He lives

In 3 hours I head to the airport. In 7 hours my flight takes off. In 29 hours I will be home... home sweet home. My heart is having mixed emotions. I'm so excited to come home to family, friends, and CHRISTMAS! But I'm sad to leave this place that I've come to love so much!

When we had our New Testament Final I had to write an essay on what I thought the second most important thing the Savior did on earth besides the Atonement and Resurrection. I chose a more personal aspect. The second most important thing to me was to understand the personal, intimate relationships the Savior had with people. I used the story in John 9 of the man born blind that Jesus healed. When this man refuse to reject the man who healed him he was excommunicated and ostracized from society. But the Savior came to him, and brought the comfort and peace that only the Savior can bring. The next example I used was Christ's relationship with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. When Lazarus died and Jesus knew what would happen, but he also knew the pain of his friends and "Jesus wept." He is always there for us. He knows us. He knows our struggles and our trials. He knows the desires of our heart. And sometimes... he cries with us because of our pain even though he knows the outcome. The last example I used was John 20 and the interaction between Mary Magdalene and the resurrected Savior. Brother Draper made a clarification for us in class, when Christ says to "touch me not for I have not yet ascended to Father," the Greek text is more like, "Cease embracing me for I have not yet ascended unto my Father." I love the image of Christ again bringing the comfort and peace Mary needed. She loved him so much, as did Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and the man born blind, and the established such personal, loving relationships with the Lord. Another observation that I had was that each of these people the Lord not only healed physically, but spiritually too.

That was what my semester at the BYU Jerusalem Center was all about: To come to know the Savior personally and intimately. I've come to know the places Christ loved, the teachings he taught, the culture he lived in, the friends he had, the miracles he did, the struggles and experiences he had on Earth. With my own testimony of Jesus as the Messiah I've come to know what Jesus was like as a man.

I don't know if it's kosher (pardon my pun) to share my testimony on a blog, but I am...

He lives. I know that with all of my heart! He suffered and died as an infinite atonement for us. And then he was resurrected. He has shown us the way because he is the light. I love him with all my heart. So I want you to know, that I know, that...

He lives.

Merry Christmas!
I'll see you in a couple of hours!
Lots of Love!
Carlee

DONE!

As of 4:26pm of December 16, 2007AD we were officially declared DONE with finals! Celebrate!

Yesterday was our last Shabbat! President Hayes stood up to conduct the branch and he had to announce the students would be leaving on Thursday. He got a little choked up... and we all lost it pretty quickly! We had a special Sacrament Meeting with a couple of Christmas musical numbers and a few testimonies. It was wonderful. I don't think there was a dry eye in the whole building... yeah I'm pretty sure there wasn't one.

The rest of Shabbat was equally wonderful! One of the girls here has been stuck in the hospital for a couple of days with an eye infection. She's been stuck in an Israeli hospital...in the hallway no less. So yesterday Rachel and I went and hung out with her for a couple of hours. We had a lot of fun! The Priesthood also brought her the Sacrament. We had a wonderful testimony meeting in a remote hallway in the Israeli hospital. It's a memory I'll never forget! The Spirit was so powerful!

Last week we went to the Church of Mary Magdalene. Here are some pics:

We also had a bunch a field trips that I didn't get to blog about. My apologies! This picture is the sepulcher inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that we got to go inside finally. Normally there is a line an hour long to get inside (we walked right in).

Did I mention it's been super cold. When I say cold... I mean its not as cold as Utah or Idaho, but still enough that I had to buy slippers. (In all honestly I bought the slippers to meet dress code since we're not allowed to run around without shoes...I'm working the system!)

Anyhow, we have two last field trips this week, one last free day, and then we head to the airport! AHHHHH!

4 days and counting! I'm headed straight to Bajio!

Lots of Love!

Carlee

Finals!

I'm on the final stroke! We have our last two finals today and Sunday. Ah! I regret to report that I haven't been out in almost a week. Everyone went on a field trip to Tel Aviv, but Rachel and I stayed behind since she is super sick and I was suffering from a migraine. As soon as finals are out of the way it will be so nice! Right now we're just trying to survive and not be sick when we get home for Christmas!

I have so much more to say but everyone is studying without me so I've got to go! Wish me luck on my finals!

7 Days and counting!

Lots of Love!

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

I had my first ever Choir Concert last night. Every week the Center puts on a concert for the community. They get some really amazing people to come and perform. Last night the student choir sang Christmas hymns/carols for everyone. We've been working on it for awhile, but we kept getting new songs up until Saturday morning (concert was Sunday night). We did really well, with a few small exceptions. The music was beautiful! It was a neat experience to sing song of Christ for some of those who are from this community. The Spirit was present and I know that it really touched several hearts! I got a few kisses from a couple of little old ladies on their way out. They seemed genuinely uplifted.

11 Days and counting! I can't believe I'm headed home soon! It's a bittersweet thing!

Lots of Love!
Carlee

Separation Wall

Yesterday, Danny Siedmen came and spoke to us about the Separation Wall that the Israelis have put up. I've mentioned some of my feelings on this in an earlier blog (Bethlehem post). We only got to see the Israeli side of it, I wish I had pictures of the Palestinian side. This is 25 foot concrete wall. If I had my notes I'd give you more details. Growing up in the Utah bubble I sometimes find that I can't comprehend the hatred people have towards each other. Why do people want to kill each other? Why do we let things like this happen? In my New Testament class we're studying the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. I never understood that it wasn't just the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem. At the time there were 3 million Jews who had fled to Jerusalem, a city that can comfortably hold about 150,000. The Roman siege lasted three years, but during those three years the Jews fought each other. They didn't just fight, they committed mass murder. I just keep thinking... why do we do this to each other? But I already know the answer, "when iniquity abounds the love of men shall wax cold" (JSM 1:10,30). Our answer is in the light and truth the gospel brings.

Time in Galilee

I have been in Galilee for a week now. That is why I haven’t been able to get a blog up because we have very little and expensive access to the Internet here.

I’m in love with the Galilee. I now have a small idea how much Peter, Andrew, James, John and the Savior loved this place. The contrast between Jerusalem and here is huge! Jerusalem is a hubbub where something is always moving, and cars are always honking, and something always smells funny, and the storekeepers are always bargaining, and the cart-movers are always shouting (To be fair…that’s only in the Muslim quarter and East Jerusalem.) But here in the Galilee, sitting on the beach of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) time seems to stop, and everyone stops with it. We all sit on the beach for hours (we’re not allowed to swim) reading scriptures and pondering the Savior walking along these very shores. It’s the only time I’ve ever heard this whole group be quiet except for maybe in church… ha ha. It’s been a great week to read and really listen to the words of the scriptures.

Every other day we go out on a field trip and then the next day we’ll stay in and have 3 or 4 classes (of New Testament and a sometimes Archaeology). It’s actually really nice because we end up with more free time than usual. Some of the highlights of field trips so far have been the Mount of Beatitudes (location of Sermon on the Mount), Tabgha (Traditional location of the feeding the 5,000), Capernaum, Nimrod’s Castle (no N.T. significance… just a crusader fortress ruins), etc. We’ve had a great time here! My New Testament teacher, Brother Draper, has given several very powerful lectures and I feel like I’ve learned so much this week!

We held Fast and Testimony Meeting in the Galilee Branch House. It is a beautiful structure! It has the most incredible view the sea! Elder Holland referred to it as “The Savior’s Branch,” so I attended the Savior’s branch today. Pretty cool huh! he he. Our meeting was so powerful! The Spirit was definitely able to testify of all the truth that surrounded us.

Crazy that I only have 3 weeks left! I’m really in shock! I’m terribly excited to come home, especially for Christmas, but I can already tell a small part of my heart is going to be left here. I just love it so much!

Anyway, I’m going to wait until I get back to the JC before I write again (that will be the middle of next week)! Mom is was SO good to talk to you the other night! Thanks for putting up with me!

Lots of Love!

A Day Below Sea Level

Today was great! We visited Masada, Qumran, Ein Gedi, and swam (better said...floated) in the Dead Sea. I just thought you would like to see!


Lots of Love!
Carlee

Bethlehem

It's been a very busy couple of days and its about to get busier! We went to Bethlehem last Wednesday, but I haven't been able to get a blog up because I've been stuck studying for finals ever since. We had our Palestinian final yesterday, and we have our Judaism final today. Yesterday it went fairly well, but today I'm bracing myself for the worst!

Bethlehem was an interesting experience. I kind of have mixed feelings about it. We spent some time in Ein Karem where John the Baptist was born to Elizabeth and Zacharias. We visited a couple of churches. My favorite was the Daughters of Zion abbey. It was really beautiful and peaceful in there. It has been wonderful to relate more to Elizabeth, Zacharias, John, Mary and Joseph, and their experiences.

After that we passed through the Separation Wall into what is considered the West Bank... Bethlehem. Passing through the wall gave me a much deeper perspective into what is happening over here. The Separation Wall is a 20ft wall the Israelis have built around the West Bank occupied territory for reasons of "security." If you ask me it is more demoralizing then a safety precaution. It was terribly hypocritical to see the huge PEACE banners strung up on the wall on the Israeli side. Building a wall doesn't promote peace. On the Palestinian side are huge gruesome murals blatantly attacking the Israeli hypocrisy through graphic artwork. In all honesty, it was disgusting. However, as I've been here longer I've learned more and more that I can't take sides. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have made prideful, stupid decisions. But as I've learned in Brother Hunington's class, time moves on and major issues eventually melt away into history. One day they'll work something out.

So that part of Bethlehem I didn't enjoy, but it was fun doing a little shopping in Manger Square, and going through the Church of the Nativity. However, the highlight of the day was when we had dinner and spent the evening on Shepherds Field. We had a fun program, sang lots of Christmas Carols, and Brother Draper gave a wonderful lesson on the birth of Christ. The Spirit was strong, and the evening was wonderful.

I love being in this land. I've learned so much! Although I'm ready for American food, and Christmas. This week we're going on three field trips tomorrow so I promise I'll update this more now!

I'm so excited to be done with my Jewish class! Wish me luck on the final!

Lots of Love!

TEMPLE MOUNT!

Tidings of Great Joy:

#1 Today we had a very exciting thing happen... we finally made it onto the Temple Mount! They only open it for about an hour each day (if that). We got out of class early today and so we decided to try and get on! Let me help you understand: Some people have tried 10 times to get on before today but they wouldn't let them on. So today we got super lucky that we were able to get on and look around for a couple minutes before they kicked us off. It was really neat! We are desperately trying to get a tour of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Asqa Mosque, but they haven't done that since before the Jerusalem Center closed. They are really picky who they let in now (obviously). But it would be really cool!

#2 Got a Falafel today! Hmmm! What a wonderful invention!

#3 IT ALMOST RAINED TODAY! It was overcast for the first time the whole time we've been here! It was exciting... it almost felt like fall!

#4 Old Testament Final is done and overwith... Happy Day, All is Well!

Hope you are having as many great tidings as I am! ha ha!

Lots of Love!

Hazelnut Kit Kats

So my best discovering this week: Hazelnut Kit Kats!

All I can say is...

Heaven in a candy bar!

Home from Jordan

Wow... keeping this thing updated is hard! Well I'm home from Jordan it was a good experience. Petra is my all time favorite! However, this isn't going to be my Jordan blog because I don't have my pictures here so you'll have to wait until tomorrow or so for that blog. Until then... I'll catch you up on what I've done SINCE we got home!

Yesterday we had a free day to recuperate from Jordan. I got to sleep in until 7am! It was wonderful! In the afternoon we went and played ULTIMATE FRISBEE! It was heaven sent... really! It's been much to long since I've played. (Shalyn made me jealous talking about her ultimate team she's coaching! ;) ) I had so much fun! I guess I surprised a couple of the guys... somehow they didn't know how competitive I was until yesterday. Funny! (Boy was that a shocker for them.)

After our sweaty afternoon a group of us went with my Jewish teacher to Shabbat service at his synagogue. It was incredible! Thankfully they had a prayerbook that had English translations next to the Hebrew (and lots of helpful hints along the way). It was absolutely beautiful how they welcomed in the Sabbath! I never realized how closely related we are to Judaism, but when I looked at the prayerbook and it was all praises of God and singing of his goodness I was really touched! The Spirit was strong in that meeting for me! I learned a lot (not just about Judaism, but about myself as well)!

Then in the evening we had our first annual SpookFest in the Shalom Shack (snack bar). Since we missed Halloween while we were in Jordan we all dressed up and danced and played games. I spent almost an hour trying to curl Ryan's hair so that he would like James. I wasn't planning on going but got some last minute help and had a costume dumped in my hands: I was a gangsta! (yeah yeah I know) I actually was told by several people I pull it off well... ha ha. We had a good time!

That leaves us at today, Shabbat. We had fast and testimony meeting today! It was a really powerful meeting! I love how the students have grown so close together! We've really been able to learn from each other!

Anyway I'm going to run! I'll get my Jordan blog/pictures up soon!
Lots of Love!

Carlee

A Day of All Seasons

A Day of All Seasons has been my experience here at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Seriously! Below 0 in the classroom. Layers and socks/shoes in the morning for class! About 85F as soon as you walk outside! And then off come the layers and you try and find the lightest outfit you have.

Anyway... Just thought I'd give a little taste of the climate. It's actually feeling a lot better now that it has cooled off a little (a little like Utah's fall but without the leaves).

Oh Mom, my Relief Society lesson went really well! The women here are amazing! It was a lot of fun!

And good news: I'm going to Jordan tomorrow! I'll update when I get back!

Lots of love!

Olives Part II and Hezekiah's Tunnel

This morning when our class was trudging through thigh-deep water inside a tunnel chiseled over two thousand years ago under the walls of ancient and modern Jerusalem and the City of David I thought to myself, "I can't believe I get to call this school! I wonder what everyone is Rexburg is doing." We have had a lot of fun this week! Especially this morning in our Southern Kingdom/Judah Field Trip. I liked it because we've been studying this time period in both Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Old Testament this week. There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from these people! I'm glad I get to learn them here! Picture: note the level of water! wahoo!


The other fun thing we got to do yesterday (to get away from studying) was crush the olives we
had to pick last week. I learnedsome interesting things. For example, the huge round stone (in the picture) that you crush the olives with is called a tribulum... where the word tribulation comes from. Now think about that for a minute. It was a great experience... and it was fun to watch all of the olive slim fights afterwards. Thankfully I wasn't involved in that one.


Midterms are finally here and class is a disaster! Mostly because none of us want to be in class. That is how spoiled rotten we are! 2 Midterms, 2 Quizzes to go then we're headed for Jordan! I really want to write more, but it'll have to be later! Love ya lots!

Carlee

Boker Tov: Good Morning

Hey! What a good week!

Classes are crazy as always! We're starting mid-terms which is no fun at all!

We picked olives for three days after class so we can crush them this week. It was a lot of fun! I miss climbing trees! Life is good when you have trees to climb! :) Even though my bucket is empty I promise I picked some!

The highlight of my week was going to the Garden of Gethsemane. We went yesterday on Shabbat after church. To get there we walked through Orson Hyde Park which is also very beautiful. We asked if we could sit in one of the side gardens at Gethsemane that was locked because they don't let many tourists in there... excepts the Mormons. It was beautiful, and surprisingly quiet and peaceful. Wow... that is all I can say to describe it.

One of my roommates and another one of my really good friends received their mission calls this week so the JC has been full of excitement! Sarah is going to France, Rachel is headed to Spain! I'm so excited for them! (Maybe a little jealous even ;) ) I even guessed Sarah's call right on! Wahoo! I won some TimTams and am ready for a TimTam Slam baby! Ha ha! Hmmmmmm... so good! Well I have to run to class... (eck)

Lots of Love!

Carlee

Galilee Trip #1

Hey ya'll!


Earlier this week I had my first Galilee experience and loved it! I definitely am in love! I can't wait to go back next month for longer! It was a quick trip...two days to see everything we can't see in our next trip. Highlights: Megiddo, Acco, Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Carmel, and Mt. Arbel, and the Sea of Galilee.
Picture: Enactment of a battle at Megiddo





I will tell you my one misfortune of the trip: My favorite pants now lay in ruin in my closet. It's a long story. So I'll show you the picture. It's was quite the adventure since that happened on Day #1 and they were my only pair of pants I brought. Moral of the story: The Lord likes to laugh... and walking backwards is a great skill!



Conference was amazing! It was recorded for us so we've been watching it throughout the week. The combined effort of ancient and modern prophets and apostles has really done so much to touch my heart and strengthen my testimony of the gospel. In case you were wondering... the church is true!

Mom and Dad... I know you are in Florida but you still better watch conference when you get back! You are going to have to report back to me! :)

Love ya!
Carlee

This Week in Review

This week was a really good week. Our Palestinian class teacher couldn't get a visa out of West Bank into Israel so we didn't have half our classes this week (don't worry he'll be back next week). So we ended up with quite a lot of free time... my favorite! We got back from Egypt on Sunday then had our Conquest Field Trip on Wednesday and our Judges Field Trip yesterday. It was way fun!

Conquest Field Trip:

In Old Testament we were studying Joshua and his conquest of the Canaanites and settlement of Israel. So we do what we always do here... took a field trip. We visited both the Old and New Testament Jericho Tels (archaeological sites) and of course to get there we went through modern Jericho. I've now been in the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. wahoo! It was actually a really neat place. We also visited Quruntful Monastery which is traditionally where Satan tempted Christ to turn the stone into bread. They built this monastery right up on the cliff face. Crazy... the picture to the right is looking out from there over Jericho.

After we got back we went into the Old City for a little while. We tried to go a couple places but ended up St. George's Cathedral and sang hymns (from their hymn book) for a half hour or so. It was nice. There was a young man who sat down next to us and listened and Ashley and I had a neat conversation with him afterwards. I love the people here.

Judges Field Trip:

So we moved on and are studying the time and book of Judges. So we took another field trip. (jealous yet?) We went all over the place! We stopped at Bet Shemesh (once the residence of the Ark of the Covenant), Azekah, Elah Valley (place where David slew Goliath... and I learned how to use a sling), Bet Guvrin, Lachish, and Micah's cave (where we explored all these caves which was by far the most fun). It was a good day! Lots of learning! Pictures: Me, Risa, and Craig in the caves

Most grateful moment of the week: when Karey killed the ginormous spider that was in our room! It was sick! It gushed guts everywhere... don't worry I took a picture. :)

Most happy moment this week: getting to watch the first General Conference session live! We also got to watch the Relief Society rebroadcast at 7am this morning. It is so good to hear the words of the Lord from his servants!

Well we are headed to Galilee tomorrow for an overnight field trip. I'll be sure to update when I return!

Love ya lots!

Carlee

My Exodus to the Land of the Pharaohs

Well hello again! I know you all missed me! So basically I just had the time of my life! Egypt is incredible! Since there is hardly a way to tell you everything I did I'm just going to give you a basic outline... and pictures of course! (plus I know that's all you really want anyway)

Sunday (the 23) Israel/Egypt

On our first day we made a few stops on our way out of the country. We stopped at Tel Beersheba the place where Abraham dug a well and kept his family (as well as Issac and Jacob). It was really neat since its an active dig site. Then we went to an amazing overlook of the Zin Wilderness where the Children of Israel dwelt for a time (it was also David ben Gurion's grave). That was amazing to see! That is really the desert! Holy cow! It was cool though! And then a couple of hours later we visited our first Kubbutz, a small township that basically practices socialism... very communal living. It was neat to see. There are several of them in the Negev Desert (where there isn't anything else out there). Picture: Holli and I at Tel Beersheba with hardhats and everything!

Monday (the 24) Cairo
Well we drove in the bus... for a LONG time! Then we sat at border control for a LONG time. Finally we made it to Cairo! Phew! Then we swam the night away at the hotel. (Oh and I got asked to speak at Sacrament Mtg. see Sat.) That was about it. Picture: Rachel and I outside border control

Tuesday (the 25) Cairo

Basically the best day ever! We did so much! We started off the day going to the Pyramids at Giza! Wahoo! We went up through one of them. Talk about tight places. It was cool though. Its quite the grand piece of work for such a small room. After that we went on a camel ride... and I officially decided I don't like camels. I'll take a horse anyday. Then we went see the Sphinx, a mastaba (tomb of a wealthy ancient with original paintings), Zoser Pyramid (the first ancient step pyramid), and then a quick stop in Memphis. It was a busy day, but incredible. Then we took an overnight train to Luxor. I'm not going to lie... I was afraid it was going to fall apart on us. Needless to say... it was a long night! Left: Me and the Pyramid. Below: Me and the Camel

Wednesday (the 26) Luxor

Besides the fact that I was just really grateful to get off the train this day was probably tied for my favorite. We went to: Valley of the Kings (including King Tut's tomb), Hatshepsut's Temple which is carved into the Mountain, the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III, Colossi Memnon, and then that evening went on a Faluka ride and watched the sun set over the Nile (and danced to funny Arabic songs). It was so much fun! I learned a lot about Egyptology and decided I would really like to learn more. Bro. Draper has had a few informal lectures about Abraham 1, and the facsimiles, and lots of ancient Egyptian history that is very applicable to us and I absolutely love it! Sometime I'll have to share all the things I've learned! When I have a couple extra hours... :) Pictures: hierogliphics, a faluka on the nile

Thursday (the 27) Luxor

Okay... maybe this was another one of my favorite days. I can't pick just one okay. We visited the Karnak temple which is pretty much the coolest temple of them all (trust me... we have seen them all). There were so many interesting "doctrinal debris" as Bro. Draper calls it. Seriously though... I can't wait to go through our own temple and it will probably help with understanding. The Egyptians sure did have some truth. I liked a quote I heard about the Egyptians by President Kimball, he said that the Egyptians were very interested in finding the key to the eternities, immortality, and deity. However, they found many keys and for fear of selecting the wrong one wouldn't let any of them go and thus became their downfall. But I think they had been given several chances by the Lord to have the right one, they just wouldn't commit. It has some interesting applications I think. Anyway... took a carriage ride, had some free time, shopped, visited the Luxor temple, and then jumped on a plane and finally headed back to Cairo. Picture: Bro. Draper (my) class at Karnak temple (I'm now officially the class photographer)

Friday (the 28) Cairo

We visited Old Cairo (it was okay). The best part of the day was when we went to the Khan al Kalili Bazaar. I now have quite the reputation as the bargainer to stick with. ha ha... really. I had fun getting my prices and debating with merchants. Who would have thought? ha ha. Picture: Me, Sarah, Stephanie, Karey, Rachel, and Kayla

Saturday (the 29) Cairo

First thing on Saturday we went to Muhammad Ali Mosque which was really neat. I liked it. Then we visited some not so exciting things around the city so I won't bore you with that (well not exciting compared with the rest of the week).

We then traveled to Sinai and had Sacrament Meeting at the hotel that night. President Hayes asked me to speak for Sacrament. That was an interesting experience. First of all we had just traveled approx 6 hours on a bus after a long day out. Second we were holding the meeting in a restaurant at 10 at night. But I really appreciated the opportunity to do it. I spoke about trusting in the Lord, and it fit perfectly with Brooklyn speaking on enduring to the end, and Trevor speaking on finding joy. A lot of us needed it. Then we went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 1am to hike Mt. Sinai. (That would equal 2 hours of sleep if you wanted to know.) Picture: Mosque

Sunday (the 30) Sinai
Well we woke up at 1am and hiked Mount Sinai. We got to the top an hour early for sunrise, so we all slept at the top. It was a really neat experience and breath-taking! The Sinai desert has its own unique beauty. There were 787 stairs to get from the last stop to the top, but we did it! But by the time we got down I was ready to go home... to Jerusalem. Everyone slept on the bus. We got stuck at border control for even longer this time so we went and played on the beach of the Red Sea. Finally at 10pm we made it home. Honestly the highlight of my day was taking to Russ and the family when we finally made it back. So family... just know you beat Mt. Sinai. That's how much I love you! ha ha! Above: Me on Sinai. Below: the sun rising

Well this was quite the longwinded blog. My apologies. I promise I won't burden you like this very often.
I love ya! Thanks for your prayers! And I definitely need more emails from everyone!

Carlee

Shalom... I'm a Hebrew speaker now

This week was my first Hebrew class. It was super fun! Our teacher is great! She teaches English at the Hebrew Univeristy, and Hebrew at the "Mormon University" (that how locals know the JC). So as of this week I officially know 4 Hebrew letters... alef, bet, vet, gimmel, (and modern gimmel). Wahoo! Ha ha... it was really fun! So before you know it I'll be a master of the Hebrew language... or not. :D

We also went to the Israeli Museum... that was interesting. The antiquities area was closed which was sad. So we saw the sculpture garden, and the dead sea scrolls, and the mini model of 70AD Jerusalem, and other museum-like things. It was fun... we were silly.

Yesterday we just had class... two quizzes for two classes. We had a service project yesterday afternoon cleaning out a tomb they dug up a couple years ago right in our yard. That was fun! And mostly we just got ready for our trip to Egypt! Wahoo! We leave on Sunday (don't worry that isn't Sabbath...we're still keeping it holy today ;) ). I'm super excited!

This morning I woke up with a medium (not quite killer) migraine. Kendra got a kick out of me so she took this picture. She found a lot of humor out of it so I thought I'd share it with you. (That's ice on my head and sunglasses... I don't see how it's that funny... but okay. Maybe it's because I'd make a wicked sweet ninja!)

Well I have to run to my dance lesson! (Caleb is teaching me to ballroom dance... ha ha) I'll update when I return from Egypt! I'm really excited for it!

Read Read Read

For those of you that know me really well you know that I love to read. Well I have a flimsy hope that I'll enjoy it just as much when I make it home in December. ha ha. I'm not kidding you... we read A LOT! Yesterday I spent all day, and I mean all day, reading. That does not count studying! That is just reading the material we've been given! I wish I could explain to you... just help you understand... I spent probably eight hours straight yesterday reading (which actually isn't that far out for me... but not for school!) and then I still had other assignments and studying for quizzes left to do. (Don't worry I played volleyball all night instead of doing the other assignments :) ) So anyway I just had to vent that. I feel better now. Plus when I have a view like that (picture) for my study room everyday I guess I shouldn't complain.

So for obvious reasons (like my sanity) I chose to go out to the city today after class. So a group of us went to St. Anne's Church and the archaeological dig site of the Pool of Bethesda. It was really neat. In the Church we sang I Stand All Amazed. It was such an incredible feeling and the song spoke the words of my heart. The archaelogical site was sweet! And it's great because all of us have memorized all of world history practically (thanks to our Archaelogy class) so we actually have a clue what's going on now. After that we ran to the Western Wall for a few minutes. I love it there! There is such a diversity of people there and for people watchers like me it's wonderful! Here are some pictures...

Amy and I in the dig site

I just like the random... but greatness of it

I was way lucky with this picture. Master photographer thank you!



The Western Wall

Well until next time...

TTFN: ta ta for now

Creating Zion

I had a good friend this summer point out that I was going to be living in one of the locations of Zion at the Second Coming. I've pondered, and pondered that in the last several weeks. As I've studied I've wanted to create Zion here at the Jerusalem Center while I'm here but there are so many people and so many different backgrounds I didn't think I could do it alone. I prayed so hard before I came here that I would find a friend who would be willing to create Zion with me. Well this week I had a huge tender mercy and answer to prayer. I was sitting down at lunch with a couple of girls here and we somehow got to talking about how we wished we had the opportunity for more spiritual experiences, and I told them about how badly I wanted to create Zion. Together we talked and all committed to work on it together. We've started a group scripture study (something I really miss from my summer job) everyday to study and talk about Zion. I'm so excited! Instead of one friend the Lord has given me five that are just as eager to create Zion as I am.

Another tender mercy for me has been that this week has been filled with Zion! My Old Testament teacher gave the most incredible lesson about Zion, and Zion in the latter days. And today in Sacrament Meeting one of the students and the district president both spoke on Zion and how we can create it here! I'm so grateful! The Lord sure does help us when we seek him! I'm excited to strive to create Zion here in Jerusalem. :)

Shabbat Shalom!

Carlee

Geography Field Trip

The Field Trip:

Yesterday we went on our first field trip! It was great! To get better oriented with the Jerusalem area we went to five different outlooks surrounding the city. First thing this morning we went to Nabi Samwil, Nabi meaning "prophet" and Samwil is "Samuel" in all making "The prophet Samuel." There is a cenotaph (memorial) dedicated to him in the synagogue. The really neat thing is that this building structure houses both a mosque and a synagogue. It is one place where the Jewish and Muslim get along... or at least will share. As a group we climbed to the roof of the building and looked at the area then went exploring.

Picture: Holly, Me, Sarah, Rachel, Sara on the roof

We also visited Deir Mir Elyas, Haas Promenade, Seven Arches Outlook, and the Victoria Augusta Hospital/Tower/Chapel.

The Victoria Augusta Chapel is beautiful! I love going into these old beautiful churches and seeing their architecture and all the symbolism! The acoustics were incredible and the guide let us sing on the platform so we sang some hymns! It was gorgeous! The Spirit was really strong.
The chapel and tower are actually part of a German Hospital built in the early 1900s. Our guide's name was Nicole (from Germany), she was our age and had only been there for a week longer than we've been here. We were her first tour.

Some Pictures of the Week:

Picture: Yep... that's my new snazzy bag. I'm quite the little bargainer now... ha ha (even though you can't see them I'm wearing my super cute new earrings as well!)

Picture: Orthodox Jew sitting in the market street

Picture: This container is outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (traditional sight of the crucifixion) and its used for any "suspicious" object within the area. If you don't get it... this container is to blow things up in.
Funny Story: One of our teachers who was also here before the Center closed in 2000 said that one time a girl left her quad (set of scriptures) in Israel (somewhere) and when some Israelis couldn't identify it they shot it. So she went back to find them and her scriptures had been shot.
A little paronid I think. :)

Blog Orientation for Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad, (and anyone else who needs it)

A blog is a really neat, relatively new wonder of technology! It allows people to create a type of interactive website. What I post will be updated at the top of the page. If you wish to look at previous post either scroll down or look at the archive to your right. There are only two posts up right now... scroll down and you can read what I wrote before. If you wish to comment (and you better) at the bottom of each post there is a button that says "comment" click it and leave a comment for me. That way I know you love me. (wink!)

Dad, I thought you would appreciate this picture we found in the Old City. It says, "My money and my daughter go to BYU." We thought it was funny!

I love you all!

Carlee

First Days in Jerusalem

Shalom! I am finally in Israel!

My first week at BYU's Jerusalem Center has been very exciting! After we finished all of the orientation meetings (there were plenty of them), figured out all of the policies and procedures, and finally had some free time we went straight into the Old City! It is beautiful in there! All my senses were overloaded with all of the history and culture! I can't believe I get to live here for the next four months!

Last Friday night we went with our Religion professors (Bro. Draper) to see the Western Wall and the Jews celebrating the start of Shabbat. It was so neat to see them celebrate and worship at the wall, and it was fun to see many of the young men who are studying seminary here come and sing and dance to welcome in the Sabbath. I didn't take my camera but hopefully I can get some pictures of the wall before I leave.

On Shabbat (Saturday is the Sabbath) we held Church here in the Jerusalem Center. The branch is small, but wonderful! Each member here has an incredible and unique story. Many of them are working at the US Consulate, some are studying at the Hebrew University, but we make up the vast majority. A small group of us decided to go into the city and spend some time at the Garden Tomb. It was a neat experience to be there, especially on Shabbat. It was so calm and clean compared to the rest of Jerusalem. There are some wonderful British caretakers that are as friendly as can be, they gave us a tour and then we sat for quite a while pondering.

Classes are intense. I've never had so much reading in my life. It's a good thing I like to read, and its a good thing the topics are (for the most part) very interesting. We get to take some very intriguing classes: Ancient Near East Studies (NES), Modern NES with a Palestinian narrative, Modern NES with a Israeli narrative, Old/New Testament, and I'm taking Hebrew as well. It's quite the load, but its especially brutal trying to balance that with playtime in the city.

The people here are wonderful! There are several service couples here along with the faculty/staff. Everyone is so happy and helpful! The students are all great. It's intimidating because they are all smart, but I'm excited to try and create Zion here with them. My roommates are a lot of fun: Sarah, Kendra, and Amy. Due to the lack of space in our room I'm sure we'll become tight friends fast. :)

I've felt rather sick ever since the airplane ride, it makes studying hard. But don't worry... lots of pills, sleep, and prayers will remedy it soon enough. And I'm kinda sad BYU lost to UCLA... oh well... everything can't be perfect I guess!