Friends

I love these people. I love a lot of people here that are not included in these pics, but nonetheless I have had some of the most funny and enjoyable moments with these glorious friends.

http://jerusalemandi.blogspot.co.il/2012/11/sabbath-portraits.html

 Jenessa, Andrea, Brooke, Staisha, Jaquel, Rosemary, Alta

 And how we love Tom Tom

 B-Fuller in the house

lesson learned: You learn lessons of love and laughter best when you're in the company of friends. 

Camels and Grandmas

Zoe Suzuki

adventurer extraordinaire of a grandma. 

Let me just say I have the coolest grandparents ever. Both my grandmas grew up in small towns in Idaho/Wyoming. One married a charming lad from Scottland and the other a brilliant man from Japan. It makes sense why I am loving all these international men, it's in my blood.

With the passing of my grandma Zoe I've been thinking a lot about the power of a legacy. Because of her wonderful example to my mom, my mom in turn has been the best example to me of patience, love, and service. Because of my grandma my extended family has gathered near the beautiful Tetons every summer where the tradition of gaming, outdooring, loving, and adventuring has been instilled into all of us. Because she lived in Michigan, I loved Michigan. Because of her intelligence and independence she became a nurse and decided to go help in Japan after the war where she met my grandpa who was studying the effects of the atomic bomb. Because of their love they endured interracial marriage persecution where they had to go to a completely different state to be lawfully wed. Because of her adventuring spirit, she traveled the world and took this picture in Egypt on a camel, inspiring my world travel. Because of her dry humor and spunk she made us all laugh. Because of her humility and love she showed us how to live a life full of purpose and gratitude.  Because of her I am reminded who I want to be. A mother, a person who knows how to strike a balance between fun and learning, a world traveler, a wife, a supporter of education, a latter day saint, a comedian, a friend, a person of integrity, and a person who chooses love despite the challenges. So grandma, I'm sure you have internet access in heaven and I hope you know how beloved and appreciate you are in my life. This picture is just for you. 

Pretty cool that my grandma and I got to be in 2 out of the 7 wonders of the world on camels.

Giza, Egypt

Petra, Jordan

Alta, Wyoming

Lesson learned: a tomb stone on the coast of Turkey from the battle of Gallipoli I thought was simply beautiful and applicable to my grandma.

Passed Out

Remember that one time...

you passed out on cobblestone in the old city of Jerusalem.

YUP

Pre-passing out. So this is St. John's church and in order to go inside the courtyard you had to go through a little door. I hit my shin extremely hard and my head started feeling heavy and my vision went funny until I sat down. I didn't say anything until I said to my friends I don't feel good. Right at that moment I fainted and hit my head on cobblestone. I was out for around 30 seconds, but when I came to I didn't know what had happened and was confused why everyone was around me. Later I learned it was Vasovagal syncope-when you hit a nerve really hard that makes you faint.

 Post-Passing out. Good thing I have awesome friends who were there to help a sister out.

 You can't really see it, but I ended up getting a big goose egg for awhile

Besides that excitement for the day, we went to Mary's Tomb which was pretty cool. People come here to kiss the tomb of Mary, but I didn't get the memo about no lipstick. So when the priest was shouting at me in a foreign language and guarding the tomb with his life, I was so confused. Later I just realized he was just doing his job and protecting the tomb from some hot pink lips.

 Later we went to the place where the Last Supper took place.

lesson learned: Don't wear lipstick to Mary's tomb and if you are feeling like you are going to pass out, tell someone immediately to avoid having your face smash into some cobblestone.

Humanitarian Aid

 The Humanitarian committee gives the opportunity for us to help sanitary kits for people in our community. We got the assembly line down and 2 hours of doing the same motion was so much fun as we jammed out to some good tunes. We even got creative incorporating dance and packaging. 

 Brooke and I rocking our part in packing of towels.

Lesson learned: All you need is some good music and fun people to make service/work a party

Strug City

With the midterm for Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Anes we dearly refer to it as), and finals approaching for Israel, Palestine, Old Testament, and Hebrew we studious students are struggling with sleep deprivation and cramming 2,000 years of history into our brains. Some evidence to prove my point. And keep in mind, this is only one day I happened to have my camera during classes. There are way more priceless mental pictures I've acquired this semester.

 Even on 5 minute breaks, we utilize our time wisely.

Lesson learned: I many not being acing my tests or remembering everything, but the love for the people here in the center and in the community is increasing more than ever. Late nights watching movies or studying (and when I mean studying I mean being in a groups with books in our hand, but laughing off the wazoo and doing random, delirious things like throwing pitas and trust falling into eachother) are worth all the lost hours of sleep. Plus, that is what class is for right? just kidding..but no really

Jericho

On our way to Jericho, we stopped at places where:

1) the story of the Good Samaritan took place and 

2) Satan tempted the Savior during his 40 day fast

It has been one of my favorite field trips, because unlike so many holy places touched and altered by man, you could see the places as Jesus, the priest, levite, and samaritan saw them.

 Road to Jericho

Em and I made our mark

 Mountain where the Savior fasted

 I should have taken more pictures, but Jericho was a lovely place, not something I expected traveling into the West Bank

The oldest city known to man is Jericho, and this is the famous tower in Jericho dated back to 8,000 

BC

Lesson learned:

Q: Who is our neighbor? 

A: everyone

Each of us will go through our own road to Jericho, will we be the levite, priest, or the Samaritan when we see someone in need of help? 

October 9th

I began my real birthday with some journal and scripture time overlooking Jerusalem. This spot is probably my favorite. There is a special spirit about the 7th floor terrace and I try to go there as often as I can to just think.

I am quite in love with these shoes I found in the Old City.

 A group of us went out to West Jerusalem at night. It felt like any other downtown filled with clothing shops, food places, and people having a good time. We roamed the streets getting a cookie or two here and a crepe or gelato there. I love the center so much, but after a class-filled day, there is nothing better than escaping to enjoy West J with some awesome people. 

A section of heaven will be dedicated to cookies.

 I got my camera out too late, but Andrew and this kid were having a little breakdance battle

 There's just something so special and fun about birthday decorations.

 And my roommates are the sweetest! So funny, I brought twix from home with the theory of eating one on my b-day, but those suckers were gone in the first couple of days being here. Really I should know myself better. It's kind of sad how happy candy and food can bring to my life. Coming back at night to this on my bed was Ze best. I love my roomies. And how could you not smile back at Mr. Pretzel's face.

lesson learned: gratitude for being able to live a lovely 2 decades.

En Kerem

Since my birthday was on a class-filled Tuesday, I got to celebrate it in the best way possible on Monday, our free day. A group of us had the opportunity to help out at an orphanage for severely handicapped kids. Miriam, an Austrian from our branch, volunteers in the orphanage of En Kerem, which is 20 minutes from Jerusalem. En Kerem is filled with green gardens, flowers, and good vibes. Felt very European-esque. I was impressed with the facility and the staff. Most of them are volunteers who work day in and day out. Their charity permeated the orphanage as you watched their heart-felt interaction with these sweet spirits. They were so grateful for us coming because the kids were able to receive one on one time, something they can’t always do because they are understaffed. Even if it was just for 2 hours, I’m so glad I could have helped in some way. I’m so thankful these kids could have this beautiful haven in En Kerem.

 

This is Avi, he’s 18 and loves to walk the dog Pam and hold your hand. I miss him and want to go back to see how my new friend.

Afterwards, we got some yummy pizza and ice cream. My friends are so great and got me this awesome Belgian waffle with ice cream for my b-day. Seriously ZE BEST. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place with beautiful people.

Lesson learned: Our capacity to sincerely love people increases as we serve them.