BYU Jerusalem 10 YR Reunion

It'll be 10 years this coming Fall that I spent a semester abroad studying at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Having the great husband that I do, and all the support around me to help with my kids, I was able to fly home to Utah (ALONE) to attend my 10 year reunion. It was an excuse to see some good friends and to have a little weekend away. After missing my flight out of Portland due to the most horrible traffic I have ever been in in my life... I did eventually make it to Utah. It was great to catch up with roommates and friends from that time in Jerusalem that I had not seen in years. You can imagine how close we all got. The center was like living in one big house with 170 roommates for 4 months. We were one of the last groups that BYU took over before they closed the Jerusalem Center due to the state of unrest in the surrounding areas. It has recently reopened.

On the flight there, I had time to read back in my journals and to reflect on the whole experience. Every day I wrote how I never wanted this experience to end. It was absolutely incredible. I also wrote about how tired I was. We had field trips where we had to be on the bus by 6am and we'd fall into our beds at midnight. We traveled to Jericho, to Jordan, to the Sinai Pennisula and spent two weeks in Galilee and Egypt. I took classes in the Old Testament, the New Testament, Acts, Near Eastern Studies, ANCIENT Near Eastern Studies, Islam, Judaism and studied Hebrew. One of my favorite places to be was at the Garden Tomb or sitting on the shores of Galilee. I wrote about getting up at 2 am to hike Mount Sinai and freezing almost to death on top of the mountain, waiting for the sun to rise. Seeing the sun come over the horizon and lighting the valley below will always be one of the most amazing views I think I will ever experience. It was simply breathtaking.

I made such wonderful friends at the Jerusalem Center. Everyone was so great and we were all there because we wanted to be. I came to know my Savior in such a personal way as we studied His life and walked where He would have walked. There is an incredible spirit in those sacred places such as the Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb. The scriptures literally came to life as we read them on location and the meaning of them became so clear.

A flood of memories have come back to me as I've been able to reflect on everything I learned and felt while studying in the Holy Land. It's made me stop and reflect on my life and my testimony and where my priorities lie now. It's good to have these little reminders every once in a while of where we should be. I am just so grateful for this amazing opportunity and the foundation it has given me of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of our Savior's Atonement.

A few of us at the reunion dinner.

Sweet Friends