Day 1: NAZARETH
Bet She'an. You know how much we enjoy a good tel. good joke. I am soooooo over tels. Luckily at this one there were some ancient ruins because this was one of the Decapolis so naturally there were some Roman baths which we all modeled so nicely.
Nazareth. The Bascilica of the Annunciation, Commemorating Mary, the mother of Jesus. This church was beautiful and had art from different countries depicting Jesus and Mary to decorate it (example of the one from Japan down below)There was also this group having the sacrament there and then singing songs which echoed nicely throughout the entire church. Overall great experience.
The Synagogue Church:
The traditional site where Jesus taught the people of his hometown. However, after a long day on the bus and walking around the church we all had a hard time staying awake (as evident by the picture below) even while we sang songs. oops.
Mt. Arbel. Meant to be a look out point but as you can see from the photo it was quite a bit foggy so....ya. after our devotional we just enjoyed a little relaxation time.
Day 2: CLASS AND RELAXATION
Okay so more on the place we stayed at this kibbutz called En Gev (more info and pictures see Huntsy's blog here: http://huntsmansintheholyland.blogspot.com/2012/03/galilee-day-3-en-gev-our-home-away-from.html )
So it was right on the beach...kinda but since the sea of galilee had risen so much there wasn't much of a beach so we all hung out on the grass, played frisbee, "did homework" and of course nap time. The sea was kinda cold but that did not stop us from going for a swim in the Sea of Galilee. Then, on nights when it was not too foggy we were blessed with a beautiful sunset.
So ya we only had one bus in Galilee so the classes would switch off days. So on days when Huntsman's class was field tripping, we had 3 hours of class in the morning and then had free time in the afternoon and vice versa. It was sad being so separated from all of the other class so much but we got through. It was a rough life on the beach.
Day 3: SPIRITUAL HIGH
Mt. of Beatitudes. Started field trip out right by hitting up this mountain right here where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. We got the time to just sit and read and ponder over the Savior's words. That was just the start of the spiritual high I experienced all day.
2000 year old boat. Naturally David and I had to take an engineer pic by this bad boy. Really neat how they discovered it and really helped put into perspective the boats that Jesus and the disciples would have sailed on the sea.
BOAT RIDE: Easily my favorite part of the entire day and quite possibly the entire time in Galilee was the boat ride on the sea. We read the talk entitled Master the Tempest is Raging by President Hunter (found on LDS.org) and then sang the hymn. Here are the lyrics that really hit me hard:
Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness.
No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish?
How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?
[Chorus]
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, peace, be still.
2. Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control!
3. Master, the terror is over.
The elements sweetly rest.
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more,
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor
And rest on the blissful shore.
After singing that song I know without a doubt that if I simply turn my will over to God and ask him what he would have me do, everything will work out. I had been praying before this day about a few things one being what I should do in my life kinda a general concern thinking about the future and I know this talk and song was my answer to my prayer. I know that there are trials and bumps on the path along the way, but we will always make it through if we just place our trust in the lord because "no waters can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean, and earth, and skies" and that the experience we gain from those hard times will help mold us into the person we are meant to be, that we have the potential to be. Now, doing this, giving up your will for the lord's is easier said then done, but I am working on it.
Side note: After our spiritual time, they may or may not (may being the correct answer) have played some hard core Christian rock music our groups favorite being "Our God is an Awesome God" which we then proceeded to sing at nearly every occasion possible for the rest of Galilee. I even almost made it the title of my blog post, that is how often it happened. good times.
Day 4: CAMEL MOUNTAIN
Well as evident by later photos the mountain I am standing on below is called Camel mountain because it indeed looks like a camel's back. A city used to be on top of it and it included a synagogue that Jesus may or may not have taught in. So that was a good time and great place to have a devotional.
Bonfires:
During our stay, we had 3 bonfires. The first 2 were just casual chit chat, warm up by the fire kind including make shift somores, we even burned our Dr. Bashir Bashir (I don't know if i've been over this but yes that was one of our professor's actual names) Palastine class workbook! but the last one was a spiritual one with our classes where we had time to sing hymns, bear our testimonies, and reflect on the time we spent here and the things we had learned and the life that Jesus lived here. I love everyone here in this program and I am so glad I came at this time with these people. There is so much I have learned from each one of them and I am trying my best to soak it all in in the short time we have left together.
Day 5: LAST TEL
Started out the day at Mt. Tabor which some believe was the Mt of Transfiguration in the bible. There is a church here that commemorates that and also has 2 separate chapels inside for Moses and Elijah.
To get up to the top of the mountain we took this crazy bus taxi ride where naturally we played jello. It was outta control. That taxi man just whipped around the corners.
Then on to our last tel! Well kinda. It was Megiddo. Ya we are kinda over rocks....
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| sometimes especially during lectures about tels we fall asleep while "listening" in our headsets |
Day 6: ABRAHAM & DANIEL
We went to Dan where there is this ancient gateway that Abraham and Lot might have passed through. Naturally I needed a picture with both Daniel and Abraham at the site (see below). Along with that we went to the almost nature preserve side of Dan where the sorority picture including Dr. Chapman (aka Chappy Chap). Then to Nimrod's castle where it was super de duper windy!!! We all spoke in British accents and had a good time till it started to sprinkle. Then back to En Gev we went.
Day 7: SABBATH
Before church we got to stop at another site of the Jordan River (this one is where the picture in the back of the bible was actually taken)
We met where the small Tiberias branch meets in this cute building on the shores of the sea of Galilee. As Dr. Jackson puts it, they have the second best view from their chapel. Second only to ours here in Jerusalem. I'd have to agree with that.
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| in the Jordan river |
Rest of the time:
Sorry. Finals are this week and if I am ever gonna get this post up I gotta just summarize the last little bit and basically my overall Galilee experience for you.
To sum it up, Galilee changed my life and is an experience I will never forget. It gave me time to focus on Jesus Christ's life and ministry more than just being in Jerusalem and focusing on his final time on the earth. It made the bible come alive and helped to strengthen my testimony of the stories I had grown up hearing my entire life. Galilee was a time when I got to start off each morning sitting by the shores of the sea, watching the sunrise and study my scriptures. A time when I grew closer to my father in Heaven through that scripture study and prayer. I know that the spiritual insight and testimony I gained while in Galilee will forever be with me because I have become someone different. I have come further on my path of discipleship and now that I have come this far, I cannot go back. I strive to keep progressing and I know I will do my best to do so.
I hope every one of you has the chance to have the same life changing experience I had while in the Galilee. If I have learned anything from being here in Jerusalem, it is that the sites itself do not make something special or important, it is what happened there. You do not need to be here to have the same awesome experiences.
Love you all!!
