Separation Wall

The past two days have been rather interesting. Yesterday I went to the US Consulate. I couldn't take pictures there otherwise I would post them. (Left - Danny Seideman lecturing at the wall). It was really interesting and very informative. Plus I'd never been to a consulate before, so it was quite the experience.
Then last night I stayed up really late watching movies with a couple of friends, Lisa and Dave. It was fun and I don't regret it, but now I am exhausted.
After lunch today we went on a tour with a man named Daniel Seideman. He talked about the separation wall and the divisions of Jerusalem. It was really interesting. We drove to the wall to look. Often the wall that divides the West Bank from Israel (according to Israeli perceptions of the border) doesn't just divide Palestinians from Israelis, but Palestinians from Palestinians. (Right - some graffiti on the wall).
The graffiti was interesting to read. One piece called Bush and Blair terrorists. But I'll let you see for yourself.
After our short field trip, we came back to the center and after awhile I entered the bean bag room (the student lounge) to find a couple girls watching Pride and Prejudice (the best version, BBC) and I couldn't help but join them. Others gradually joined with differing reactions. Most guys left. A couple were comfortable enough to join us. All the girls who came in got really excited and wanted to join. It was very amusing.

Separation wall with barbed wire on top. Graffiti that calls Bush and Blair terrorists. The old city. Danny Seideman talked about how the Christian population is dwindling in Jerusalem. He said that Christians are like canaries. When they are sick, the others are sick too, they just don't know it yet. He also said that one of his greatest accomplishments for the city of Jerusalem in recent years was working with leaders of the Church to get us students back in Jerusalem. He said this isn't just because we are great kids but also because his kids are safer when we are here. He also said that Jerusalem is like a bomb waiting to go off. If things aren't done to keep the balance in the Old City and to respect each of the religions, the bomb will explode and that will affect countless others in this region. A group of us gathered to watch Pride and Prejudice.

SHOPPING!

We got to go out!! It was really exciting when we got the news this morning that we were going to be allowed out. (Left - one of the streets in the old city where we went shopping). Very few people stayed in today. I ended up going out with a group who wanted to go shopping. It was nice because I was able to buy all the things that I was wanting, and a little more. I figured I should do that because who knows what will happen in the future.
So, today has been a good day. (Right - buying falafels on our way out of the Old City. This is the best place to get falafels, the least expensive and the best tasting. Here is Elizabeth, Kendra, Rachel, and Jade plus some Arab in the background who wasn't happy about me taking this picture. The guy on the left is making falafels by frying balls of ground chickpeas, yum!). Unfortunately the news came the day before our Old Testament final, but after being cooped up for so long, no one wanted to stay in. Oh well. I guess everyone will be up late studying.
Tomorrow I will hopefully be going to the US Consulate here. I am really excited about that. I hope it works out!

A Midnight Tour

Another day locked in the JC has come and gone. Luckily for me, I was able to sneak out into East Jerusalem (we aren't allowed to be in east Jerusalem at night even in a good week) to go to the Western Wall (Left - the entrance to the tunnel). There is a tunnel that goes under the current ground level along the Western Wall. Then I almost broke curfew, getting back just a few minutes ago. Ok, ok, it was a planned field trip and I wasn't by myself, so I guess it can't technically be considered sneaking out. (Right - This arch is directly opposite the location of the holy of holies). It was fun to be out when we aren't usually allowed out. We had security with us, though, and had to have vans drop us off and pick us up.
We saw the Western Wall and even heard some wailers. That was really interesting. Then we went in with a guide who explained a little of what we were seeing. We saw the largest building stone in all of Israel. It weighs approximately 606 tons. No one knows for sure how they were able to move that large of a stone. (Left - the Kotel tunnel along the Western Wall). We also saw the point that is directly opposite of the spot where the holy of holies of the temple was located. People go there to pray and get as close to the temple as possible.
We walked on stones that once was a market street running along the wall of the temple. That street existed during Christ's time.
I have two more pictures that I will post when the internet stops giving so much trouble:

The largest building stone in Israel - you cannot see both ends in this picture, that is how big it is. Standing on the market street.

Shabbat, Shalom

Another Sabbath day here at the Jerusalem Center is almost over. We weren't allowed to go out at all today, but I still managed to find something interesting to do. A few Russians from different branches in Israel came to church today. One of them is from Kazan (a city in my mission) and is named Dina (see picture to the left - me and Dina). She knows a lot of people that I know (missionaries who served in Kazan). The other two are originally from Ukraine and are named Sasha (a guy) and Yulia. Yulia is from the Tiberias branch but the other two are from Tel Aviv. Then there were a couple of guys from Utah named Quinn and Gordon who are in Israel on business. We all walked around the center getting a tour of the place from Aimee. That was really fun, but mainly I enjoyed being able to speak Russian and get to know some new people. (Right - Gordon, Sasha, Mandi, Aimee, Dina, Yulia, Shea, me, and Quinn).
Tomorrow we must go back to school. Its been a nice long break, but I guess we had to get back to classes eventually. I just wish I wasn't so tired. But then again, being sunburned makes me tired. Tomorrow we also will receive the security report. If it looks like the lock down is going to be long term, we will probably begin having more structured activities. That could be interesting, but also very expensive.

One of the cats that hangs around the JC. The cats keep the snakes away, so it is a good thing.Everyone looking at the wine press on the JC grounds.Sign telling us we can't go into West Jerusalem until further notice.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

I don't know if you have heard about what has been going in this part of the world lately, but apparently it has some people concerned. On Thursday, 8 young people were killed in west Jerusalem at a yeshiva (which is kind of like a seminary). It was a religious-Zionist yeshiva. The shooter was a Palestinian from east Jerusalem. This does not bode well for us here at the Jerusalem Center. I'm not saying that anyone will target us because I don't think they will, but it may mean that we will not be able to stay at the center. When we got home yesterday, we were met with a sign informing us that we could not go into east Jerusalem until further notice (see above). Whenever there has been a security risk, we have only been barred from going into east Jerusalem. Now, something worse has come. There is no place that is safe, at least for the present time. I don't know what that means for us. I hope it doesn't mean we will be sent back to the states. Maybe we could go somewhere else and finish our program. (Left - Sarah and me on the beach of the Gulf of Aqabah, from the Israeli side. If you look out across the gulf, you can see Jordan. A little to the south is Saudi Arabia). But I would rather stay here. So I am asking you all to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
The problem with the conflict here is that it is not as simple as the media makes it out to be. Both sides are at fault and it goes back about one hundred years. In fact, you could say that it was largely caused by the British. That may not be politically correct, but from what I've been studying, that is the impression I get. (Right - a beat up American flag flying in front of the underwater restaurant). It is interesting that people are so quick to give away land that belongs to other people. It wasn't helped by the Jews. In fact, when Zionism first began, the leader of the movement wanted A homeland for the Jews, but didn't necessarily think it should be in Palestine. But, when offered a piece of land in Africa (which I'm sure would have caused a different conflict if it had been accepted) many Zionists refused any land but Palestine. The cause was not helped by Palestinians who in the beginning took out their frustration by violence, the few radicals effectively destroying the Palestinian position in the eyes of the world. Then, when offered a two state solution in the early years, that wasn't good enough. (Left - flags of three nations that are in someway connected to be flying in front of the underwater restaurant. We have the US flag-my home, the Israeli flag-my current home, and the Russian flag-my home away from home). It was all or nothing for them, though really all is what they wanted. And so in the end, they got nothing. It is further complicated by the Israeli's lack of willingness to move towards peace. That is a complicated issue and I don't really want to get into it, but it seems that they are willing to talk of peace, but not willing to implement any steps towards that peace. (Right - me and Megan at our table in the underwater restaurant. You can see the sea behind us). I understand that that is also complicated by Hamas in the Gaza strip. So, this is not an easy situation. I just wish that everyone involved could begin to see the others' perspective. Then maybe peace would come.
On a happier note, I went to Eilat this morning. We left around 5:45 am and drove down to the southern most portion of Israel. We went to a nature preserve on the Gulf of Aqabah (also known as the Gulf of Eilat) which is part of the Red Sea. There we went snorkeling. It was a lot of fun. I spent most of my time in the water looking at fish and talking with others. The water was salty, so it was easy to stay afloat. But, as a consequence, the back of my legs are burnt to a crisp. It is very painful. I did put sunscreen on, but I think I didn't wait long enough before getting in the water and I also think I should have put it on more often. (Left - can you find the fish in this picture? It is hard to see, but there is a cool looking lion fish that swam up to watch us eat). Oh well, there is nothing that can be done about that now. We were there from about 10:30 am until 3:30 am when we got out and drove to another part of Eilat. There we walked around and ate dinner. I didn't really feel like eating after getting so much sun, but I had a little ice cream from an underwater restaurant. That was a fun place, but very expensive (that is why we only got dessert). We continued on and stopped at a place where some people got schwarmas. Then we stopped at McDonalds where some people got food before walking along the boardwalk. That was fun. But, I was glad when it came time to leave and even gladder when we arrived back at the center. That was until we got a message that tomorrow we are not allowed to leave the center. Even worse news is that they are doing a security assessment that should be finished by Sunday morning. Then we will know our fate. So please, once again, pray for the peace of Jerusalem!