GALILEE!!!!!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I made it back safe and sound from Galilee!!!! What an amazing trip!! I loved it. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do my entire Galilee trip justice by summing it all up in this wimpy e-mail, but I will try and do my best. Please bear with me as I explain the things we did and saw. There was a LOT. And I found myself exhausted at the end of each day. I loved it though!

This trip was everything I could have asked for in the Galilee experience and more. It was so beautiful and I felt the Spirit so strong any place we went.

Monday morning on March 15, we all arose in the early hours (4:45) to be able to finish packing and make it to breakfast at 5:30 and then have both buses loaded by 6:15. We were then set to leave by 6:30, right on schedule. There were a couple of people sprinting to make it to our bus on-time, but we all left from the center bright and early.

Fail jumping pic.

We didn’t have much time to sleep on the bus because our very first stop was Caesarea. What an awesome place. I took a ton of pictures and was amazed at the things that had still survived. This place was a port built by Herod. We also saw the remains of the temple he built. It was pretty cool to just walk around and imagine what that place would have been like in ancient times.

We also saw the remains of a Crusader church that was built by King Louis IX of France. It was never finished, however. One of the walls collapsed during the building process. Overall, it was probably one of my favorite sites that we’ve visited so far.

We then left there and drove for a bit and stopped at a place that had a really LONG colonnade of stone arches. I think it was a part of the port that Herod built. It was really cool. We got to climb on it and take pictures but we were forbidden from going out onto the shore. I think the teachers were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to get us to leave if we did.

Our next stop was a place called Megiddo. We saw some ancient ruins that were dug up by the University of Chicago Expedition. It provided a cool glimpse into the nearly thirty settlements that had been built one on top of the other at the site. It said on one of the stones there that: “Due to the unique continuity of its occupation – through the Neolithic period through the Persian period – and the scope of its excavations, Tel Megiddo is considered the ‘cradle’ of Biblical archaeology and the ‘laboratory’ of modern research methods.” I thought this was pretty interesting.

Our next stop was Nazareth. Yes, Nazareth. It reminded me a lot of Jerusalem, but it had a little different feel. Kind of a bit more calm. Right when we got there, we went and visited the Church of the Annunication (the Greek Orthodox one), if my memory serves me correct. It was really pretty.

They had a well there that they claimed if you drank from it you would get pregnant. All of our teachers were very persistent in telling all the girls in our group not to go and drink it. I had absolutely no problem with that rule.

Church of the Annunciation.

Greece.

Egypt.

China.

Thailand.

Nazareth.

Beautiful stained glass windows.

The grotto where the Annunciation may have happened.

(this one's from BRASIL)

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the LOSERS." - Holy Quran.

This is a billboard I saw in Nazareth and I just HAD to take a picture.

Right after we left that church, we were all herded over to another church, Church of the Annunciation (the Roman Catholic one). It had beautiful stained-glass windows and many different depictions of the Annunciation from all over the world (Egypt, Thailand, China, and Greece), surrounding it. There was actually a sermon going on when we walked in. It was interesting to watch part of it. We then walked upstairs to a different church and there were many other depictions of the Annunciation. (Don’t worry Todd and Kelsi and Dayvisson, I made sure to take pictures of the one from Brazil!) I got kind of excited about it. Hopefully I can show it to you when I see you, or maybe just post it on facebook. Ha.

"Wellcome. Please keep place tedy." Haha.

Right after that, we went to the Basilica of the Annunciation. That one had some really beautiful paintings that I took pictures of. We then went to a place called “The Synagogue Church.” According to the tradition, the Nazareth Synagogue where Jesus preached (Luke 4:16) stood on this spot. From the late 12th century onwards, pilgrims reported visiting a church on this site. Adjacent to the Synagogue Church, was the parish church of Nazareth’s Greek Catholic community. We got to sing a couple of hymns in this church and I again marked in my hymnbook the place we got to sing. It was a neat experience.

Right after that, we rushed onto the buses and continued our drive to Ein Gev, where we would be staying for eleven days and ten nights. We slept for a bit (about a half hour) and then our teacher woke us up and told us “Behold, the Galilee.” It was awesome. Even though we couldn’t really see the water too well because of poor air quality that day, it was still really amazing. I was so happy to be able to experience that and arrive in the place that I knew would be so awesome and uplifting.

We then arrived in Ein Gev and unloaded all of our luggage. I was absolutely exhausted. I threw my luggage in my room and then headed straight for dinner. We then had FHE, and I wasn’t feeling well at all so I decided not to go. I was really sad that I wasn’t able to go, but I tried to remind myself that we were going to have FHE the next week in Galilee so it sort of brightened my spirits.

Beautiful morning on the Sea of Galilee.

Anyway, I went straight to bed and woke up early the next morning for breakfast at 6:30. I decided that it would be a wonderful opportunity to go out and read my scriptures on the shores of the Sea of Galilee so I took some time to do that that morning. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe I was sitting in the very place where all this had happened in Christ’s ministry.

That day, our class (half the group) stayed at Ein Gev and had a three hour block of New Testament class. It was pretty long, but I felt so privileged to be able to learn about all of that right where it had taken place. Not many people get to experience that. It was amazing. After lunch, we had some free time in the afternoon. The weather was not the best for swimming so I decided to read scriptures and write in my journal. It was really relaxing and an awesome experience. I’m sorry I can’t really explain how I felt, but I guess you guys can only imagine.

Combined class program.

Later that night, we had a big bonfire right near the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Both classes (all 82 or so students) were combined, which meant I was able to hang out with Marie Cope and all of my other friends from the other class. It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of skits prepared, and we all played charades around the fire and sang songs. I kind of felt like I was at girls camp, but it was about 100 times better. Kelsi, if you can remember how awesome girls camp was, I think you would be able to just imagine!

Having our contemplative time in Kirsi.

Church next to Kirsi.

The next day, breakfast was at 6:30 again and ended at 7:30. Our class went on our “Sea of Galilee field trip” that day. Our first stop was called Kirsi. We saw the possible site at which Jesus had cast out the evil spirits and put them into swine, found in Matt. 8. We then got to explore the church that was at that spot and were given some journal time to ponder. It was neat.

Lindsay Irion and me.

"Woe to you, Chorazin, woe to you, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackloth and ashes." - Luke 10:13

"And he took (the apostles) and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and... cured those who need of healing." - Luke 9:10

We then stopped off at a place called Bethsaida, which was a fishermens’ village. The apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip were all from here. It was also one of the cursed places, along with Chorazin and Capernaum. It was destroyed in the Assyrian conquest of the kingdom of Israel in 732 BCE and was rebuilt and inhabited through the 3rd century CE.

Mount of Beatitudes. One of my favorite pictures from the trip.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

View from Mt. of Beatitudes.

Our next stop was the Mt. of Beatitudes where the Sermon on the Mount was given. WOW. It was absolutely gorgeous!! One of my absolute favorite places on the trip so far. There were SO many beautiful flowers there, and just the overall spirit there was so amazing. We were given a lot of journal and contemplative time here and I loved it. I read the Sermon on the Mount here and wrote in my journal for a bit. It was awesome. Just a bit from what I read: “Let your light so shine before the world, that they will glorify your father which is in heaven.”

Hiking down Mt. of Beatitudes.

Tabgha.

Spot where Christ may have performed the miracle with the loaves and fishes.

We then hiked down the Mt. of Beatitudes and made our way to another church. This one was called Tabgha Benedictine Monastery and it commemorated the miracle with the loaves and fishes. It was definitely not as ornamented as all the other churches we had visited but still so beautiful and we saw the possible site at which Christ may have performed the miracle. It was amazing!

St. Peter's Primacy Church.

St. Peter's Primacy Church.

We then visited a church called St. Peter’s Primacy Church which was really tiny but we sang hymns there and it was amazing to see different people walking in there while were singing and just start praying. This is the church which commemorates Peter being called to the work to be an apostle if I remember correctly. One of the guys in our group (who sang in the BYU Mens Chorus) sang a solo and it was absolutely breathtaking. His voice is amazing. Everytime I hear him sing, I love it.

Don't know what any of this inscription means, but I just thought it looked interesting.

Remains of Peter's mother in-law's home.

Inside of the spaceship church that covers Peter's mother in-law's home.

Our New Testament teacher explaining some things about Capernaum and the church there.

Anyway, we left there and then drove over to Capernaum and saw a church from the time of Jesus. We then walked over right next to that and saw the home of Peter’s mother in-law if I remember correctly. There was a HUGE church built on top of it. It kind of looked like a spaceship. It was crazy. But it was still really amazing to see that.

Raising the American flag on the Sea of Galilee.

We then got back on the buses and headed over to get on a boat on the Sea of Galilee. We took our boat ride across the sea and made it out to about the middle of the waters and cut the engine and read from the scriptural account about when Jesus calmed the stormy waters and when Peter walked on the water but then got scared and started to sink and then Christ pulled him up out of the waters. I could not believe that we were at the very spot where this amazing event took place. We sang “Master the Tempest is Raging” and it was truly something I will never ever forget.

Our hiking group.

Corina Cox and me.

Marie Cope and I hiking in the Golan Heights.

The next day, we had breakfast at 6:30 and then had another three hour block of New Testament class. Again, it was very long but I learned a lot. Later that day, there was a group of about 45 of us that had signed up to go on a hike to a waterfall nearby. We all left Ein Gev and rode in a bus for about a half hour and then picked up a tour guide that took us down on a hike to a waterfall. It was so beautiful. Although the water was WAY too cold for me and I decided that I didn’t really want to get hypothermia and jump in with my swimsuit, it was still really pretty and I really enjoyed it.

Marissa Purser and I about to enjoy an amazing (yet interesting) fish dinner.

Me, Greg Goddard, Eric Cook, Jonathan Robinson, Marissa Purser about to enjoy a BOMB fish dinner.

Our dinner!! Haha.

We then drove back to Ein Gev and it was our class’s turn to go and eat at a fish restaurant right there in Ein Gev about five minutes away. The fish still had its head on and both fins were on it also. It really freaked me out at first and a lot of people were screaming as they tried to eat their food, but it was definitely worth it. We took a lot of goofy pictures with the nasty-looking fish, and hopefully you all will be able to see that. The fish was actually really good and I’m glad I braved it. I liked it a lot.

Dancing in Tiberias.

Israeli folk dancing.

Taeler Herr and Brett Noble doing their famous creeper looks.

Gelato in Tiberias!

The man that performed for us so that we could do our Israeli folk dancing.

We then took about a twenty minute drive over to Tiberias and got gelato and walked along the water. We also found a man that was playing the accordion and we recognized some of the songs that we had learned dances for at the Israeli folk dancing night we had a couple of weeks earlier, so we all decided to start dancing. It was so much fun! We talked to him a little later and he said he had gone through ALL of the songs he knew, and he really enjoyed watching all of us dance. What a fun night!

Gamla. (Camel's hump)

The next day, we got on the buses at 7:30 and had our “Galilean Judaism field trip.” We first drove out to a site called Gamla. The total built-up area of the city is 45 acres – a fairly large area for antiquity. Some fled before the war and others came from the surrounding villages to seek refuge behind its wall. Josephus counts 9000 people who died there. Most destruction was caused by earthquakes during the long years Gamla stood abandoned, and only a small part was destroyed by the Romans, although they looted it thoroughly.

Entering the church.

Here's the home they restored to what they think it looked like back in those days.

An ancient bed!! Haha.

Jumping pic. Again... See a trend here?

Doing relaxation exercises on ancient ruins. No biggie.

Our next stop was called Qasrin, which had a synagogue and homes that date back to 4th century. The people there would come as close to the spot in the synagogue (that comes close to God) as they could. The synagogue is actually aimed towards Jerusalem to remind people of their dependence on God. It was also really cool to see the two story house that excavators had re-constructed in order to show us what a house would have looked like back then. We also got to visit bunkers from the 1967 war and explore them. It was pretty cool.

Later that day, we got to river-rafting down the Jordan River. We had signed up and paid our money for this little excursion about a week before and I’m really glad I got to go. I feel kind of weird saying that I did something like that on the Jordan River. Hm… It was a lot of fun though.

Yardenit.

"Hawaii Pidgin: Dat time, Jesus come from Nazaret town, Galilee side, an John wen baptize him beside da Jordan River. Right den Jesus wen come up outa da water. An you know wat? Jesus wen see da sky broke open, an wen spock God's Spirit coming down on top him, jalike one dove. An wow! Had one voice from da sky wen say, 'You my boy! I really get love an aloha fo you, an I stay good inside cuz a you!'" - Mark 1; Friends of YWAM Hawaii.

Hahahaha.

The group that got re-baptized the day we were visiting Yardenit. One of our professors said this was a HUGE way for people to get jipped of their money.

Mass baptisms.

The next day, my class was scheduled for church at 3 pm and it was kind of nice to just sit out on the shore of Galilee again and read scriptures and write in my journal for half the day before I went to church. On the way to church, our class stopped at a place called Yardenit, which is supposedly close to where Jesus was baptized on the Jordan River. Apparently this is also a spot where people can get re-baptized so we saw a HUGE group of people from a different church there performing mass baptisms. They were immersing each person in the water and they kind of seemed similar to Mormons. It was really interesting.

The building we had church in. SO beautiful. Tiberias Branch.

This building had the hymns in English, Spanish, Russian, and Hebrew. WOW.

Taking some pics after church. What a beautiful place!!

We then drove over and had church with the Galilee branch in a really beautiful building that overlooked the Sea of Galilee. It was so amazing! Later that night at 7:30 we had a fireside given by Brother and Sister Harris which told us about the humble beginnings of the Galilee branch. It was really interesting to hear about how they staked out the building and the many renovations and debates that went on in the process. After the fireside, I headed back to my room and just relaxed until it was time for bed. It was one of my favorite days in Galilee.

The next day, we had breakfast at 6:30 and then another three hour block of New Testament class there in Ein Gev. After that, we had a completely free afternoon so there was a bunch of us that decided to go swimming out in the Sea of Galilee! It was really fun, and I even got to play a little bit of volleyball. There are a few people here who played some volleyball in high school so I’ve been playing with them at the Jerusalem Center every few days or so. We’re even about to start a volleyball tournament back at the center so I’m way excited for that. It should be lots of fun. Anyway, later that night we had dinner and then a free evening so I think I decided to call mom and dad. It was really nice talking with you guys.

Ginosaur boat. A boat from the time of Jesus.

"The mystery of the 2000-year-old boat: To whom did this boat belong? To Jesus and His disciples? To the fighters of the Migdal battle? To a fisherman from the Sea of Galilee?"

The next day, we again had breakfast at 6:30 and had our “Jezreel Valley field trip.” Since we didn’t get to go see the Nof Ginosaur boat that they promised us we would see the week before in Galilee, we went and saw it this day. They told us that it is a huge mystery to whom this 2000 year old boat belonged to that was found on the Galilee. It was really cool to see such an old boat that existed at the time of Jesus, and that may have even been used by Jesus, or maybe even by the fighters of the Migdal battle, or maybe just a fisherman. Who knows? It’s pretty interesting to think about. On the way to see that boat, we also saw a place called Magdala, which is where Mary Magdalene was from.

Right after that, we were again herded onto the buses and drove up a VERY windy road (switchbacks) to the possible site of the Mt. of Transfiguration. Before we started that drive, our teacher warned us that we would be driving up windy roads so I decided to take a Dramamine. Again, I got kind of loopy and started saying some weird things to people in my class. Usually people just get super sleepy and it kills off the motion sickness when they take Dramamine. Instead, I get really sleepy AND I say really weird things and act really weird. Oh well.

Mt. of Transfiguration.

Beautiful mosaics in Church on Mt. of Transfiguration.

As I was saying, we went up to a church that was on the possible site of the Mt. of Transfiguration (Mt. Tabor) and went inside and sang some hymns. There was a man with a GIANT camera filming us the entire time. It was kind of cool. After that, we were kind of let loose inside the church and we got to see all the beautiful mosaics. That was probably one of my favorite churches. It was awesome to be at a place where a theophany had occurred, where the second most important event happened (the first being baptism and the third being the Crucifixion). We were at the place where the giving of keys of gathering and missionary work and where instruction by God was given. It was amazing.

Church in Nain. One of my favorites.

Our next stop was Nain. This was another TINY church, but I think it was so wonderful to be able to sing “I am a child of God” and one of my favorite primary songs, “Love is Spoken Here,” and to just be able to commemorate the miracle Christ performed there with the widow’s son. It was so amazing. I think that also made my list of favorite churches just because there wasn’t ornamentation everywhere and it was so peaceful and I could feel the Spirit there so strong. I loved it.

Bet Alfa National "Park"

Exhausted already. And we were only half-way done with our day.

The mosaics in Bet Alfa.

Our next stop was a place called Bet Alfa national park which had a lot of really amazing mosaics that were from ancient times. I think they were from the 3rd century. They showed how the zodiac was being incorporated by Jews even though it was really a pagan thing. It was pretty cool.

Having fun in the pools.

About to dunk our New Testament teacher, Brother Manscill. We felt like we had some things to settle...

Jonathan Arnell (Tall Blonde) got injured while in the pools, playing an intense game of sharks and minnows.

We then stopped at a place called Gan Ha-Shelosha where there were a ton of really beautiful pools that we got to go swimming in. It was so much fun, and it’s amazing how people so long ago had utilized that place the same way we were, just in a little different way. Ha.

Destruction from the earthquake.

After only a couple of hours of swimming, we were again herded on the buses and taken to a place called Beth Shean. We got to see an ancient theater in Roman times (where a bunch of crazy European tourists were busy re-enacting a play), and a bathhouse and the ancient streets.

The bathhouse alone was absolutely phenomenal and just walking through the streets which were built on Roman foundations was so cool. It’s interesting to think about how the sidewalks were roofed, and paved with mosaics in those days.

There was a street that we walked through that was named after Palladius, a fourth-century governor of the city and served as one of the city’s commercial and cultural focal points.

Becoming ONE with the ancient ruins in Beth Shean.

After we saw all of that, we walked up a TON of stairs and looked at the city from above and it was absolutely amazing.

McFlurries!! Right across from the ancient ruins! Haha.

We also saw a McDonald’s right across the way and all of a sudden two other people and I started craving McFlurries. So on the way back from the site, all three of us went and got McFlurries. Who would’ve thought that there would be a McDonald’s right next to ancient ruins?! It was totally worth it making that trek to get McFlurries. I hadn’t had one in like five years and it was awesome.

CISTERN!!

The next day (Tuesday), we had breakfast at 6:30 again and both classes hopped on the buses to go on our “Upper Galilee field trip.” We first stopped at a place called Tel Hazor. During the Canaanite period, Hazor was the largest city in the country. Its inhabitants numbered about 15,000, and it was called “the head of all those kingdoms” in Joshua 11:10. Israelite Hazor, from the 10th century BCE had inhabitants that numbered between 1,000 and 1,500. King Solomon apparently fortified it: “This was the purpose of the forced labor which Solomon imposed: It was to build the House of the Lord, His own palace, the Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and to fortify Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (1 Kings 9:15). This place was pretty interesting to see.

Tel Dan.

This water connects to the Jordan River.

Sacrificial altar at Tel Dan.

Tel Dan.

Our next stop was Tel Dan where they had sacrificial altars and we got to see the waters which flowed to the Jordan River.

Battle tank at Tel Dan.

Syria and Lebanon in the distance.

We also got to see a battle tank right near there from the war and we got to explore the bunkers that were there. I got at least 35 mosquito bites there but it was really cool to explore that place.

The Canaanite gate: Gate of the Three Arches.

MY GET TO KNOW YOU THING

Banias Springs. Brittney Palmer, Taeler Herr, Jonathan Arnell (tall blonde), Greg Goddard.

Corina Cox and I with our matching shirts at Banias Springs.

Right after that, we got to drive and hike down to a waterfall near Banias springs. It was so beautiful but there were also a ton of people down there and I could barely push my way through to get a better view of the waterfall. It was still very worth it though.

On our way back up, there was a man selling apples from the Golan Heights. They were so delicious. Probably not the BEST apple I’ve ever eaten, but still really good!

                                                       Caesarea Phillipi... (look for this pic in your scriptures!)

Our next stop was Caesarea Philippi. You can find a picture of this place in your scriptures! This is the possible site at which Jesus promised Peter the keys of the kingdom. It was so awesome to look in my scriptures and see this place and then go and SEE it and take pictures and ponder there. I hope you guys look at that picture of me there and then go and compare it with the one in your scriptures because I tried pretty hard to get it to look the same. By the way, my teacher, Brother Manscill took that picture, along with MANY others that are in the scriptures. I thought that was awesome!! Anyway, it was an amazing site to visit and I’m glad I got to go there.

Nimrod's Castle.

Exploring the castle with Natalie Stevenson.

Jill Wood, Chelsi Funk, Jill Baker.

Re-enacting a fight.

Our next stop was Nimrod’s Castle. By this time, I was absolutely exhausted, but when I saw how completely awesome and epic this castle looked, I couldn’t help but go and run around and explore this place. I wish I could put into words how awesome it was, but I guess you all will just have to look at pictures. I don’t think I took any videos though because I was so enthralled with running around and exploring. It was SO cool!

On the way home, I actually didn’t take any motion sickness medicine and we drove along a LOT of windy roads so I ended up throwing up, but it was totally worth it. I got to see so many cool places that day!

Crusader structures.

Crusader structures.

Excited to be seeing Crusader structures.

Going through Templar's Tunnel.

DaLynn Brown, Jill Wood, Brooke Ford. Exploring Templar Tunnel.

The next day (Wednesday), we had our “Western Galilee field trip.” We first stopped at a place called Akko where we saw a bunch of Crusader structures and walked through them and then walked through something called Templar Tunnel.

Al-Jazaar Mosque.

Al-Jazaar Mosque in Akko.

We also got to see Al-Jazaar Mosque and go inside it. It was really interesting. It wasn’t quite like Muhammad Ali Mosque but still very cool.

Old Akko. These were my roommates in Galilee, Madison Rowe, Amanda Christensen, and Courtney Smith. Love them.

Walking through Old Akko.

Marcus Griffith and me in old Akko.

Sam Carpenter, Natalie Stevenson and me in old Akko.

We then walked through Old Akko and they let us go off on our own through the city. Marie and I and a few other people went and got filafels and ice cream. It was pretty good, but I don’t think it was as good as one place I had it from here in Jerusalem. I’m beginning to recognize the difference between a good and bad falafel here AND good and bad shwarma (which is like a falafel but with meat in it). I personally like shwarma much better. It has pickles and cabbage and tomatoes and lamb and some sauces and spices. It’s SO good!

Brittney Palmer and me.

Jonathan Arnell (tall blonde) and me.

Anyway, as we were walking through the streets of Old Akko, I almost got sold by one of my friends as a joke. There was a man that wanted to buy me for ten shekels and then my friend said she wanted twenty from him. It was kind of funny but pretty degrading now that I think about it. I was kind of offended. How terrible!!

Entering the tombs of the old dead rabbis.

Jewish symbols, such as the lion and the menorah were VERY common in these tombs of the rabbis.

Exploring the tombs of the rabbis.

Our next stop was called Beth Shearim where we saw a bunch of tombs of rabbis, including Yehuda Hanassi. It was kind of scary to walk in each one of them because they were pretty much pitch black and you never knew when one of the guys in our group was going to pop out and scare you. I don’t think that place was one of my favorites. Ha.

Western side of the Galilee.

Western side of the Galilee. Beautiful.

We then stopped at an overlook spot where we could see the Western side of the Sea of Galilee and there were a bunch of kids there that were asking us where we were from and then each of them said that they were Obama’s cousins. It was kind of funny.

Later that night, we had a huge combined bonfire and testimony meeting right on the shores of the Galilee. We sang a lot of hymns and listened to a three hour testimony meeting, but it was really amazing.

Our last day in Galilee (Thursday Mar 25), we had to have checked out and have the buses loaded and ready to go by 7:30. I was so exhausted from the day before, but still excited for the day ahead of me. That day, we had our “Mediterranean field trip.” I could literally barely keep my eyes open but I was trying to make myself excited for what I was about to see and experience.

Sepphoris.

Zippora. TONS of beautiful mosaics.

We first stopped at a place called Sephhoris, or Zippora. This place had many beautiful mosaics, one of which depicted the “Nile celebrations,” giving it the name: “The Nile House.” Researchers said that: “From its size and opulence, it appears to have been a prominent building from the fifth century CE.

There was also another room that had a HUGE mosaic, which included the face of a beautiful woman that looked like the Mona Lisa. In fact, I think I remember them saying that she was “the Mona Lisa of Galilee.” It was so amazing.

On our way to the overlook.

We then hiked up to another building that had a cool overlook where we could see the National Water Carrier Canal and an irrigation reservoir. It was pretty interesting.

Jonathan Arnell (tall blonde) and Brett Noble being crazy.

Elijah struggling with the priests of Baal.

This is just a cool picture I took of my friend Brittney Palmer

Another random picture at Muhraqa.

We then drove over to a place called Muhraqa where Elijah may have struggled with the priests of Baal and their idols. There was a church there that we sang some hymns in, and another overlook.

Bahai Gardens. Breathtaking.

Front entrance of Bahai Gardens.

After that, we drove down a VERY windy road (I took some motion sickness pills this time so I was fine, but stilly really loopy) over to what was called the Bahai Garden. They were SO beautiful!! The view was amazing. And I guess the religious sect that constructed the gardens believe in all prophets. It was interesting to learn about.

Grave marker of Adolf Haag.

Gravemarker of Georg Grau.

We then stopped at Templar Cemetery in Haifa and saw graves of Adolf Haag and Georg Grau, who were two Mormon missionaries that served in Israel that got sick and died there. One of the students in our program (Bonnie Burk) is actually the great great great granddaughter of one of the missionaries, Adolf Haag, which was pretty cool.

Bonnie Burk standing next to her relative's grave. (One of the missionaries that got sick and died there in Israel)

We were then all let loose to go buy food. I bought a falafel there for fifteen shekels which kind of wasn’t worth it, but I was basically starving since I didn’t eat any lunch since I probably would have thrown it all up from the car sickness, but it all worked out fine. I just learned that I will never pay more than six shekels for a falafel (like the ones in the Old City in Jerusalem). Plus, they’re about five times better than those ones I paid more for in Haifa.

After that, we were all kind of done for the day, and we were given about two hours to sleep on the way back to the Jerusalem Center. I slept the whole way home and overall the trip was amazing!

I was pretty sad to leave the beautiful Sea of Galilee and all it had to offer, but I was excited to be back at the center. I’m really glad we all got the chance to SWIM, especially since they told us that in semesters past they didn’t allow students to swim for many different reasons, but mostly for liability issues.

Looking back on this Galilee trip, I learned that music is a HUGE part of my life, especially when it comes to learning by the Spirit. I learn some of my most powerful lessons through music and I feel the Spirit so strong through music. I’ve also learned that this land here in Israel is SO beautiful, and that God really did create all of it for us and our benefit. How can there NOT be a God when looking around me here?

Anyway, although I’m getting very sad thinking about leaving this place in less than a month, I’m so thankful to be here and I feel so privileged to be able to visit so many beautiful places in the Holy Land, and to be able to walk where Jesus walked. I pray for you all every day and hope you’re all doing well.

Love,
Jill

Just a quote I heard a couple of weeks ago that I really loved and I really do need to take into consideration myself:
-“If everyone treated those around them as they truly are (as potential celestial beings), the world would be a better place.”
I also really loved this quote said in sacrament meeting a few weeks ago:
-“You can be in the holiest of places (The Holy Land), and if your attitude isn’t right, everything will go over your head.”
-“Learn to ENJOY to the end, instead of enduring to the end.”
-“My greatest souvenir from this experience will be a stronger testimony.”

Sorry if I got a little crazy with all the quotes, I just thought they were awesome and I wanted to share them with you guys!