Under the JC

   The excitement of today is that President Hiyat took us on a tour under the Jerusalem Center! I thought that was pretty awesome, hardhats and all :) He guided us down and told us all the technical workings of the buildings and explained how incredible the architecture and systems of this place is. It certainly made me appreciate what goes into the building more AND he let us each write our names on the walls and pipes within a "memorial" room, soooo my new goal is to inspire a younger sibling to come study here and then find my name among all the others :)

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The LIBRARY!

I found the most spectacular library ever today! It's filled with books on Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, Near Eastern History, biblical commentaries of the prophets, and everything one could possibly hope for on related subjects (not to mention that the books themselves are pieces of art and our housed within the stunning architecture of the Jerusalem Center. Well, it's a good thing I like it there so much because I certainly spend enough time in it. I'm looking forward to all the homework assignments that will help me learn all those things I've been dying to know.

Location:Jerusalem Center

The Homework Begins

I've got quite a lot of reading to do tonight, good thing I LOVE IT! Its all really interesting material and I'm looking forward to having a better understanding of everything that these texts books have to teach.

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The Shepherds Field

This is very likely the field where the shepherds saw the angels announcing the Christ Child's birth. The hills behind the field is where Bethlehem is! It's such a lovely place, this was my favorite of all our stops today on our field trip.


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Location:Overlook of the shepherds field and Bethlhem

Call to Prayer

We found a cozy hospice that works as a great place for lunch as while we spend the day exploring the old city. The awesome thing is that it has wifi so I can send pictures. I recorded the Call to Prayer so hopefully I can get the video to upload so you can hear it, cause its awesome:)

Location:Austrian hospice

Sabbath on Saturday

I initially thought that having church on Saturday would feel really strange, but today felt just like a normal sunday. (well, if a sabbath that involves Jerusalem can be called "normal";) I think tomorrow will be a little bit more odd. I'll be spending the majority of the day in the old city and the first place I'm going is to the money changers. Wired. T'will be a new experience:)

Location:BYU Jerusalem Center

First day of class

I've been to two of my classes this semester; Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern History. They are going to be awesome! My Old Testament class is really fast paced and is going to take a lot of work. Bring it on! I'm here to learn everything I possibly can, and not every religion teacher gets to point out the window and say "it happened right there!"

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Location:BYU Jerusalem Center