Arrived!

I made it! Finally! I came in through the gates of Jerusalem University College this morning and climbed the 104 vertical steps to my room and say the glorious balcony right outside my door! My room overlooks the entire city! It is spectacular! I met my two wonderful room mates Laura and Megan. Laura is from Oregon but goes to Wheaton College in Chicago. And Megan goes to school in South Carolina at Columbia International University and is from Ohio. They are both super sweet and I am stoked to get to know them this semester! Anyhoo, it is time for a shower, especially after climbing those stairs so many times today. I will post pictures of the school very soon! :)

Finally Here!

So.. a few days ago I finally arrived in Israel. It is hot... and Humid. I really can't wait until the end of September. But Anyhoo, It is such an amazing city! It is beautiful and wonderful. And incredibly complicated. I was speaking with a missionary here today and she was telling me how incredible spiritual battles are here. It is just so prevalent. When I say spiritual battles I am referring to the battles against spirits, principalities, etc... not of flesh. It is so easy for people to get what they call "Jerusalem Fever". People come to the Holy Land expecting so much. They come thinking they will become great prophets, they come thinking they will be amazing spiritual leaders. The problem with this, however, is not realizing that they have grown a spirit of religiosity. They lose their humility. There is so much religiosity confined in one area, it is overwhelming. So many rules, so many laws, so many prejudices. The other spiritual battle that is here is the spirit of division. Because of the prejudice here, there is incredible division. It is so sad.

Well, I will write again soon! God bless!

Vacation messes with your calendar...

So... the fourth day was not Izmir... it was Marmaris, Turkey... lol... We took a ferry over to Rhodes, Greece and saw the temple of Zues... a fortress from the crusade knights... and just walked around the city. It was a vacation spot for sure! The beaches were packed and the water a crystal clear blue... absolutely gorgeous! I very much enjoyed it!

Anyhoo... the sixth day was Istanbul! By far my favorite spot so far! Istanbul was amazing! I loved shopping in the Bazaar and going into the old buildings! I have a funny story that must prefaced in order to get it.... or perhaps it might not be funny... i dont know... lol... so people have probably asked Dad and I if we were married like 8 or 9 times since we have been on the cruise. And it has become kind of a joke between us... so while we were in th Bazaar a Turkish man asked if we were married and then asked if I was his daughter... and Dad yelled "you win!" but while dad said that at the exact moment the Turkish man asked if he could marry me... Huge miscommunication! So needless to say, we left quickly.

Anyhoo... today is a sea day and we are cruisin once more... I will write again in a few days! :)

Cruisin' the Med...

Hello everyone! The trip has started! And boy am I having a blast. We arrived almost a week ago now in Fiummicino airport in Italy after lay-overs in San Fran, London, and Zurich. I am so glad I only checked one luggage because what do you know... Dad gave the self profecy... and I lost it on the way over here during our last lay-over. When we landed it was incredibly humid! Only about 97% humidity. lol.... but it was amazing.

We checked into the hotel took showers and headed straight for Roma! We saw Victor Emmanuele and had dinner outside a cafe looking over the Colloseum and the Forum. It was incredible! We sat at the cafe until sun went down so we could see the Colloseum lit up at night with the almost full moon peaking through the archways. Spectacular! The next day we got up early... very tired... and we went back to the airport to check to see if my bag had arrived with no luck... but no rest for the weary. We hopped on a bus and toured the city passing by the sights we had seen the night before plus a pyramid tomb, the Vatican, and several others that I have written down in a separate journal. I was totally blown away! Rome is a fun city. Especially with all of the crazy drivers... virtually no one listens to the law... and all are so sassy. very entertaining. Anyhoo... so from Rome we drove to Civitavechia where we arrived on our ship... the "Freedom". It was amazing and our stateroom was so nice with our own balcony overlooking the water. I love it!

Our first stop on the ship was to Napoli (Naples). It was like something out of a picture book! So beautiful. We went to Pompei where we saw the ruins from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. It was incredible to see the bodies of people who died almost 2000 yrs ago. Insane. I was also very excited to be able to buy a cute floppy straw hat there. Super duper fun! lol....

The third day was spent cruising.... a day at sea... Dad and I woke up around 11 AM which ruined our plans for breakfast on the ship, but there was more fun to be had.... like losing terribly at Bingo... hanging out by the pool, singing in Kareoke... and much much more!

The fourth day... today... was spent in Izmir, Turkey. OMGoodness! I totally loved today! Even though it was like 5 million billion degrees (roughly translated to about 108 degrees) today, I fell in love with Turkey. I could totally live here. We went to see the final resting place of the Virgin Mary... a small chapel in the middle of nowehere on a hill. A German Nun who lived around the turn of the 18-19th centuries gave a prophecy on her death bed about a place where Mary was buried. She gave a description of the location and after she died some parishoners took the description and found it. It was very close to Ephesus, where we also went. Ephesus totally blew my mind to pieces! I got to stand in the theater where Paul stood when he preached to the Ephesians that Jesus was the Savior of the whole world. It really got me thinking. He was doing something so incredible! He was going way out on a limb saying that in front of a crowd that made their livelihood on selling pagan worshiper goods. He was not just telling them to change their faith, he was telling them to change their way of earning money... basically their whole lives... and Paul had complete faith that they would be changed by the love of Christ... and God followed through with that great faith. Just look how many people know and love Jesus today. Amazing!

Well, blessings on you all and I will be writing hopefully sooner than later! :)

Gone Tomorrow

Its 9 PM... I leave in 12 hours. How crazy is that?! I can't believe it is here. I talked about it for so long... and now it is time. No more waiting. I am hopping on that plane in the morning and leaving the country... for 4 months! When I get back everything will be different. I already know it. I will be 21. I will be completely changed having walked where Jesus walked. I will have been stretched culturally and academically. Things will never be the same. And I cannot wait! Bring it on! See you in December!