Field Trip Day part 1

So I am a few days behind so I will start off with Sunday which was a free day for us so we set off to the town! During the morning we meandered around the old city just absorbing the culture. We made our way to the Armenian Quarter and we found a new church! It is a Franciscan church. This church was gorgeous and had the largest crucifix that I have ever seen. Then today we went on a field trip to that same church and we found out that Orson Hyde stayed here when he was dedicating this land and had carved his name into the door. cool huh?

We arrived at the perfect time because we got to see a baptism! 

The next stop was at another church that was actually closed but the security guard allowed us to go in (the perks of being mormon). So we had our own time within the church and then we saw a staircase going down so we had to check it out. It was pretty spooky because there was no lights so we had to just use our cameras. We found out that it was the catacombs. pretty eery but way cool.

Afterwards we headed over to West Jerusalem and we saw a protest happening. There were all these people in tents and mini houses. They were protesting the high living prices.

So we kind have a slogan at the JC and it is "Never Stop Exploring" we say it all the time. While we were at the North Face store in the Mamilla we found out that it is also their slogan so we picked up a ton of cards that said it and we carry it around with us. 

This is our "Never stop Exploring" look

That night we went out to eat on Ben Yehuda street, there are always street musicians and we always have to stop and dance so this is my friend Adam, breaking it down for us.

We went Israeli dancing that night and then played games in the park. We were out for 12 hours! So exhausting but amazing. 

The next day we went on a field trip around Jerusalem. The first stop was at the Burnt House, which was a ancient house that was owned by wealthy Sadducees. 

One of my favorite things that we went to was the archaeological park that contained some of the original stairs and gates. This was a cool experience because we know that Christ was at these steps and at these exact gates.

The story where Christ was tempted by Satan at the Pinnacle of the temple. Well this is the Pinnacle and the next picture is the actual stone where the trumpeter stood. 

This is the ancient market area. Possible location of Christ yelling at the vendors?