I beat Goliath!!!

This is a tribute to Anne of Green Gables. If you didnt know that the valley was so green it was so pretty.

The pasture was so pretty. Kennedy Me and Leslie amoung the gorgeous flowers.

Beth Shemesh in the pasture.

The Valley was so pretty. The only problem with this picture is it so beautifully green but if you havent seen it then, this looks like a pretty pioneer picture.

I am imitating Diliah here and Daniel is Benson. This is Beth Shemesh where upon this story would have taken place. I was told to be seductive but this is the face I made...haha I am anything but seductive. :)

This is was in a pigeon hole. It was in Marisha in an underground hole. It was really interesting to see the city underground.

We tried to imitate the scene, but it kind of proved ineffective because I am about as tall as them when I'm standing. But it was really fun we laughes so hard.

The Valley of Elah, this is where David killed Goliath. We got to use slings and try it out. It was harder than it looks. David must have had impecable aim. But the valley was gorgeous.

This is outside the Micha Caves, they have no Biblical Significance but they were really fun to crawl through. The cave started out as a very small tunnel and morphed into a bunch of different caverns and more tunnels. It was really fun to go through and explore, with only a flashlight.

Greg, Brooke, Brittney, Jeff, Natalie and Me on top of the hill Avetah. It overlooks the Valley of Elah.

This was one of our field trips to the Sheplalah. It was a gorgeous day. But I just realized that I havent even blogged about Tel Aviv, which is the capital of Israel. We traveled there by bus and spent a day there and watched the sunset. Oh man it was gorgeous.

What an emotionally and physically draining week....

We had clean checks and so my bed was made and cleaned so I thought I would take picture of it because it doesnt last very long like this :) Actually it does I am usually a pretty clean roommate. This is my only space, as you can see its not very much. Its smaller than a dorm but soooooo totally worth it!

I got called as the Primary Pianist for the Jerusalem Branch, I never thought I would be in the Primary so soon but it is an awesome calling. There are about 15 children in the Primary and they all have beautiful voices and enjoy singing. I also was asked to accompany a duet that I have never heard of, but it has been fun to practice and sightread. I will be performing it for a Formal Talent Show in the center that locals are invited to.

Since we went to the Holocaust Muesuem we felt it appropiate to watch this movie. I had never seen it before but I was told to get ready to cry. Its rated "R" but we watched the Clean Flick version. Its so heart-wrenching and long!

This is King Davids Tomb. I am not sure if this is reverant to take a picture. Please dont be offended. Anyway this is only half of it because the grave is gender divided and Im of course on the womens side. Noone ever knows for sure if this is actually him but it is assumed. Jews come here and prayer as you can see the two ladies. This is King David that killed Goliath. I am actually going to see David and Goliaths battle zone on Monday and we actually get slings so that will be awesome!

This is Dormitory Abbey. It contains the crept of the body Mary. It is in memory of her. On the first floor is a chapel and in the basement in the rotunda is mosiacs of Old Testament women. It is so neat to look at and be able to identify. I feel so biblicly smart when I can do this :) It has been pouring rain the past couple weeks off and on. And actually today it snowed (okay maybe it was hail) but still! Thats an amazing feat for Israel and its so pretty and green.

This is a group of us that went to an Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra Concert. The concert was really good! The only problem was it was not in English and we had mid-terms the next day. But the last piece the played was a duet with the philharmonic orchestra and a violinist. She was amazing, she got encored 5 times. So it ended up lasting a long time!

Denise and I we are standing on Mt. Herzel by Benjamin Herzels grave. He was the founder of the Zionist Movement. The rocks on his grave are placed as a form of respect for the deceased, it is comparative to flowers in America.

This is in front of Yad Vesham, it is the Holocaust Memorial building in Israel. It really puts a big spin on the Holocaust when you are living amongest survivors and the posterity of the survivors. The tour guide of this muesum was amazing. She had a wonderful presentation and she made you think. I can not even describe to you the feeling in this building. Its a feeling of extremely somberness, a smile can not even come on to your face because of the terrible things that have occcured. One of the most thought provoking questions was, "If I were alive back then would I have done anything to stop the problem?" I sure hope I would have, but you can not know for sure. This is not my whole group, one of the girls in my group named Carrie broke her nose at the center by playing basketball. We all wore bandaids on our noses to support her.

I am so blessed for these many oppurtunities I am having!

I love you all and hope to hear how you are doing!

Egypt!!!! I can't even explain to you....

Mount Sinai! It was gorgeous! Wow what a spritual experience!

It was so cold we were so compacted together watching the sunrise on top of Mount Sinai.
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We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cairo Egypt. That was cool excpet we couldnt eat any fresh veggies or fruit for the whold trip so basically it was just carb loading the entire time. Breads, Meat and desseret was basically all we could eat. I was more ready for a salad when I came back then I have ever been in my whole life.

The sunrise on top of Mount Sinai. This picture does not even come close to captureing the beauty of this barren land.

The Muhammed Ali Mosque, yes we had to wear the scarves. And take off our shoes.

Okay so me and Jon always match. I have 3 other pictures of us in the same colors its pretty funny!

My roommates in front of the Papyrus Shop. Mary, Jessica and Alisha.

I kissed the Sphinx and I liked it. haha

The 3 great Pyramids of Giza!

The pillar in the Karnak Temple Its huge!!! It takes 7 people spread out like this to wrap around this pillar.

The Luxor Temple. Some of my friends. So cute...Allison Brown, Madison Rowe and Ally Goodfellow.

This picture doesnt even capture the beauty of the Nile River Sunset. Oh my goodness it was gorgeous. We stayed at the most high class hotel I have and probably ever will stay at on the Bank of the Nile river.

We toke the midnight train from Luxor to Cairo. They fed us the nastiest food but it was fun to actually travel somewhere in a train. It felt and looked just like Harry Potter.

Yup thats right I rode a camel. It was the only white camel. We rode along the Nile river in a huge caravan. So neat.

This is the tallest pyramid. The security guard posed me like this and expected me to pay for it, but luckily I got married and he asked my "Husband" instead. haha

This is the oldest pyramid there is in all of Egypt. John loves this picture because we are all praising him. :)

This is at the 3 pyramids of Giza. We are amazing jumpers.

We are so excited to get out of the bus and see the sound and light show at the Pyramids. I could stare at the pyramids all day but the show was probably made back in the 1970's and was terribly boring. But nonetheless the pyramids are astonishing.

First glimpse of the pyramids. The bus went into a uproar with cheering and wide eyes gazing onto the city of Cairo.

The beautiful Keboots. There is a group of about 300 people that live basically the lawof consecration. It was so interesting to learn about and see different cultures. I just thought this picture was gorgeous.

This is crossing the border into Egypt! They check your passport about 15 times in about 100 yards. Its kind of ridiculous if you ask me. But nonetheless you have to. We were so excited to reach Egypt.

This is Natalie Stevenson and I, actually this is in Israel still. Its at a place called Avdat, it was the ruins of a civilization that once ruled a long stretch of land.

This is the Wilderness of Zin. It was supposely where the children of Israel wandered for many years.

This is my new found love. Its chocolate! This is a meter long bar of delicous goodness. Oh man why dont they have this in America!

Sorry these are all out of order. And that they are confusing! But I loved this trip!

In all its glory!

This is the Judean Wilderness. Its so barren. But really fascinating too because it looks just like the back of the Bible picture. It is usually dry and hot but the day we went it was beautiful with a rain cloud on top. It was gorgeous. We were able to sing "Dear to the Heart of the Shepard". It was an amazing experience. We even got a little animal surprise. :)

This is the tel Jericho. It is a small mound from far away but this was all that the Old Testament Jericho at the time when the walls came a tumblin down. haha It has been excavated through the center a little bit but we were able to look around at see the remnants of the walls and houses. It was extremely humid.

So we were in the parking lot of the tel Jericho and they had markets with fresh citrus. I am not a fan of any citrus because of the peeling process. You have to peel it and then the citrus scent gets on your hands and sticks for a long time. Anyway so when I walked out into the parking lot, my friends had just gotten a sample of a Pamelo. Its like a grapefruit and orange together. They got it for free and so they were like ask him to open another one. So I did. But he was like you want to pay for it. And it was really cheep so I was like okay I might as well. So i did, he started opening it up it has an extremely thick peel. Then as soon as he was done he plopped in on my head, it kind of hurt and I was not ready for it. So I took it right off, the last thing I wanted was my head smelling like citrus. :) But then I was like I might as well take a picture, so I was about to take a picture and he was like no hold up. He ran over to his fresh banana bunch started peeling it and stuck it in my mouth, put his arm around me and we took a picture. Then I got on the bus and shared the Pamelo and ended up not even trying it. haha it was a pretty interesting experience to have a Pamelo peel on your head.

This is what they think was Christs Tomb in the Garden Tomb. We went on a Saturday because that is considered Sabbath (Shabbot in Hebrew) in Israel. It was a gorgeous garden, we were able to sing the hymns inside. It was spiritually uplifting. I loved it, I will definitly be going frequently.

This is me and Megan out side the Garden Tomb.

This is at the Haas Promanade Overlook. It was a gorgeous view over looking the city of Jerusalem.

We were able to walk the walls of the Old City. So this is sitting in the Ramparts. It was so fun to see the multi-layed city, because the first level is markets and then the second and third are peoples homes. It kind of looked like Aladdin with the Laundry and everything.

This is at the Tomb of the Rock where they think that Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. We are actually on the grounds.

This is Orson Hyde Park. It was gorgeous and its on the Mount of Olives, it leads to the Garden of Gethesmane. Its owned by the church that is why it is kept so nice, but to get there its pretty risky because of the surrounding area. But once you are inside you are good to go. It was a wonderful to sit and ponder while overlooking the city of Jerusalem.

Highlights!!

First of all, This is where I live. Its the nicest housing complex I have ever been in. :) Im on the 4th level of the 8 levels there are.

I have only been here for less than a week and I have learned so much. I can not even believe it. Its such a rich, historically, and amazing city. There have been so many things that I have learned and embraced while I have been here. WOW. Its astounding.

#1 My view is amazing. We are Mount Scopus facing the west. It is so pretty to look out my back porch and see the "Old City". The sunset is gorgeous everyday and the weather is like the Arizona winter and cools off at night.

#2 The markets are amazing. I love looking at them and exploring them. The people are wonderful. They are so nice once they stop trying to see you something. :) The markets are something that I have never seen before. One of the things that is extremely hard, is that in America you are supposed to make eye contact when walking down the street. But here the women are very subservient and are not supposed to make eye contact. I am having a very hard time with not.

#3 Okay ignore my frumpy clothes and that my hair is back but this is a little handicapped boy in a shop that sells antiques. We were walking down the Via Del Rosa and we stopped by this family, they owned thier fathers shop. They were the cutest family they toke such good care of their brother. His name is Jat. He wanted to take a picture with me because he liked being able to see himself in my camera. The men were so nice.

#4 This is the Temple Mount, it is located in the Old City. It is currently owned by the Muslims. We went there today and toured around. It has beautiful mosiac tiles. I was thinking about how "touristy" it is and how I really wouldnt appreciate it if someone was taking crazy pictures and being loud on our grounds. So our group tried to refrain ourselves but then I also thought about the SLC Temple and how it is similiar. But I hope I wasnt disresepcting thier holy temple. Because it is extremely important to them. I hope that I can make friends with a Palestine women and then I will be able to enter.

Arrived!

Hey Everyone,
So I am extremely jet lagged and really want to go to sleep but I thought I would let you know that I made it safely to Jerusalem. It is basically the most amazing experience of my life and I have just barely begun. I started technically yesterday at 6 am. And did not stop until 4:30pm today. Our flights have been delayed everytime!!!! It was crazy but I was never scared that we were going to miss a flight, partly because I knew I was being protected and I was with a group of about 20 people and it is not very likely to be left with that many people. :) They divided us up into groups to catch our flights. The people in my group are amazing and I love being around them so much! The planes we were flying on were huge, I have never flown on such huge planes but it was so fun. And the best part was running through the Chicago Airport with basically "Sister Missionary" Tags on to the opposite side of the terminal. Gotta love the airport. So every flight was delayed because of weather, mechanical problems, or who knows what. But it really doesnt matter. I love being around the people aboad the aircraft and the people in my group. On the flight to Vienna there was a Chex Mix that was called Happy Mix. It made me laugh, I toke a picture of it but I dont want to upload it here. So I dont know how many pictures you will get to see but dont you worry you will see them eventually. The people around the world are so amazing and the people at the center have amazing spirits even though they are not LDS. The food here at the center is very different but it is good. I am willing to try anything considering we didnt get to stop anywhere for food in the airports because of the rush. Today right when we got here we ate, and then we to the auditorium. Oh my hannah, it has the most amazing view of the city I have ever seen. WOW! Then we got introduced to some of our classes, they will be rough but for sure worth it. But I am safely here and love it so much! No worries :)
P.S. I will try and get pictures because I know they are more exciting but because of the internet here in the Center it is hard to upload them. (Sorry!)