Hezekiah's Tunnel

 purty purples.

 A harp at the gate leading to the City of David. Naturally.

 Finally an excuse to bust out the headlamps (Thanks mom and dad! :))

 Descending down to the tunnel

 Splashing, dancing, and frolicking through the tunnel. We are definitely going back here multiple times-it was SO much fun and went by much too quickly.

 This tunnel was built in 701 BC by two teams, one starting each end of the tunnel. They dug towards each other and eventually met up somewhere in the middle. So there are some sharp curves as the tunnel winds back and forth through the ground...but pretty amazing that they successfully completed the tunnel using such an unusual method. Without modern technology no less.

 Mural near the Pool of Siloam.

 We had a little devotional at the Pool of Siloam (there used to be water here) and talked about the story in the Bible of Jesus healing the blind man at this very spot. Cassidy read one of her original poems, At His Feet, which referenced this story as well. This place has such special significance, and it was wonderful to reflect on Christ's many miracles in the very spot where one such miracle occurred.

Passover Meal

After my last post about our Arab culture night,  it's only fitting to now blog about our Seder (Passover) Meal, which was basically an Jewish culture night.

   

 Each table was complete with fancy place settings, grape juice, and the 'Seder Plate', which has the symbolic items eaten throughout the meal (bitter herbs, lettuce, chicken, egg, charoset)

 I love my little one.

 The Seder meal was led by our professor, Ophir Yarden. He brought his adorable little son with him, and I couldn't resist taking sneaky pictures of him. We went through the whole Passover book by reading the text (in Hebrew and English), singing songs, and listening to performances. It was so interesting to experience this part of the culture. I love that music is such a focal point for Jewish culture-it was fun to sing along and listen to the performances.

 Here is a progression of each course:

 Salad

Fish (the best fish I've had here so far...I loved it!)

Delicious stuffed chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies

 2 courses of dessert: a bowl of chocolatey goodness and then a plate of goodies to share around the table. The amount of sugar that I consume here is insane.


Our amazing chefs, who treat us so well and make such delicious food for us every single day.

 The rappers: "When I say PASS, you say OVER!"

Someday I'll post the video-they totally rocked it!

 So much laughter with these friends.

 Vladimir, sharin' his hugs.

Arabian Nights

A night filled with Arabian music, food, dancing, and FUN!

 Despite all the delightful Arabian food, we were stoked to have some apples.

 Abrahim teaching us traditional Arab dances- SO fun!

 B and I got matching purple genie pants...with built-in fanny packs. BEST PURCHASE EVER.

 Roomie lovin'

Makara, Vladi, y yo: all decked out in our Arabian gear.

Shephelah

 So much love for my little one. 

 Sharing headsets and black rain jackets

 I love the way that rain brings out colors of the lush green countryside. 

Oh just an average night in J-ru. 

Jordan: the finale

 We spent our final day in Jordan climbing massive amounts of stairs and singing hymns in an ancient Roman theater.
 Vladi, Wesley, me, y Bailey

 Traditional Bradshaw/J.Rowdy pic :)

El grupo 

 We ended the day at the Jordan River, the site of Jesus' baptism. This was a really special experience for me...we read the account of his baptism in the scriptures, sang hymns together, and then had some time for reflection. I loved the good feelings we created through our music, and for the time to ponder on the Savior's life.

 So much laughter with this one. 

With our feet in the Jordan River.