Man I'm slackin hard core at this blog thing! Our schedule here at the center is jam packed! I have been buried in a huge pit of homework but finally get a break this next week because we're heading to Turkey in a couple hours! Gonna be SWEET! Can't wait! Okay so I need to have a little recap of this past week & a half so I don't get too behind. Get ready for a picture over load! So on May 5, we went to the Victoria Augusta Tower which was beautiful. Every single inch of the place had thought put into it, the whole building was covered in such detail. I loved the detailed paintings, gold tile, & mosaics all over the wall. Here's some pictures so you can get an idea of what it looked like.

They have the best ceilings here!

 The details just blow me away

 Where the congregation partakes of the sacrament

 The gold tiles were beautiful, the pictures don't do any justice

 Like every inch of this temple was beautiful

After this we went to the Bethlehem look over where we stood on a hill over looking the whole city. We could see miles and miles away. As the teachers were explaining the history about this place I noticed a shepherd and his flock of sheep. He was just casually chillin on the side of the mountain watching his sheep, you don't see that every day! I had such a spiritual experience that I won't go into detail on here but I felt my grandpa right there by my side. It was a moment I will never forget. This hill  will always be close to my heart

Love how he's just chillin over there on the left side of the picture watching his flock

On our bus ride to the next stop, we experienced an awesome moment during that day(Israel Independence day). They take this day so seriously, for a couple minutes out of the day, everyone stops what they are doing no matter where they are to have a moment of silence for those who have died. Even people driving stopped their cars & got out to show respect. 

It was an awesome experience to watch them all, they all have such devotion for their country 

On May 9th we went to the Western Wall which I already talked about but I didn't get to add any pictures.

All the students on the way to the wall

 An awesome building right before the wall. I can't remember who told me but one of the women here in the center said that some of the stairs at the top, closer to the building, were stairs that were there when Jesus was here on this earth..I just got chills when she told me that...

Then on the sabbath, May 10th we went to visit the garden tomb. It way different than I expected, I thought it was going to be all by it self in desolate place but it's right in the middle of the old city. I literally got 3 seconds in the tomb, I couldn't even comprehend what just happened. I can't wait to go back to spend time in there by myself to ponder & feel the spirit. We all gathered on the benches in the garden to listen to the tour guide. After he explained a little bit about this place, we decided to sing a few songs. This brought in the spirit so quickly & so powerfully. Everyone around stopped to listen to us sing. It was such an unforgettable experience. 

The boys sang their own song, they sang like angels, I'll try to see if I can upload the video later

 I loved all the little tiles throughout the garden with scriptures

 I couldn't get enough of the flowers..

 Some more of the tiles..

 And more flowers haha I love the little swirly thing in the middle of the flowers

 The reason we only got 3 seconds inside, there were tourist groups out the wazoo

 One of the students was drawing the tomb in the bottom picture, I thought it was so cool so I took a picture of it. He explained that the best way for him to remember a place is to draw it(wish I had that talent!)

 Waited in the long line, finally about to enter the tomb..

 Inside the tomb

 On May 11, a group of us went the YMCA building where we played the bells for the whole city! It was a little scary because I didn't want to mess up, everyone was listening! But I loved every second of it! I loved learning something new & being apart of it.

I can't get over all the amazinggg buildings here

 Thee funniest sign I have ever seen haha super awkward

 The YMCA building, we went to the very tippy top to play the bells

 Mosaic in the front of the building

 Half of the group crammed into one tiny elevator. It's way more squished than it looks, picture never do justice

 The sweet bells

 The pros showing us how it's done

 One of the huge bells

 Some pictures of the view from the top of the building

 I am in love with this city, it amazes me every second

 Is this real?? Jaw dropping view

 Each door had a saying between them

 Outside over looking the city

 Cole & I getting ready to play Over the Rainbow for the whole entire city

 Concentrating like no other..

 It looked like the wall was going to fall right through, these are the cords that attach to the bells up above

 The coolest bell playing group ever!

 Had to take a picture in front of the bells

 A tiny little church in the YMCA building

 A couple people from out group, I thought it was a fun angle

 Us reenacting the sweet banner hahaha

 Here's a closer one.. just soak it all up.. haha

Then after we played the bells we walked across the street to the King David hotel to see all the signatures from the famous people who have stayed there.

The Black Eyed Peas..

 Had to take a picture by it!!

 The list was endless..

 The rooms were unreal..

This one is for you Dad! Love you!

After this we had lunch on the park benches in the city. It was so peaceful. Kids were playing in the water fountains(I almost joined them haha) Then we walked around the old city which I love to do. I can't get enough of the tiny streets.

 Some paintings in the wold city for sale, loved the colors

 A little Jewish boy walking around the city, so cute

 LOVEE the tiny streets

 Little Jewish boys playing soccer in the city, loved watching them have fun

 The streets are always soo busy but so fun

 The coolest graffiti I have ever seen!

Holy Cow, this is taking forever haha Okay so next we went to see the Dome of the Rock. We barely had any time there either cause the line was so long & they were closing it within the hour we were there. I swear, things are so dang rushed here, I wish I had more time to sit & ponder. There's just so much to see!

Waiting in line for the Dome of the Rock

 We passed the Western Wall on the way to the Dome of the Rock, it's so empty compared to when we went there

 This building was breath taking

Us girls!

The BYU Jerusalem Center is such an amazing building. I am so blessed to be living here, I still can't believe it's real. I'll put more pictures up of the center when I get back form Turkey but this center has unbelievable views! Here's one of them..

On Sunday Emily & I took some pictures outside after Stake Conference where we had like 400 people there! It was crazy!

 Love this girl

 Another awesome view from the center

On May 12, we went on another field trip. This time we visited the Sidreh Weaving Center. These women didn't have to opportunity to go to school. They are able to have that opportunity to do that now while they learn to weave to earn money. They showed us the process of weaving & they steps they take. The things they made were beautiful

The women showing us how they spin the wool

 Tea they made for each of us

 This sweet little hut/ lounge area outside

 Some liked the tea more than others.. haha

 How they weave rugs

 Bundles of died fabric

 Love the colors

 Using resources wisely 

 Some of their products

 On our way to the other sites we saw a couple cool things out of the window. Jerusalem has palm trees every where! I feel like I am back in Hawaii again!

 I am obsessed with camels & we saw a couple, out the window. I wanted to jump off the bus & ride one that very second!

Next we visited Tel Arad

Loved the view from up on that mountain

 Some of the girls

 Looking down this huge well

Last but not least we went to Tel Beersheva, we got to wear some sweet hard hats!

 It was a little windy outside! Cole cracks me up

 We were killin it in those hard hats, man, watch out!

 They were loving this a little too much haha

 Going underground

Then the next day, May 13th, we took an underground tour of the center. We were shown where the vents for our teachers are so if we ever wanted to put something in their air vents, we knew where haha jk we are never allowed down there again. We just got to go down to write our name on the walls & pipes with everyone else's. Got to mark my territory on the center!

 I love my classmates, they are the coolest people ever!

Well that's all for now! I'll update on some more things after Turkey which I am sooo excited for! I miss you guys a bunch but I am having the time of my life out here & know that this is where I am suppose to be XOXO

Last night was my favorite night by far!! We went to the wailing wall...I LOVEDDD IT! Walking through the front entrance, you could hear the buzzing noise of everyone praying. It almost sounded like a football game. It was a full house!! I instantly got the chills... from my head to my toes. I loved watching everyone walk by(I can people watch for hours). We entered into the women's side & walked towards the wall. As we got closer, I saw people reading scriptures, swaying front to back, praying & pouring their hearts out. Women & little girls were touching their foreheads to this sacred wall that they held very dear to their hearts. Many were praying & a couple of them were crying. We moved through the crowd then we finally got to the wall. We shoved our prayers(that we wrote out on paper) into the tiny cracks of the wall. I was amazed at how many papers were fitting in those little spaces. Every single hole was filled. We put our hands against the wall, then our foreheads. The spirit & feeling there were so strong. I was tingling the whole entire time. Everyone around had so much passion & love for their religion. I felt so connected with everyone around me. I wanted to give everyone a huge hug. I can't even explain the feelings. Then we walked away from the wall to let others have their turn. There were little groups of teenagers singing & dancing. Of course we joined in! We had no idea what they were saying but we jumped & clapped right along with them. We talked to a couple of the girls after & they said they sing to welcome in the sabbath. They explained some of their traditions with us & why they participate in them. The jewish women are stunning. They have long, shiny, dark hair with gorgeous light colored eyes. They loved talking to us & figuring out where we were from. There were so many mixed feelings in that one place, such peacefully sacredness but also happiness & rejoicing. I wish so badly that we could have taken pictures. Here are a couple of pictures from the internet so you can kind of get a feel for what its like. Except that we went at night & the place was packed. There wasn't a spot on the floor that could be seen. We were standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting to touch the wall. An experience I will never forget...

Man I have been slammed with homework & classes these past few days. Im gonna be a genius by the time I come home! A big group of us went to the Israeli museum this past Sunday. There was so much to look at & to learn about. It was full of artifacts, pottery, jewelry, masks & much more. For our homework we had to see certain things throughout the museum & here are some pictures from them.

a sweet clock in the grass

                                                just casually carrying a gun on the streets

                             part of the group, beyond us is where the dead sea scrolls are kept

                                         love this picture, can't wait to learn a new language

          a sweet pipe they used for water, couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture in it haha

                                                       I think it's a good look for me

                 this is a heel bone with a nail through it, from a man who was crucified, this really hit me

                                                           loved this wall, so pretty!

                                        I LOVEEE walking through the streets of the old city

I am so in love with this place, it's absolutely amazing...Can't wait to tour the city more & learn all about it. Well better get back to studying but I know my mom has been at the edge of her seat waiting for pictures so here they are mom:) I love & miss you guys so much! Love the comments too! XOXO

So I keep saying, "Pinch me, this can not be true!!" So I slammed my drawer

So I keep saying, "Pinch me, this can not be true!!" So I slammed my drawer shut with my finger inside while I was in a rush out the door, so let me just tell you, this place is SO FREAKIN REAL!! I was pinched & now I know this isn't a dream for sure! haha Today we had church because here in Jerusalem, Saturday is the sabbath. Guess how many people were there?? 400!!! I couldn't believe it! It took 45 minutes for everyone to take the sacrament! Insane!! Because there were so many people there, the songs were so powerful when we sung them. I felt the spirit so strongly!! I know this church is true because of the spirit & the peace I feel inside. Today was another strong testament & reminder of that. Oh & guess what? I went to choir today. Yeah! SHOCKER! I hate singing because I am horrible but I am going to try everything here & take advantage of every single moment. I don't want life to pass me by, I want to make the most of it. You grow the most when you step out side of your comfort zone, so that's what I'm doing. I am also in the choir because when I sing church songs, the spirit touches my heart & is so strong there is no way to deny it. In D&C it reads, "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." When we sing sacred songs, it is another form of prayer. Plus we get blessings when we sing (Who doesn't want more blessings??) After church a group of us went to visit the Garden of Gethsemane. It was was different than I expected. I can't wait to go back with the teachers so they can explain everything. There was also a church right next to the garden. It had a low ceiling & dark tinted windows.

                                    in front of the Garden of Gethsemane 

                                              the outside of the church

                                 I love looking at all the amazing buildings

                                                   inside of the church

    if our ceilings at church looked like this, I would never pay attention haha

                                             even the floors were amazing

                                            the Garden of Gethsemane 

                                                          me & emily

                                     it was a little too sunny for tanner

                                                    the three amigos

                             love the view of city.. can't take enough pictures

I am so grateful for being able to live here in the Holy Land for 3 1/2 months. I couldn't have done it without the help from my close friends & family. I love you guys so much! 

First official day in Jerusalem! I woke up to the sound of the prayer playing all throughout the city around 4 in the morning. Once I finally got out of bed, I walked out to the balcony to see the view. Words cant even describe! There are so many buildings, houses, & sacred monuments that are squeezed into such a tiny space. The Dome of the Rock stands out like a sore thumb compared to all the neutral colored buildings. I could see all the way from my left shoulder to my right, full of ancient history, many cultures, stories, buildings, & so much more which was all right in front of me. I had to grab my camera because it was just too amazing! We ate yummy breakfast outside on the balcony overlooking the old city. Talk about a good breakfast!! I could have sat there for hours, the air was crisp, the food was delicious, the sounds of buses & cars, it was too good to be true. After breakfast we grabbed our HUGE water bottles & headed outside to take a tour through the old city..JAW DROPPING! We walked around 4.5 miles, up and down streets, in & out of tiny markets. We were walking really fast through the city to get a brief overview but I could have stayed there for days, even weeks!! I was at the back of the group just soakin up everything (a couple times I caught my jaw hanging wide open, & I had to wipe the drool off my face! haha) There was so much to see with such little time. Walking through the city I saw little boys balancing baskets full of bread on their heads, people speaking different languages, the smell of spices, felt the stone rock walls, saw people praying, taking pictures, sacred buildings & so much more. We went inside this building where they had a piece of the rock that Jesus Christ was laid on after he was crucified. As I watched, many people would kneel down besides it, kiss the stone, put their forehead against it, prayed, rubbed it, & kissed it again. There are so many sacred places all throughout the city. We bought bread that was covered in sesame seeds & which you are suppose to dip it in this green spice. I was kinds nervous to try it but it was really good! I can't wait to learn more about everything here, the cultures, people, food, customs, & religions! Once I get to stronger wifi I will update my blog with pictures so you guys can get a better feel for what I am experiencing!
                                                the beautiful city, view from my balcony
                         

           
                                                           my first Jerusalem sunset

                                                           can't get enough of this view...

                                                     beautiful flowers around the center