My First Jerusalem Expiriences

Last night and today has been an adventure. A group of us walked around and toured the old city last night. It was Shabbat, or the Jewish Sabbath, and many shops were shut down. We visited the Zion Gate, the Western Wall, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and the Holy Sepulcher to name a few. As we visited the Western wall, there were a group of Jews worshipping and singing in unison. This could be heard from many blocks away. This view was very intriguing to me. Also, last night, we went to the top of a church nearby to get a better view. The whole of mount Olives as well as the Dome of the Rock could be seen from this roof. It was incredible. As we returned from our walk, there was a bon-fire that the student life people had put together. I met many new faces here. It is so hard to remember people’s name. haha. I feel bad at times. As we were around the fire, a guy named Tom asked me if I liked baseball. This was a rhetorical question, for of course, I live baseball. We played catch and he asked me to play in a minor league here in Israel. They play on the nicest fields in the country at night. It is compared to the minor leagues from the states. Although, this was an honor, and I would have loved playing, I know that this is not my purpose here in Jerusalem.

Today, we had an orientation day. It consisted of registering for classes, getting photo ids and going through the rules of the college. After lunch we had a scavenger hunt through the Old City of Jerusalem. We had many tasks to do including taking a picture with an Israeli solider, a picture with a shop owner, a picture of certain churches, a picture of us eating a fulafel, and many more like this. The kids were very quick to help us and play with us, but we found out that it was because they wanted our money. Other shop owners and men on the streets called us Mormons, and stared at us. I’m not going to lie, I feel much more out of place than I thought I would. People know that we are foreigners, and it was very awkward taking pictures. All in all, I met more new faces and saw more of the city on this scavenger hunt.

Tonight we took another walk around west Jerusalem, or the New City, and roamed around a little on our own. The New City seems more like a real city and has many shops, coffee shops, and eateries that are familiar. By this time I was very tired. My legs ache and I just found out that we are doing another 5 hour walk tomorrow. I don’t know if the heat, the lack or sleep, or the walks are making me tired. I’m guessing all of them are contributing to my aching body. One cool thing is that we can see the Gahanna (sp) Valley. This is the Valley that is referred to in the Bible as Hell. The valley is actually very green and is a great park. They say that in the winter the valley freezes over . . . so Hell actually does freeze over

For those of you that are wondering, the food here, at least the food provided by the college, is really good. Today we had a chicken sandwich on pita break, French fries cooked in olive oil, cake, fruit, and a good salad. For dinner we had rice with vegetable and a red sauce over it. All of the food seems pretty normal so far. I think that the college tries to make us American food while we are at the college.

I can already tell that the time here will be very busy, and pressed spiritually. I feel like being on the go so much, and even seeing sights will not allow me proper quiet time. Now, it is more difficult to have personal time because I really want to continue to meet people and make friends. I don’t want to be unsocial. After I meet some people this next week, and when the schedule is more fixed, it’ll be better. For now I’m just staying up late to get time in with God.

P.S. – I took many pictures today that I will somehow get up to they can be viewed.