One Week

Well I have now officially been here in Jerusalem for a whole week! That is pretty awesome to say, and today was a great way to mark the first day. We had a geography field trip just around the area to different points with good views of the city and everything around it. Riding on the bus around here is ridiculous because every five seconds the professor is on the microphone pointing out something that has major historical significance. They're trying to put in a light rail system in West Jerusalem but it's taking ages because everywhere they dig they pull up new archaeological things and then people have to come in to examine the area and stuff. Walking through the city really is just like walking right through history. The views today of the city from every side were pretty cool. What was really crazy was to look down over the West Bank, see the Separation Wall, and just think about all the wars that have been fought over this area and the struggle that is still going on. I think being here will actually make it virtually impossible to choose a side in this conflict because we see so much, and specifically get to know great people on both sides. It's a sticky situation with bad things coming from each group, which is something we talked about a bit today. The other thing we talked about was a TON of history. I can't keep it all straight. Brother Skinner knows so much! I don't know how it fits in his brain. 

My favorite thing today was Augusta Victoria. They have a hospital, school, church and a lot of things on the compound on the Mount of Olives. One of their objectives is to give aide to Arab Christians in the area, who struggle a lot because they are such a minority with persecutions and not really having anyone to be a voice for them. The Mount of Olives is where Christ ascended into heaven, so being in the chapel there and having the opportunity to sing was incredible! We got to sing a few songs, like How Great Thou Art, Love One Another and Nearer My God to Thee, as well as listen to Brother Squires play some Bach on their organ. Brother Squires and his wife are in charge of music and concerts and the center and he is an organ master, seriously. It is majorly impressive. Singing those hymns will probably be one of the most memorable things from this trip. It was absolutely beautiful and the feeling in the church was so great.