TGIF: Thank Goodness It's Finals... NOT.

 

Finals are this week and next, so that means not a lot of blogging...

i have tons to catch up on i know but i just decided to end with a post of today.

i put off my studies to go shopping with the shekel shack people + the Chadwicks.

i "double buckled" to be extra safe.

and documented the recycling effort of the Jerusalem Center.

Productive time management? i think yes!

+

I also went out to Arab Costco with Ashlynn and Drew.

Talked to lots of locals along the way.

My favorite part of the whole day however was seeing these cheery faces.

nothing warms my heart more than to see little boys on bicycles yell at the top of their lungs the only english word they know:

"HELLLOOOOOOOOOOO"

I hope i never forget the kids here.

They warm my soul from shoulders to the toes.

When you are in Jerusalem, any excuse is a good excuse to get out and see the city.

(even if it is at your final grades' expense)

Hellooooooooo from jerusalem.

-it is written. 

i love you dad.

Happy Belated Father's Sabbath (blog-post edition)!

i want to show you how i celebrated your special day.

i ate plenty of these:

and of course a few sleeves of these:

Thought of the memories of eating these lovely treats you sent me in that super nice package:

and re-read over this, which made me miss you like mad:

Took your pocket square to church, how could i forget it?

reflected on our matching bracelets, and was grateful for the lessons you taught me with this one:

and finished my day watching the Jerusalem sun set, simply because i knew that's how you would finish your day for sure. 

 as i looked closer, i noticed a "silver lining" (quite literally), and it caused me to think of you yet again. thanks for always seeing the silver lining dad, i hope that i can some day master that skill as much as you.

Oh dad, i'm so grateful for you!

i've been thinking a lot about what you said.

in fact my brain is bursting full of thoughts i want to share with you.

don't worry i'm keeping my eyes WIDE open.

can't wait to see you again.

i love you forever.

eternally yours,

kel.

imagine living in an area separated from those you loved by a humungous wall.

if i've learned anything from my time here so far: it's to promote PEACE. 

i love jews. i love palestinians. 

Man i'm grateful to live here, and especially to be known around town as living at the "mormon university"

I understand we are not supposed to promote the gospel here. 

That God has truly got it all in his hands.

But hot dang, locals know us Mormons.

and believe me when i say, they LOVE us here!

promote peace. what more can i say?

-it is written.

Princess Bosma Preschool.

still getting you all caught up, a few days ago we painted a mural for a preschool for children with disabilities not to far from where we live.

ready, set, go...

quick time out for some time with this cute girl.

amanda and i played hide and go seek for probably a good hour after painting these beautiful ocean-scapes on napkins when i got sick of painting the wall.

and then helped clean up for the day as we ended with this much done:

{apparently this boy is a 'dora the explorer' like character to the children here.}

judging by the end result, we felt we were worthy to wear the artist stache.

and think we pulled it off quite well.

service is the greatest thing ever invented... and so is paint... and hide and go seek... and artist mustaches.

-it is written.

Tomb of the Kings.

once upon a time we went to a place called tomb of the kings.

we went underground into tombs and pretended to be mummies.

we may have stayed down there longer than was "acceptable" for our age.

but hey, who doesn't love pretending to be indiana jones and exploring some ancient tombs.

and so what if sometimes you still get lost in your imagination at 20 years old.

we even took some 'model' shots on the steps on our way out of the tombs.

this may have happened as we left the tomb....

but hey when isn't mi'kel the clutz stubbing her toe on stairs she didn't see while trying to chase a butterfly?

we did however 'grow up' a little as we enjoyed good company at the austrian hospice.

never mind the fact we were drinking slushies.

and went out to dinner at an Armenian food restaurant next door. i had lamb kabobs that were pretty tasty.

and it didn't hurt to wash down those lambs with this.

and then finish it off with some old fashion some of these.

do do do do... do do do... do do do do... do do do do do!

(should always find time to sing this theme song daily while living in a place like this)

{if you're not, you're not living here right}

-it is written.

Monday June 13

back to back field trips.

this time we went to the city of david.

learned about the stepped stone structure.

explored hezekiah's tunnel

safely mastered the tunnel.

and was very grateful for the excuse to roll up my pants for once!

...and yes that is my camelback or should i say 'camelfront'?

and went on to the pool of siloam to have a devotional.

ate lunch with some girl friends under a big tree.

then being the typical girls we are went to the mall for some shopping and fun relaxing for the rest of the day.

never again take shorts in the summer for granted. turn your camelback backwards when hiking through water. and most definitely never turn down a shopping trip when you have had two sweaty field trip days back to back.

-it is written.