First days in Jerusalem!

In this picture, we are getting ready for the 12 hour flight from New York to Tel Aviv, Israel. We left Tuesday morning at 9 and got there on Wednesday at 5. The plane was eye opening for me, there were several ultra Orthodox Jewish men on it and they would stand up frequently during the flight and start praying (which involved swaying back and forth and ignoring anyone who tried talking to them). We were supposed to sit by them but because we are girls, they refused and sat somewhere else. I knew from that first flight that it was going to be an eventful 4 months!
Hello Jerusalem! The building in the middle of the trees towards the top is where I live. The Jerusalem Center is gorgeous, and the view is incredible.
This is the patio of my room with my roommate, Stephanie. We walk out to an overlook of the whole city. I can't describe to you how pretty it is. All throughout the city are tall towers that have speakers so the Muslim prayer call can be heard throughout the city. They pray 5 times a day, my personal favorite is the one that occurs at 4 a.m. Let's just say I am an early riser now because of it.

This is the view at night and I still can't believe I am here.

This is the Damascus Gate, which is the main entrance to the Old City.

At first we were a little intimidated by the Israeli Army who were everywhere you looked. But as soon as we started talking to them, they were really nice, they even wanted pictures with us. The women are required to be in the army for 2 years, the men for 3 years.

After church on Shabbat (which is on Saturday here), we went to the Garden Tomb where they say Jesus resurrected from. I was able to go into the small tomb and I was really humbled to be there. The tomb and the area around it had a calm, peaceful atmosphere and I left feeling especially blessed to have had that experience.