Kels H (is)...

living at the BYU Jerusalem Center & pondering the informative nature of status updates & photo journals... hmm...

loving that January = a sun-kissed face when in the Holy Land.


 traveled the Road to Jericho & thought about the parable of the Good Samaritan from a different perspective. Perhaps the priest & the Levite weren't ignoring the dire condition of their fellow traveller; maybe they were just so dedicated to their duties elsewhere that they hardly noticed his plight. I think another moral we can learn from the Good Samaritan is that we shouldn't become so focused on our callings, duties, and work that we become incapable of recognizing the needs of those around us.

As you can see, this isn't a place you'd want to wander for long...

falling in love...with fresh, warm pita topped with sesame butter & cinnamon. Swoon. Worthy.

wishing "boker tov" to all my friends back in the US. (That's how you say "good morning" in Hebrew.)

thinks the Jerusalem Center was built of of stone, glass, air, wood, and light.

 

A typical view of the Old City from one of the many arched windows throughout the Center.

has never been to a place that felt like home so quickly.

had a major geek moment in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre a few days ago--but really, people, how can you not be astounded by the appearance of an Late Roman column, a Corinthian column, and a more Gothic style all in a row?

 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a conglomerate of religions & architectural styles. It is built on the site most Christians believe to be the tomb of Jesus, & as most Christians revere this site as the most holy place in the world, most churches want to build there. So, over the years denomination upon denomination have built, quite literally, right on top of each other. I could spend days exploring all the niches, nooks, tiny chapels, & twisted staircases, each belonging to a different faith.

climbed to the top of the very tall Jerusalem YMCA tower; I don't think there's another YMCA in the world that's even close to as gorgeous as this building, which was dedicated in 1933.

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And, of course, did the YMCA dance with her JC roommates upon reaching the top of the Jerusalem YMCA tower.

Kels, Michelle, Lindsey, & Synthia.

spent the afternoon studying Exodus & the history of Palestine on a rooftop in the Old City (perhaps more acurately... gazing out at the beautiful city around me whilst my books sat in my lap...)

We were next to an Armenian Orthodox church; apparently, it was Christmas Eve for this denomination, so we were able to get a glimpes of their Christmas Eve procession down the Via Dolorosa to the church.

has discovered a new love for playing with shadows...

Cory (on the right) & I have pretty sassy shadows. On the left side of the picture, you can see a round tower, which is the oldest man-made structure in the world. Archeologists date it to 8000 BC.

...and needs to work on forming intelligible letters.

We were going for "JC" for Jerusalem Center... this may take some practice.

has to get back to writing a paper about Islam now...

parting shot