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.