If you're visiting this page, then you probably already know that we will be living in Jerusalem for 1 year while Frank teaches at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Our school-aged kids will go to the Anglican International School at Jerusalem, and we anticipate they will learn a lot from the multicultural student body, small class sizes, and a rigorous curriculum. They will learn either Hebrew or Arabic and Bible studies along with their other classes. (Actually, Megan is taking French.)
Frank attended the Study Abroad program as an undergraduate for six months, and he is looking forward to having family home evenings on our balcony overlooking the city. I have never left the country before (unless you count Niagara Falls), and I am looking forward to the stretching we will all be doing so far out of our comfort zone. In addition to the spiritual and historical experiences, I hope we will all meet interesting people, pick up Hebrew and Arabic phrases, and learn to love more varieties of food. Our daughters are excited about living in the Jerusalem Center (a door is being built to connect two apartments) and hanging out with college students and our "Jerusalem cousins," the Muhlesteins. The youngest ones haven't flown in an airplane before, so we're hoping the novelty helps them through some of the 16 hour flight.
We think we are prepared for some of the differences, but in reality I'm sure we have no clue what we are in for. Frank's schedule will be packed, church is on Saturday, driving will be a challenge and also an area we must economize, and friends and family will be far away. But we are comforted by many factors. First, we genuinely like our family. We have fun together and we get things done when we work together. So we'll be with some of our best friends. Second, we are confident that our experiences will help our family grow in ways we might not have if we didn't jump at this chance. Third, we believe the faith that holds us together here will sustain us there. If we can feel near to God as we try to follow him in America, surely we can do the same in Jerusalem. And fourth, we hope many of you will keep in touch electronically. You can email us at our old email address, or jerusalemjudds@gmail.com.
