TEL AVIV

At our student announcement session 2 weeks ago someone brought up the forecast for the day we were going to Tel Aviv... a high of 60 degrees and an 80% chance of rain. 

Israel only gets about 30 days of rain total throughout the year and all those days happen between January-March. So when it rains, it pours. Understandably, no one wanted to get caught in a storm for our free day in one of the coolest cities on the Mediterranean coast.

But then some wise soul mentioned that it's all dependent on our faith ;) And apparently our faith was sufficient because it was GORGEOUS! Oh my goodness, the whole day was a dream. 

For the first couple hours we just watched the waves, almost got swept up by 30mph winds, explored Jaffa, and walked along the coast.

A few of my faves: Nate, Porter, Weston, Braxton, and Julie.

Ethan, Sarah, and Mandi hopped in for a gang sign pic.

THE TAN LINES ARE BACK. My mission tan lines disappeared about a year ago but they made their re-appearance after a day walking in the sun in Teva's.

Renting bikes: 10/10 would recommend. 

This sunset was unreal.

Apparently these guys can't take a break from our Ancient Near Eastern Studies class for 2 seconds...

Porter and Jason's Titanic rendition.

Anita Gelato on Shabazi Street! Sooooo good.

Remembered to take a picture after we had already half-devoured our sushi. Holy AMAZING-- we went adventurous on some of the rolls we ordered and scored! 

I loved meeting up with Danny and Ashley Rasmussen! They are one of my favorite couples ever -- I've looked up to them since they visited our mission when I was a newbie in 2015! 

And boy, it made me miss the Rasmussen's. They come home in June!! 

What a glorious day! I was honestly just so happy that everyone else was happy. Technically I was in charge of this whole trip (so when I did the headcount at the end of the day and we were short one person I freaked... until someone in one of the vans said he miscounted, haha) 

We'll be back for you, Tel Aviv!

And then we were back at our favorite place on Mt. Scopus. 

We had a rad field trip to the City of David on Monday. I didn't take many pictures.. probably because I was focusing on not getting claustrophobia in Hezekiah's tunnel as we treaded through 2 feet of water through a narrow tunnel for a half hour. 

But it was gorgeous. 

One of my favorite moments that I don't want to forget was when Dr. Schade was teaching us about some ancient tombs that relate to a Bible story. Honestly, I don't remember the specifics. All I remember is that some guy went over-board creating and decorating a tomb in the side of the mountain for his burial. And then the scriptures pose the question: Why would this man go to such great lengths when death is just temporary and all will rise from the dead?

Dr. Schade broke down in tears as he told us that he had received 2 difficult phone calls the previous night and that morning of people who he loved who had passed away. He said that he received so much hope and comfort having studied that passage about the resurrection for our field trip.

We were quiet and the spirit was strong as we stood at that spot. 

This is what it's all about -- God speaking to His children through scripture. Frankly I will not remember everything we're learning here in Jerusalem. It's overwhelming at times the amount of information we cover and sites we see. But what I will remember are the feelings I had and the little pieces of revelation that were specifically intended for me. 

That morning was one of those pieces.

The rest of the week mostly looked like this ;) 

I slept for a grand total of 3 hours the night before our Old Testament exam.. I was so nervous! We cover so much material in that class and the exams are some of the hardest I've had at BYU. Luckily it went well. We can do hard things! 

At first I was slightly annoyed by how long this Passover meal lasted... Three hours, my friends.

But all in all, it was really cool. We read, sang, ate, drank grape juice, and honestly, just seeing how excited our Judaism professor was in sharing it with us made it all worth it. 

The talent show was incredible! My peers blow me away on the daily.

Have I mentioned the BEST NEWS EVER?! President Nelson and Elder Holland are coming to Jerusalem!! We are freaking out. They will be staying here in the building, speaking to us, shaking our hands, we'll be singing for them (!) it's crazy! I can't believe how lucky we are. 

No filter. 

To summarize this week: I love it all.

I love exploring the depth of our backyard's history on field trips.

I love going delirious with my study group.

I love the quick trips to the garden tomb on the sabbath and just sitting and talking with everyone at meals. 

I love hearing the call to prayer faintly at 5am and the sound of rain during afternoon naps.

I love sunsets like these and seeing the olive trees as green as ever.

I feel so, so blessed all the time. 

Even if this whole experience ended tomorrow, I would be satisfied.

It has been the highlight of my BYU experience thus far and such a tender growing experience. 

Here's to 2 more months living the dream!

Just your average week herding sheep in Israel

When we got back from Egypt, I suffered from a slight panic attack realizing what was ahead:

4 midterms

A paper

An all-day field trip

Planning our Tel Aviv trip

Old Testament assignments

A visit from 2 general authorities

Sleep deprivation

And trying not to die.

But here I am, on the other side. MADE IT. I'd like to thank my study group, the snack shack for the late-night Diet Coke's & our Judaism professor for getting pneumonia and cancelling class. 

So as you can imagine, when I Face-timed my family tonight there wasn't much to say... pretty sure I said "yeah this week was a doozy. The only time I left the Center was today after church." 

But then I realized that was a lie... we did some RAD things this week:

- we got to be shepherds for a day in the Neot Kedumim area

- learned how to make pita and lentil soup in the forest

- dressed up for Arab night; ate some delicious food and learned to folk dance

- killed our exams (after the biggest cram sessions you've ever seen. We had a test literally every day)

- organized our Tel Aviv trip which is tomorrow -- pray for good weather.

- and had a lovely Sabbath participating in a festival at one of the holiest churches in Christendom.

Our guide, Sarah who was the absolute cutest! I've never seen anyone more excited about showing us biblical plants and cisterns.

We went old school and learned how to make pita, lentil soup, and "popcorn" aka wheat cooked with oil and salt -- I volunteered for that job bc POPCORN! It was actually way good.

The chefs spent HOURS getting this spread ready. They are amazing! 

On next season's The Bachelor...

Porter Kincheloe, everyone.

 Clearly super thrilled about it.

*a more accurate depiction of the week*

THIS MOMENT. I woke up to face-time Rach, Anna, and Steph and not 30 seconds into it Kenzi and Alex walk in the room and everyone starts screaming and tackling her. 

They had just gotten engaged!! Such a happy moment. 

And to think this all came about after a night in October when we developed "Operation Boyfriends by Christmas" and set goals for the week. Kenzi's goal was to invite Alex to our milk and cookies party and you all know the rest of the story..

A beautiful Sabbath at Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

It was so special to participate in the procession and listen to the sound of Latin hymns sung by the priests echo throughout the church. 

Oh my goodness, Eliazer! He is a 100-year old Jewish Holocaust survivor who came to speak to us earlier this week. It was incredible to hear his story (in Spanish!! He lived in Guatemala for a good part of his life after the Holocuast). He went through 9 concentration camps and was the only surviving member of his family. 

During the Q&A afterwards I asked "What advice would you give to young people like us?"

And he said: "study". haha definitely the right time for that advice.

But then he also said something so touching. 

"'I love people. All people. It doesn't matter their race, their nationality, their personality. I love people." 

This is coming from a man who was abused, persecuted, rejected, and nearly killed; who had absolutely everything taken from him including his family and years of his youth that he will never get back; and yet, he forgave those who did it. 

He loves people. 

I thought about his story and I thought about the unconditional love that God has for us.

A phrase that I have noticed in my study of the Book of Mormon recently is "that same God". 

In Alma chapter 29, Alma talks about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who delivered the people from bondage in Egypt (which obviously has special meaning now that we've been there) and he testifies that that same God is real today. 

If he can save Eliazer from concentration camps and the children of Israel from slavery, he can save me from my own mistakes and follies. 

He can forgive, he can strengthen, and he can comfort.

I know that God lives and I know that He loves his children.

And that's the conclusion of your average week in Jerusalem; herding sheep, taking exams, and experiencing moments that I never want to end.