BYU Jerusalem Fall 99

Benji and Jenn Harry

2009-09-17T04:27:00.001-07:00

Hi, it is Benji Harry.  Wow, it was great to read all the updates.  It
sounds like many have been on further adventures after our semester in
Jerusalem.  It was great to hear from Candy, I had always talked with
Jenn about how he had fallen off the face of the earth after his
wedding reception, and he truly did!  I was lucky enough to have
served on my mission with him as well, so it was doubly fun seeing him
in Jerusalem (Doug Warner also was in our mission – gab es noch jemand
anders?).

Jenn and I have had a few turns around the US (nothing compared to
Candy’s), but we have had fun.  Babys seem to come with long moves, we
seem to be shadowing Jill Newell, and we have always looked back on
our Jerusalem times fondly.

Well, after Jerusalem, we started dating in April of 2000.  Jenn and I
were both at BYU.  Since we knew each other so well from being friends
at Jerusalem the time before we got engaged was pretty short, and we
were married in August of 2000.  We remember a good deal of Jerusalem
buddies coming to the reception!

Jenn graduated from BYU in spring 2001.  Then started working at the
Library at BYU.  I finally graduated in Spring 2002, and with Jenn
pregnant we zoomed off to the Twin Cities in Minnesota so I could
attend graduate school.  Our first son, George, was born in January
(in Minnesota that is NOT kind – it didn’t get above zero for over
three weeks!).  Jenn worked some and we survived the cold winters, but
we were ready for a break from the ice.

After two years there (2004), Jenn was pregnant with our second and we
zoomed off to LA (seeing a pattern here?).  In LA, I started further
graduate work at UCLA and worked at the University teaching German and
then had multiple jobs in the Hollywood industry (it was fun, but all
the driving was crazy).  In February, our son Isaac was born.   I
constantly held multiple jobs (DreamWorks, Walt Disney, and others),
and Jenn worked out of the home as an event planner (I remember going
to pick up 400 pounds of pumpkins at the LA farmers market for a
carving event), and helped with a pre-school and music time for the
kids in the family housing complex.  Jenn even had a Jill Newell
sighting in Santa Monica!

Graduating in 2006 with a second masters degree I thought it might be
nice to start making money rather than piling up student loans.  So, I
took a job at the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the Media
Archivist.  So, with Jenn pregnant . . . nope, our daughter Eleanor
joined us 8 days before we zoomed off to Cooperstown, NY.  Back to the
land of 9 month-long winters.

We loved our time in Central New York.  We got down to the City for a
trip once, went to the Palmyra temple a whole lot, and were pretty
settled to stay there for a long time.  George started school, I got
to watch waaay too much baseball footage, and Jenn taught piano out of
the home and ran a story time in the local library for local kids.

We lived in a small branch where we had callings galore (2nd counselor
in branch presidency, primary president, branch clerk, primary
chorister, branch mission leader – always more than one calling). it
was really great fun and we could always draw from our great
experiences in Jerusalem and entertain with our courtship story (when
I thought maybe Jenn and I might try being more than friends, I asked
her what she thought while Jenn was shelving books in the library
stacks at BYU and she looked at me frankly and said, “I don’t know
what to think of that.” and walked off.)

Well, my schooling is in media preservation and archiving, which is
virtually taking a vow of poverty.  And poverty wore thin in such a
cold place, so I applied at about the only place where archivists and
librarians can actually support their families: the Library of
Congress.  And I got the job!  So, Jenn got pregnant in February and
within a few weeks I had a job offer!  So this last summer we sold our
house and moved to Virginia.  Our next daughter is due in about 4
weeks.  We will have an even two pair: George (6) Isaac (4) Eleanor
(3) and Baby Girl peanut.

Sorry I don’t have a picture.  I will try to get one together.  We
have a blog: harryherald at the blogspot site.   We would love to hear
from anyone and everyone.  Sorry we couldn’t make it out for the
reunion.

Shout outs to my great roomies: Shoemaker, Gary, and Rich.  Jenn says
hi to her room buddies too: Laura Jae, Shawnee, and Tiffany.  Everyone
was so great there, we really have warm spots in our hearts for all of
you.

y’alla y’alla – keep it movin!


Benji and Jenn Harry

Picasa Website

2009-09-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody, I went ahead and created a picasa web album where we can exchange pictures from our time in the Holy Land. Here is the link to the web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/BYUJerusalemFall1999

You can download pictures without logging in but if you would like to contribute photos of your own let me know and I will send you the log in information. Thanks.

Mibs
Matt Hughes

Reunion

2009-09-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Matt Matayoshi and his wife for all the time and effort they put into the BYU Jerusalem Fall 1999 Reunion. We had a great time. It was neat to reflect and remember our experiences in the Holy Land.

Layne Nyman West

Gethsemane

2009-09-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ryan "Candyman" Candland

2009-08-28T00:36:00.000-07:00

http://candlandr.googlepages.com/

Matt Hughes -

2009-08-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

Recently I was thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to create a forum where we could exchange the photographs that we took during our time in Israel. I was thinking that I could create a picasa web album and provide the log in information to anyone who would like to include some of their own pictures or download those that others have posted. I think it would also be great to create some kind of forum where video could be shared. I'm not sure exactly how that could be arranged but if anyone has any ideas let me know. If anyone out there is interested in sharing their pictures let me know and I will go ahead and create the web album and provide the log in information by request. Marhaba and Shalom!

Matt Hughes

Mass Email Sent

2009-08-17T03:56:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I sent a mass email to all the email addresses we have on file. If you didn't receive the email then you may want to 1. Check your Junk Mail Folder 2. Confirm your email address with what we have on file for you.

Enjoy the Reunion!

Fall 1999 Timeline

2009-08-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

August 23, 1999 Jerusalem Center Orientation in Provo, Utah
August 24, 1999 Depart USA for the Holy Land
August 25, 1999 Arrive at the Jerusalem Center
August 26, 1999 City of Jerusalem Walk. For most this is the first time to the Garden Tomb and Garden of Gethsemane
August 28, 1999 Saturday, the Sabbath Day

September 6, 1999 Jericho Field Trip, Nebi Samuel, Gibean, St. George Monastery, Herodian Aquaduct, Mount of Temptation, Jericho
September 9, 1999 Jerusalem City Trash Strike begins
September 10, 1999 Grape Stomping
September 12, 1999 Trip to Beach at Tel Aviv
September 13, 1999 Bethel, Ai, Shiloh, Samaria, Jacobs Well Field Trip
September 16, 1999 Ehud Olmert, the Mayor of Jerusalem speaks at a forum in the Jerusalem Center. He later became the Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009.
September 20, 1999 West Bank Fieldtrip
September 24, 1999 Midterms in Dr. Greens Class
September 26, 1999 Dome of the Rock Fieldtrip and Group Picture
September 27, 1999 Qumron – Dead Sea Scrolls, Ein Geddi, Masada, Dead Sea Fieldtrip
September 30, 1999 Walter Rogers from CNN spoke in a Forum to us

October 3, 1999 Depart for the country of Jordan
October 4, 1999 Petra
October 5, 1999 Amman, Jordan
October 6, 1999 Return to Jerusalem Center from Jordan. Jeff Lind and Johnny Miller both opened their mission calls when we returned to the Center.
October 8, 1999 Bedouin Tent Dinner
October 9, 1999 Elder Hartman Rector Jr. Fireside
October 11, 1999 Hebron, Lachish, Valley of Elah Fieldtrip
October 17, 1999 Trip of the City of David, Warrans Shaft, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, simulated Seder
and Passover Dinners
October 21, 1999 Last day of Brother Nazzal’s class. He concluded with his testimony and the
class stood and applauded as he walked out the back door.
October 22, 1999 Informal Talent Show
October 24, 1999 Morningside at the Orson Hyde Gardens overlooking the Old City. 158 years since Orson Hyde dedicated the Holy Land.
October 31, 1999 Wadi Kelt Walk and Halloween Party

November 1, 1999 Drive to Neweba, Egypt
November 3, 1999 Watch the sunrise from Mount Sinai
November 6, 1999 Fireside with Brother Schwendiman who was the Director of the building of the Jerusalem Center
November 10, 1999 Final in Brother Green’s class
November 11, 1999 Bethlehem Fieldtrip
November 17, 1999 Drive to Caesarea Maritima, Haifa, Mt. Carmel, and En Gev on the Sea of
Galilee
November 18, 1999 Meteor Shower at 4am in the dark of the Sea of Galilee
November 19, 1999 Tiberius, Mount of Beatitudes, St. Peters Church, Capernaum, Jordan River Fieldtrip
November 21, 1999 Mount Tabor, Armageddon Valley, Nain, Megiddo Fieldtrip
November 25, 1999 Thanksgiving Day at Galilee
November 26, 1999 Depart Galilee, visit Nazareth, and return to the Jerusalem Center

December 1, 1999 Upper Room, Last Supper Reinacted, Last Week Walk through Bethany and Bethpage Fieldtrip
December 5, 1999 New Testament Final
December 6, 1999 Last Day in Jerusalem. Final Testimony Meeting and farewells
December 7, 1999 Some fly home while others drive to Egypt
December 8, 1999 Sphinx, Pyrimids
December 9, 1999 Fly to Luxor, Visit the Karnak Temple and Valley of the Kings
December 11, 1999 Return to Cairo. Alabastor Mosque, Cairo Museum and farewells.
December 12 and 13, 1999 Fly back to the USA

August 21-22, 2009 Ten Year Reunion in Provo, Utah

Director of our Jerusalem Program

2009-08-11T04:25:00.000-07:00

Brother R. J. Snow 1937 ~ 2006

Obituary

We lost our husband, father, and "Papa" very suddenly as a result of injuries sustained in an auto accident on June 6, 2006, in Provo, Utah. R.J. (Reuben Joseph) was born on October 15, 1937, to Glenn and Laura Gardner Snow. He attended public schools in St. George and later in Washington D.C. where he graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School. He returned to the "red hills of home" each summer and worked in Pine Valley on his uncle's ranch.

He attended Dixie College and was student body president, after which he served as an LDS missionary in France, Belgium and Switzerland. After his mission, he studied at the University of Utah where he received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in history. He married Marilyn Melville in 1962 after they met during their summer jobs in Washington, D.C. He received a second Masters Degree and a Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University in Illinois. A year of postdoctoral research followed at the University of Oregon, followed by a faculty appointment at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The entire family traveled to the University of Bordeaux in France where R.J. served as Associate Director of the Study Abroad Program for two years. In 1971, R.J. joined the administrative team of Dr. David P. Gardner at the University of Utah where he served as Assistant to the President, then simultaneously as Vice President for University Relations and Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics and as Associate Professor of Political Science. In 1985, R.J. accepted a position as President of the Jacobsen Company, a parent company to Jacobsen Construction.

In July 1987, R.J. and Marilyn and their family were called to preside in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission of the LDS Church. R.J. joined Brigham Young University in 1990 and served as Student Life Vice President, later as Advancement Vice President and then as director of the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in Israel from 1998-2000. They returned to Provo in the Summer of 2000, where R.J. maintained his current faculty assignment as Professor of Political Science where he has focused the past few years to teaching African politics, American government and public policy and serving as the 2004 Faculty Advisor for the BYU Washington Seminar program.

During the reconstruction of the LDS Nauvoo Temple, R.J. and Marilyn served a two-year mission together as Directors of Public Affairs and he as Manager of Nauvoo Restoration Inc. R.J. was committed to volunteerism and civic engagement and served on literally dozens of boards of directors and committees including the Provo-Orem and Salt Lake Area Chambers of Commerce, the Utah Symphony, the Utah Affiliate of the American Diabetes Association, and both the United Way in Salt Lake and Utah County. He was a former member of the Utah Governor's Commission on Women and Families, the Board of Directors of The Deseret News, and the Advisory Board to KSL Radio and Television. Currently, he has served on the Dixie State College Board of Trustees. His circle of influence positively affected scores of people worldwide through education, civic and church activities. With many titles over his lifetime, his favorite was "Papa" to his five loving grandchildren- Callie, Laura, Sara, J.J. and Julia. They will miss him deeply and he loved them more than words can say. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; children, Gina (Burnett) Thackeray, Laura Snow, Scott (Brittany) Snow, Noelle (Jay) Robinson. A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held on Monday, June 12, 2006 at 12:00 noon at the Provo Oak Hills Stake Center located at 925 E. North Temple Drive (2200 North) in Provo. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to the R.J. Snow Public Policy Internship at the Hinckley Institute of Politics or your choice of local charitable nonprofit organizations or Utah institutions of Higher Education.

Sheep With Lost Email Addresses

2009-08-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who have sent in lost email addresses! Our list is getting shorter.

1. Below is a list of persons who went to Jerusalem with us that we have NO email address listed for them. Can you help us find them?

(If a name is not on this list that does NOT imply we have a CORRECT email address listed for them, but we do have something listed for them even if it is many years old. If you didn't receive an email from Bracken around August 4 and August 16 then I don't have your correct address - or it went straight to your junk mail.)

Analecia Adams
Justin Allen
Amanda Ashton
John Barnes
Megan Benson - maybe now with "Nordgren" as a last name
Benji Bikman
Jennifer Birtcher
Peter Blair
Eliza Boyer
Joseph Brown
Rachel Crane - now Martinez
Susan Domer
Amy Ellis - maybe "Bates" now
Jennifer Evans
Kathryn Fenn
Stacey Godfrey
Sara Hanson
Sarah Hart
Aaron Heaton
Nancy Holt
Brooke Huish
Rachel Hunter
Douglas and Rebecca Hut
Charity Johnson - maybe now "Checketts"
Brinn Klein - maybe now "King"
Jenny Kunz
Colette Labrum
Peter McBean
Amber Michel - maybe now "Parkinson"
Jonathan Miller
Rebecca Millet
Carrie Parker
Elyse Peterson
Melanie Petersen
Tasha Radman
Marja Rawlings
Deborah Reeder- now Hauck
Emily Rhodes
Jason Rippon
Kelly Sainsbury
William Sandberg
Ranae Stephens
John Stone
Hilary Sutton - maybe now "Western"
Josh Sybrowsky
Elizabeth Thomas
Emily Tidwell - maybe now "Mortensen"
Rebecca Wilde
Karen Wiley - maybe now "Andersen"
Shelley Wood

Teachers:
Sommerfeldts
Huff
Stevens
Sandberg
Thompson
Roweberry
Sister Snow
Hickman
McBride
Van Orden
Stevens
Springer
Arnold Greene
Brother Nassal

Thanks to your help within one day we found 10 of 73 lost email addresses! I remove the names from this list once someone sends me their email address.

Of the 100+ people we do have email address for, we probably have old/wrong email addresses for half. For some people I have 3 different email addresses listed.

We don't expect to send many emails. This blog will be the main way to communicate. We just want to spread the word about the blog and email is most convenient.

Maiden Name Questions

2009-08-07T19:41:00.001-07:00

Below is a list of names I was given of people who supposedly went to Jerusalem with us, but the last names are different than anything on our records - most likely because they got married and changed. Can any of you comment and confirm who they are?

Kerry S. Green
Heather B. Taylor
Evan J. Criddle (Did we have an Even in our Program? Sorry if I forgot who you are - it has been 10 years)
Janelle D. Parkin
Michelle M. Anderson
Sharla M. Borrowman (Did we have a Sharla in our program?)
Rachel H. Baldwin - (Rachel Hunter??)

Julie Wheeler Boyer

2009-08-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

Six weeks after returning from Jerusalem I married Ryan Boyer in the Portland, Oregon temple (I was one of the engaged ones at Jerusalem). During the next year and a half we finished our bachelor degrees at BYU. I gave birth to our first daughter two weeks after finishing my last class. We then moved down to Arizona, where he's from, so he could attend law school. While he was in school, I tutored students with ADD, ADHD, and other learning disabilities while juggling my mother duties.

We currently live in Mesa, AZ (love it about 8 months of the year!) and we have four beautiful daughters--ages 8, 6, 3, and 1. (Yeah, can go ahead and sympathize with my husband--he's a little worried about surviving life 10 years from now.) I enjoy staying at home with my children and being involved in their busy lives with soccer, music, dance, and school. I've learned its important to still take time for myself and love running, gardening, and reading when I need a little "me-time." As a family we love going to the beach, bike riding, swimming, and working in the yard (okay, my kids don't like it but they still have to do it!).

On the 15th of August our oldest daughter will be baptized. Am I old enough for this? We have loved seeing her enthusiasm and supporting her in this big step. I feel like its opened another season of parenting and is been great!

I refer back to my Jerusalem learning experience all the time. I was on the brink of a huge transition in my life and Jerusalem gave me the opportunity to grow as an individual and prepare for future roles in my family and church. I admire and have the highest opinions of those I met in Jerusalem. What a group of achievers and determined people! I regret that I will not be able to attend the reunion since I already took a long trip to Utah earlier in the summer and my kids will be in school, making another trip difficult. Best wishes. Do some grape stompin' and have fun!

Julie Wheeler Boyer
julieaboyer@msn.com

Laura (Paulsen) Howe

2009-08-07T02:56:00.001-07:00

This is me (book jacket photo style)

This is my family

Here are my responses to the top 10:

1. I did get married. Tyler Howe. He has adorable curls. We have two boys: Talmage and Asher.

2. After my mission to Quebec, I've lived in Provo and Salt Lake. Oh, and a brief stint in Philadelphia.

3. I got a MA in Art History.

4. I teach art history and writing at BYU Salt Lake Center. I count motherhood as my intense volunteer work.

5. You can contact me on my blog: www.howethoughts.blogspot.com

6. Favorite memories? Walking through Damascus gate barefoot with Shawnee. Learning to sing alto. "Hello Norman." The guy dressed as a Christmas tree on Ben Yehuda St. Reading the New Testament in Galilee. Learning about the house of Israel, something that's become such a pillar of my testimony that I can't talk about it without obnoxiously waving my hands about. Being a Palestinian superhero for Halloween. Dangerous Defdaha. So very many.

7. I wish I had known . . . I don't really know. I'm just grateful for what I learned.

8. This one is actually pretty cool. Tyler's cousin is slated to teach at the JC in two years so we're planning on going there for our 9th anniversary. Now I can be as cool as the Doug and Becky and Jeremy and Amy. I'm excited to show Tyler the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, the Garden Tomb. Hopefully we'll make it up to Galilee.

9. I got to know amazing people. Very influential. And I'm grateful to have background knowledge that makes reading the scriptures easier. And I gained a testimony of reading the scriptures. All good things.

10. I'm not specifically goint to solicit money, but if you'd like to slip some cash under my door, I'm willing to look the other way.

Love to you all.

Instructions On How To Post to This Blog

2009-08-07T00:53:00.000-07:00

This public site has been created for all Fall 1999 Jerusalem Center Students to reconnect. Tell us about yourself and your happenings the past ten years.

1. If you would like to have something posted to the blog please email your TEXT and PICTURES to byubracken at hotmail

Up to 5 pictures, 8MB total.

If you have any announcements you would like posted you can also use the email address above.

2. You can leave COMMENTS on any of the posts on your own.

3. The Unofficial Reunion Committee Elves are working hard in their "spare" time to improve this blog. If you have suggestions please contact them at the email address above. Thank you Angie for starting and running it!

To those who may be a little bashful, the following is a top 10 list of things to post about your life for the past 10 years:

1. Post about your family, if you got married, had children...
2. Post about the places you have called home over the past ten years...
3. Post about any further education you obtained...
4. Post about your occupation, paid, unpaid, volunteer work...
5. Post about how we can contact you, email, phone, personal blog, website... Remember this is a public blog, so if you are trying to avoid the boogie man or the tax man you might want to be careful with this one.
6. Post about your favorite memories from the Fall 1999 JC ten years later.
7. Post about what you wished you would have known when you went to the JC ten years ago.
8. Post about what you would see if you could go back to the JC and what you would do there.
9. Post about how being a member of the Fall 1999 JC has influenced you during the past ten years.
10. Please don't post requests for money, job solicitations, political commentary, Obama jokes, or marriage & parenting advice.

2009-08-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

Professor Green’s Retirement Party August 15th

2009-08-07T00:12:00.000-07:00

Arnie Green is being thrown a surprise retirement party and any/all JCers are invited. It's Saturday, Aug. 15th anytime from 5-7pm with a program at 6pm at Mt. Timpanogus Park up Provo Canyon (immediately after Canyon View Park, sign on right, entrance on left, if you get to Squaw Peak, you've gone too far.)

If you would like to contribute to a booklet of memories/thoughts being put together as a tribute to him, contact Geni Green at geni757@gmail.com or call 919-247-0327.

Beauty and the Beast starring Ivey Mitchell as Belle

2009-08-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

August 21, 22
During the weekend of our reunion if you are looking for an excellent event to attend to do with your family before the 5pm event, our very own Ivey Mitchell will be playing Belle in a huge production of Beauty & the Beast matinee that Saturday at 2pm in Draper (Juan Diego school: 11800 S. 300 E.) with a "meet the characters" costume party at 1pm. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for 12 and under and on sale at the door or online at

www.draperartscouncil.org

This show is outstanding for all ages: huge sets, gorgeous costumes, live orchestra, impressive action/dance numbers, etc...

2009-08-04T10:40:00.001-07:00

Jerusalem Fall ‘99 Reunion

Reconnect with all of your Jerusalem friends. Can you believe that it has been 10 years!

Registration is now available at http://alumni.byu.edu/reunions please rsvp as soon as possible. The cost is $20 per person for the Friday evening event. This also covers additional fees for the weekend.

Friday August 21st

Registration: 5:30 - 6:30 pm Hinckley Alumni Center

Dinner: 6:30 - 8:30 pm Dinner & Program

Come join all your friends from the BYU Jerusalem Center for a fun filled evening of reconnecting, catching up, excellent dinner, and keynote speaker. Catering will be serving a House Garden Salad, Herb Roasted Breast of Chicken, and Baklava for dessert.

Saturday August 22nd

Family Potluck: 5:00 pm Canyon View Park in Provo Canyon

Bring your favorite dish and outdoor activity equipment. This will be a great opportunity for the next generation of Jerusalem students to play together and become acquainted!

Registration is now available at http://alumni.byu.edu/reunions so check it out!

We don’t want anyone to miss out so let all of your friends who went with us to the Jerusalem Center know about this event. Let’s take this opportunity to reconnect and remember our great memories.

If you received this email from a friend, go to http://update.aa.byu.edu/ to update your information.

For additional information contact Matt Matayoshi at matt@masonedc.com . Please contact me if you have any questions.

Best Regards,

Matt Matayoshi

Christi Hartzell Boyles

2009-07-21T15:46:00.001-07:00

My life in a paragraph is that I finished school at BYU, married my missionary, Shawn, and have had two beautiful children- Lucas who is now 6, and Abby who is now 4. We still live in Utah Valley- in fact, we just bought our first house in Lehi. If you really care what I am up to, you are welcome to add me as a friend on facebook and/or visit my blog at goteamboyles.blogspot.com . I am glad that someone started this blog so that we can keep in touch- thanks whoever did it!!!

Amy Nilsson Cragun

2009-01-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, I was just telling my husband the other day how much fun it would be to get together with jerusalem friends.

We live in northern utah and I stay home with my kids. My kids are 5, 4, 2, and 1. We keep busy, playing, cleaning house, picking up, cooking, etc... My husband is a contractor. Some things that we enjoy as a family are; skiing, hiking, traveling, playing games, watching movies, and just hanging out together.

I would love to help with the get together. Just let me know.
THanks!

Jeremy and Amy Rigby

2009-01-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

We've been checking the blog often to find what everyone has been up to, and we've been disappointed lately with no entries, so we decided that we had better make one...

We are currently living in Salt Lake where Jeremy works in the pharma/clinical trial industry. We've had lots of adventures in the past 10 years , our greatest has been attempting to raise our 4 children. Adeline 8, Olivia 6, Naomi 3, and Wyatt 3 months. I (Amy) am lucky enough to get to stay home full time and be involved in their lives! We are currently living in Sugarhouse and would love to hear more about how all of you are doing!

Jerusalem book

2008-12-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

So, I did not go to the JC in 99, I went in 2000. But I just published a book about my semester there and am trying to get the word out. Here is the press release for the book if you are interested! Thanks.

Erin Tolman

Remembering the Holy Land: Erin Tolman Releases A View of Jerusalem

December 2, 2008 – Even eight years after returning to the United States, the view of Jerusalem’s Old City from the top of the Mount of Olives remained vivid in author Erin Tolman’s mind, as did the sound of gunfire and sirens which marked the beginning of the Second Intifada in September 2000. Unable to let the memories remain only in her journal, Tolman wrote a series of thirty-eight vignettes describing her semester as a student at the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies and titled the collection A View of Jerusalem.

The Holy Land is a place of spiritual and historical significance to millions of people. Tolman, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as a young college student of history, witnessed the sacredness and the violence which exist side by side in Palestine.

A View of Jerusalem begins on September 29, 2000 when Palestinian rioters and Israeli police clashed in the Old City and sparked a brutal conflict which lasted for years. While Tolman and the other 175 students at the Jerusalem Center remained safe during the following two months, their study abroad experience changed dramatically at that point.

After opening her account with this historically pivotal day, Tolman contrasts life at the Jerusalem Center before and after the violence begins. She visits the Garden Tomb, floats in the Dead Sea, walks on the Temple Mount, and describes the daily routines of the Jerusalem Center. As hostilities erupt and continue, Tolman is able to explore parts of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt until she and the other students are sent home a month early and the Jerusalem Center closed its doors to students. Those doors remained closed until January 2007 when forty-four students returned to study at the Center.

Steven L. Elgan created pencil drawings to accompany ten vignettes. Among the illustrations included are The Jerusalem Center, The Dome of the Rock, St. John the Baptist Church, and the Church of Beatitudes.

A View of Jerusalem was published by Wordclay and officially released on December 1, 2008.

For more information, please go to A View of Jerusalem’s website at www.byujc.org

Amberly Draper Dattilo

2008-11-16T20:30:00.001-08:00

It has been so fun seeing what everyone else has been up to, so I thought I would write too. I met my husband, Wil Dattilo, my senior year at BYU. We were married my first year of law school--we graduated at the same time and moved to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas so that Wil could do Teach for America. (Right on the border of Mexico and next to South Padre Island, it was amazing). He taught middle school science and I worked as an assistant attorney general for the state of Texas doing consumer protection and public health law. We moved to Houston a year and a half ago so that Wil could start medical school at Baylor. I am at home right now with our hilarious 2 and 1/2 year old, Owen, and our sweet 7 week old baby, Isaac. (Who was born the week of a hurricane and my husband's med school finals, whew!). I keep busy taking care of my boys and am in the process of starting a small law practice doing estate planning and business law.

I have wonderful memories of our semester in Jerusalem--it is so good to hear about what is going on in your lives!

Amberly Draper Dattilo

Angie Miller Wyatt

2008-10-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

I have really enjoyed hearing from some of you! Can you believe it has been ten years? BYU Jerusalem was such an awesome experience. I feel so lucky to have had that opportunity. So this is what I have been up to....After coming home from Jerusalem I graduated from Ricks and worked as an RN in Provo. There I met my husband on a blind date. We were married in 2002 and now have three beautiful children. McKenna is 4, Ava is 2 and Jacob is 5 months. After living in Provo we moved to Pocatello and then Omaha where my husband attended Dental school. We now live in Kimberly, ID (near Twin Falls) and have enjoyed being close to our families. I worked in the float pool as a nurse at hospitals in Pocatello and also in Omaha but now just enjoy being at home with my kids. I do a preschool swap with my two girls and also a music class at the church once a week. I love to teach my kids and watch them learn and grow. As a family we love to be together and discover new things. We are hoping to get more into hiking and camping now that we are back in Idaho. Hope you all are doing well and that we hear from many of you soon!

Rachel Hicks Barth

2008-10-21T08:49:00.001-07:00

After coming home from Jerusalem, I lived with five Jerusalem Center friends while we all attended BYU. We had some fabulous times together and managed to keep at least portions of our roommate group together until we all got married or graduated. I got my degree in International Studies with a minor in Near Eastern Studies. I started teaching social studies (mostly World History and Geography) at a residential treatment center for "at-risk" boys in Provo and I have been working there ever since. I teach students with emotional and behavior disorders who live at the school while they get treatment. It has been a great job for me and I've had a lot of interesting experiences.

I met my husband, Aaron, while working at my family's ranch in southern Utah. We were married four years ago and managed Regency apartments for 3 years before we bought a home in Lehi last year. We love traveling, and our favorite trip so far has been our summer trip to Europe. Jerusalem is up on the top of our list of places to go, so hopefully we get to go back there someday. In the meantime, we enjoy making frequent trips to Disneyland to get good use out of our annual passes.

It has been so great to read about what all of you are doing! Thank you for putting this together. I still think about Jerusalem all the time and how grateful I am for the time I spent there and the people I met. I hope you are all doing well and that we are able to get together soon.

Jerusalem

2008-10-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about the Jerusalem Center. I think it might bring back some memories for all of us. Thanks for the link Shanda!

http://newsroom.byuh.edu/?q=node/1907

Matt Hughes

2008-09-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

I'll just give a quick run down of what I've been up to since 99'. After Jerusalem I went to Utah State and spent about 5 1/2 years there. I graduated a few years ago with a degree in history, and after graduating I moved back to Salt Lake to look for a job. I got a job working for the Church and a couple months after that I met my beautiful wife-to-be while interviewing her for a position. Fortunately for me she was offered the job and a couple months later we began dating. I married Ellie Wolf on May 10, 2006 in the Salt Lake Temple. Six months ago we had our first child, a sweet little girl named Claire. At the moment I'm still working for the Church and enjoying being a father. Being a father is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life and we're looking forward to having more children some day. I'm also looking forward to reconnecting with those of you I have lost contact with. I regret not keeping in touch with very many people from Jerusalem. I'd love to hear from any of you. My email is mibshughes.dontaddthispart@gmail.dontaddthispart.com (to email me remove the "dontaddthispart"s out of the address, I'm trying to avoid spam at all costs). Take care and I'll see you at the reunion! Shalom!

Heidi Frazier Robinson

2008-09-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is Heidi Frazier Robinson. The last 10 years of my life have been great, and not at all what I expected them to be.

The summer after Jerusalem I went to Honduras with Brett Villinga and Joe Plicka as part of a Microcredit organization. We worked most of our time there, but got to do some great scuba diving off one of the little islands and visit some of the ruins there. When I came home I decided that I wanted to serve a mission and was called to the Brazil Ribeirao Preto mission. I went back to BYU after my mission and spent the following 2 summers in Mozambique, a Portuguese speaking country in Africa, working with a Dutch nonprofit organization during the day, and taking classes at night in Mozambiquian literature, art and history. I got to travel around to different countries in Africa and fell in love with each of them. I saw some of the most beautiful places and had a hard time coming home.

I’ve had a bunch of interesting jobs since I graduated – working at a treatment center for women with eating disorders, teaching English in Taiwan, and working at a wilderness therapy program for at-risk youth. That was an amazing experience – I worked there at the same time as Hailey Budge, my JC roommate, and I met my husband there. Isaac and I have been married for 3 years and live in Gilbert Arizona. I got my masters in Elementary Education and have been working as a 5^th grade teacher here, until our son was born last year. Right now I am staying at home with Eli and we’re hoping to move to the Pacific Northwest soon. I’m excited for a Jerusalem reunion, I think about our experiences there all the time. We have a blog at robinson3.blogspot.comwith more family pictures.

Katie Rosenberg Ellsworth

2008-09-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is such a great idea. I have been wondering what everybody has been up to. As for me, I graduated from nursing and went to work for Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo for a year. I returned home to Rigby and married my high school sweetheart, Brent, in the Idaho Falls Temple and we just had our 7 year anniversary. We have 2 children, Mikayla and Kye who are almost 5 and 2 years old, and I currently work in home health while my husband is finishing the Physician's Assistant program at Idaho State University. We live in Rexburg right now but hope to move after Brent graduates. Hopefully the reunion will come together, it will be great to see everyone again!

Angela Bingham Tomlinson

2008-09-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! It's me, Angela Bingham, now Tomlinson. After Jerusalem, I finished up school at BYU-I. In June 2000 I began working as a RN down in Provo. I reunited with a hometown friend-now sweetheart--Moe (Morgan) Tomlinson in January of 2001. On June 29, 2001 we were sealed in the Logan Temple. What an adventure our life has been since then!

In our married life we have lived in Logan, UT, Tremonton, UT, Jerome, ID, St. George, UT, Vancouver, WA, and Lancaster, CA. We have moved a total of eight times! We now have three wonderful children: Kenya Ilene turns six on September 21st, Naomi Elizabeth turned 4 on July 2nd, and Micah Preston turns 2 in March 2009. The family picture was taken in July of 2008.

Moe finished up schooling at USU in December of 2004 in the flight technology program. Moe has been a pilot since 1998, and a first officer pilot with Skywest Airlines since May of 2006.

I am currently working one 8 hour shift a week on a Behavioral Health Unit, yes that's right...I work on a locked down pyschiatric unit and absolutely love it! BUT I love being Mom the most. Life is good for us...there is NO WAY I can tell everything that has happened in the last 9 years...

We, Moe and I, just barely hiked Mount Whitney in 12.5 hours total on Monday, thus the picture! We try to go backpacking together at least once a year. I still love traveling by the way, but it's different now that I have children. We still take advantage of the flying benefits that come with being employed by an airline though!

I do have a blog, but it is private--I guess working on a pysche unit has made me a little more cautious, I have no problem with inviting my Jerusalem friends, I just need email addresses...

Hope all is going well in your lives...the funny is that lately I was having a great desire to reconnect with everyone from Jerusalem, but didn't quite know how. Then my mom ran into Angie Miller now Wyatt, and thus I now have a way! Thanks ladies--you were inspired! I vote for a ten year reunion!

Jerusalem Video

2008-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

Thanks for putting up the blog. I think it would be a great idea to get everyone together again after all these years. There are some people I have lost contact with who it would be great to see again. Right now I don't have the time to write up a paragraph and send some photos but recently I discovered that someone put the video that Ryan and Jenner made of our trip on Youtube. I thought you might be interested in putting it on the blog. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AUfw5ofIYY

Talk to you later.

-Matt Hughes (aka Mibs)

Matt Orton

2008-08-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest;

Thank you Angie and Shanda for putting this together. It is so good to hear from everyone and how you are doing. I miss our Jerusalem experience and those Sunday field trips.

After graduating BYU I was recruited to work for Boeing in Seattle, WA in procurement and I have never left since. I had never been to the Pacific Northwest before, but fell instantly in love with it. I love the fact that you can be at the beach along the ocean one minute and in a short drive you can be at the top of the mountains in pine trees and glaciers the next. Everyone is invited to come and visit at mro38@hotmail.com.

My wife and I had both already graduated from BYU and were working when we first met. I was in WA and she was working in SLC. I was able to convince her that WA was better than UT and we were married that next year in November 2002. We have since added Seth to our family who is a busy two year-old and we recently found out that # 2 will be joining us in March 2009. More photos are available at: http://allaboutortons.blogspot.com/

Jerusalem was such a defining moment for me. So many great memories. It is my goal to one day go back and visit with my wife.

Keep those posts coming and if anyone has some good Fall Jerusalem 99 photos they want to share, lets see those too.

Matt Orton

Jennifer (Longmore) Bryce

2008-08-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

After Jerusalem and graduating from the Ricks College Nursing Program, I worked in Provo at Utah Valley Hospital for a year. I then served a mission to Guatemala where I was the mission nurse in addition to being a regular missionary. After my mission, I returned home to Idaho Falls where I worked as a labor and delivery nurse for two years. After that, I decided to teach English in China through the ILP Program and ended up with Desiree (Harrison) Funk as my roommate. (She and I only kind-of knew each other in Jerusalem, then randomly ended up as roommates in China a few years later. What are the chances?!) After that semester, I returned to Provo where I met my husband, Jefferson Bryce. He had just graduated and helped start a company that does online reservations for bed & breakfasts. That was fun because until we had our first baby, we got to do some traveling and stay at some fun bed & breakfasts. We now have two girls. Hannah is almost two years and Leah is two months. We live in Payson and love it here!
I attached a picture from Leah's blessing, but we also have a blog with lots of pictures. It is www.jbrycefamily.blogspot.com. Hope everyone is doing great!

Linda Gregersen

2008-08-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

The last 10 years of my life have been unusual, not exactly what I expected, but adventurous and educational, so I can't complain!
Shortly after Jerusalem, I graduated BYU, and went to Spain for a couple of months to work as a nanny on an organic farm on a little island called Mallorca. There, I discovered a passion for everything organic and have since become a bit of a health freak/new age hippie. (I still bathe, though, and shave my armpits.) Over the last few years, I've been traveling to Costa Rica during the winter to cleanse/fast and practice yoga at a rustic little jungle resort on the Nicoya peninsula. If you'd like to check it out, visit www.sunvacation.org. I'm going to be there from December to the end of February this year, and anyone's welcome to come for a visit! I'm including a few pics to tempt you. :)

Traveling has been a big part of my life over the years. I went to Africa a few years ago and did a humanitarian trip with a great group of folks. We helped build a school in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. That website is www.reachthechildren.org if anyone wants to know more about that organization. We visited orphanages, went on a safari and worked very closely with the locals. They were beautiful people. I highly recommend going over. I've since been volunteering with the African refugee community in Salt Lake. I didn't realize there were so many of them here. It's kept me pretty busy.

Currently, I live in Salt Lake. I've been into real estate investing for about 8 years now....had a business with a partner buying, fixing and selling houses back when the market was good for that. Now, I have a few rentals, and I sell properties locally as an agent. I live not far from downtown in a my own little house with a garden and really crappy grass I can't seem to get green. Any ideas?

I'm not married or divorced; no kids, but would like to start on that path. Until then, I have a the sweetest little dog who I spoil rotten and love like a child. :) He's so much easier than a child also. Is it really necessary to upgrade, I wonder? lol. I did get laser surgery on my eyes many years ago, so if you remember me with black rimmed glasses, they are no more, and my hair's gotten quite long. Other than that, you should recognize me!

I hope you are all well. I look forward to hearing about your lives and seeing your pictures.

Wishing you the best.

Linda Gregersen

See if you can find yourself & leave a comment when you do!

2008-08-19T10:17:00.001-07:00