point, the Jews in the synagogue thought I was Jewish. They kept speaking Hebrew to me and were confused when I told them I never had a Bar-Mitzfah. Haha. They eventually got the point, and then talked to me in English. But it was funny.
Outside Nabi Samuel was a view of the ancient city of GibeoN (different than GibeaH). This place is cool for two reasons: 1) it was the site where Joshua told the sun to stand still so he could protect the people of Gibeon. Also, in 1 Kings 3, it is the site where Solomon asks for wisdom. Here's a picture of my friend Jess and me outside of Nabi Samuel. I just like it because it's super adorable of both of us:
I already uploaded a picture of my friend Troy and me battling outside this area, so I won't upload it again. But pretend I posted that picture here.
2 MORE STOPS AND THEN I'M DONE!
The next stop was the Haas Promenade look-out point. From here we could see the UN building (built, ironically, on the Mount of Evil Counsel), and a bunch of other stuff. This was mostly just a lookout point. Picture of myself on this one. I hate pictures where I'm not with other people, but it gives a better view of the city:
And here's one with my friend Becca:
The FINAL stop: Mount Eljas, a place to commemorate Elijah when he fled from Jezebelle. Roger would be interested to know that from here you could see trenches from the Jordanian side of the 1967 War. So crazy that it was so recently. (this place literally is living history).
On the other side, though, you could see the City of Bethlehem (which is considered to be in the West Bank). We were in what was traditionally considered the Shepherd's Fields, so here we sang "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." It was fun. :)
Brother Judd also pointed out that this could easily be the way that Abraham, David, Ruth the gleaner, Joseph and Mary, as well as the way Jesus Christ walked. He also said that it could be the way Nephi and Lehi came. It was a cool thing to note. :)
I'm not uploading any pictures from here because I don't have any particularly good pictures, and it takes a long time to upload. And I'm tired. But pretend like I did because it would be neat.
(/end blog post).
"The Bible makes the land come alive, and the land makes the Bible come alive."
(continued): "Acquaintance with the land of Israel helps one relate not only to the religion and history of ancient Biblical peoples, but also to the customs, the attire, the culture, and even the language and expressions of inhabitants of the Holy Land through the centuries. After Nephi wrote that his soul delighted in the words of Isaiah and that he understood them, he explained why: 'I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that...there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews...behold, I, of myself, have dwelt at Jerusalem, wherefore, I know concerning the regions round about' (2 Nephi 25:5-6)."
-Brother Chadwick.
So true.
-Brother Chadwick.
So true.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
I will conform to the ways of the Jerusalem Center and upload pictures. Because I know that's all you really look at my blog for.
I'm breaking rules by uploading things, but everyone else is doing it, so I'll follow the crowd. Haha. Enjoy! :)
My friends Ali, Meeshell, and me at the Garden Tomb. It was such a beautiful day:
Meeshell and me outside the Garden Tomb:
My friend Becca and me in Gethsemane. I decided I don't like pictures of myself alone. I keep taking them, but none of them look good. So generally I'll probably upload pictures of me with friends:
My friends Krystalee, Meeshell, Ariel, Troy, and myself wandering the Jewish Quarter:
My roommate Troy and myself re-enacting the Battle of Gibeon(?) where Joshua told the sun to stand still:
A picture from today, from our walk over the city of Jerusalem. My face in this picture is really weird! I don't think I was quite ready for the picture yet or something. Weird. But I like that the Dome of the Rock was in the background. Haha. These are my friends Lindsay, Skylar, Jeny, Jeehee, Julie, and myself:
And, finally, a picture of the sunset from my beautiful home, the Jerusalem Center:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Story of My Lost Wallet
Today, some of my friends and I were walking around the Old City. We met some of the shop keepers that Keri Ralls told me to meet (Sheban and George). Sheban was fantastic! He and I talked for a while. I love him. He is the nicest guy. He walked me to George's and on the way he said that all of the merchants in the Old City call the Mormon's "Sheban's children." haha! I love it. He also was telling me about how he treats the girls like sisters instead of wanting to do other things with them, like some of the merchants. Sheban is a really respectable person. In his shop, he gave us juice, told us to feel at home, and he always gives decent prices. You never have to, and never should, haggle at Sheban's, because it's disrespectful when he already offers such amazing prices. I love Sheban.
Anyways, there were eight of us in the group, and five of them wanted to go home, and the rest of us wanted to stay and try to see another site if we could. We were trying to find our way to the Armenian quarter of the City for a long time, but we kept getting lost. So the other five left to go back to the JC through Damascus gate, and we (my friends Becca, Jarrett, and myself) continued our search for the Armenian Quarter of the City. When we finally got there, Jarrett talked to one of the guys at the monastery and he gave us an entire personalized tour of the monastery and the Armenian quarter of the City. We must have been looking for over an hour. It was of the the most peaceful places I've been in the City so far. (This includes the Garden Tomb, but that's just because there were hundreds of people at the Garden Tomb.) During the tour, we saw the tree that Christ was apparently tied to. I believe they called it his first prison. But the gentlement who showed us around (his name was Robert) took us in all of these areas where it said "authorized personnel only" and it was absolutely beautiful. I wish I could have taken pictures, but they specifically said no cameras, so I didn't take any. But take my word for it - it was beautiful.
Afterwards, it was getting dark. We are supposed to be out of the Old City by 7:15 and in the Jerusalem Center by 7:30. Dinner in the JC ends at 7, and the time was 6:30. (Now that you have a timeframe for all of this, I can tell the story). We knew we wouldn't have time to get back to the JC before dinner, so we went into the Jewish Quarter to buy a falafel. The gentleman made Becca and my falafels, but had to cook more of the stuff he puts inside a falafel for Jarrett. So Jarrett spoke Hebrew to the man for a bit, while Becca and I ate our falafels. We made friends with the shopkeeper, and he was really nice, albeit he spoke almost no English. So afterwards, we knew we wouldn't make it back to the JC on time, so we got a taxi. This was about 6:50.
About five minutes into the ride, I went to get my fare for the taxi out of my wallet for the taxi. It was at this time that I realized: I didn't have my wallet anymore. Now, there aren't a lot of stories of people losing their wallets in the Old City of Jerusalem and getting them back. My heart dropped. We scoured the taxi for my wallet, but we just couldn't find it. We asked the taxi driver to turn around, but Jerusalem traffic was so heavy that it took us until 7:10 to get back. I could have run back faster.
As soon as I found out my wallet was gone, I said a prayer, hoping I could find it again. But I realized, that we are not the ones to set the conditions of the prayer. So I prayed to Heavenly Father that I could find it, if it was His will, and if I couldn't find it, I prayed that it would fall into the hands of someone who desperately needed it. After i said this prayer (and it was a constant prayer in my heart all the way back), I felt at peace. Now, for those of you who know me, it is not common for me to feel at peace when I lose something. But I really felt okay, because I trusted that if I didn't find it, that someone would find it who needed it.
As soon as we got back, Becca, Jarrett, and I sprinted towards the restaurant where we got the falafel (it's required for us to travel in groups of three). It was 7:10 and it's a rule for us to be out of the Old City by 7:15. So we sprinted back to the restaurant. Once there, the shopkeeper, who spoke very little English, was pointing vehemently at the ground. We got back and he kept saying, "No number, how I contact you?!"
He had found my wallet. I could have kissed the ground he walked on.
He showed me, essentially, how he found my wallet. He re-enacted the story for me. Haha. Apparently a customer had sat down, seen it, and pointed it out to him. He picked it up, saw my picture, and recognized it was me (one of the kids he had become friends with just about half an hour earlier). He kept the wallet behind the desk, and gave it back to me when I came back, everything still in it.
I got my wallet back, after losing it in the Old City of Jerusalem. This, my friends, was nothing short of a miracle.
Anyways, I tipped the man who found it (I should have given him more but I'm still figuring out this shekel business) and paid the extra fare of the cab, but I don't care. It's better to be able to pay that little bit than have lost my wallet altogether. I am so grateful. :)
----
The rest of things around here have been going really well. I have a reading assignment due in two hours and another homework assignment due for the morning, so I can't write much more, but I wanted to write down the story of my wallet before I forgot it. CLASSES ARE PHENOMENAL. I LOVE MY CLASSES. LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. AND MY TEACHERS. EVERYTHING ABOUT JERUSALEM IS AMAZING AND I LOVE IT ALL.
A few people have asked what extra security measures have been taken with the Osama Bin Laden thing. Honestly: none. Ha. Not that I know of, anyways. I don't think the threat level is really significantly higher, comparatively speaking, for us. I mean the Jerusalem Post stated, "Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continuet o plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, AFrica and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, and bomings." I mean, what else is new? Just kidding. :) We're being particularly careful, but I think that the Osama bin Laden thing affects you in the states more than it affects us. So breathe easily and know that I am in safe hands. :)
I love you all, and know that I'm thinking about you and you're in my prayers. :) Have a fantastic day, everyone!
Anyways, there were eight of us in the group, and five of them wanted to go home, and the rest of us wanted to stay and try to see another site if we could. We were trying to find our way to the Armenian quarter of the City for a long time, but we kept getting lost. So the other five left to go back to the JC through Damascus gate, and we (my friends Becca, Jarrett, and myself) continued our search for the Armenian Quarter of the City. When we finally got there, Jarrett talked to one of the guys at the monastery and he gave us an entire personalized tour of the monastery and the Armenian quarter of the City. We must have been looking for over an hour. It was of the the most peaceful places I've been in the City so far. (This includes the Garden Tomb, but that's just because there were hundreds of people at the Garden Tomb.) During the tour, we saw the tree that Christ was apparently tied to. I believe they called it his first prison. But the gentlement who showed us around (his name was Robert) took us in all of these areas where it said "authorized personnel only" and it was absolutely beautiful. I wish I could have taken pictures, but they specifically said no cameras, so I didn't take any. But take my word for it - it was beautiful.
Afterwards, it was getting dark. We are supposed to be out of the Old City by 7:15 and in the Jerusalem Center by 7:30. Dinner in the JC ends at 7, and the time was 6:30. (Now that you have a timeframe for all of this, I can tell the story). We knew we wouldn't have time to get back to the JC before dinner, so we went into the Jewish Quarter to buy a falafel. The gentleman made Becca and my falafels, but had to cook more of the stuff he puts inside a falafel for Jarrett. So Jarrett spoke Hebrew to the man for a bit, while Becca and I ate our falafels. We made friends with the shopkeeper, and he was really nice, albeit he spoke almost no English. So afterwards, we knew we wouldn't make it back to the JC on time, so we got a taxi. This was about 6:50.
About five minutes into the ride, I went to get my fare for the taxi out of my wallet for the taxi. It was at this time that I realized: I didn't have my wallet anymore. Now, there aren't a lot of stories of people losing their wallets in the Old City of Jerusalem and getting them back. My heart dropped. We scoured the taxi for my wallet, but we just couldn't find it. We asked the taxi driver to turn around, but Jerusalem traffic was so heavy that it took us until 7:10 to get back. I could have run back faster.
As soon as I found out my wallet was gone, I said a prayer, hoping I could find it again. But I realized, that we are not the ones to set the conditions of the prayer. So I prayed to Heavenly Father that I could find it, if it was His will, and if I couldn't find it, I prayed that it would fall into the hands of someone who desperately needed it. After i said this prayer (and it was a constant prayer in my heart all the way back), I felt at peace. Now, for those of you who know me, it is not common for me to feel at peace when I lose something. But I really felt okay, because I trusted that if I didn't find it, that someone would find it who needed it.
As soon as we got back, Becca, Jarrett, and I sprinted towards the restaurant where we got the falafel (it's required for us to travel in groups of three). It was 7:10 and it's a rule for us to be out of the Old City by 7:15. So we sprinted back to the restaurant. Once there, the shopkeeper, who spoke very little English, was pointing vehemently at the ground. We got back and he kept saying, "No number, how I contact you?!"
He had found my wallet. I could have kissed the ground he walked on.
He showed me, essentially, how he found my wallet. He re-enacted the story for me. Haha. Apparently a customer had sat down, seen it, and pointed it out to him. He picked it up, saw my picture, and recognized it was me (one of the kids he had become friends with just about half an hour earlier). He kept the wallet behind the desk, and gave it back to me when I came back, everything still in it.
I got my wallet back, after losing it in the Old City of Jerusalem. This, my friends, was nothing short of a miracle.
Anyways, I tipped the man who found it (I should have given him more but I'm still figuring out this shekel business) and paid the extra fare of the cab, but I don't care. It's better to be able to pay that little bit than have lost my wallet altogether. I am so grateful. :)
----
The rest of things around here have been going really well. I have a reading assignment due in two hours and another homework assignment due for the morning, so I can't write much more, but I wanted to write down the story of my wallet before I forgot it. CLASSES ARE PHENOMENAL. I LOVE MY CLASSES. LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. AND MY TEACHERS. EVERYTHING ABOUT JERUSALEM IS AMAZING AND I LOVE IT ALL.
A few people have asked what extra security measures have been taken with the Osama Bin Laden thing. Honestly: none. Ha. Not that I know of, anyways. I don't think the threat level is really significantly higher, comparatively speaking, for us. I mean the Jerusalem Post stated, "Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continuet o plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, AFrica and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, and bomings." I mean, what else is new? Just kidding. :) We're being particularly careful, but I think that the Osama bin Laden thing affects you in the states more than it affects us. So breathe easily and know that I am in safe hands. :)
I love you all, and know that I'm thinking about you and you're in my prayers. :) Have a fantastic day, everyone!
Monday, May 2, 2011
"You guys, even Isaac wasn't allowed to go to Egypt! We're not the only ones!"
-Mi'Kel, reading Genesis 26:2
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