Swimming Where the Savior Walked

Needless to say finals were simply painful! I have to say overall this has been my roughest college semester on record and I have yet to see what my grades will actually be. Following finals week we had the opprotunity to travel to the Herodian including the Western Wall and the escavations taking place. As I placed my own prayer in the Western Wall, the wall closest to where the Holy of Holies would have been located thousands of years ago, I realized that this was my temple too. I watched as hundreds upon hundreds of my brothers and sisters prayed at this wall for the return of a way of life in which to fully worship their Lord and I was overcome with gratitude to know that when I come home I have the ability to fulfill their wishes in my personal life. How very blessed I am.

We also went to Bethlehem which commenced our study of the New Testament. Once again, Bethlehem was not what I had pictured it to be. A large Catholic church had been erected over the supposed location of the Savior's birth and the general feel of the place was once again dark and somewhat unhappy.

Classes continued for a week and the general feeling of the center was one of great excitement for our last, biggest trip. In order to entertain ourselves for the last few days we had our own Oscar's night and music videos as well as short films by the students were shown. I even showed up randomly in one of them! Hooray! Everyone dressed up for the occasion and I even bought a new skirt (6 dollars) for the night. What a fun night it was.

Finally after a few more movies were watched and hours spent in class, we headed off to Galilee on Monday, July 13. Our first stop on the way to Ein Gev (our resort) was at Caesarea Megiddo. This is where Herod the Great built one of his strongholds dedicated to Caesar. The uniquness of the site was that Herod also built his own harbor. The man had ego issues I think.....but he did succeed in his endeavors and the ruins in the ocean still hold strong.

Of course me being the adventurous person that I am, convinced a few of my classmates to join me out on the ruins in the middle of the ocean. The ancient cement was slippery and covered in various sea plant and animals (we even found a dead jelly fish!). As I headed out to the largest portion of the sea wall I realized that my foot hurt and upon investigation realized that I had torn my toe open and was bleeding profusely. I was then carried to shore by Mason and then Daniel carried me about a quarter of a mile to where the busses were parked. The mess was cleaned up and stiches weren't needed, don't worry! I just thought it was rather humorous because it always seems that I'm the one getting hurt!

This was taken before I realized that I was hurt. From left to right: Mason carrying around Becca, me, Emily, Mackenzie (my roommate for Galilee), and Jane.

Following this little adventure we stopped at an ancient Roman aquaduct and ran around the ruins as usual.

From left to right: Daniel, me, Rachel (my roommate from Jordan), and Brittany.

We stopped in Nazareth for a few hours and were allowed to enter a few churches concerning Jesus' ministry. Needless to say it was almost unbareably hot and we were all ready to go to the beach. How grateful we all were when we drove up to this scene!

This is the view of the Sea of Galilee right outside of my bungalo. Amazing right? Across the lake is Tiberias which was quite a sight after nightfall.

Unfortunately because of my injury I wasn't able to get in the water for a few days for fear of infection. I did, however, enjoy long days of tanning and reflection. The peace present in that place was incredible and it truly was no wonder that the Lord spent so much time there. I marveled at the beauty of it compared to the unrest of Jerusalem and told one of my friends, Camille how I felt. She then commented: "Well He's the one who made it this beautiful, why wouldn't He spend so much time here?" How very true that is. It was amazing to me that I was able to stand in the water that had heard the Savior's voice and obeyed His every command. Galilee truly is a land where you can feel that the Savior walked there.

Our first real field trip in Galilee consisted of a boat ride across the Sea to Tiberias and then a stop at the Mount of Beatitudes. I was pleasantly suprised at how beautiful the grounds have been kept on the Mount. Once again, you could feel that the Savior really had taught there.

Catholic church and garden on the Mount of Beattitudes.

The next day was spent rafting on the Jordan River and then we went to dinner at a fish restaurant. For those of you who know my reactions to not only sea food but also to any meat still on bone, it goes without saying that I ordered the pizza. How very grateful I was! The fish looked as if it had just been pulled out of the ocean, thrown on the grill and then put on a plate; eyes, tongue, and teeth all still present. I was teased mercilessly for not eating the fish but I am sure that I will never regret my decision!

The next few days were spent on the beach and in classes. How wonderful it was to have some sort of a vacation! I honestly slept most of the time, but it was amazing.

On Monday of the next week, July 20, we went to see the Jezreel Valley and some hot springs. In the Jezreel Valley we stopped at an ancient Roman city and as evidenced in the picture, we went climbing on the ruins. Don't worry mom, I only stood out on the pillar for just a few seconds to have my picture taken :) and it really wasn't that high up! Ok maybe it was.....but what a great picture!

Look mom! No harness! :)

The next day we were off to Hazor, Dan and the upper Galilee including Banias (Caesarea Philipi) and Nimrod's Castle. Honestly I don't remember much of Hazor, it was another one of those experiences where I'm going to need to identify another pile of ancient rocks and dirt. But I do remember that my headphones broke there! Don't worry though, Mary Lou had an extra pair and has lent them to me for the rest of the trip. Thank you!

Caesarea Philipi was wonderful though. This was the site of St Matthew 16 where Peter declares Christ as the Son of the Living God. Our teacher explained to us that it is no wonder that the Savior chose this place to call Peter a rock. The mountainside is amazing! Furthermore, the site had previously been dedicated to the Greek god Pan who ruled over the Underworld. The background of the next picture is what the Greeks called the opening to hell. Thus, the explanation for the faces made....

From left to right: Kristi, me, Savannah, Emily, and Matt (his expression is my favorite)

Nimrod's castle had no real historical value to our trip other than that it was a Crusader castle. We once again took amazing pictures though!
Once again, me on a rather large cliff......I was told quite quickly following this picture to get down....

At Dan we traveled around basically in the jungle, but the highlight of the trip was seeing this kindergarten class. Unfortunately since it was being taught in Hebrew I understood nothing but this little boy caught my attention. He looked so very intent and I loved his stance while he watched the lesson :)

Our last day in Galilee consisted of visiting Akko and Beth Shearim. In Akko we toured yet another Crusader castle, as well as a mosque where we were suprised to find beautiful Hawaiian flowers on the grounds. We take our little joys where we can in the heat and humidity I guess :)

Left to right: Emily, Ali, and me!

Shortly following this picture we traveled a short distance through the city to the coast and alongside the beautiful scene, we found some local Arab boys jumping off the walls! I was tempted to join them but did not due so for fear of being sent home early from the program....what a great story that would have been though!

Upon arriving home I was planning on taking only an hour nap and then heading off to the beach for one last time but unfortunately I forgot to turn my alarm on and didn't wake up till dinner. I did however spend time after dinner watching the sunset, attempted walking on water one last time (I still need more practice on that one....), and prepared myself for the testimony meeting that night.

I was overwhelmed at the testimony meeting with a burning confirmation that my Elder Brother lived in this land and that He truly loves me. I cannot express all of the feelings or thoughts that I had that night but I can say that I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ lives and that He came to this earth to save us all and that He loves each of us more than we will ever be able to comprehend.

My failed last attempt at walking on water

Sunset on the Sea of Galilee

Overall the trip was amazing and in all honesty I would love to go back someday. I have never felt such a daily testimony and power that the Savior's spirit dwells there. I cannot be grateful enough that I have had the opprotunity to come to the Holy Land. Who ever thought that I would be cool enough for this??

I am excited however to come home in just 2 and a half weeks! The days have simply flown by and once again we are preparing for finals. Papers will be written, tests taken, tshirts ordered (that's my task for the summer that I have put off till the last minute.....whoops!), many pictures taken and then I'll be on a plane at 2 AM before I know it! I'm excited to see all of you! I have missed you so much and cannot wait to share all of my experiences and pictures!!! Hope all is well at home, love you!