Life in these parts

Sabbah Kaer.
First off, blanket apologies for my laziness in not putting anything up in a while. Its been an intense last week and a half. Arabic has only gotten more and more intense, and now we are in the middle of country at war. Thanks for all the notes of concern and for all those who called my mom and told her that they were praying for us, that really meant a lot to her. I don't know if you'll ever read this, but thank you very much.
As it stands right now, we are about as safe as you can be in Israel. The only real threat to us, the bomber caught two days ago at Jaffa gate (which is only twenty minutes from Mt. Scopus, I can see it from my classroom) is not really a new worry or threat. That is a constant danger here. Also, even if Hezbullah had the capabilities, they would probably not bomb Jerusalem as so many major religions consider it holy, not the least of which is themselves.
I just thought I'd share some snapshots of the living here the last few weeks.

Photo Notes:
1. The Friar and I - that is a real franciscan friar there people - his name is Antonio and he is learning Arabic so that he can minister to those in his congregation that speak Arabic. The guy is really smart, already speaks latin, spanish, italian, english, and now is trying Arabic. Amazing. I always get a kick out of the thought of him sitting in the monastery prepping for an exam.

2. Taylor doesn't really like schwarma - a couple of days ago we went to the arab souk under the city. That cafe is actually under Jerusalem, I liked the juxtoposition of Taylor with the guy in the background. We really do stick out that much sometimes.

3. Morning from Mt. Scopus- because of where the hills are, the sun hits Jerusalem before Mt. Scopus.

4. Devotions overlooking the Arab village to the east

5. Street vendors at Damascus Gate.