20 Years Ago--Arriving in the Holy Land

Twenty years ago this fall I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad at the BYU Jerusalem Center. It was a dream come true and a fantastic experience. Like many things though, I don't think I fully appreciated it at the time. A few weeks ago I decided it would be fun to remember and relive those memories over the next few months. Here's an excerpt from my journal on the day we arrived:

August 31st, 1989, 1 a.m. Jerusalem time

"The bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was 45 min. to an hour, so we had to sit awhile longer, but I was just glad to get off the airplane! I can definitely wait 'til December to get on another one! The bus trip was neat though. Israel is surprisingly green. In some places it reminded me of Georgia and Florida and in others of northern California. Bro. Green said all the trees have only been there since 1948 when the Israelis started converting barren hills to forestland. He also pointed out where an Arab took over a bus and ran it off the road last week, and where empty shells of trucks still sit on the side of the road as reminders of the 1948 war."