Chocolate Oreo McFlurry

December 6-7, 2013

We had today completely free which was so nice! I lounged around that morning and ate breakfast then studied and took a quiz. After that we ate lunch and had a service activity. Those are my favorite. We listened to Christmas music and danced all over. I was towel duty, again. After that we went to the Old City for a few hours before dinner and we just went to our usual spots in the Old City. It was fun to see the shop owners again and they were all super excited to see us. After dinner we watched a movie and did laundry. It was a pretty good recovery day from Galilee.

Sabbath was such a fun day today! Church was really good and Brooke gave me a great idea to teach the young women about standing as a witness of God by doing a mock trial. They loved it and they did so good! It was really funny. Testimony meeting was bittersweet knowing that it was our last one there. I’m not ready to leave. And yet I am so ready to leave. I’m going to miss everyone so much. That’s the part that will be the hardest. After church I wasn’t feeling well and Sister Nickel took such good care of me and got me some hot water and lemon and some medicine. I was going to go out to the Garden Tomb or Garden of Gethsemane but Nichel and I had to strike again with the crafts. This time we made the biggest Christmas tree this place has ever seen. We set up shop in the Shekel Shack, put on The Santa Clause and started painting tons of printing paper green. We laid it out on the open ground to dry while we painted ornaments, cut snowflakes, and painted paper silver to make a chain and star. While Nichel cut out snowflakes I taped the tree together and cut it out. It’s huge. It’s over ten feet tall! We have a row of 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, and 1. It’s massive. It took forever. Four hours exactly. We taped everything on and then hung it up in the Shekel Shack. It reaches the lights and is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. That was my entire Sabbath afternoon. We watched the Santa Clause 1 and 2 during that time. Good things take time I guess. But goodness it brings me so much joy!! Then we had dinner and a fireside about the Dead Sea Scrolls from Brother Seeley who helped decode them. It was a fun time. After that we watched another Christmas movie and went to bed.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Today was my first full free day in Jerusalem!! Clinical is over!! I had that one free Sunday where we snorkeled in Elat, but I’ve never spent a full free day here in Jerusalem. After breakfast I went with a group to the Temple Mount. We got a few pictures and then it closed for prayers. After that we went to the Western Wall and said a few prayers.

Saying some prayers at the Western Wall

As we were there a MASSIVE rainstorm hit that dumped buckets and buckets on us. We were drenched. We sprinted through the Jewish quarter to find cover in the Jewish bakery but it was no hope, we were soaking. The streets were literally flooded and came up to my ankles. There was nothing we could do but just keep walking and get wetter and wetter. We made it to the bakery after wading through ponds and there were a bunch of us there seeking cover. I shared another one of those delicious chocolate cakes that I cried over (everyone calls them Cali Cakes now) and we waited for the rain to let up a little. We stopped by Shaban’s and Nacer’s shop and then we went to lunch that was supposed to be delicious according to the New York Times, but it was DISGUSTING! I tried a little bit of hummus and falafel and it was awful. I just stuck with the expensive Diet Coke I got and called it lunch. A bunch of people went back home because we were soaking and freezing. I decided to stay out with Jamie, Jordan, Kristen and Emily and meet up with a group of guys coming from the center to go to the Suk, an open air market in West Jerusalem. They caught up to us and it started raining pretty hard again. I was soaking and so cold and felt like a drowned puppy. Sean and AJ both gave me their coats because I was shivering. It didn’t help much that I’ve been sick with the black lung for the last few days. We wandered around til we found the Suk. It mainly had food and it was a pretty cool place but we were all freezing cold. We went back to the main street in West Jerusalem and then got some pizza, a crepe and hung out around the city and McDonald’s til the bus came back to get us. I was so cold. It was such a fun free day but I was beyond freezing.

Monday, December 9, 2013

We went on an awesome field trip today! We drove down to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It’s right along the Dead Sea. Which I guess is self-explanatory thanks to the name. But there were lots of caves there and of course some ruins. It was kind of warm out which I loved.

Cave where some Dead Sea Scrolls were found

Then we went to Masada which was another one of Herod’s palaces. This place was AMAZING!! It’s on the top of this massive mountain and we took a tram up there. We were put into groups and had to do a self-guided tour worksheet. I was with Beno and Tyler and together we created team Calerno! (Cali, Tyler and Beno). We dominated that place. It had gorgeous overlooks and was breathtakingly beautiful. I loved it!

Michael Jackson sat here. We commemorated by singing Thriller and Beat It

Siege Ramp

Team Calerno!

I rode the tram down and there was a McDonald’s there and I bought a Chocolate Oreo McFlurry. I can’t even begin to explain the joy and happiness that filled my entire heart, mind, body, soul and life as I ate that thing. It tasted like America. It was America. I’m coming home in a week and a half. There are so many foods I miss. I want a juicy, non-Kosher burger covered in bacon. I want to eat at Chik-fil-A. I want some Mexican food. I haven’t had that in four months. Even Taco Bell sounds incredible. Baja chalupa. Doritos Locos Tacos – nacho cheese style. Junior Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy’s. Wendy’s chocolate frosty. A massive smothered burrito from Café Rio. A pork salad from Café Rio. Diet Pepsi. Dad’s homemade popcorn. CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. Oh gosh!! Don’t get me started on sweets!!!!!!!!!!! I need American sugar and sweets. Homemade chocolate chip cookies. BROWNIES!! Ahhhh!! Brownies from the box. Cookie dough!! Brownie batter! Funfetti cake batter and then the real cake. Oh and yellow cake with chocolate frosting from the can. There’s so many beautiful things I’m missing in this world right now. Fanci Freeze. I want to go to Fanci Freeze. I want the Super Burger that has a nice slice of ham on top and is dripping in juices. I want the baby chocolate with Reese’s milkshake on the side and a massive side of tater tots!! Dipped in fry sauce. YES!!! A molten chocolate cake from Chili’s. I want Italian food. I haven’t had that in forever either. Teriyaki chicken fettuccine from Smoky Mountain Pizza and Pasta. Greasy hot pizza from Guidos. Pasta Bake. Fried lasagna appetizer from Olive Garden. Oh man, Olive Garden breadsticks!! Hot chocolate from the Cocomotion. Homemade tacos. Oh goodness, it all sounds so good. I could go on forever!

Anyways, I ate an Oreo Chocolate McFlurry and it was delicious. After that we drove to the En Gedi Nature Preserve and hiked along a wadi to some waterfalls. There were these little deer there that were so cute. AJ and I found a snail and named him Richard Parker 7. We let him go off one of the big waterfalls. It was a gorgeous hike through the stream and I loved wading in the water. It was beautiful!

That's the Dead Sea in the background

Then we drove to the Dead Sea and went floating! This was the most unreal moment of my life. I couldn’t believe it. I kept thinking I was going to drown but I just kept floating effortlessly. The salt was poisoning. A drop got on my lip and cut it open. It helped me find cuts I didn’t know I had like one on my neck that is now swollen and hurting. This was so awesome and I imagine it feels similar on the moon with no gravity. Such an unreal experience! We found the mud pots and covered ourselves in the mud then got in the water. My skin is as soft as a baby’s bum. The water wasn’t too cold for it being December 9^th! We floated around and read newspapers on top of the water. Such a fun time!

After that we came home and showered real quick before dinner and then watched the Christmas Devotional. That was a very good meeting. I loved it! It always makes me so excited for Christmas. It helped me remember my Savior and how blessed I am to be here where he was. I know he was here and the things I read about in the scriptures happened here where I walk every day. I can feel the Spirit and it testifies to me of my Savior and his love for each one of us. That’s what matters most during this time of year.

Tuesday-Friday, December 10-13, 2013

Tuesday morning we had New Testament class and then we had a nursing party. Sister Garbett made some delicious pumpkin muffins, hot chocolate and a bunch of fruit. We celebrated Lauren getting married and talked about what we’ve learned here. It was fun to sit with everyone and reminisce. After lunch I went out with Sean, Alex, Alex, Makena, Ross and Jonathan. We went to an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood that was quite the experience. As soon as we started walking down the street a guy came up and started yelling and waving his hands at us. We had no idea what he was saying so we walked around him and kept going. Everyone seemed to be running everywhere and they all had the big hats and black coats with long curls in the front and beards. I felt completely removed from anywhere else I’d been here. We found an awesome bakery there called Brooklyn Bakery and it was DELICIOUS! I got a brownie and Ross got a triple chocolate muffin. We shared half and half. I was in heaven. They were SOOO GOOD!! We made our way back and did homework and watched a movie.

Ross and I with our DELICIOUS chocolate goodies!

Wednesday we did so much homework. We had class and then worked on finals and studying. I didn’t have as much studying to do since I don’t have one of the classes so I just annoyed everyone by watching a movie, playing basketball, and doing whatever I wanted to! It was pretty nice. It was raining all day long today so no one went out and we all just stayed in and studied.

Thursday morning I woke up and it was SNOWING!! What!?! I didn’t even know that was possible! Jerusalem is gorgeous dressed in snow. We had a massively long nursing test in a room with big windows so I kept getting distracted by the snowfall. It was beautiful. I took a few breaks to go throw a snowball or take pictures. After the test Lindsay and I made a snowman with the Belnap kids and had a snowball fight.

It's a Christmas Miracle!!!

Then I got into a big snowball fight after lunch with AJ, Alex and Jordan. It was just target practice really. Then I went out to the city with Ryan, Nick, Jamie, Jordan, Alena, Rachel, and Kristin. It was still snowing and was slushy everywhere. We had to dodge puddles and little Palestinian kids throwing snowballs. Oh yeah, remember that one time when I got in a massive snowball fight with some Palestinian kids in Jerusalem. Oh yup, I remember that! Probably will never happen again. As we walked down the hill a group of about ten six-year-olds came running at us with hands behind their backs. Nick and Ryan grabbed snowballs and a war broke out. All the girls started running except me. I grabbed snow and took aim. I side arm pegged one kid in the face. It was a fun war. They followed us up the hill and that is the one and only time I will ever sprint up that steep thing. As we walked up the rest of the hill, Alena and I got hit in the back of the head with a snowball really hard. I turned around but the kids were at the bottom. We looked all over but couldn’t find them. We got hit again and realized some adults were throwing snowballs off the roof of their house. It was hilarious. As we walked past Herod’s gate we got in another war! This time it was with a group of teenage boys. They got us good. Again, all the girls ran except me. Nick, Ryan and I fought back and we were soaking. The snow was super wet and there was no point in trying to avoid puddles now. They followed us for about half a mile and kept pegging us with snowballs. We walked around the Old City and stopped at some guys shop that had a fire out front. They gave us chestnuts roasted on the open fire. Nichel and I sang the song to them and we stayed there to warm up for a bit and talk. They were so nice!

Then we went to Shaban’s to warm up and he gave us some hot tea. The entire city is shut down but Shaban stayed open because he knew we would come. He was right! We started sprinting back home because we started regaining feeling in our feet and they hurt so bad to walk on. We flagged down a bus and made it back to the center. I sprinted to my room, overly excited to get warm only to find my door locked. I went to the neighbors and got in their dry clothes and stood in their tub to get feeling back in my feet. It was freezing!! After that I spent all day in the center doing homework, playing basketball and watching Harry Potter. It snowed a ton all day long! It’s so beautiful!

Me, Sean and Alex

 Friday. Snow day. There has been a MASSIVE storm yesterday and today. It has dropped about a foot of snow and is still blizzarding full force. It’s absolutely beautiful but the building is so cold and there is tons of snow everywhere. This is the biggest storm that has hit Jerusalem in the last 50 years. I can’t believe how much snow there is. And it just keeps coming. We were pretty snowed in today. It’s also our last day of finals. I’m done. I’m all done with classes here now! What a feeling!!! I didn’t really study which has been nice. I did my New Testament take home final and turned it in. Nichel and I took a blanket to class because it’s so cold and is snowing like crazy. Then we spent a few minutes studying for our next final, ate lunch, then went and took it. After that we all celebrated our freedom by writing thank you cards to everyone here at the center. We were in the Shekel Shack listening to Christmas music and eating snacks. It was fun. Then I played volleyball and foosball. I’ve got all the time in the world now! We watched part of a movie and ate dinner before we had our Christmas Choir concert. The concert was fun and it was awesome to sing in the auditorium with huge windows that look out over the snow covered city and watch the blizzard fall. It was really fun. I got to play the jingle bells when we sang carols with the audience (which was everyone at the center since it was too snowy for the public to come). But the jingle bells look like a little child’s pacifier. I got a lot of slack for that one. After the concert we were still snowed in and freezing so we watched some movies, played games, played in the gym and went to bed. 

Saturday, December 14, 2013
This was my last Sabbath in Jerusalem. It was so sad. It was such a special sacrament meeting as I looked out over snowy Jerusalem. I felt the Spirit testify so strongly of Christ's life. I know He lives and that He loves each one of us. I am grateful for this opportunity to have learned about his life while here in the Holy Land. I had a very special experience today and it was hard to say goodbye to everyone.
We had a Branch Christmas Party after with treats that had the most delicious hummus. Then we watched A Christmas Story and had a party with Sister Woods. She knitted each of us girls a head band. She is so sweet! I am grateful for her example and love. We took some pictures outside on our last Sabbath here.
We had an amazing program in the auditorium about the Last Supper. The entire Old City got covered in fog and we couldn't see it and then all the power went out in Jerusalem. We were running on generators so it came back on but we couldn't see out the windows at all. It was a really neat experience and the Spirit was very strong and continued to testify of Christ and the sacrifice he made for us.

Nichel, Kristin, Me and Makena

Ross and I matched perfectly today!