An update and catchup

It's been over a month since I've written. So I'm a horrible blogger... Sorry, I'll work on it for the last few weeks here. The problem is I get behind and don't know how to start to catch up. I want to tell of all my stories and experiences, which is totally impossible, so I just get further behind.
And so, where do I start? Well, I don't have too much time to write. I have a load of papers and finals coming up. There have been many adventures and lessons learned in the last couple of months; I could probably spend a month writing about them alone. Unfortunately I have about half an hour.
To begin, I am doing well. I am truly enjoying my classes, field studies, the city, my professors, and of course, the wonderful kids who I am spending this semester with. I've been on some pretty amazing trips in the last month. We've studied in Galilee, Jordan, Golan, Mt. Carmel, south to the Shephela, and many other places around Israel.
Maybe, if I can actually make sure I get on and blog a bit each day, I can tell about each of these a bit. They were truly amazing experiences. One of my favorite trips was my spring break to Egypt with four of my friends here, Andrew, Jenna, JE, and Megan. This one I will have to write about more the next chance I get. It was an amazing experience. We climbed Mt. Sinia and slept under the stars at the top (surrounded by Bedouwins), got our passports confiscated by the Egytian Police (good story), went scuba diving in the Red Sea, swimming in the nicest hotel I've ever stepped foot in (another good story), snorkeling in the Blue Hole (one of the most dangerous diving sites in the World), and four-wheeling in the dessert. We lived cheaply in $3 a night hotels right on Dahab's rocky coast and little grass huts on the beach of the Red Sea. We ate grilled calamari, shrimp, and baracooda, followed by giant milkshakes in large grass hut restaurants just feet from the water for less than a meal at Panera. However, rather than the things we did and saw I will most remember the trip by the people I shared it with met along the way. From Benduke, the worker at a small bedouwin camp who played music for us to Sasha, a young Russian man who travelled with us for a couple of days, God blessed our interactions with the people we crossed paths with during our trip. It will definitely be an experience that I will remember and look back fondly on the rest of my life.
I can probably say that for all my experiences here though. Its incredible what I am learning here. Through the classroom and through every other aspect of this experience including the culture, the city, politics, religions, community, and friendships. Sometimes (actually many times) I find myself complaining because I am feeling overwhelmed by school or upset by the culture here. While I do not think that these are unreasonable feelings, I need to remind myself of how blessed I am to be having this experience. Coming here was not even a reality until this past semester, and even then I would have never imagined how much it would change me. I have so much to thank God for. I'll be honest, this city and country is quite a mess, and the situation looks so hopeless, especially for Christians here, but God is certainly using the place. He has in my life anyway.
Despite how thankful I am and how much I've loved this experience, I am also excited to come home. I have less than three weeks left here and with all the work I still have to do, time is flying by fast and the end is approaching more quickly than I am ready for, especially as far as leaving the community we have built here. Its kind of pardox I can't quite explain.
I can definitely spend some time speaking of all I miss at home though. The more time I spend here the more proud I am of where I come from. While there are things in the culture here that I wish I could bring back to America, I definitely am learning to appreciate the wonderful country I come from. Like I said, I could write a whole lot more on this, but unfortunately I do not have the time now. Back to the books!
Peace be upon you friends,
Molly Joy