I said "Olive Juice" not "I love you"

Here's one of the apostles who fell asleep. Actually it's a bum--the peaceful Orson Hyde park becomes a refuge for them during the night.

Three important Jerusalem landmarks: the Dome of the Rock, Olive Trees, and my blue shoes .

I listened to Stephen, another student, as he began to bear testimony of the Savior’s Atonement. The nine of us were perched on the weedy rocks of the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. We had just finished singing Redeemer of Israel when Stephen began to share some thoughts on the symbolism of the olive press. As he spoke, I fiddled with an olive between my fingers. I split its leathery skin and watched the purple juice squeeze out, dying my fingers. We sang How Great Thou Art and spread out individually across the mount. I thought about the purple stains on my hands. The sky was clear, the sun enveloped me in warmth, and the soft sounds of traffic blended with the chatter of birds. I closed my eyes.

A half hour later we regrouped and entered the Church of All Nations, where the Garden of Gethsemane is said to be. Seven Olive Trees remain in place from the time of Christ. The branches of the Olive Tree seem to extend all the way to the ground, wrapping around each other to form a gnarly trunk. Jerusalem’s landscape has drastically changed since the time of Christ, but these trees have seen it all. As I type, my fingers remained stained scarlet from the olive. I hope to have them clean before I leave Jerusalem.