Another week of Jerusalem is in the books!
Proud to announce that I've learned a few more words other than "shabbat shalom" this week thanks to our Hebrew class!
Speaking of classes, let's have some real-talk. When you picture BYU Jerusalem, you might imagine picturesque evenings like the one above, exploring sites, trying new foods, & living the dream -- which is (in part) true.
But behind the scenes...
Life looks more like this. Tuesday - Fridays at the Center are no joke. We have 5-6 hours of class a day and just as much homework every night.
The only thing preserving my sanity is that we're all in this together (which means our GPA's will all suffer together because one of our Israeli professors made the cut-off for an A in his class 95%...)
But that being said, we have the best stress reliever at our disposal: Adventure!
Some of my favorite experiences this week were:
-wandering through the city and getting impossibly lost trying to find a tomb on our list
- sampling granola in the mahane yehuda market
- the best 15 shekels we ever spent: falafels in west jerusalem
- walking to the garden of gethsemane on the sabbath
- walking home from the old city at sunset
- have I mentioned walking?!
- tasting my first Israeli Coke Zero
- field trip to the windy Negev desert
- learning about ancient israelite temples
- and spending time with the best people!
I was gonna skip the jazz concert upstairs and do homework but then I thought: when else am I going to see a jazz concert in Israel with a view of the Old City at night?! Never.
When in Jerusalem... gotta buy matching elephant pants!
hahaha we got a kick out of this.
Speaking of meat... on display at the market.
The Wilderness of Zin after the steepest hike up the canyon!
Post-field trip hair.
Our Sunday walk to the garden of Gethsemane before we realized we were lost and walking through the off-limits part of the Kidron Valley... yikes.
I was pondering Christ's title as the "Prince of Peace" this week.
I was feeling a little overwhelmed over a leadership assignment I've been given here but this hymn and scripture answered my prayer:
"Reverently and meekly now,
Let thy head most humbly bow.
Think of me, thou ransomed one;
Think what I for thee have done."
"...but in every thing by prayer and supplication... let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4:6-7
I know that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace.
I have found that when I seek Him, he doesn't always fix my problems and erase my anxieties right away, but he always sends peace; and that is enough to keep going.
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