The Holyoaks in the Holy Land: January 2016

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Our New Digs

We are on the 5th level in apartment #501. Here are some photos taken
inside our apartment and view from our patio.

This is our living room. If you walk out the door, there is a good sized patio
with tables and chairs where you can sit and enjoy the view.

This is our tiny kitchen. When you have a smaller space, there is less to clean!

View from our patio. The sky is hazy again today.

The 8th floor hallway leads into the auditorium.

The Marcussen organ, made in Denmark, has 3,165 pipes but only 165 are exposed.
All the other pipes are hidden and behind panels.

This is the backdrop as you sit in the auditorium looking out.

Brent and Marybeth Jones, the music couple we will be replacing, took us to the market the day after we arrived. They will return to their home in Rexburg, Idaho, February 10th. Brent is a retired professor with a Ph.D in music and Marybeth is the current organist. They are a wonderful couple we have grown to love and admire. For weeks we have been corresponding via email and phone conversations prior to our arrival. The students love them and I am sure we will always remain good friends.

The produce was beautiful but when it came to shopping for basic staples, we felt like deer in the headlights because everything was written in Hebrew. Nevertheless, we came home with a few items such as milk, some fruit, sliced meat and cheese.

Friday, January 29, 2016

Driving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

As we drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we were so surprised to pass by lush farm lands along the way. Because this is the monsoon season, everything is green.

We were told we would never get lost as long as we followed the signs to Mount Scopus where the Jerusalem Center is located. However, it was rush hour and by the time we arrived, Kathy was car sick!

Finally, we arrived and were escorted to our tiny but newly remodeled apartment. We were excited to really be here but exhaustion from traveling hit us like a brick wall. We took a nap and woke up 6 hours later, just in time for dinner.

This was our first view from the patio off our apartment.

The dinner was delicious in the "Oasis," the cafeteria where the students eat. For the first time in our lives, we had the most delicious cream of spinach soup.

Arriving at JFK

We arrived at JFK without incident and were lucky to find the best place to eat, the Shake Shack, which was very close to our gate! After devouring milk shakes and hamburgers, we began counting down our 5 hour layover which turned into 18 due to an electrical issue on the plane. After a 10.5 hour flight, we arrived in Tel Aviv exhausted but eager to begin our new adventure. We were met but two men from the Jerusalem Center smiling from ear to ear holding a sign, "HOLYOAK." We said, "Give me five!"

This was the scene just before we pulled out of our garage and loaded all our bags into Don Alldredge's suburban! We were each allowed to check two 50 lb. bags and could carry on a 40 lb. bag and a backpack. To say the least, we were loaded to the max because in our carry-ons we had three laptop computers and all of my organ music. This is the beginning of our journey.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

One week before we leave Arizona!

This weekend has been bitter-sweet as family and friends came from several states to attend my organ recital last night and our farewell today. It was fun to gather for a recital at the Scottsdale North Stake's building and such a privilege to play their wonderful pipe organ. For the first time in my life, I felt an inner peace as I performed and also as I delivered my talk in church today. Was it perfect? Of course not, but those who came were there to support us and not to judge as we venture into a new phase of life in a new country. It meant the world to look into the audience and see people we had never expected to attend. We are so thankful for each of you and hope that as we share you might be enlightened.

Here are some photos from the weekend.