Ok, I will apologize for everyone that reads my blog--especially for those of you who look daily for something entertaining. I know that it has been awhile since I last posted and sadly it will be even longer before there is another post. I am off to Egypt and likely won't have internet until I return. My number one goal on this trip is to avoid diarrhea (well maybe not number one, but it is high up there). I will let you know how that works out.

One word. Shorts. That is right everyone, yesterday I wore shorts and it was amazing. Now, I should explain because we are not allowed to wear shorts here in Jerusalem (be it for modesty, simplicity, or just to irritate us). Yesterday was different because a group of us rented a van and went to Tel Aviv. For those of you not up on your Israeli geography let me help you out. Tel Aviv is on the coast almost directly west of Jerusalem.


The weather was pristine. While it wasn't sweltering, it was plenty warm and allowed me go out in the Mediterranean. There were a bunch of jellyfish that washed up on shore. I know that you should probably leave those things alone, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. There were no sticks to poke them with so I had to just use my finger. For everyone's information a jellyfish feels a lot like a rubbery/flat kickball. We were able to play some ultimate on the beach which was a desire that I have had ever since we arrived in Jerusalem.




Tel Aviv is also the site of the ancient port of Jaffa. There are some Roman ruins there as well as some shops. While there we all got some gelato. Mine was pistachio flavored (an excellent flavor). We spent the day walking around the old part of the city and then moved on to the new part in the evening.

It was a nice break from the "usual" sites. The city is very different from Jerusalem. Plus who could possibly have pass up the chance to play on the Mediterranean? It is good to be back though.

Close to 830 pages--or rather somewhere around 70% of the Old Testament. That is what I saw yesterday. One of the most interesting things that I have noticed since I arrived is how close everything is here. Close as the bus drives I suppose. Every Thursday we go on field trips as a group. Yesterday was one primarily dedicated to the geography of the area. We visited four different sites which amounted to one giant circle around the Old City.

Here are a few highlights.

This is a brief video clip from the top of hill northwest of Jerusalem. On the top is a joint mosque and synagogue--unique for this area, that commemorates the prophet Samuel. It was really cold up there, colder than I think I would like to admit.

Another really neat place was called the Haas Promenade which is located on a hill referred to as the Hill of Offense because it was the traditional location of the areas of worship of Solomon's pagan wives. They reason I include this a highlight is because it is the first view of Mt. Moriah that Abraham likely had when he was going there to sacrifice Isaac. The Way of the Patriarchs goes near there and the scriptures say that at a location similar to that one he left his servants and loaded the wood on the back of Isaac for the final hike.



The view shown gives a good idea of what I am talking about. Mt. Moriah extends from around where you see the Dome of the Rock back towards those larges buildings to the left.

I will be honest and say that it is almost surreal to see these places and think about what has happened on that very spot. Things look different, but probably not incredibly different. Just the same, I know that I look at it with different eyes from what Abraham probably saw it, but with a similar type of hope and faith.

The Temple Mount--by far my most significant experience in Jerusalem yet. You can't look at the skyline of Jerusalem without noticing its most dominating structure, the Dome of the Rock. Sadly, it has been increasingly more difficult of people to visit the site. There are very few times that it is open to outsiders (non-Muslims).

We were able to get in yesterday though. I felt chills as my feet left the ramparts that led up to Temple Mount and stepped on the plaza. Perhaps it is because it is the site of the ancient Israeli temple, or perhaps it is simply because so many people for other religions consider the site sacred, but there was a definite feeling of holiness there. I felt sort of small standing at such a historically and religiously significant site.

It is a huge area, probably about three times the size of Temple Square. The Dome of the Rock is an incredibly beautiful building that only becomes more striking as you near it. They wouldn't let us in--not really surprising. What was surprising, was that as stood next the walls I noticed a tremendous amount of graffiti. It seemed that everyone felt a sudden need to etch their initials into the wall or other messages as inane as where they were from and the like. I really didn't know what to think about that at all. I guess everyone doesn't feel the same about the things they see.

In retrospect, it is one of the strange ironies of history that so many religions converged in the same place. I know that some might say that it is less ironic than tragic, but either way i suppose that much of it points in the same direction.

For the sake of updates let me fill you in a bit. Here is brief list of some of the sights over the past few days:

• The Church of the Redeemer
• The Western Wall
• David's Tower
• Orson Hyde Park
• Gethsemane
• The Garden Tomb
• The Wall Ramparts
• and a bunch of other little sights

Now, I know that probably isn't the greatest of lists, but bare in mind that we really haven't had more than two afternoons of free time and they make us come in when it gets dark.

Let me try and give you an idea of what life here in the Center is like. People are getting more and more settled and we know most everyone's name now which makes life a whole lot easier. Meals are often and often not all that great. The only real problem is that we eat relatively early (six) and then have to wait until six the next day for breakfast. Snacks are becoming a hot commodity. Generally we have class in the morning. There are two main classes--one religion (Old Testament for now) and a Middle East history course. Both are very interesting and assign a lot of extra reading which is where the majority of our "homework" come from. The afternoons are free. We do pretty much whatever we want, which pretty much means that we go hang out in the city. There are some people who decide to stay in and do their "homework"--I will never understand how reading classifies as homework, but whatever.

The Jerusalem Center sits on a hill probably about three quarters of a mile from the Old City. The Old City is the portion of Jerusalem that is still surrounded by walls. I wish that I could accurately describe what the Old City is like. Around every corner is some ancient site. The streets are large slabs of limestone and have been worn be who knows how many years of feet, carts, cars, tractors, and who knows what else. The most dominating feature though are the hundreds of shops that line the walk way. Every shopkeeper recognizes us. They are all apparently BYU fans--what a coincidence.

Well after exploring, we try to get back before dark and eat dinner. The evening we play games, watch movies, or do the "homework" for the next day.

I hope this helps some of you who may not know what things are like here. So much happens everyday that I hardly know what to write up here, but I think this will give you a good frame of reference for any of my other posts.

You know how we always sing that song from primary. You know the one, "Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday." Well, I never felt like Saturday was a special day for that reason. In fact, I kind of resented the fact that we had to leave girls' houses at midnight or that I would have to go to bed early so I could get ready for some Sunday meeting. While, I would be lying to say that my perspective has been completely altered, I can say that it has slightly shifted. Friday evening we took a trip to the Western Wall. It was probably a half hour before the beginning of Sabot. A few of the guys and I went down near the wall and listened to the people singing. It was full of Orthodox Jews. I felt a little awkward just observing, kind of like how I imagine others feeling if they came to our sacrament meeting and just walked around while we partook of the sacrament. As Sabot approached, they all turned and faced the other direction (away from the wall). Then as they sang they turned back around to face the wall. It was a pretty neat effect. A little further back we found some of the younger Jews greeting the Sabot in their own way. They formed circles and were singing a dancing. Of course when I say dancing, I really mean something akin to a mosh-pit and when I say singing I mean something more like cheers at a football game. So of course I had to join in. It was great way to welcome the Sabot. The guys there welcomed us and we all had so much fun together (regardless of the fact that we were obviously not Jewish). So from now on, I think we should standardize a party every Saturday night around 11:30 so that we can welcome the Sunday with some real style.

I have arrived. My pilgrimage of about 18 flying hours ended at 5:00 PM Jerusalem time on Wednesday. I am not really sure what time that is for all of you, but I figure you can do the math. Since my arrival, I have come to conclude that if the surroundings were not reminder enough of where I am, the Pharisaical rules do. I just finished my last orientation meeting. We have been oriented on just about everything you can imagine. In many ways I feel as if I have arrived at a new MTC--so much so that I often feel like I should be walking around with a companion. I am pretty sure the feeling will wear off soon.

I am in love the city though. It is just tremendous--more than I ever imagined. I suppose that it is just so odd to me that this place really exists. It is the center of so much, so much contention, so much history, just so much and the its importance almost seems tangible at times. We went on a brief tour of the old city today. It was very fast and we didn't stop to look at much, they were just trying to orient us. It was crazy what we just "walked by" in our little stroll, you know just the Garden Tomb, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Mount of Olives, the kosher McDonalds. It is really just surreal and a little overwhelming. I would hope that I can help you all get a taste of everything that I am experiencing.

Oh by the way, this is the view from my window.