PROVO � Highland's Bryan Bozung wanted to spend a semester at Brigham Young University's Jerusalem Center, but when he enrolled at BYU, the center had been closed due to violence in the region.

When the Jerusalem Center reopened in 2007, Bozung was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California. He finally learned last year he had landed a spot at the center this semester, but then Palestinian rockets began to fly into the Gaza Strip in late December � about a week before he and 79 other students were scheduled to leave for Israel.

"We were pretty sure they wouldn't go," said Bill Bozung, Bryan's father, "but BYU was very confident in sending them. If anything, they're overcautious of the students there, which he appreciates. My son is very comfortable over there."

Bryan Bozung and other students who have studied at the center in the past two years say BYU's security and the location of the center make them feel completely safe while they learn invaluable lessons about both the Holy Land and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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