It took about an hour to hike from our hospice, down the Kidron Valley, and up to the BYU Jerusalem Center on the Mount of Olives, to  attend church.  Both Claire and Aaron were students at the Center while we lived in Yakima.  I was a student here in 1979 before the Center was built (I lived at Ramat Rachel Kibbutz).  The first students studied here in 1987.  For all of us, the Jerusalem Center is a very special place.

The gardens around the center display various olive presses.

The Center is situated on sacred ground.  You can feel it.  From the Center, the views of the Old City are spectacular!

Our Christmas Sacrament meeting was wonderful.  We joined the Saints in Bethlehem by Zoom, combining our meetings.  We had special musical numbers and thoughtful speakers.   It was good to be here in this place on this Christmas Eve.

I’ve always appreciated the sense of place.  I like to be where important things happened.  I like to feel the air and the ground and the things around me in those places.  Jerusalem is one of the most important places I’ve ever been or walked.  Jesus was here.  I feel closer to Him here and I like that feeling.   Sabbath Shalom.

We walked the grounds after church.  Claire is pointing to where we are staying on this map of the Old City.