Yep, my eyes were closed in every photo taken of me today.

I forgot my sunglasses today, which was an unfortunate mistake because it was so sunny. So, sorry that my eyes are always closed. Our first stop was Masada. 

Herod chose to build at Masada due to the beautiful views... it is pretty much just wilderness.

Camila and I making sassy poses in the Southern Palace in Masada. 

Model poses... it is sometimes what we do so we aren't focusing on how hot it is outside. We have fun though. 

Floating in the Dead Sea. It was the weirdest feeling ever!

All alone at lover's waterfall in Ein Gedi. 

Qumran. If you look closely, there are caves in the background where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. 

The Highlights of Galilee

Not only did I kiss it, I ate the whole thing (just not the face).

The Jordan River!

Read it out loud.

Church at the top of the Mt. Of Transfiguration

Synagogue at Korazim

"The Mona Lisa of Galilee"

We had different interpretations of how to pose as a mummy inside the crypt. 

I spy a little hoodlum in tie-dye posing with the Baha'i temple in Haifa. Being there made me miss good ol' Wilmette.  

Magic in Galilee

 This post is one day that we explored the North of Galilee. We went to a castle, so I obviously had to wear my unicorn/rainbow/castle shirt. I am super busy, so I am not going to write captions, but it was a fun day!

The Sea of Galilee!

Oh, ya know. Just sailing where Jesus walked.

A boat that was found in the sea of Galilee from the 1st century. 

We took a hike through the hills of Galilee, walking in paths that Jesus would have been familiar with. It was BLAZING hot and super humid. I always have a great attitude. I can only imagine what it would have been like in his day. 

This was a church commemorating Peter catching the fish with Jesus' instruction.

A Roman Orthodox site with a super cool tree!

I just love it here-

I am so happy to be able to just walk down a valley after church and be at one of my favorite places in the whole world. I love visiting the Garden Tomb. I feel the Spirit so strongly and I know that somewhere like this place, our Savior died and then rose again. I am so lucky to be having so many experiences that testify the reality of Jesus' life and his ministry on Earth. I feel his light in my life and am so blessed to have this knowledge. 

Kotel Tunnel

So, last night we had a field trip to the Kotel tunnel, which goes underneath the old city and follows the western wall in Herod's time. It was cool to walk underneath the places that I walk all the time. 

Karen and I inside the tunnel.

Lane, Me, Jerica at the Western Wall.

Mini Flower Obsession

For as dreary and dusty this country can be sometimes, there are the most amazing flowers all over the place. They just grow right over people's fences. I love them a lot, they always brighten my day.

This is a photo Steph took in Tel-Aviv. Best garbage can ever.

Davidson Archaeological Park

Today we took a field trip into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. We started in two different museum's that were built around ruins from mansions in the time of Herod. Then, we went outside and walked around the Western and Southern sides of the Temple mount. 

These were big rocks that fell off of the temple. 

Camila and I in the ruins of a shop adjacent to the temple. Could have been the money changers...

Trying to find shade. It was a hottt day.

Analise and I standing on the steps that Christ would have used to get up to the temple. 

Out on the Town

So, we always try to go out and do something at least once a day. These are just some pictures of our most recent adventures.

There is a cool tradition within the community that if the family that lives in the home goes and visits Mecca, they decorate the rocks outside there home. I don't know how well this would go over in our neighborhood in Arkansas, but I love seeing the paint in the Old City. It really brightens things up. 

This is a sweet candid of Hailey and Steph. We went on a little adventure to a place called Lina's in the Christian quarter. They have the best hummus I have ever had. It was sooo yummy.  

Yesterday, we went and got brownies at this Jewish Bakery that all of the students here love. Mine was warm and had a molten inside and doused in whipped cream. It was pretty good. I feel like making a food blog for all of the yummy treats that I have had here! 

One day we followed the crowd of teenagers to a huge outdoor concert in the West Jerusalem. It was way fun and I kind of just felt like I was back in Chicago at millenium park.

This was just sitting outside our gate at the center. One of the security guards probably wanted a place to nap or something.

This is Muhammed. Isn't he so cute?! Yesterday I went and volunteered at a Palestinian Day Care and helped the kids learn a little bit of English. The kids were so fun and nice to us. I really loved going there and kind of wish I could go back every day. 

A Bit of a Wild Goose Chase...

After class this morning, we ventured around on the Mt. of Olives. There are a few churches there that I haven't been to yet. We walked A LOT.. and it was hot and tiring. Hailey, Steph and Devery barely made it up this hill. 

We wanted to start out in this cool underground tomb where they hand you candles and walk through. Unfortunately, it closed early. After we had gotten all the way up there, we were just a little grumpy. 

We then walked over to Dominus Flevit Church. This is the place where Christ stopped and looked over Jerusalem and said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" Matthew 23:37. It had a beautiful outlook and the cross in the window hit the exact spot of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Contemplation...