O Galilee!!

Definitely had one of the best and most spiritual experiences of my life in Galilee.  We were lucky enough to stay at the En Gev Kibbutz RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE SEA OF GALILEE! I don't know if you guys are aware of this...but Christ walked on the water of this very sea.  I'd say that was one of the coolest things we got to do, just hang out and contemplate ON the Sea of Galilee about all of the numerous miracles Christ performed at this location.  I for sure felt so close to my Savior by actually seeing and walking around the very same places he performed his ministry. 

Well enough chit chat, here are some lovely photos from our trip!

yes this is me holding a mote and sitting on a beam...bible references come t life!!!

yes...my name is Britt Lam and I'm holding a baby lamb!...and I'm the baby of my family! yay for literal pictures!

Me and Nathanael on the Sea of Galilee

Sitting on the edge of Mount Arbel

Me and Donovan at Gamla

Emily, Abby, me, and Tessa at Tel Dan

jumping picture on the Sea of Galilee right at the edge of our kibbutz

Me and Donovan at the Mediterranean Sea

coolest castle ever! and this isn't even photo-shopped. Nimrod's Castle

awesome waterfall hike with Maddi and Abby

love and miss you all!

Time to Play!

Finals are over, and what am I going to do with all of this free time?!?! haha, ok maybe I don't have THAT much free time, but this week I found time to relax and play a little :)

Our dinner group decided to change it up a bit this week as we chose a somewhat normal meal for our meal out in the city.  This week: Burger Bar

Donovan and I at Burger Bar

Most definitely one of the best burgers I have ever had!  It even beat 5 guys!  Maybe it was because I was starving after running all around the Mamilla Mall looking for swimsuits with Martin and Donovan for our Galilee trip in the pouring rain, but these burgers were delicious.  Though they were kosher, you wouldn't even be able to tell that it was missing the cheese because of all the other juicy condiments they slapped onto the burger.  It was a good meal, especially since I caved and had my first diet coke since January!  You all should be very proud of me right now.

I was also feeling a bit sad that our days at the JC are dwindling.  So this past sabbath I tried to take pictures around the center to remember all of the good times.  Our normal Sabbaths include movie watching in the lounge :)  This weeks choice: "The Other Side of Heaven"

Aren't they just a good looking group of kids?!

Then today was our standard free day Sundays, and me and the best group of people ever (Me, Donovan, Abby Chaimb, Emily, and Neal) went out and partied in the city!

We went to the St. George Cathedral, the Great Synagogue, got crepes on Ben Yehuda Street, chilled in front of Damascus Gate while eating lunch and people watching, and just wandered through the Old City: pretty much just an awesome day with great people.

Me, Emily, and Abby enjoying our delicious crepes!

Neal and I in front of the Great Synagogue in West Jerusalem

outside of the St. George Cathedral

Loving Life

Finals are over...but more field trips and fun are coming!

Tuesday at 6pm our Judaism and Islam classes officially ended.  The finals were rough, but the reward was so much greater! Though the day started early, it ended even later because after our exams we were lucky enough to go to the Western Wall and the Kotel Tunnel...very late at night. My group was the first to leave for the tunnel, and we didn't arrive there until 9:30pm!

Even though it was very much past my bedtime, we all made the best of it and had quite the adventure! 

Here are some of our late night photos!

Some Jewish ladies saying their prayers against the Western Wall inside the Kotel Tunnel

attractive JC students!!!

Me and Jess outside at the Western Wall

After a splendid night, the next day was fantastic, especially because we now only have 2 classes! So after class a group of us went to the Rockefeller Museum to check out some sweet artifacts and pottery!

Martin, me and Nathanael outside the Museum

And of course I have to end with a picture of me and Donovan, because lately we've been really good at taking some unintentional engagement photos :) haha

Oh and I completely forgot to mention that today we also had a blood drive here at the JC.  I can officially say that I've donated blood for someone in need in Israel and I am so proud :) That is the reason for the red stickers me and Donovan are sporting!

Tonight we also had the pleasure of watching the family talent show here at the center for the kids of the faculty.  I was lucky enough to play a song on the guitar and sing with Alexia Muhlestein! I'm pretty sure we stole the show! lol well at least she did. 

 Tonight also marked the start of our first ever Jerusalem Center game of Assassin.  Everyone is in a constant state of panic and paranoia, and I'm loving every minute of it!

I'll keep you updated to see who are winner will finally be!

O Little Town of Bethlehem...and other things

Where do I even begin?

Finals were extremely brutal this past week, but we finally made it through, especially with the help of our awesome studying techniques!

Just a few of us rocking out to a little music before our final!

And in between our crazy studying sessions, we had the opportunity to go on an all-day field trip to Bethlehem to see where our Savior was born!...but on the way there, we ran into a little something called the Herodion, also known as one of King Herod's amazing creations, or his luxurious summer palace.

Some columns at the lower level of Herod's Palace

Me and Joshua looking cute as can be :)

Then we were lucky enough to meet up with our professor at Bethlehem University to talk and mingle with local students from the West Bank!

 

me and Donovan at the Tent!

And of course once we ate a delicious lunch at a restaurant called..."The Tent" Professor Musallam took us down to Manger Square so that we could see the Church of the Nativity and actually stand where the Savior was born!

 

An interesting thing about this church is that it is divided into 3 separate churches all who practice and worship in this one building: Greek Orthodox, Catholic, and Armenian.

And then we ended our field trip with an amazing testimony meeting in Shepherd's Field: the very field where we as LDS members believe the angel came and visited the shepherds to announce to them of the birth of Christ. It is truly amazing how easy it is to feel the spirit with this group of people.  Every day I am in complete awe of how strong the spirit is whether we are in New Testament class, on a field trip, or even just talking and hanging out with each other.  Jerusalem and every single individual here with me at the center has helped me in some way and has strengthened my testimony more than I can even imagine, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Bittersweet

I want to say that I am the happiest person in the world right now seeing as I just finished a beastly Old Testament final.  However, though challenging as it was, especially since I spent from exactly 8:45 this morning to 2 in the afternoon studying my brains out, when I handed in that paper, that meant my time in Brother Judd's class was over.  

sad day

It amazes me more and more how fast our time has gone here in Jerusalem.  We had our first New Testament class today, which means that our study abroad is officially half over.  Though it will be a great relief once we finish all of our finals for this block, this only solidifies the fact that my time here will soon be over.

Why do the best things go by so quickly?????!?!

Well here's to the rest of the trip and the great views it brings my way! 

Finals Relief

Finals have arrived, and as usual I have decided to procrastinate and spend what time I have blogging rather than studying.

To catch you up on a few things I've done since my last post, here's a list:

1. Mahane Yehuda Shuk in West Jerusalem

2. Tomb of the Kings

Abby and I

3. Dome of the Rock...Part 3

Donovan and I

4. Modeling in the Old City

Me, Julia and Jessica trying to be cool

5. Dinner in West Jerusalem

Whit, Donovan, me, and Bethany at a quaint Italian restaurant.  Best food ever!!!!

All in all, I had a very successful few days :) It was full of great places, food, and people.  What more can a girl really ask for?

Time to study!