The other day I was looking through some old pictures on lappy and I stumbled upon this gem:
This was my first picture in Jerusalem. You can tell it's early on in the trip because of how warmly we're dressed. Ha! I'm pretty sure that jacket never saw the light of a Jerusalem day again. I love everything about this picture. I love the backdrop and the people and most of all I love that when I took this picture I barely knew them! I remember everyone standing around and jumping in each others pictures even though no one knew each other. Now it feels like they're family. You might not understand this unless you went to Jerusalem but it's true!Lindsey is on the far left. She was one of the first Jerusalem people that I met because we flew with only one other girl from SLC to IAD. Right off the bat I knew I would love her. She is maybe the nicest person on the planet. Truly. She remembers everything you tell her about your life and then she'll ask you about it later. This isn't a skill I possess so I always feel a little bad when I meet people like this because you realize how good it feels to have someone who cares about your life! She's a piano performance major and she makes playing the piano look soso sexy. Just when you think you have her all figured out she'll tell you something about herself that will totally rock your world. Like maybe that she was almost engaged to a guy she met in Ireland a few years ago. WHAT?! Or that her parents are hippies?! But everything I found out about her just made me love her more. And is she not bea-u-tiful? Come on. You know you were thinking it.
Brooke "the tall" is next to Lindsey. Over the summer, if you wanted to distinguish between the two Brookes you would either say "the tall Brooke" or "the short Brooke". I don't know if we just couldn't remember their last names or what but that is how it always went. She really is tall. She's a few inches taller than me which means she's at least half a foot taller than "the short Brooke". Brooke and I both went to DI for most of our Jeru wardrobe but got one pair of perfect Jerusalem pants from F21. Unfortunately, I left mine in a hotel in Luxor and Brooke's shrunk ever so slowly over the summer. Really! Like 1/8 of an inch every time she washed them until it was to the point that she had to roll them up to make it look like she was wearing capris on purpose. Luckily we managed to get one really great picture before these catastrophes struck. If you could determine how cool someone was by the number of stamps in their passport (which might actually be a pretty good gauge), Brooke would be my coolest friend.
And then there's Christian. What to say about Christian? He is like no one else I've ever met. If you knew him (and you might) then I'm sure you would agree with me. Christian is a singer/dancer/thespian/counselor/historian/scriptorian/etc. Basically he's a renaissance man. Christian and I formed a special bond over the summer because he was the only one who appreciated the videos Adam would send me of his niece as much as I did. Maybe even more! He would always ask me to replay them for him and then he would quote them to me at just the right time. Exactly when I needed it. How did he always know?! I was lucky enough to see him when I was in Utah and we got to break it down together at our friend's wedding. Maybe for the last time! In January Christian is leaving to preach the good word to the people of Paris, France. I know he'll be great. As Brother Whipple put it, "it's perfect for you because you're so flamboyant".
So there you have it. I miss these kids and all my other JC peeps. The good news is that it's almost time for our one year reunion trip to Jerusalem! Right guys? Right?
