time flies when you're...having fun?

 One year ago today I returned home from the best four months of my life. I will forever remember my semester at the Jerusalem Center as a time that shaped me and helped me to become the person I am today. I've been reading through my Jerusalem journal all summer because I love seeing what I was doing one year ago each day. Today's entry broke my heart a little, but mostly it made me feel extremely grateful for the testimonies and friendships that I gained.

I literally met some of my very best friends last summer. Although our lives have moved on and we are in different places now; I still consider these girls (and Dwight) my very best friends. Even though we sometimes go a few weeks or even months without seeing each other- we can always seem to pick up right where we left off. I feel like we just understand each other.

While reading through my journal, one of the things I was most amazed about was how frequently I bore my testimony, especially during the last couple of weeks.

On August 7, 2012 I wrote:

"I've been to Bethlehem where Jesus Christ was born. I've been to Galilee where he chose to spend much of his life teaching and prophesying. and I have LIVED in Jerusalem where he lived, suffered for my sins, was arrested and condemned, and eventually died for me on Calvary."

I will never stop being grateful for my time in Jerusalem. I will never forget what I learned and how I felt. I am so grateful that I decided to keep a detailed journal; I will cherish those dramatic stories, memories, and most importantly testimonies of Jesus Christ for the rest of my life.

I've been home an entire year and have yet to go a single day without thinking about my summer in Jerusalem. I thank my Heavenly Father almost daily for that incredible opportunity.

On our very last Sabbath in Jerusalem, Sister Squires had us sing "This is the Christ." That song literally brings me to tears every time I hear it. Singing that song was a defining moment of my Jerusalem experience. An experience for which I will be forever grateful.


"I read His words, the words He prayed
While bearing sorrow in Gethsemane.
I feel his love, the price He paid.
How many drops of blood were spilled for me?
With Saints of old in joyful cry
I too can testify:
This is the Christ."

Small recap of my last day in Jerusalem:

Dome of the Rock with my groupies. You can't even see the whole building, but the people matter more. 

Thanking my Heavenly Father in Hebrew for my Jerusalem experience!

Don't make us go!

My beautiful roommates. 

My last sunset in my favorite city. 

Adopted grandparents for a summer