Jerusalem Judds

Pictures and captions done by Carrie

Commentary done by both Mom and Carrie

Leaving Utah

Last glimpses of our house...

In the car to the airport!

14 filled suitcases- each equipped with a polka-dot duct tape tag

Saying goodbye to grandpa

Total carry-ons (the picture is missing the pillow pets)

Eyelash car (bahahaha)

On the Plane

Frost on the window

Marshmellow clouds

Beautiful view :)

"Slight" detour because of storms.
This is the loopy path we took while waiting for the storm in New York City to blow over.

Going straight thru a cloud. Turbulence? Of course.

Finally reaching New York.

New York coming into view

JFK

Resting while waiting for our next flight

Isaac Stratford (9) and Amanda reading Calvin and Hobbes

Carrie suggested I tell about my conversation with a Jewish woman while waiting for the plane. There were dozens of Jewish families in the JFK terminal, many with children, and one woman saw the word "BYU" on my t-shirt and started up a conversation. Her name was Bracha (Hebrew for "blessing"), her husband was a rabbi, and she had been reading about Mormons on Wikipedia and was curious about what would cause someone to believe in our religion. This was still in America (therefore I was not subject to the LDS non-proselyting agreement with Israel) so I could answer her questions. She had some good ones, such as how someone could believe Joseph Smith's vision, not just because of the supernatural elements, but mostly because he was the only one who said he saw the angel and the plates, whereas the miracles of Moses were seen by an entire people (my answer: the Testimony of the Three and Eight Witnesses, a few of whom left the faith but continued to bear testimony of the gold plates). She asked how I could decide to be fully invested in Mormonism based on the spiritual and emotional experience of the Holy Spirit when many religions also have the analogous experience of the Holy Spirit (my answer: I am so grateful to be able to read and study the Book of Mormon and know by living its principles and by the gift of the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was inspired by God). Bracha also wondered how I could believe that God has a physical body when Aristotelian logic proves that a creator should not be made out of the same substance as his creation (my answer: God is the father and creator of our spirits, whose body is tangible, but glorified and immortal. When our spirits are one day separated from our bodies, they will live on, but in a limited fashion, waiting for the literal resurrection and reunion with their immortal bodies. Then I asked Bracha about praticing Judaism, and she described how intellectual study and role models influenced her choice to depart from the secularism of her parents and become a practicing Jew. She keeps kosher, covers her elbows and collarbone, and wears a wig to cover her hair. Our conversation was ended as other passengers boarded the plane, but we left exchanging emails and well wishes.

It was hard to sleep on the plane, but a fringe benefit of wakefulness was watching prayers at dawn (4:30 am New York time). The aisles, especially the east side of the plane, were full of Jewish men wearing prayer shawls and phylacteries as the sun found our plane, about 4:30 am New York time. Very neat to watch, but I didn't know whether it would be appropriate to pull out a camera. Or whether I could reach the camera under the tangle of pillows and sleeping bodies.--Jill

Our flight was originally scheduled for 8:30 pm, but was delayed till 10:00 pm. We had to wait on the plane for some passengers that weren't there yet... so by the time we started actually taxiing it was like 11:40. And even THEN we had to wait for the runway to clear up.
They didn't serve dinner till like 2 in the morning because of the turbulence. :P
Sorry there aren't any pictures: we were all too busy trying to sleep (and failing)

-Carrie

Tel Aviv (Ben Gurion)

Elizabeth Schade (8), Mary Stratford (10), and Amanda ready to go

Chillin' at the Tel Aviv airport

Elizabeth Schade and her brother David (7)
(sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)

Brother Stratford (with the car seat), and Brother Schade with his son Adam (11).

Linda Stratford (5) and her brother Joe (1 1/2)

Emily

And.... Emily

Amanda and her pillow pet

Bus ride to the Jerusalem Center

We were delighted to see Eran's daughter Hadas at the airport, as she is good friends with both Lisa and Carrie as well as very kind to all our girls. Hadas (Hebrew version of Esther) helped us make beds and roll suitcases around when we arrived. Our Jerusalem cousins have two boys around Lisa's age, but she pals around with Elizabeth Schade and Mary Stratford. Amanda and Emily have made friends with Linda and Abbie Stratford, as well as meeting new kids from the branch at church on Saturday. Megan and Carrie got reaquainted with Emily Williams and Cambree Oliver. --Jill

Me and Elizabeth were bus buddies in the back! ^.^ Why did no one get a picture of it...? --Carrie

Hadas Hayet (11) and Lisa

Adam

Isaac and David

Our new Apartment

Our apartment is soooo wide! It's so amazing how much space we have as opposed to last time. It's actually worth walking up 8 flights of stairs whenever you want to go somewhere. --Carrie

Amanda and Emily's room

Kid's bathroom

Amanda and Emily in Living area

View of main room from kitchen
(eek! Look how big! :)

Dining area

Oh look, it's me. This is the work area right before the hallway

Mine and Lisa's room
(small, but excellent view)

Megan's room (yes, she gets her own :P)

Master bathroom

Trip to Seven Arches

After lunch we took our families to the Seven Arches overlook, where photos just can't do justice to the majesty of the view. We looked down at the Jewish headstones with memorial rocks stacked on top, across the Kidron, then up the other side to the Palestinian cemetaries, the majestic walls, the huge Dome of the Rock on the huger Temple Mount/Haram es-Sharif, the tangle of archeology and steep roads and living places and livelihoods and contested real estate and holy places. Frank talked to the kids a little bit, and we all strained to see the Dead Sea through the afternoon haze. --Jill

Mary and Lisa

Elizabeth, Amanda, David, and Isaac

Linda, Elizabeth, and Amanda

Jewish graves on the mount of olives

To the right

To the left

Dad explaining stuffs

Windy day

Schades (well, some of them)

Stratfords
(Abby (3), is farthest to the left)

Yours Truly, the Judd Fam!

Oh, my

Yeaaaah.. that's my sister

Birds

Wanna kiss?

Our little gang

Random cat under a car

David right before he broke the case off the camera
(caught in the act mwahahaha}:-)
Look at his guilty little face

Dome of the Rock

I attempted to take a picture of the Dome but the camel got in the way

I love Jerusalem. *sigh* It's good to be back.

Then we said goodbye to the camel then drove to the overlook just north of the center. --Jill

Smoke in the city

Signs are written in
Hebrew
Arabic
then English

The tunnel to Jericho cuts right thru the Mount of Olives

There we recalled some of Jesus' and Nephi's experiences in the desert. The kids were happy throwing gravel over the side of the hill and just being kids. --Jill