Hello from Jerusalem

Well I'm here in Jerusalem. I got here Wednesday night and I have been loving every minute of it. Wednesday we got into Tel Aviv and took a bus to the Center then we were given a tour of the Center and introduced to the director and teachers. Dr. Kent Jackson was just appointed as the new academic director of the center. They kept us busy so we wouldn't go to sleep too early and thus prolong getting over jetlag. Thursday we went on a tour of Jerusalem. I can't believe that I am here. We walked through East Jerusalem where the Palestinians live, the Old City and West Jerusalem where the Israelis live. We went into the church of the Holy Sepulcher which is the spot that Christians believe is where Christ was crucified and buried. Three Christian denominations own different sections of this church and there is a Muslim mosque nearby across the street. The Mormon church believes it occurred at the Garden tomb. I haven't been there yet but will go with the center next week. Friday we had our first 2 classes, Old Testament with Brother Frank Judd and Near Eastern Studies with Dr. Chadwick who is an archeologist. Both seem like they will be great teachers.

So Ramadan is going on right now and we can hear the call to prayer being broadcast from the mosques 5 times a day. Sometimes I am woken up by it at 4:30am. During Ramadan the call to prayer is more elaborate with readings of the Koran broadcast in addition to the normal call to prayer. At dusk a cannon goes off signalling that the sun has set and that everyone can eat. Friday was the last Friday of Ramadan so there was a big religious ceremony and we were thus not allowed into the city. We could see tons of cars and buses on the streets and someone told me that there were supposed to be over be over 20,000 people at the Dome of the Rock Friday night. That night I heard singing coming from the Dome of the Rock.

Today, Saturday was our Sabbath. We have sacrament meeting in the auditorium that has windows that looked out across the city of Jerusalem. It is an amazing sight. There were other members in the branch besides the center students. A new branch president was called today.

Right now there are peace talks going on in Washington between the Palestinians and the Israelis. They are trying to establish peace and decide who will gain control of the West Bank. Right now the West Bank and the Gaza strip are considered occupied territory with no one country owning them. One Thursday there were 4 Israelis shot by Hama terrorists in the West Bank. It has been relatively peaceful in the West Bank and Israel until the peace talks. The Hamas are trying to let the Israelis know that they don't like that the peace talks are going one. They don't want an Israel. They want a Palestine.

There are 78 students in my study abroad group. The Jerusalem Center is beautiful and so nice. I think it was built around the year 1994. We are spoiled. We have a nice cafeteria with multiple options for each meal and the opportunity to try local dishes.

Well tomorrow we have a free day and are going to walk on top of the city wall and going into Zedekiahs cave. This cave is where they quarried the rock for the wall around the Old City.