First Fieldtrip!!

We had our first real field trip this Monday, and that was like a week ago...but NOW I am going to blog about it ha. We left at 8:00 for our first field trip and we went to all these different places around Jerusalem and to different overlooks. 

Seven Arches Overlook with the Dome of the Rock!

We first went to just an overlook at the Seven Arches Hotel and it was a great view of the city! We saw the city wall that separates the old city from everywhere else, the Temple Mount, the Kidron Valley, etc. (All those important historical places that we are supposed to know) And Bro. Judd pointed out that we should go to the steps where Jesus probably walked! AHH! He told us a story about how Neil Armstrong (man on the moon) came and took a tour of Israel and asked to be taken to a place where Christ walked and when he stood on those steps said that standing there meant more to him than standing on the moon…wow that’s powerful. I gotta go there! 

Augusta Victoria Church

We went to this church, the Augusta Victoria church, who was the wife of Kaiser Vilhelm so he named it after her. It was a beautiful church, with lots of paintings and murals and different depictions of Christ, all very different. We hiked to the top of the tower, which was a serious thigh burner! But it was a pretty view from all sides. So we just use these little receiver things that we plug in headphones and can hear Bro. Judd or whoever while they are lecturing, it’s really quite nifty. 

Bethlehem Overlook

Kibbutz Ramat Rachel (Remember this Mom?)

We went to the Bethlehem overlook next and that was definitely my favorite place! It was beautiful and so cool to be seeing Bethlehem! Bro. Jackson pointed out Ramat Rachel, where my mom stayed when she was here for the program like forever ago! It was really sweet to see that and I am grateful that I have been able to share some sweet memories with her and to see her get so excited about everything that I will be able to experience here! 

Me and Hunter at Tayelet. I think we are friends...

I am grateful that we were able to get out of the center and out to seeing some of the amazing places that are here in Israel, I never realized that there was so much history here! It's incredible! Our first fieldtrip I would consider a definite success! We even sang songs on the bus! Songs about Jerusalem, they're great! And I feel like some of the relationships I am building are not just the same questions over and over again... the "where are you from?" and "what's your major" stage is finally coming to an end. Thank goodness. I can definitely see mysef making some great friends here!