Updates

Finals and midterms definitely caught up with me and I have been slacking on blogging about cool things that have happened recently. So now that finals are over (YAY!) I have some extra time to breathe and reminisce about past weeks.

About two weeks ago, on February 21 (our most recent free day since we've been on lock down) me and my friends Dan King and Corina went to Sunday mass at the Notre Dame catholic church. That was really good and the Priest was happy to find out that we were Mormon afterward, we talked to him for a while and that was fun. On our way out we wandered through the Old City a little bit and stumbled upon a Lutheran church and sat in on the mass there for a few minutes. I really enjoy going to mass here, the buildings are so beautiful and the people are always very welcoming to us. As we left the Lutheran church we saw a precession of Priests walking down the road carrying a cross. We couldn't figure out why, but it was still cool to see.

Notre Dame Church

Lutheran Priests

Church of St. Mary Latin (Lutheran mass)

After that we went to the YMCA and played the bells for all of Jerusalem to hear in the bell towers. I had done it already but I really enjoyed it so didn't mind going again. I played Come Unto Him, which I think is becoming my favorite hymn. It's really cool to be able to play hymns to the city of Jerusalem. It makes me appreciate them more and realize how beautiful they are and how they bring the spirit even without the words.

After the YMCA we went to the Tower of David Citadel Museum which I really enjoyed. It put all of the jumbled things that I have learned this semester in order, it was helped me put events on a timeline. Very, very helpful.

Dan and Corina checking out the City of David Model

The next day, Monday, we had a field trip. We went to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and went to the Western Wall Tunnel, Davidson Archaeological Park, the Burnt House, and the Wohl Museum. These were all places that helped us to better understand and connect the dots the time of Herod's temple and the destruction of the temple by the Romans.

The Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Yes, I live here.

At the Davidson Archaeological park we went to a the steps up to Herod's temple. At this place Jesus walked countless times. We sat there and talked and imagined what it would've been like to see him, to see the city and the great temple when it was all here.

Steps to Herod's Temple

Fast forward a week, to this Wednesday. We had been studying for so long and I had to get out of the center and into the city. We went to the Sisters of Sion Convent, which is the place where it is said that Christ was condemned by Pilot. There were just a lot of cisterns (underground water storage), but we ran into a group of Mormon tourists who knew a lot of people in our group. We will probably see them at church tomorrow.

Hanging out in a tunnel at the Sisters of Sion Convent

After the Sisters of Sion we wandered around a little bit and found some classrooms where they hold school. We are so blessed to have such good schools that are in good condition. We are so blessed to have supplies readily at our hands and adequate funds. We are blessed!

A classroom in Jerusalem

Outside of the classrooms in the courtyard (the courtyard that marks the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, actually) there were orange trees and we found an orange on the ground and all had a piece of it. It was pretty nasty, it was nothing but sour and bitter. And it made our tongues numb. But it was a good experience to eat an orange from a tree in Jerusalem and so far none of us have gotten sick (knock on wood!).

Gross oranges. Gross gross.

So now fast forward alllllll the way to today. We are finished with finals! We have two classes now, one of which is the New Testament. Which I'm really excited for! Today my friend Taeler and me dressed the same (everyone says we look alike and got us mixed up) to see if our new teacher could tell us apart. He couldn't and called me Taeler--we got him good! He was a good sport about it and said that he can always use a challenge. We go to Galilee in a week which is also very exciting. From what I hear we stay in cottages on the beach of Galilee.

Today when I was studying for my last final I was in my room and all that I could hear were sirens and shouting coming from the Old City. The conflict is happening again, this time more fierce. Someone read online on FOX that this is the biggest conflict they've had in several years. Yikes. We are again put on lock down. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154404.html <----- here is the link for more information on what's going down here. Security doesn't know when it will end, hopefully they will get it out of their system by tomorrow. The Jerusalem Center is in East Jerusalem which is the Arab side of the city and there was a political demonstration on the street right outside of the gates tonight. There was a fire burning in the middle of the street and it was blocking traffic, such a mess. Once again, I really hope that they let us out soon. I hope the conflict stops soon also because we are supposed to go to Bethlehem on Monday and if there's a lot of problems in the West Bank where Bethlehem is then our field trip might get scratched. Or get rescheduled.

The demonstration in East Jerusalem.
(Photo by Eric Torrie)

So, summary: People are fighting. We are on lock down. BUT....finals are over. I'm starting the New Testament and am thrilled to learn more about the Savior. And overall, Jerusalem is still Great! :)