Hezekiah's Tunnel, End of Finals, & Tel Aviv

Sarah and I showing off our immodesty as we prepare to enter Hezekiah's tunnel--usually pants that don't extend to the ankel are strictly forbidden.

Inside Hezekiah's Tunnel. Periodically we would hear shouts filtering down from those ahead of us: "Turn off your lights!" It quickly became one of my goals to return to Hezekiah's Tunnel and complete the entire 1749-ft long journey without lights.

At the exit, after we'd made it through

Sarah and I wanted planking pictures... and were running out of time. So we decided to go simultaneously to be more efficient. Considering the time spend recovering from almost face-planting into the water... who knows if it was actually any quicker. But we conquered double-planking!

Nate's creativity...

John Chapter 9 tells the story of a blind man, told to wash in the pool of Siloam to receive sight. These steps next to Chloe and I are the excavated steps of the pool of Siloam.

The City of David/Hezekiah's Tunnel field trip was our last as Brother Huntsman's class. I was very sad to be leaving Brother Huntsman, but very excited to be taught by Brother Harper as well. I learned so much about the Old Testament, and especially the background of the Old Testament from Brother Huntsman; thank you! Now on to conquer New Testament.

 This was a snapshot taken last Thursday night of very deranged Madelyne and Rachel as they struggled to prepare for their last final. Just in case I forgot basic greeting norms, I had "HELLO!" written on my teeth in pencil for the duration of the night. Perhaps more worrisome than anything else was the lack of comments I received; do I act so strangely on a regular basis that having messages written on my teeth is not out of the ordinary??

I finally made it to Tel Aviv! Bike riding all morning was a blast, with only one flat tire and one scraped knee--neither of them mine.

I love the beach. I don't know what it is about water and sun, but they always make a winning combination in my book. I even escaped with minimal sunburn! Kudos to Spencer, whose dedication to sunblock has truly inspired me. /being sunburnt is miserable and I like to avoid it.

Zoo

The animals that live in the Zoo...

...and the animals that visited the Zoo.

We ended the day with a celebratory stop at the waffle bar for Analise's birthday!

The Garden of Gethsemane

"I believe in Christ-- my Lord, my God!

My feet he plants on gospel sod.

I'll worship him with all my might;

He is the source of truth and light.

I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.

From Satan's grasp he sets me free,

And I shall live with joy and love

In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I'll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: 'Ye shall obtain.'

I believe in Christ; so come what may,

With him I'll stand in that great day

When on this earth he comes again

To rule among the sons of men."

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He is the literal son of God and that He performed an atonement that not only allows mercy and justice to be reconciled, but also allows Christ to know the exact misery and frustration that each human being experiences. I believe that the witness held in the Book of Mormon of Christ is true. I testify that in certain circumstances, I have felt love and peace I could not have created on my own. The gospel of Christ is the single most important facet of my life and my identity. I strive to "talk of Christ," "rejoice in Christ," and "preach of Christ." The greatest happiness I have ever experienced in my life has come from trying as hard as I can to follow God's prophets and to align my actions and attitudes as best I can with how I feel the Lord is directing me.

I believe in Christ, so come what may.

A Night Outside

Since arriving in Jerusalem, it has been a great goal of mine to sleep outside on my balcony. Goal: accomplished. Thanks to the provision of a hammock by Michael, I was able to spend an entire night under the stars very comfortably. Due to the increase in bugs and spiders lately (I have personally killed two spiders in my room, and found another IN my shirt the other day), I liberally applied bug repellent. I escaped without a single bite!

Snorkeling in the Red Sea

Hailey, Maddie, Rachel

Last Sunday we went to Eilot to snorkel in the Red Sea. It was a blast. The weather was quite hot, which made it a good day for the beach. I unfortunately left both of the swimsuits I brought to Israel in Turkey, but a very kind Natalie Pennington brought an extra to Eilot that she let me borrow. After one go in my tank top and shorts, I was very grateful for the swimsuit; it made a surprising difference. My wonderful mother has told me that she is sending me a swimsuit so I will be prepared for Galilee. Thank you Mom!

This past week or two has been very busy with homework. Next week is finals, after which I will only have two classes for the rest of the semester... and needless to say, we are all very excited!

the past few weeks...

Arab Night

Me and the Davids... with the David and Goliath valley behind us (i.e. Elah Valley)

Oh well...

Joseph Smith movie anyone?

L'Angel and her kite. Aka, one of my favorite moments since coming to Jerusalem.

The Upper Room (where the Last Supper was)

Ringing the bells at the YMCA tower was so fun

Separation Wall

It was striking to see the separation wall this past Wednesday. The messages are written in English for a reason.

Ice City. The wet bums are a result of the ice slides!

L'Angel left us to go back to Utah Friday night. No one knew until the day of and we were so sad to see her go. I'm going to miss my roommate!

Jericho

 On Monday May 21st, we visited the historic site of Joshua's most famous victory: Jericho. Different archaeologists contradict one another on the probability of a city of notable size really existing during the time of Joshua; some say barely a village was around by then, while others claim a big city could have been around. We also visited Herod's palace and likely other deserty sites, but I don't remember anything else.

Intently looking at Brother Ludlow's diagram of Herod's palace.

Myself with arguably the oldest building in the world. These remains of an ancient Jericho tower date back to 5000 BC

"And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city... So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city." Joshua 6:16&20

Photo shoot at Jericho! Purpose for said photo shoot: unknown...

Not at Jericho, but I couldn't resist. Reunion of three of us in Israel.