little taste of Galilee

more to come...

ein karem

So before all the bomb prom stuffs happened, a group of us made our way to Ein Karem-a neighborhood in Jerusalem.
We saw the church of St. John the Baptist, got ice cream, and walked along the streets.

steps outside the church of St. John the Baptist

bomb prom

Yesterday was pretty interesting here at the JC.

After an afternoon at Ein Karem, sirens went off in the city. Having no idea what this meant, a few of us stood outside to find out what was going on. A few seconds later, we were called inside and into the bomb shelter {were the first ever student group to use it…yeah were pretty special}. We only stayed in there about a half hour after finding out what happened. Missiles were fired toward Jerusalem but landed a couple miles south of Bethlehem. We were told to resume normal, daily activities. So all is well here and we’re as safe as can be!

To celebrate, we decided to have a JC prom.

Since there are around 3 times as many girls as there are boys, we had polygadates {2 or 3 girls per guy-and we wonder why people think we’re weird}. The boys were given slips of paper with their dates names on them, and they were to ask the girls to prom that night.

So at dinner, after walking away from my plate for a second, I come back to a napkin over my food with my name on it. After I open it up, it says “Amy, will you go to Prom with me? –Jordan”. So of course I said yes…then helped him ask the other girl date-Rosie.

Rosie randomly found these old fashioned, somewhat hideous wedding dresses in the shek shack. We proudly wore them the whole night. It honestly looked like a man just married two women.

Quite the night, quite the night. 

recap

 best shwarma i've had in the Jewish quarter with my besties, katherine and em

 ramparts walk on a rainy Jerusalem day

 shopping with the one and only Jerusalem Malmrusalem (Allison)

 field trip to the Old City...gate where Christ would've left the temple.

 Rachel and I being all matchy-matchy at the Herodium.

rug lady

I found this lady on the street struggling to fold up her rug, 

so I helped her out for a minute.

soccer

After a long day in the city yesterday, Andrew invited Emily, Kate, Will and I out to play soccer with some Palestinian kids from the neighborhood. 

We walked across the street to some houses and met a few kids there. We then made our way around their neighborhood knocking on all their friends door trying to get them to come play. After rounding a few kids up, we made our way to the soccer field {a dirt field with 2 different sized goals without nets}.
I had THE best time playing with them. I even found out that most of them knew my cousin and best friend Cassidy Lang who came here winter semester. They kept raving on about her and how much they loved and missed her! So we exchanged names and numbers and plan on playing soccer again soon.

 Yezin, Achmed, me, and Raghad

it gets cold here?

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s cold here! It’s raining and it’s freezing! I even wore a sweatshirt outside into the city! This is a memorable moment, ladies and gents.  

This morning, Emily, Allison, Kathryn and I walked to Joppa gate and did the ramparts walk for the second time, determined to finish both sides. When we got to the end at Dung Gate, we couldn’t find the entrance to the other ramparts walk. After asking some taxi drivers and getting very confused, we decided to forgo the second part of the walk and go shopping instead. So much for completing the whole thing. O well.

Throughout the whole day it was raining suuuper hard and the stones were extremely slippery. We finally made it through the rainstorm back to the wonderful JC. We then preceded to watch While You Were Sleeping and simultaneously fall asleep to it.

You could say it was a successful day.

bike rides in tel aviv

So yesterday, a bunch of us {me, Caitie, Sophie, Jed, Jordan, Lizzie, Andrew, Liddie, Rachel, Rachel, Kaylynn, & Paul} made our way to Tel Aviv. We hung out on the beach and the water just talking. Then we rented bikes and rode them along the boardwalk overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was honestly a delightful moment. Nothing else describes the scene or the feeling I experienced. I was alone with my thoughts, just enjoying the beautiful waves and blue sky. The sun peeked through the puffy white clouds and made for a perfect setting. This was one of my favorite things I’ve done while here in Jerusalem.

Let me back up for a sec…When we first rented bikes, there wasn’t enough for 13 of us. So we each buddied up and rode for about 5 minutes with 2 people on a bike. I rode on the back of Caitie McBride’s bike {birthday shout out} and we definitely had a bonding moment.
 
When we got to the end of the pier, we ran into this group of Nigerians who wanted to take pictures of/with us and ride our bikes. They were all dancing and having a blast. This one man came over to me and Caitie and wanted a picture. While his friend was taking one, she said “yeah take these for your wife” haha. I thought it was pretty funny.

After bike riding, we walked all around Tel Aviv as it was getting dark. We wanted to find this one famous graffiti wall but I don’t think we ever found it. Then we were all starving, or at least I was, so we went to Donald’s for dinner. Honestly, it was the best meal I’ve had so far. I had, of course, a big mac meal, and enjoyed every, single bite.

a day in the life

This post is to describe and show what a normal day here at the jay rew center is like.

Probably nothing like you imagined,

Because it sure isn’t anything like I thought it would be.

6 a.m. wake up call. Get ready for the day with my three awesome roommates: Eleisha, Hannah, and Laurann.

7 a.m. breakfast in the oasis

 {pita bread, scrambled eggs, banana, orange juice}

8 a.m. – 12 p.m. classes 

{old testament/new testament [my favorite classes taught by my favorite teachers, Brother Schade & Brother Judd], ancient near eastern studies taught by Brother Stratford}

12 p.m. lunch 

{anything from sandwiches to burritos to falafel, 

and pita of course}

1 p.m. – 3 p.m. classes 

{Israel/Palestine}

3 p.m. – 6 p.m. free time 

{mostly consisting of homework, studying, & naps; 

I'm lucky if I get to go out into the city and explore}

6 p.m. dinner 

{potatoes, mystery meat, rice, salad, 

and you guessed it…pita!}

7 p.m. – free time 

{ping pong, homework/studying, 

playing hide & go seek, etc.}

Every Monday is a field trip day,

Every Sunday is a free day,

And mini trips to the city are squeezed in

whenever possible.

Life is good.

shepherds fields

I’m sitting here in the Shepherds fields in Jerusalem on a beautiful night. There are thin white clouds scattered across the fading pales blue sky. The sun hass set and only the shadows of Bethlehem’s buildings remain.

I’m thinking about Christ’s birth and the message He brought with Him to this world. It is marvelous to think of this miraculous and glorious birth of the man who saves us all from sin not far from here. I picture myself as a shepherd herding my flocks before darkness sets in and in the starry sky, one lone but magnificently bright and beautiful star shines above all the others. The greatest sign of them all.

Looking out at this field is exactly what I pictured Jerusalem to be like. 

Simple yet beautiful. 

Complex yet glorious. 

I can so clearly picture what it must’ve been and felt like the night of His birth. How fortunate these shepherds were to have been so close to Him, our Savior. Yet I know that I can be close to Him as well. When I read my scriptures, pray to Him, I take another step closer. By following His example, I can be that fortunate and be in His presence again. 

just for dad

overlooking the Old City from the Jay C on Mt. Scopus

 

 

austrian hospice

today we  meandered our way up to the Austrian Hospice and 

sat on the roof to see the best view of the old city. 

You're right in the heart of it all. 

It's pretty sweet.

jordan

A few pictures from our trip to Jordan...

 Jabbok River-Jacob wrestles with the Lord, and his name is changed to Israel

Jerash-Largest preserved Roman City

 

Philidelphia Theatre 

Jordan River

Petra 

Oh yeah, I rode a camel.