There and Back Again...an IBEXer's Tale part 3

It's Christmas day. I just spent an hour showing my parents pictures and videos from my semester in Israel. I've only been back for two weeks and yet already {HOW I MISS IT}.

What do I miss, you ask? Where to begin...

1. Everything around me dating thousands of years back

2. Having both the text of Scripture in front of me and the land of Israel around me to study and explore...each complementing one another

3. The sunsets that take your breath away at Yad Hashmonah

4. Reading my Bible in the Biblical Gardens

5. The teachers/staff: The Schlegels, the Foremans, Natalie, Wendy, and Ariel

6. Shawarma

7. Hummus ;)

8. Chocolate croissants

9. Aroma's coffee

10. The simplicity of life

11. Talks with Rachel late at night

12. Hanging out with my three crazy friends: Laurel, Kayla, and Hannah (and the insane adventures that always happened whenever I was with them!)

13. Talks with John Heim, Ben Rausch, and Luke Wagner...that always made me laugh hysterically or think deeply

14. Richard and Cam being...Richard and Cam ;)

15. Talks in the hammock with Lydia

16. Pranking wars with Jon Bridges and Jake Yates

17. Natalie's coffee/small group talks

18. Our shopkeeper friends in the Old City

19. The learning that stretched me so much...but that molded me more than I think I have even yet realized (Benj's classes and Land and Bible in particular)

20. The cats everywhere (Stevie!)

21. Having cisterns, tunnels, and caves all around you...as beckoning playgrounds for you to enjoy

22. Singing Hodu L'adonai Ki Tov as we pulled back into the Moshav, after a field trip

23. Making coffee for the whole world with my french press

24. Great times studying in the library (taking vows of silence!)

25. Saturday Night Live/faculty dinners

26. Celebrating holidays together

27. Eating the amazing things the staff cooked (like Natalie's apple crisp, Stephanie's cakes and coffee drinks, all the amazing holiday food, etc.)

28. Playing with Sarah and Yair

29. Talks with Stephanie- getting her pearls of wisdom, while chatting in her kitchen

30. "Papa" Bill's jokes/teasing (some of his HILARIOUS comments on field trips are forever enshrined in my memory!)

31. "Uncle" Benj's slip-ups in class

32. The camaraderie, teasing, and love within our group...doing everything together (classes, field trips, celebrating holidays, living together, week long trips, church, small group, etc.) and being all that each other had for three months...hearing their voices, and seeing their faces EVERY DAY...even being able to creepily recognize their steps, handwriting, shadows, etc. Haha!

33. Late nights doing random things...going to the fortress or over the top decorating our dorm for Christmas

34. Movie nights in the Miklat

35. Every Saturday spent in the Old City

36. The transportation fiascoes that turned into hysterical adventures and that now make for the best memories and stories (*cough, cough* Hannah, Kayla, Dewey, and Cam!)

37. Ridiculous and stimulating conversations over lunch and dinner (normally when Luke Wagner was present...poor John Heim is all I have to say! "John Heim's soul is like an Alaskan mountain.")

38. Mafia, "Mr. Commissioner," Ninja, and Blowdart (yes, can't believe I mentioned the last one!)

39. Being on the bus together ALL THE TIME...sleeping, studying, talking, laughing, playing games, whatever- just being together

40. Having multiple girls pop their heads into my room to borrow scarves or clothes each day

41. Studying and drawing maps ALL THE TIME

42. My lovely Italian group: {Nate and Ben, Rachael, Amanda, Kristyn, and Laurel}...if the other IBEXers were my extended family, my Italy team was my immediate family... nothing like being stuck together for a whole week, having transportation issues, sleeping in the same room, sharing clothes, sharing small bathrooms, crying and laughing together, exploring Rome, Florence, and Siena, making awkward memories (hahaha Laurel!), going on nightly adventures, climbing on rooftops, etc.

43. Making videos for Bill (like our awesome Indiana Jones one!)

44. Magnum Bars

45. Being reminded of eternal things, spiritual warfare, and the world's need for Christ EVERY DAY (Muslim daily prayers, all of the religious buildings and structures, passing Orthodox Jews in the city, etc.)

46. Elvis Inn

47. "Grandpa" Ariel- his kindness, his beard, his Devora stories, the way he reads a book an inch away from his face, etc.

49. Having homework assignments such as: "Read the whole book of Deuteronomy in one sitting."

50. Tevas, sports bras, bandanas, headlamps, Nike totes, Nalgenes

51. Making lunches in the Miklat in the wee hours of the morning

52. Having secret sisters and brothers (writing notes and recieving notes, giving gifts and receiving gifts...and other things not quite so "giftly," such as toilet paper!)

53. When seeing lots of soldiers, tallits, tefillin, and kippahs is normal

54. Recognizing Hebrew everywhere/mezuzahs on door frames

55. Eating nutella, hummus, and pita bread by the pound

56. Shabban's shop

57. When a normal school day included riding a camel, cliff diving, jumping off of chalk cliffs, climbing Masada, snorkeling in Eilat, staying in a convent in Nazareth, etc.

58. When seeing the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, and passing the Citadel and Church of the Holy Sepulcher...was just another normal day in Jerusalem

[An Amazing semester].

[Immeasurable thankfulness].

[Bittersweet feelings]...but more sweet than bitter.

IBEX FALL 2011.

NEVER FORGET.

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!"
-Psalm 137