2026 Week 2, Winter Semester Kickoff

 

Ready or not, here comes another semester!  

91 BYU students arrived for the study abroad program last week, then they sit through a bunch of orientation meetings while they are jet-lagged.  As soon as we can, we take students on a walk through the old city to get them ready to go explore.  They will have free time after classes, and they can go visit the old city and West Jerusalem in groups of three.  The orientation walk is a fun time to get to know 15 students' names, walk down and up again through the Kidron Valley, zigzag through the Old City, and explain a few unique things about Jerusalem.

  This is a photo of Damascus Gate, which was built over top of an arched gate from Roman times.  So the current gate is on top, and the Roman gate is down below.  This is an interesting view showing how the ground level of the city has risen over the years.   The old city is amazing and confusing and charming, a cacophony of people and churches and alleyways thronged with shoppers and shopkeepers and tourists.    

We show students how to find a few key landmarks and assure them they will have time to go back and explore further.  

One important landmark is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the heart of the Christian Quarter.  This cat seems right at home sitting on the construction supplies in the courtyard of the church.  

Our trip to the old city ends at Jaffa Gate, near David's Citadel.  

 The students' orientation meetings include a lot of information about security and regulations like where they can go, what they can wear, and what to do in case of air raid siren, which is try to reach the nearest shelter in 90 seconds or less.   The Jerusalem Center  building has 2 bomb shelters.  The level 2 bomb shelter has ping pong equipment, and the level 6 bomb shelter has foosball, so at least we can distract ourselves from the anxiety we would probably be feeling if a siren goes off.  

Another beginning-of-semester tradition is visiting the Augusta Victoria church of the Ascension.  The beautiful interior was matched by a beautiful welcome from the pastor, who told us about several outreach efforts aimed at increasing community connection between Christians, Arabs, and Jews in the area.  They hold sunrise services, children's events, and prayer services where all are welcome.  Their focus comes from the mosaic in the curved arch, where the angel on the left points to Christ, as if saying, We center our belief on Christ and allow people to believe how they choose.  Meanwhile the angel's other hand is pointing toward us, as if to say, we live our belief in Christ by doing good in the world we find ourselves in.

On a field trip early in the semester we take students around Jerusalem for some overlooks, such as Mar Elyas, a hill south of Jerusalem from which we can see Bethlehem on the other side of the separation wall.  

From the same hill, looking north you can see Ramat Rachel, where BYU Jerusalem students used to stay before the current building was built.  That would have been a long trip in to the center!  We can also see towers on the Mount of Olives from this location.

Another location we visited is Nebi Samwil, which means the prophet Samuel.  This crusader era building in northwest Jerusalem houses a mosque and also a synagogue, and is surrounded by ruins dating back thousands of years.  

Here is the door to the mosque.  As we entered the Nabi Samwil park, we could hear the call to prayer broadcasting loudly.  We saw Muslim men gathering to pray, including the man in charge of the snackbar, who locked the door to his workplace and prayed with the others.  

Nearby are several tombs, one of which has a heavy square plug made of rock which would have been used to close off the tomb to prevent anyone or anything from entering.  The square plug was an alternate type of closure for tombs in ancient times.  

Jumping to other topics, I've had a few more social opportunities this week, which is very nice.  I enjoyed lunch at Askedinya with women from the branch.  I had some nice beetroot and sweet potato gnocchi with tomato basil sauce.  

I had lunch plans with Sana after church, and who should appear at church but long-time friends John and Heather Howell who were visiting from the U.S.  So that was pleasant company!  And I was grateful that my gluten-free brownies turned out okay!  Chocolate chips, butter, sugar, eggs, and cocoa powder made a very moist, fudgy pan of brownies.  

A few days later, I was making a meal of baked ziti for a family in the branch who doesn't eat dairy.  Luckily my neighbor had sine extra almond milk, and I was grateful to be able to make dairy free bechamel sauce with almond milk.  It's always nice when recipes can be adapted for individual needs and avoid dietary triggers.  

Speaking of food, our favorite Jerusalem fruit right now is called a pomello.  It looks like a huge grapefruit, but it is more sweet and less messy, once you get through all the layers.  The rind is very thick, with a half inch or more of pith all around.  Inside, the core is the size of a regular grape-fruit, wrapped in another layer of membrane, so each segment has be individually peeled.  

It takes a while to get through the defenses of this fruit, but a good pomello is worth all the effort!  

I had the chance to help with primary on the first Sunday of January.  There were 2 children and 4 adults, and the objective was to introduce the Old Testament which is the topic of study for this year.  The lesson was by Gaye Strathearn, and as she testified of God's love as expressed in creation and covenants, she took the time to look at each person in the room and say, "Jesus Christ loves you, [saying their name]."  I was struck that she made a point to individually tell each person how loved they are.  We are a faith community, but we are also individuals each hoping to grow closer in relationship with Jesus Christ.  After that I helped the children sing songs while doing yoga poses to get our wiggles out.  

I hope you find ways to take the ingredients life hands you, unwrap them, or combine them to make something sweet, and share it in a way that makes someone feel individually loved, even if that someone is you!