This week we got to go to the City of David. It was interesting to go to such a politically symbolic place. It is a huge Jewish pride thing, completely ran by an organization of Zionist settlers that get lots of money from American Jews and Evangelicals. But it is literally right on the edge of a Palestinian settlement. So the land grab battle is ever raging. The settlers are willing to pay big money for Palestinians that are willing to sell them their property. However, to sell your land to an organization whose whole goals is to find evidence that proves that the Jews outdate the Palestinians and thus should have the rights to the land is becoming a traitor for the Palestinians. It is really complicated.
My favorite part of the day is when we got to go through Hezekiah’s tunnel. It is a tunnel that was build to shunt the water from the Gihon springs to the middle of the city, at the Pool of Siloam (which is where Jesus told the blind man to wash after he rubbed dirt on his eyes). Anyway, it is like shin deep water, and this 1/3 mile tunnel. The funnest part was when our little group decided to go savage mode, so we turned off all our headlands and went through the tunnel in pitch black. Then, to up the ante, we did savage speed mode, where you jogged (more like sloshed) through the water pretty fast in the pitch black, trying not to hit your head, hearing the yells “Faster, faster” of the people behind you, trying not to trip, laughing your head off. It was a really fun moment, although there was a time of two where I thought I was going to trip and fall into the water. It was really one of the funnest things I have done here so far. I love the places we go, but I really love the people I am here with, and they make things so much fun. We are like a big happy, young adult family. Like tonight at dinner, I was at a table with Josh Gill (who went to Russia), Brad Barber (who went to Bulgaria), Brian Passantino (who went to Argentina), and Chase McClowsky (who went to Brazil), and Alex Bertin (who went to Mexico) and they were telling their craziest mission stories and we were just cracking up the entire time, I could barely eat. They would just tell me mission story after mission story, and there would be a silence and they would just say “You are going to have so many hilarious experiences by the time you get off your mission Liza”. I think if there is anything I have learned from boy RM’s it is that missions are fun and funny. They are so hard, so frustrating, and you work harder on them than anytime in your life, but they can also at times be hilariously funny. Like they were telling rejection stories and just dying laughing at some of the funny ones, because they knew they just had to laugh it off, or become depressed, so they would just laugh. I want to be able to do that on my mission, keep my spirits up by just laughing.
Another fun thing I did this week was go to Jaffa street and the open air market and the Old Train Station in West Jerusalem. I also went to a waffle place on Jaffa street. I didn’t realize this until this week, but I really have been spending all my time in the Old City while I have been in Jerusalem. Which is great, because there are so many ld sites and ancient churches to see, but I have been missing out on all the modern, party places in Jerusalem. There is a whole side to Jersulem where everything is modern and there are adorable shops, and open air markets where they sell all sorts of spices and fruits. We had a falafel while walking through the open air market, and then as we walked through the rest of the market, one person would buy a special pastry and have everyone try a bite, and then the next person would get a loaf of braided bread fresh from the oven, and we would eat it and keep walking, tasting and smelling the culture of Jerusalem. West Jerusalem is also really clean, which I lovem because the Old City can be pretty dirty. West J also has a lot of public spaces. Like there is a cushion garden next to this big public park. The cushions look totally real, but they are actually made out of concrete. We sat on them for a while. There is also a big public fountain at Ben Gurion park, like the one in Gateway. West J reminds me a lot of Gateway.
We also went to the beach at Tel Aviv this week. Which was amazing, but I also got SOOOO sunburned there. I may or may not be peeling a little now. But it was worth it. It was like any beach in California. So nice. I loved the Mediterranean Sea, it was the temperature of cool bathwater, and the sun was shining. Really, it was the perfect day weather wise, I was just too exited to let the sun screen sink in before running into the waves. But the Med Sea is way saltier than normal oceans, so when you got a mouthful of water, you really felt it.
Really, it is moments that defined this week. The moment of being thrown up in the air over a big wave by Jordan, Mike, and Ben at Tel Aviv, feeling exited, hearing the laughter of 40 of my new best friends playing in the ocean with me. The moment of sloshing through Hezekiah’s tunnel, full of thrill, hearing Brad laughing and whooping behind me in the pitch black. The moment of laughing while dancing to Backstreet Boys with Josh and Jess Smith at the Jerusalem Center dance on Friday. The moment of being cold enough that I wanted to go inside while talking to Bria on Tuesday, but not wanting to end the conversation, because then she was going to get set apart and I wouldn’t get to talk to her again for two years. Again laughing at all the fun memories we shared over the past year that we were roommates. The moment of laying on my bed, laughing with my roommates about stupid things. The moment of talking to my mom about all the spiritual experiences and realizations I am having here, while looking out at the beautiful view from my balcony, and realizing how God knew what he was doing with me all along. Sometimes I feel that I could stay here forever.
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