Jerusalem Bells are Ringing

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been a few days but it is pretty busy, we are all cramming for our midterms which are on Thursday. So I won't be able to post until after that point. But on Sunday we had a free day so a group of us spent all day in West Jerusalem exploring different areas. Our first area was the YMCA Tower. Our Branch President plays the tower bells there every Sunday so we had the opportunity to go and join him. I had the chance of playing the bells when it struck noon! So when you sing the song "Jerusalem Bells are Ringing" you can think of me and how I was able to do that! Cool huh?

Afterwards we all enjoyed a nice lunch at one of the parks near by. On our free days they provide us with sack lunches which is dorky to carry around but none of us really mind because it is better than buying food! Afterwards we went back to that open air market and spent our money on these delicious donuts that we recently found! We had no schedule so we roamed around different Jewish neighborhoods, the first one we went to was the second settlement and on the outside of every house there was a picture of the original owners of the house and their story which were all very interesting. It was right off of a main road but the way the houses were built it blocked off all of the noise so it turned into a quaint stroll. It was also an artistic neighborhood so there were murals and little parks everywhere. The next neighborhood was not quite as friendly. This was an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood and apparently the entrance gates just got torn down. It was like crossing into a different world, everyone was dressed the same the men had their black trench coats and tall hats on while women were wearing black and white dresses. We were all fascinated by this neighborhood and there were signs everywhere that asked visitors to be dressed modestly. Of course we were but the people there were not welcoming, we got the hint when the men started spitting on us. we left quickly afterwards. I wish I could take pictures but they did not allow it.

After we left we ran upon an Ethiopian Cathedral. This was possibly the most unique cathedral that I have ever been to, it was painted hot pink and had crazy designs. But it was beautiful and air conditioned so we hung out there for awhile.

On Monday we had a Service Day where we all did different service projects. I was able to go to an organization called Shekel, they teach disabled adults different skills, provide a place t live, and have professionals that work with them. All of them are different functioning levels and they all do different projects. They help over 80,000 adults! We helped them assemble kits for the Israeli soldiers and make candles that they sell. Afterwards the whole group made hygiene kits for people in the community. The Church provided all of the money and support for the project but we went out and bought from local stores all of the products and then we assembled them and shipped them. We made over 150,00 hygiene kits!
Today has been a long because I have been cooped up all day studying but tonight we had a late field trip to the Kotel tunnels! I will tell you more about them after I have gone through them but I am really excited. So I forgot to post pictures from the Negev desert field trip so here are a few pictures. These are the areas where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived. It is the ruins of Beer-sheba