Bethlehem et al

Church of the Nativity

Herodian

All of us at the top of Herodian


All of us atop Herodian (Back row:
Katie, Meridith; Middle: Me, Zahar, Melissa)

In the extensive water tunnels
at Herodian (also used as rebel hideouts
during the First Jewish revolt and
Bar Kohkba)

Lunch! Traditional
Palestinian Salads. YUM.

The wall, from the Israel side

So this weekend I went to Bethlehem with a great bunch of girls--Meredith Marshall, Melissa Shipp, and Katie Jensen. We visited an LDS woman named Zahar who lives in Bethlehem. She joined the church when getting her masters in statistics at BYU a few years ago. Her situation is poignant--she is only allowed into Israel to attend church 3-4 times a year. Meredith was asked to be her visiting teacher (yes, we did receive visiting teaching assignments) and so we all visited her this weekend. We went to the Church of the Nativity, Herodian (awesome ruins of Herod the Great's summer palace), and to an awesome restaurant called The Cave--great food and great atmosphere! We did happen upon some rioting on the way home. It was eye-opening. More on that later. But we passed through the wall safely and went to church the next day.