LDS

I have caught the JC LDS. Last Days Syndrome. So sentimental!!!

We love JERU

Ramadan makes it so our favorite Old City food places close. But they do make tasty Ramadan pancakes. 

long long day of shopping. Notice: The amount of shopping bags Dev has

just a few souvenirs. 

Dead Sea mud exfoliation

My family night group is the best ever. Probably because they had such great parents (aka me and david)

real life family love

7th floor lawn. This is where we watch the sunset, play games, star gaze, etc. 

jc lockdown

We got locked in the center yesterday and had to entertain ourselves somehow....

http://andstilllookingup.blogspot.co.il/2012/08/the-one.html

Enjoy :)

ode to finals

I wish I could be playing in this beautiful city right now. Instead, I have to study for a field trip final. I want to be spending my last week playing and taking it all in...instead i'm getting ready for tests! The only thing getting me through is the final 5 days of FREEDOM I will have after school is all done. High five for the first person who can spot the Jerusalem center in this picture!

Galilee Pics!

I'm too busy to write a good post, so here are some pictures of my last week in Galilee.

Becca, Laura, Steph, Em, Rachel, and Meg after dinner one night

Me and Becca at Gamla.

me and laney on top of a mountain in Gamla

me and Meg at church in Tiberias

Just the cenotaph of Maimonedes

Hey thats Lebanon behind me!

Galilee was great. But I am so glad to be back at home in Jerusalem. We enjoyed swimming, dancing, and just being together. I love this place and the people I was able to share it with! Driving up to Jerusalem and seeing the Dome of the Rock and the familiar arches of the JC was such a great feeling. I think besides my home in Bountiful, no other place in the world has ever felt so much like home to me. There will always be a million great memories associated with this beautiful building on top of Mt. Scopus and I can't believe I will be leaving it so soon.

Here is to finals, shopping, playing, eating, and a fabulous last two weeks in my new favorite place in the whole world.

pre-galilee AND loving Galilee!

jumpin in the jc. This girl here, best friend forever and ever. 

finally we got into the secret garden! There is a little locked gate on the other side of Gethsemane. The priest has been really strict about letting anyone in. We had to call people, fill out paper work, and a lot of other things just to get in, but we finally did it!!

friends in the secret garden

Hiking at Ein Gedi in the 110 degree weather=sweating from places I didn't know I could sweat from, playing in refreshing waterfalls, and a LOT of fun!

me, Devery and Joe in Nazareth, where Jesus grew up! Also, where Joseph and Mary found out they would be the parents of Jesus Christ! I'm seeing the COOLEST things. 

Sunset Club in Galilee. This pic doesn't do that sunset justice. 

Rachelle, Susan, Me, Lane, and Melissa in front of a boat that was found from the time of Christ. Very nicely excavated and preserved.......... 

Listening to Rachelle and Meg play "Consider the Lillies" on the Mt. of Beatitudes. All the tourists were taking  pics of them.

Summer 2012 = best summer of my entire life.

FOR MY FAMILY. Looks like the love of my life will be named Jorge. Found this little beauty carved on a tree on the Mount of Beatitudes.  

Capernaum where Christ performed the most miracles recorded in  New Testament and gave the Bread of Life discourse! 

Don't even remind me that Galilee won't last forever. Also, don't remind me that I have to come home soon. I'm taking the advice given by President Uchtdorf in the 1st Presidency Message and living in the middle (read that message if you haven't!) Jerusalem has been fabulous, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing my family and friends. My experiences and memories here will stay with me for the rest of my life and that thought definitely makes it easier to come home.  I'm so grateful for the things I have learned here and the friendships I have made. Elder Holland was here last week with his family and told us students to let our time in Jerusalem change us. If we come home the same person, we will have made a big mistake. I know Jerusalem has changed me for the better and I am so grateful for my testimony that has been strengthened exponentially, and for the people I met that will be apart of my life forever.

My Old Testament professor taught me a few months ago: God is Good, Always. I'm not sure I believed him back then. Since taking New Testament and talking about our Savior, every single day, I know without a doubt that his statement is true.

God is Good, Always.

alone

http://stephseestheworld.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/informally-talented.html

Check out this post for a fabulous video made by the lovely ladies of Apt. 311.

only got 4 minutes to save the world

Actually it's four weeks, to save the world. I have four weeks left in Jerusalem and it hurts my heart.

We went to some ruins of Herod's temple yesterday!  

these rocks Steph is standing on are remnants of the temple that went tumbling down!

me and steph standing on the steps that went up to the temple. Christ would have walked these steps many times. I walked where Jesus walked! So cool. The steps that aren't all chippy are the original ones! 

me and David at the dome!

devery, me, and maddie at the dome. 

 I love the dome of the rock. There's something about its shiny gold dome that can be seen from all over the city that just makes me happy. Temple Mount is so clean, huge, and beautiful. I could just stay there all day.

met these cuties in the city this week. They didn't speak any English, and obviously I don't understand Arabic.... but we loved each other.

you may not know but these shadows do spell out JERU. dev, me, analise, and dwight

me and analise watching the sunset. we love sunset club. We dont love sunday night concerts that don't allow us to watch at our normal 7th floor lawn.

love this girl. 

pics of Jordan taken by miss Stephanie Merrill