Shalom!!

Hey!! Shalom from Jerusalem!! I am finally here in beautiful Jerusalem! The Jerusalem Center (JC) is so beautiful!!! When we drove up to it last night I was in awe!! It's in an amazing location looking out over the city of Jerusalem. I just stood out on the deck last night drinking everything in. The location of the JC is absolutely amazing! I feel so blessed to be here and to get to know such wonderful people.We had an orientation last night, and had a tour around the center. My favorite part was when we went into the auditorium and had a meeting. The curtains were opened, so we could look out on the city during the meeting. Brother Galbraith, one of the missionaries here, played a short organ concert. He played two selections from Fiddler on the Roof (Sunrise, Sunset and Tradition). I just had tingling through my whole body as I listened to that beautiful music and looked out over the city. We got to our rooms (with some help from some wonderful young men) and unpacked. I wanted to get everything unpacked so I wouldn't have to worry about it today. I really like my roommates and have enjoyed meeting new people. I ended up getting to bed at around 12:30.I was awoken at 5 this morning by prayer chanting. 5 times a day passages of the Koran are chanted over loud speakers throughout the city. It was beautiful, and I took the opportunity to soak it all in. One of the professors said that whenever he hears the chanting, he is reminded to say a prayer as well. I think I'm going to start doing that. I was able to ride the bike this morning, then get ready for the day. We ate breakfast, then had a 2 hour orientation meeting. Then we had the opportunity to tour the city. It was absolutely amazing!! The sites, the smells, the spirit that is in this place is unbelievable. You read about certain places in the scriptures, but it makes the scriptures so much more real when you get to actually see those sites!! I will admit, I was a little nervous, especially when we would go through back streets and everyone was so packed in together. We had some really good Palestinian bread with a certain spice we could put on it (I forget the name), and it was amazing! Seeing all the shops and buildings was very interesting. It will be fun to explore some of them in more detail later on. East and West Jerusalem are so different. East Jerusalem is Palestinian and it has the feel of what I expected Jerusalem to look like. West Jerusalem (the Jewish district) is much more modern and European. I must admit I felt more comfortable in this area, but East Jerusalem seems to have a lot more history. It was a long hike through the city (5.2 miles) and my feet hurt right now, but it was worth it. Now that I am more familiar with my surroundings, my fears are a bit lessened. It will be wonderful to spend my free time in the city, having such wonderful experiences. Bye for now and I will post more soon!