1. I have always thought the Sea of Galilee as a huge ocean that I could barely see the other side. Well, it's not. To give you a perspective, Utah Lake is about 24 miles by 13 miles. The Sea of Galilee is about 13 miles by 7.5 miles. It's quite small, but the beauty is beyond compare. I've never seen such beautiful sunsets in my life, and I have seen a good amount. The point of this section is not the beauty of Galilee though; the point is the sea is actually a small lake.
2. November 13-November 19
SUNDAY: Had all the craziness of my roommate going to the hospital, turned in a final paper (Woot!!), and Zedekiah's Cave
MONDAY: Departed to Galilee!!! Jordan Valley, Bet Shean, Nazareth, Church of Annunciation, St. Joseph's Church, and Synagogue where Jesus most likely taught, Mt. Arbel, and throughout the weeks stayed at Ein Gev Resort which is run by a Kibbutz
TUESDAY: Classes/Mid term and then would have played on the beach, but it was raining...therefore no :( But later it stopped raining so we had a bonfire with S'mores!!!
WEDNSEDAY: Boat ride across the Sea of Galille, Ginosar Ancient Boat Museum, Mt. of Beatitudes, Tabgha, St. Peter's Primacy, Capernaum, and Kursi
THURSDAY: Classes, hike in the Golan Heights, went to a fish restaurant, and then went to Tiberias and saw the tombs of Rabbi Maimonides and Ben Zakkai (don't know what I said the last two lines? Google it, it's a bit long to explain everything :) Love you!)
FRIDAY: Gamla, Qazrin Village, and then classes
SATURDAY: Church with the Tiberias Branch then went to Yardenit which is the commercialized section of the Jordan River
November 20-November 26
SUNDAY: Classes, then swam in the Sea of Galilee and it was freezing but now I can say I swam where Jesus walked
MONDAY: Mt. Tabor, Nain, Megiddo, Gan Ha-Shelosha, and lecture about a Kibbutz life
TUESDAY: Mt. Hazor, Tel Dan, Banias, Nimrod's Castle, Har Bental, and BONFIRE!!!
WEDNSDAY: Chorazin, Sepphoris, Akko, Kights Hall, Old Akko walk, and Classes
THURSDAY: (Thanksgiving and my birthday!!! Who could ask for a better birthday then being at the Sea of Galilee, Mediterranean Sea, Jerusalem and then ending it with a Israeli Thanksgiving dinner and pita birthday cake? Not me!) Muhraqa, Kaiser's Watch Overlook, Haifa Templar Cemetery, Caesarea, and headed back to the JC to have a Thanksgiving dinner!
FRIDAY: Classes and slept
SATURDAY: Church and Garden of Gethsemane
3. The tender mercy of Galilee was the weather. Yes, it was cold and rainy most of our time there, but the rain and wind calmed whenever my class needed it. For instance, our first field trip day we went out on the sea, and we were nervous because it had been rainy and windy all morning. It calmed and the sunshine came out while we were heading over to the port. There were many places we needed to hike through mud, but it wasn't raining while we hiked. We just had to be careful not to get our whole body muddy :) Our maids sure loved us this trip... (sarcasm). The Lord truly blessed us to keep this trip managable. Then the last few days we were there, it was absolutely beautiful and warm. We were able to enjoy the beach after our field trips at least for a few hours. One word: heavenly.
4. The funniest thing that has happened these last two weeks actually didn't happen in Galilee but the night before. Earlier that day, we had all finished our final paper for a class that was...well...not quite as popular as the rest. I was in the computer lab writing on this blog, and then I hear these screams come through the doors and see flying snowballs...no paperballs getting thrown at me and everyone else in the room. These girls put scarves around their faces and tore apart all the papers we read for the class we finished earlier that day and bunched them into balls. I, of course, had to defend myself and attacked back. It was a great little war we had going on. After they left to attack other victims, we discussed that it was the Third Intifada (kind of like civil war of the Palestinians attacking but not). It was a great stress reliever.
5. There were many testimony builders over the course of Galilee, but the one that hit me the most was on the boat on the sea. After we had a little devotional, I thought about Peter walking on water. Yes Jesus walked on water which is a miracle all by itself and I don't mean to down play it, but my focus is on Peter. He was the only through and through mortal to walk on water, yet he only did it when Christ said, "Come." That first step must have been frightening. Peter was a fisherman; he knew logically that when someone steps on water, you sink. But spiritually, it makes sense. Amazing the things we can do when we follow God's bidding. I know there have been so many miracles in my life because I decided to follow through on God's commandments and requests for me. I'm about to make another first step in my life by going on a mission. I don't get nervous until about 5 minutes before things and a mission is scaring the wits out of me already. This is something I've never done before. I can't even compare it to anything else. But I can compare it to Peter. Logically, there are a lot of things that shouldn't happen on missions, but the miracle will happen. Christ bid me to come, and I will go. In a sense, I will walk on water. And when I fall because of my doubts, Christ will be there and immediately stretch forth his hand and save me. The process will continue to go again and again throughout my mission and life. Christ constantly calls for me to come and take a risk to do something I never thought I would be able to do, but then with faith in Him, I will see the miracle. I will do the miracle. I will be the miracle. And Christ will be there by my side through it all.
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