Tel Eviv!!

On Sunday a large group of us ran away to the far away land of Tel Eviv. It really isn't that far away, but it felt extremely different from where we live. Instead of being in Jerusalem and surrounded by historical significance everywhere, I was surrounded by the beach!

Our day started off with renting bikes for 3 hours. Towards the end of the ride I kept thinking I must be really out of shape because my legs were buring like crazy. I then looked at my front wheel to see that it was flat.

That turned out to be an adventure in and of itself. We were a few miles away from the bike shop and I couldn't just ride the rim the rest of the way... So we searched for a gas station. And a really ghetto one was found. That was the first lucky part.

The second lucky part was that there were boys in my group! Jon saved the day.

That's my sad face. Broken bike that stopped me from riding around on the beach.

And that's Jon. Running across 5 lanes of traffic. It was hard for me to watch. But he did save my bike!

The rest of the day was spent on the beach! I came home with stripped sunburns because I used spray sunblock. I've learned my lesson to rub it in. ;)

Oh... and just because it's funny...

This was our driver on the way home. He may seem intense...

But he obviously likes fluffy kittens?

The Garden Tomb

Today after church I was able to visit the Garden Tomb again. Whether or not it truly was the place that Jesus was placed after his death and was then resurrected, I do not know. But I do know that He died and that He lives again! And that's what really matters.

In President Monson's talk "He Is Risen" he said,

"For us our Heavenly Father gave His Son. For us our Elder Brother gave His life.

At the last moment the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things: the human race, the earth, and all the life that ever inhabited it.

No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord: “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:5–6).

With this pronouncement, those who have lived and died, those who now live and one day will die, and those yet to be born and yet to die had just been rescued."

Sometimes I forget that I live in the Holy Land. It's day like these that I am reminded again how lucky I am to be here. :)

Package

Okay, okay, okay. That cute boy that I'm going to marry did something cute again.

I don't think he can help it. He has to be so nice and so cute all the time. It's just who he is.

And today I got something really great. It completely made my day!

A package!!!! I was jumping up and down. Literally. 

I opened it to find this book... but little did I know that he had cut out the pages and inside was filled with all of this!

I cried. Because it was the cutest thing in the world. It was full of all sorts of things... but my favorite are the "miniature Jordan" and my new substitute wedding ring he sent me. :)

That boy's a keeper.

Missing

I am missing my ring way too much right now. I've been going through all my pictures to find every one I have of it. Just because I miss it that much.

That pretty little thing is sitting in a drawer at home. I've already made Jordan go check my secret drawer it's placed in to make sure it hasn't moved and that it is safe. :)

Maybe I'm just missing it because I lost my substitute ring in Turkey. Since then I've had to wear a Hebrew CTR ring as my substitute wedding ring. Super classy.

See how happy I was?? It's beautiful! I can't wait to have Jord put that thing on my finger again. :)

Finals

Oh gall. Never did I expect to do so much homework and so much studying when I came to Jerusalem! It is crazy! But, good does come out of it... I have learned a lot. :)

I have to keep telling myself that or I'll get to way too overwhelmed.

It's been funny to watch how all of us cope with the stress of finals differently. Some complain (I too often fall into this category), some eat away their feelings with sour straws and treats from "arab costco" (well... I fall into this category too), some go outside and scream, and some lock themselves in random closets and rooms within the JC.

Really though, the only thing that really makes me feel better and helps me deal with my stress is talking to Jordan. He always knows just what to say and how to say it. Often... I don't think his advice or comments are really his own thoughts, he is just saying what he knows will make me feel better. But it works.

"You can totally raise children with A-'s in all your classes"-- I think this has been my favorite comment of all. Can you tell what I was stressing out about before he said this? Tehe. Once again, he knows just what I need to hear. :)

Thank you Jordan for knowing me better than anyone else.

Bible Land

For our field trip this week we went to Neo Kedumim, where we got to experience the Bible on a whole new level!

I was able to see, smell, taste, touch, and hear the Bible! They had plants, animals, food, trees, instruments, etc. that are all talked about in the Old or New Testament.

I loved it. But what field trip have I not loved here??

See that? We are herding sheep and goats! This was definitely my favorite part of the day. Believe it or not, sheep and goats are two VERY different animals. I would much rather herd goats. The sheep we're way too stubborn.

They had us crush up hyssop, which was used in different foods, but people in the Bible also rubbed it on their skin when they had leprosy or other skill ailments.

This is pop-wheat! In the book of Ruth we read that Boaz let Ruth "glean" from his vineyard. They told us that this is what she would have been gleaning!

We made homemade lentil soup and pitas. They had us start up a fire and we made everything from scratch. It made me want to go camping really bad. :)

The smoke was so intense that Robert, our pita flipper, had to wear a scarf. Hahaha.

Mmmmm. I love pita.

Such a cool day. I will never read the stories in the Bible the same. :)

Tired

This week has been so busy! But midterms are done!! And it feels wonderful... until I remember that finals begin on Monday. :)

We are all really tired. Today we were given a break during our Old Testament class and I walked out to find this...

All of these pictures we're taken in the same 2 minutes.

I would have laid down myself... there just wasn't anymore available space.

So we're a little tired. But finals will be done in a week! And off to Jordan we will go. :)

Red Sea

This last weekend I went snorkeling in the Red Sea!! Wait... the sea that Moses parted? Yes. I know. Crazy. Everything about my life right now is incredible.

I saw 3 rainbow fish! And they we're seriously rainbow! I tried to touch one but it swam faster than I did.

It has been so hot here that a day in the water was very much needed. We had so much fun! :)

Love

I read a quote today that really pulled my heart strings. It was from Dieter F. Utchdorf's talk "You are my hands". If you would like to read it, here's the link: You Are My Hands

"Love is what inspired our Heavenly Father to create our spirits; it is what led our Savior to the Garden of Gethsemane to make Himself a ransom for our sins. Love is the grand motive of the plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness, the ever-renewing spring of healing, the precious fountain of hope. As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit."

This thought really made me start thinking. Love is something that only grows, and I feel that our capacity to love only grows too. We are born as helpless infants who require others to love us so that we may grow. At a young age we learn to love our parents and siblings. And as we continue to grow up our love begins to not only be within our family setting but between friends, teachers, leaders, and others. 

When a new person comes into our life and we begin to love them, we don't replace that love with someone who already had it. Our love doesn't diminish from those we already love. We continue to love those we already loved and our hearts just grow a little bit more to make room to love that new person.

New people come into our lives all the time! I have learned to love roommates, new friends, wards members, and co-workers. In Jerusalem I have really learned to love those I am surrounded by. My love for my roommates, all the students, my teachers, leaders, and those that live in this city continues to grow each day while here.

If my heart has learned to love so many people throughout the course of my life, I can only imagine how many more people I will love as I continue to broaden my horizons and meet others. What a blessing Heavenly Father has given us to not be limited in our capacity to love.

While thinking about this Jordan kept coming into my mind. I've looked at other couples relationships throughout my life and have a lot of couples that I find role models. I always wanted my husband to love me and me to love him as much as a lot of the couples I see. I wanted a love between he and I that was so pure and so strong and so eternal. But I didn't know how I would recognize it when it came.

And then he came. And now I ask myself how I ever was so happy without him there.

Never before have I loved someone like I love that boy. And everyday I just love him a little bit more. I can only imagine how full of love my heart will be after being married to him for 10 or 20 or... 60 years. :)

Jon Schmidt

Guess who came to Jerusalem this week!? Jon Schmidt! He was here for a tour during the week and then on Saturday spent his last night performing. He was incredible. And hilarious.

All I wanted was him to play three songs. And he did! First, Waterfall. Yes, Christopher, I filmed it just for you. Second, All of Me. Probably just because he uses his elbow in it. It reminded me once again how I will never be able to play it at quite the rate he does. And third, Tribute. This is such a nostalgic song for me because my mom always played it while growing up.

But Jon Schmidt had a surprise for me. He slipped in the song "Can't Help Falling In Love". Jordan sang and played that song for me when he proposed. So while he played, I just cried.

It really was wonderful.  Who would have thought I would go to a Jon Schmidt concert in JERUSALEM?

Okay. I know this isn't a super great picture. But it captures his enthusiasm perfectly.

Look how close I am!

Ice World

Yes. Ice World came to town here in J-ru! What it was, I wasn't really sure... but there was no way I was going to miss it. ;)

I think half of the reason I loved it so much was the fact that I got to escape the heat for an hour and be surronded by frigid air.

They even gave us coats. Mine was for a child.... it was a little tight.

But we LOVED it!

Yes. That is ALL ice.

I know the lighting is funky. But please notice how small my coat is compared to the others.

This is a giraffe. Plus Rachel. I think they must have colored this with Teng Flavoring.

Panda Bears... All the animals were preparing to board Noah's ark. Seriously.

My bum was wet after this picture. ;)

ICE SLIDE!!!

I wasn't brave enough to go down on my tummy...

Ice Tunnel!

It was so so cold!! Below freezing. So a picture had to be taken.

We got in trouble after taking this picture. But we aren't fluent enough in Hebrew to read the "no climbing" sign. Whoops.

Oh, and we can't forget the sign that greeted us as we walked in...

Hahaha. We look JUST like them!

So... Ice world... will you come to Provo next!?!