today is such a good day. nothing extraordinary happened, yet it has been an extraordinary day. I slept in a bit- 7:30 is sleeping in. Then I went to this Franciscan monastery, Terra Sanctae, in the Old City. Father Angelo gave us a tour and even showed us the door that Orson Hyde carved his name into when he stayed in the Holy Land on his visit here in the 19th century. I bought a necklace with my name in Arabic. My name looks dang good written in Arabic:) Even though I'm in the throes of finals I feel completely content and at peace. I feel so right about being here. I know that this is where Heavenly Father wants me this summer and I'm maturing and growing in ways only He could provide. I feel like clay being molded and it's painful and uncomfortable at times, but ultimately it will be so worth it. SO worth it.
I started reading Jane Eyre yesterday. I need to be more cultured in brit lit. I'm on page 15 and i'm already in love with Charlotte Bronte's ability to captivate me with her writing.
Also, dinner was highly entertaining. All i have to say is that the toast and beef are REALLY good. And meal times are a great time to play marco polo
P.S. Reason #35 why today is such a good day: I got a package from HOME. i love hot tamales and red vines. israel doesn't know what it's been missing out on.
THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!!
Monday, June 28
to dream anything you want to dream- that is the beauty of the human mind
- bernard edmonds
The best thing about the future, is that it only comes one day at a time.
- abraham lincoln
i love whipped cream, too
imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.
-marilyn monroe
next stop: Italy
to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment
-ralph waldo emerson
too many people miss the silver lining, because they're expecting gold.
-maurice seitter
we must be our own before we can be another's
- ralph waldo emerson
Wednesday, June 23
in reality
back to normalcy
back to my life that i love and have not forgotten
back to the kitchen making, baking, creating
ridiculously random photos. there is no order
Let me just preface this by saying I have had the raddest adventures. I am so blessed.
in the dead sea. i was floating in there for about 30 seconds until my eyes and every cut on my body burned like no other. plus, the water was warm and i had been hiking allllllll day long.
oh just me and the little old dead sea
party in west jerusalem
herding sheep. way harder than you'd think
new love: caves
jared and jud being a creeper behind a Torah scroll.
bell caves. these are made of limestone and the walls are like chalk
church of the nativity. underground this floor is the location of Christ's birth
the best salad ever at the foccacia bar. fried goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and perfection on a plate.
singing christmas songs under the nativity church. i LOVED celebrating christmas in June.
coming all the way to bethlehem made us realize we needed to confess.
jessie, lisa, bekah, katie, abby, me, lauren at ein gedi
guitars turn that frown upside down
original mosaic floor in the nativity church
cave under the nativity church
AND NOW for the beauties of the middle east:
hairy man has a whole new meaning.
he looks like fun.
ein gedi
i was walking with lisa in the middle of nowhere in blistering heat and we were 15 min behind everyone else and i just stopped and thought "i am walking in freaking israel. who does that?" it's so unreal to live here and i am so happy i've been able to live here for the past 9 weeks.
ibex are like cows here
just walking from ein gedi to the dead sea. peace in the middle east. i've become so carefree here that i forget that terrorists live right around the corner. ok, not literally. but, the news back home portrays this place like it's a complete war zone everywhere. yeah, that's spot on for the gaza strip, but most of the other areas in Israel are safe and just peaceful. my perspective has been expanded beyond words.
enough said.
heer you go
Ein Gedi
yeah. i swam in water that had crabs in it
it was 106 degrees that day
ein gedi
just some israeli soldiers at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial.
i love lisa- can you tell?
lisa and matthew judson
West Jerusalem
my roommate, Lauren
i took this from inside our bus when we were leaving Bethlehem- which is in the West Bank.
more of the partition wall surrounding the WB (West bank). Palestinians who have an Israeli passport can't come in here. ever.
Nativity Church in bethlehem
That hole in the ground has a rock below it and that's the "spot" where Christ was born.
matthew judson and i outside the Nativity church
lisa trying to catch up. you work that cane!
ps. she cut her foot something fierce at Eilat, hence the necessity of a cane
nativity church bethlehem
bethlehem. can you imagine mary and joseph? kindof hard to visualize with how built up and toursity it is.
dirty vans
damascus gate, old city
cinnamon sticks at the souk
the BEST dried fruit ever. that white stuff behind the 48 sign is dried coconut.
i have been in heaven. coconut is an aphrodisiac
diet coke is also an aphrodisiac. or maybe i just like it. a LOT. and this was in a glass bottle. HEAVEN
jud, daniel aka: shally, me
i'm too happy for being in a prison, huh?
this is in the prison for prisoners of the underground movement. basically it's for all the israeli rebels who fought against the british during the early 20th century.
TOMS welcome to Jerusalem
i like flowers and they like me
western wall with dome of the rock behind. good combo
bar mitzvah monday
Pool of Siloam where Christ healed the blind man. This is in the City of David.
before going into Hezekiah's tunnel
after
the City of David. this is all palestinian housing
EILAT! this is the Red sea. i'm standing in Israel and across the water to the right is Saudi Arabia and to the left is Jordan. and directly to the right (not pictured) is Egypt.
Israeli soldiers during the 4 hr break they get each week on Shabbat.
Shabbat= good pastries. get the carmel croissant.
inside some old pigeon house
Valley of Elah where david fought goliath and the israelites battled the philistines
ruins in beth shemesh- Samson's hometown
mea shearim. the ultra orthodox Jewish neighborhood in West Jerusalem.
we were sort of lost and then i remembered that this was the neighborhood where that jewish guy spit on us.
west jerusalem
i must have a photographic memory because as soon as i saw this mural i knew where we were.
the supreme court. way laid back place. i felt like i was at the county court at home.
supreme court
outside the Knesset- Israel's legislative building
old city boys
old city girl
in the church of the last supper
blue skies keep calling my name
just me and bro hamblin, my ancient near east teacher
my old testament class in the Judean wilderness.
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