Church in the Galilee is one of the most amazing experiences that I think I have had here. As we were on our way over there, Bro. Emmitt was telling us about the people that were in the branch. He knows them not only because of his work here now, but he lived here while doing his PhD program for a year, and some of the same people are still around. I will admit that I was skeptical of the branch when I was told that Elder Holland likes this place better than the JC, maybe it was a little bit of pride in where I go to school, not to mention how neat the JC is, but after walking into the only piece of land that the church really owns in Israel, I don’t doubt him for a second. We had both the church service and a fireside with the members, so after telling you the logistics of the place, I will tell you about the wonderful people that live here.

The branch building is set up on the hill in Tiberius, right across the lake from Ein Gedi, the kibbutz that I am staying at. It has a great view of the lake and on a clear day they said that you are able to see most of the places that Christ would have spent his time at when preaching here in this area of the land. What an amazing haven they have created here, a little haven where the Spirit can come and reside without restraint. The building is a renovated house that TONS of work had to be done on to make it work. Now it is a beautiful building in which you can go out on the porch adjacent to the chapel and look out over the sea, or for a better view, just go on the roof and look around! The spirit of even just the building itself was amazing, and the story of the people makes it even better.

The church is not recognized in Jerusalem, so that is one of the main reasons that we cannot preach here and have all these restrictions on what we can talk about. Coming here I thought that would be inconvenient for me, but i never realized the implications that would have for the members here. The Book of Mormon is not allowed to be published in Hebrew, and neither can the Hymn books or any manuals. Now, most people in Israel know more than one language, but it's not always the same 2nd language. In the branch building when you walk in, everything looks normal, except for the fact that there are 4 sets of song boards on the wall, one for each language represented in the branch. In the small branch of about 15 members there is English, Spanish, Russian, and Hebrew. The song book in Hebrew is a terrible Baptist one in which we were told is really hard to use because of the way it is translated. Hebrew is the common language for everyone, and so it is normally the one spoken, but because of the restrictions, the Sunday School teacher has to read the manual in Russian, translate it into Hebrew, and then another translation happens for the couple members that still only speak English (mainly the service couples). Can you imagine the rest of the meetings?!

Because the BOM can't be in Hebrew, there are many youth that have gone through the branch that never get to read it for themselves, and so their testimonies really are weak for a while till they are able to somehow find things out for themselves. A few of the youth have fallen away over the years and while this makes the families sad, they know that they are supposed to be here in Israel, so they just go with the Lord. So many sacrifices have been made though the years to make this branch work and grow, the members here are amazing. The problem is that the foundation of this church is getting old, and while this was never really brought up, I did wonder what was going to happen when this generation runs out because it doesn't seem like there is anyone to replace them. There is going to need to be a miracle soon to make this work for too much longer. The branch is also augmented by a church group in Haifa which is made up of Filipino's either going to school there or working. It is an interesting area of the church, and I hope that the Lord will continue to bless it.

We then had a short little stop at a place called Yardenit, which is the commercialized location of where Jesus was baptized int he Jordan. There is a kibbutz there that runs the location, you can buy your little white outfit to go down and dip yourself in, but be careful, because as you watch people go down and dip themselves in, realize that they usually choose not to wear anything underneath those robes, so when they get wet.... yeah, that was an oops... not fun! But it was neat to see all the cool fish that were swimming around and the muskrats too. Also there are panels all around the walls of the place that give the account of the baptism in almost any language that you can dream of. I thought that it was a neat experience all in all.

Anyway, it was a great shabbat in Galilee, it is a great little place to be, and I will keep that little branch in my prayers!

Hike through the Golan

So today was another day off, and so what we did was have a little bit of class in the morning (OK, 3 hours is long for anyone…) and then we had a nice little afternoon activity of going on a hike through the Golan Heights area. It was a really pretty hike but it was a little unexpected what our guide wanted to do. We thought that we would just be able to hike and he would make sure that we went the right way, but he was also going to teach us a little about the geography of the places that we were going. I really didn’t mind that too much, but I know that a few of the other were hoping that it would just be a nice hike.

It is interesting that the whole of Israel is on its own sub-plate though, kind-of like California from what I understand. That is why we have the earthquakes that have destroyed half of the places that we going and see. A little depressing considering that some of these places would be fully intact if it were not for those darn earthquakes!! But oh well. That is also where the Golan heights come from, majorly old lava flows that left great deposits of basalt everywhere that the people in this region use for building their homes.

Anyway, we saw a few cool waterfalls, and really got a good view of the Golan Heights, everything was going pretty well, and then we had a small incident. Mac (who is in my FHE group) rolled her ankle on the trail and hurt it pretty bad. She was near the back, there were only about 7 of the 50 left behind her, and so we had to figure out how to get her to the end of the trail. Neil, Jud and I took turns carrying her the rest of the way, which was fine, except that this was the part of the trail that was coming up out of the valley, and so a lot of it was uphill. It was hard work, I think that Neil took the brunt of it though, he is quite the trooper! We did get her back safely and she is doing OK now. The Jacksons came up from Jerusalem to check on her and get her some wrappings and crutches. In all it was a great day, it was really cool to see that part of the Golan. I am also looking forward to church tomorrow, we get to go to the Galilee branch and I am interested in seeing what church is like here. Till tomorrow!

My Miracle at Jordan

Another field trip day, although this was only a half day when we got down to it. There is so much to see, it’s really nuts how much history is packed into this area. Most of the sights today were actually post-Jesus history, but a few exciting places that had to do with Jesus too.

We started this lovely day with a visit to Gamla which was a very important place during the first revolt before the temple was destroyed. This is a city that really it set atop a hill, with a very steep approach on all sides but one, and even that is pretty bad. SO they built this wall on that side to keep people (Romans) out and they stayed safe for a while. Well, the Roman’s got ticked because there are two wadi valleys that are on either said that create the sheer cliffs that surround the city, but when the Jewish revolt because, the Jews in Babylon (the majority at that time) would migrate to the Galilee area through those valleys and help out, so the Romans had to take them out. This place was where Josephus was a general here too, and so the story goes that the Romans took the city so they could control the immigration and then they took all of the women, men, and children and tossed them off the cliff they lived next to. A depressing story, but a great view of the valley and a great breeze to keep you cool even when it’s hot outside. So there was that story.

The next stop was a place called Qasrin that is a somewhat restored Talmudic village. The restored sections of the ruins are neat because they have put together a house from the time that the village existed. This was cool to see the house that people would have stayed in and the way that they would have lived. It is a very humble place to live in, and it really just struck me how home would have been a place for the intimate family to be. We have so much room now a days, and I just think that we could be so much closer to one another if we didn’t have so much physical distance between us in our own homes. We also found this little thing that was used to crush something-or-other, it was this big cylindrical stone like a rolling pin with a big handle like the old lawn mowers from back in the day. We had a fun time using it to crush things. I think that the pomegranate was the best thing to crush, it squished everywhere!

The next place that we went was a place to commemorate taking over the Golan Heights from Syria. It was a little sad, but also kind of cool at the same time. I mean, we were only a few yards from an active mine field, but then we would hear the stories of the kibbutzim that would get destroyed over and over again, they would then rebuild the place, and then the missiles would come again. It was quite the story to hear about. There were also a few bunkers that were still there from the 67 war and while I didn’t go inside them (the entrance you had to crawl on your belly to get in and I didn’t want to get dirty) I have an eyewitness account of one of my friends that did go in, “It was cooler than the outside, and it smelled bad” said Josett the wise. So there you have it. Bunkers are cool, but stinky.

Our last stop was a place called Kursi, which is the alleged spot where the swine were cast into the sea after being possessed by the legion. There really isn’t much there, an old church ruin, and a gate… yeah, that’s about it. It was cool to read about the account though, that was until our teacher told us that he didn’t think this is where it happened... but I guess that it’s all conjecture anyway, so I can believe what I want.

The field trip was one thing, but the fun part of the day was really the trip to the Jordan River. This was no academic trip, it was for rafting!! We got to go about 3 km down the Jordan River in either kayaks or rafts and so I got with my buddy Kendel and went in a kayak. Unfortunately this partnership didn’t last long because we had quite the time on the river and it wasn’t long until we were overturned by some rafters. This started things, and all I know is that the next 2 hours ish was spent trying to make sure that everyone was as wet as possible! We had people that would pull up beside another boat and then jump over in an attempt to pirate it away from the original owners; there was capsizing, splashing, and general fun as we drifted down slowly. I mean, it’s not like there are rapids or anything, so we had to have our fun some other way! It was a little bad because the water got really shallow all of a sudden sometimes, and people would get thrown into the water and land a litter sooner than they would have liked or expected, but no one was really hurt, and so all is good. Myself I jumped into the water to try and help take over one raft that was being really stubborn, and I thought that it was deep so I just jumped feet first in, and the water was only about 1 ½ feet max… so I think that I have some bruises on the bottom of my feet now from that.

At the end of the rafting there was a little area that you could kind of swim in, so while we were waiting for the bus, a few of us went over there to have fun. A few of us decided that while it might be a little sacrilegious to fake-baptize ourselves there, we did dip ourselves 7 times to make sure that we didn’t have any leprosy! Oh the fun times that we have. I also had a little miracle of my own in the Jordan. I was playing with one of the Emmitt kids, Will, who didn’t know how to swim. I decided to put him on my shoulders to give his a ride where he could be safe, and when I put him up there, I lost my sunglasses. These are way important to me, I can’t deal with the sun, and so as they sunk away and went with the current, a few people tried to get to them, but they were lost. I handed off Will for a little bit so that I could look (more like feel with my feet) and about 30 sec. later and against all odds, I found my glasses! I was so excited and everyone called it my Jordan miracle. I personally hope that when we go there for the spiritual aspect of the FT I will have a different miracle, but for now, this was fun.

Anyway, that was about it for me. I had tons of fun, I took a nap, and I feel good. I am ready to get up early and read my scriptures on the beach and then get to class and learn some more! Have fun everyone!

A Real Day Off..almost

You know what? I think that I have never had a real vacation. I mean I have, but I think that there has really never been a time when I am at the beach and can do just about whatever, without have to worry about anything else. Just a day to relax, when the only thing that you have to worry about is if you have enough sun for the day (which doesn’t take long for me!). Anyway, let’s just say that I’m really glad that the program that they have here for us and the way that it is organized.
We started the morning with class, beginning the lecture of the NT and Jesus ministry. While it is really hot here during the day, the 3 hour block this morning wasn’t that bad when you stayed in the shade, so we stayed outside the whole time and got to look over the Sea of Galilee as we learned about the stories of Jesus. Bro. Emmitt is a great teacher. He has a lot of quotes that he brings in from conference and the like to make sure that we know some of the practical application of the teachings in Jesus time. It was a spiritual experience that I was able to have and I’m glad that I was able to have it here.
The rest of the day was nothing but free time, except for this little class that we had tonight, but yeah. So we had this Frisbee tournament where teams from our class played and teams from the other class played, and then we are going to get together and play the last team from each class will play each other to see who is the best. So, first of all, it’s super hot here, and humid, and the sand is really hot. I was on the first team to play, and it was 20min or first to 5 to play. We lost. It was a fun game though, and I helped with one epic goal, the only one that we got too. It was a fun game, but I got all sweaty and so I couldn’t wait to get into the water. So I put on my sunblock and waited the allotted time and got into the water. Well, let’s just say that I don’t think that I waited quite long enough. I’m pretty sure that since I was so sweaty, the sunblock never really got into my skin. The good news is that I thought that that might have happened before I got in, and so I left my shirt on when I got in. So long story short, I had tons of fun getting in the water and playing, and helping the girls do back flips off my back and such, but my face and arms are much darker than they were before. Which it’s still not that dark compared to others, but for me, this is getting dark! Also, I’m in the sun so much that my hair is getting lighter too! I’im not the happiest about this development, I like my hair, but I think that it’s a little fun!
After dinner we had class for ANE with Hablin in the basement of the kibbutz building. None of us were really looking forward to this class because we just wanted to have time on our own, and I was hurting bad from the burn that I had, and so I didn’t want to be there either, but the class itself was good. I may have been so tired that I wanted to sleep, and so I just laid my head back and took a little nap. Now, I would not have mentioned this because it is nothing new for me to sleep in class, but I guess that my form was entertaining for everyone else to see, because during the break (it was a 2 hour class) people came up to me telling me that they got good pictures of me sleeping! These were not people just around me either; they were like 4 rows in front and on the other side of the room! Sis. Whipple even came up to me to tell me that Walter (her husband) had taken notes on what I had been asleep for if I was interested in getting them later! Oh, the Whipple’s! I love them so much, they are a couple made in heaven!
That night was just spent with people, doing my best to be social and such. I watched a little bit of the World Cup semi-finals (darn Spain) and then I went to the beach and spent some time there, and then spent time with my good buddy Kendell for a while. It was quite a night, and I really enjoyed all of it. This place is great, and I love being here so much. Here’s to more experiences!!

Day of Ruins

Another field trip day, although this was only a half day when we got down to it. There is so much to see, it’s really nuts how much history is packed into this area. Most of the sights today were actually post-Jesus history, but a few exciting places that had to do with Jesus too.
We started this lovely day with a visit to Gamla which was a very important place during the first revolt before the temple was destroyed. This is a city that really it set atop a hill, with a very steep approach on all sides but one, and even that is pretty bad. SO they built this wall on that side to keep people (Romans) out and they stayed safe for a while. Well, the Roman’s got ticked because there are two wadi valleys that are on either said that create the sheer cliffs that surround the city, but when the Jewish revolt because, the Jews in Babylon (the majority at that time) would migrate to the Galilee area through those valleys and help out, so the Romans had to take them out. This place was where Josephus was a general here too, and so the story goes that the Romans took the city so they could control the immigration and then they took all of the women, men, and children and tossed them off the cliff they lived next to. A depressing story, but a great view of the valley and a great breeze to keep you cool even when it’s hot outside. So there was that story.
The next stop was a place called Qasrin that is a somewhat restored Talmudic village. The restored sections of the ruins are neat because they have put together a house from the time that the village existed. This was cool to see the house that people would have stayed in and the way that they would have lived. It is a very humble place to live in, and it really just struck me how home would have been a place for the intimate family to be. We have so much room now a days, and I just think that we could be so much closer to one another if we didn’t have so much physical distance between us in our own homes. We also found this little thing that was used to crush something-or-other, it was this big cylindrical stone like a rolling pin with a big handle like the old lawn mowers from back in the day. We had a fun time using it to crush things. I think that the pomegranate was the best thing to crush, it squished everywhere!
The next place that we went was a place to commemorate taking over the Golan Heights from Syria. It was a little sad, but also kind of cool at the same time. I mean, we were only a few yards from an active mine field, but then we would hear the stories of the kibbutzim that would get destroyed over and over again, they would then rebuild the place, and then the missiles would come again. It was quite the story to hear about. There were also a few bunkers that were still there from the 67 war and while I didn’t go inside them (the entrance you had to crawl on your belly to get in and I didn’t want to get dirty) I have an eyewitness account of one of my friends that did go in, “It was cooler than the outside, and it smelled bad” said Josett the wise. So there you have it. Bunkers are cool, but stinky.
Our last stop was a place called Kursi, which is the alleged spot where the swine were cast into the sea after being possessed by the legion. There really isn’t much there, an old church ruin, and a gate… yeah, that’s about it. It was cool to read about the account though, that was until our teacher told us that he didn’t think this is where it happened... but I guess that it’s all conjecture anyway, so I can believe what I want.
The field trip was one thing, but the fun part of the day was really the trip to the Jordan River. This was no academic trip, it was for rafting!! We got to go about 3 km down the Jordan River in either kayaks or rafts and so I got with my buddy Kendel and went in a kayak. Unfortunately this partnership didn’t last long because we had quite the time on the river and it wasn’t long until we were overturned by some rafters. This started things, and all I know is that the next 2 hours ish was spent trying to make sure that everyone was as wet as possible! We had people that would pull up beside another boat and then jump over in an attempt to pirate it away from the original owners; there was capsizing, splashing, and general fun as we drifted down slowly. I mean, it’s not like there are rapids or anything, so we had to have our fun some other way! It was a little bad because the water got really shallow all of a sudden sometimes, and people would get thrown into the water and land a litter sooner than they would have liked or expected, but no one was really hurt, and so all is good. Myself I jumped into the water to try and help take over one raft that was being really stubborn, and I thought that it was deep so I just jumped feet first in, and the water was only about 1 ½ feet max… so I think that I have some bruises on the bottom of my feet now from that.
At the end of the rafting there was a little area that you could kind of swim in, so while we were waiting for the bus, a few of us went over there to have fun. A few of us decided that while it might be a little sacrilegious to fake-baptize ourselves there, we did dip ourselves 7 times to make sure that we didn’t have any leprosy! Oh the fun times that we have. I also had a little miracle of my own in the Jordan. I was playing with one of the Emmitt kids, Will, who didn’t know how to swim. I decided to put him on my shoulders to give his a ride where he could be safe, and when I put him up there, I lost my sunglasses. These are way important to me, I can’t deal with the sun, and so as they sunk away and went with the current, a few people tried to get to them, but they were lost. I handed off Will for a little bit so that I could look (more like feel with my feet) and about 30 sec. later and against all odds, I found my glasses! I was so excited and everyone called it my Jordan miracle. I personally hope that when we go there for the spiritual aspect of the FT I will have a different miracle, but for now, this was fun.
Anyway, that was about it for me. I had tons of fun, I took a nap, and I feel good. I am ready to get up early and read my scriptures on the beach and then get to class and learn some more! Have fun everyone!

Beatitudes

What a day this turned out to be! We are really segregated out into groups here and so one day my NT class does and the next day the other class goes on the same field trip. This is so that we only have one bus here helping to reduce costs. So today we got the field trip and tomorrow we get to have class. I am glad that I got to have the field trip today though. It was tons of fun, even if t is really hot and humid in he valley here. That’s what you get I guess for being below sea level and on a lake!
Our first journey started with a tripacross the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Of course you can’t do this without stopping in the middle and learning a litte about the things that went on actually on the sea, and of course you have to sing the famous “Master the Tempest is Raging.” So we did all that. It was actually interesting for me because I am actually trying to make things work here in my favor, wanting to make sure that I get the full experience while I’m here, and so I was a little concerned about a few things going on in my life. Well, before we stopped for the activities in the middle of the lake, I was staring out the boat on my own and just had a little moment when I realized that I was singing that Tempest song in my head. I didn’t even realize what I had been doing, but it really struck me because now I had a new application for the song which is calming the tempests that were going on in my life. That song is never going to be the same for me again. It was neat to be on the Sea though, and even though we wont get storms here in the summer, it was neat to see the places that Christ would have gone to. You can see most of them from the lake, so that was really neat as well.

We stopped at a place that had an actual boat hat had been excavated that was from the time of Christ. It was cool to see the boat itself, the engineering techniques of the day and to wonder, could this actually be a boat the Jesus touched? It was from the right time, and you just never know! From that little museum we traveled to the Mount of Beatitudes. On the mountain there is an 8-sided church that was built by Mussolini (WWII guy) to commemorate this area. This as most likely the spot that the great sermon took place on, and it was really neat to be taught there by Bro. Emmitt and think about all those great teachings being there just 2 millennia ago. We got a lot of free time here to think and to ponder. The park around the church was beautiful, and as I sad under the shade of a great tree on the hill, from inside the church there came singing. There was a group of oriental tourists that were Catholic and had come to sing in the church. The place was very special before, but as I heard the singing travel through the church and out to me, it really added to the sacredness of the place. Song is defiantly a prayer and can help a person to feel the Spirit.
We then wne tot two smaller churches, the first one being St. Peter’s Primacy where they have put a church to commemorate the place where Jesus ate fish with his disciples after his resurrection, and where Peter got asked the 3 times whether he loved the Savior and what he should do about that love and apply it after his departure. It is a very small church built around the rock that they think was used to eat the fish on, also known as the area of the “last breakfast.” The other little church was the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, and I bet you can guess what this is there to commemorate! This is a church that had been built 3 times now, although the mosaics on the floor are still original. There is a cool little outer courtyard with goldfish and carp swimming around, which just make me think of the gifilte fish that I ate at the rabbi’s house that one day… gross! The church here was places because it is over a spring, and since the people wanted for food and not for water, they figure that this would have been a good place for the sermon to take place on. They also wanted to protect the spring for pilgrims back in crusaders times, there is always more than one motivation for the place to be built!

Next stop we went to the cursed city of Capernaum. It is interesting because so much did happen in this place, but all of the cities that Jesus cursed don’t exist anymore, while many of the other ancient cities are still there is modern ways. This place does give us some of the best views of what an old city would have looked like and the ruins here are simple amazing. The Catholics have built a church above the place where Peter’s house was, and we are pretty darn sure that it’s the real site. The church is built of a raised platform above the site and inside the church there is a big section of glass in the floor so that you can look down and see the place where Peter lived. It was later turned into different church’s that date to the 4th and 6th centuries respectively, and those are octagonal as well. The other really cool thing about this place is the synagogue because even though the original foundations are covered by some later Roman type architecture, we know that this is the place that Jesus would have gone each time to go to church. This is the place where he would have gotten to declare himself as Messiah and also teach the people. It is too bad that we didn’t have more time to read all the things that Jesus did in this town, but we had to move on. We did get to also see the Greek Orthodox church of Capernaum and it was really neat with it’s red domes as well as the ornate paintings on the walls depicting the final judgment of the world with Jesus, his Apostles, and the Devil all present and accounted for.

Our last archeological stop was at Bethesda, the home place of a few of the apostles. There is not much left here nd it’s only a 20 year old find, but you could see the place where a fisherman lived and worked and so that was a neat experience to have as well. The rest of the day was back at the kibbutz getting to swim in the Sea of Galilee which is amazing by the way. I can’t believe that I get to do this every day! We also had a nice bonfire tonight to relive some of the memories that we have had at the JC so far, and also to just have fun singing around a campfire as a group. I tell you what, so many things have happened here with this group together. I can’t believe that I have just over a month left and that’s all! But I am going to try and make the most of what I have been given, that’s for sure! Love you all!

Starting in Galilee

What I day that I was able to have today! Starting off things right in Galilee is the way that they do it around here, and I’m so grateful to be able to have such a great program that is so well thought out and planned according to the student’s wants and needs. This is going to be the first big trip that I get to have with Bro. Emmitt as a teacher, and I’m excited to get to know him and learn from him.
But anyway, so start off with the things that I did today. First of all, I didn’t get much sleep last night because of a project that I was helping out with. It was really cool and I’ll have to tell you about it later, but anyway, 2 hours of nap later it was time to wake up and get going because we had to leave at 630am to get to do everything that we were supposed to. Leaving for 10 days can be stressful at the very least, trying ti figure out what to bring and make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything…not fun. Luckily for me I was able to sleep for most of the 2 hour drive, as did most of the bus. I don’t think that I have ever had the bus that quiet before on any trip! I would like to mention my bus mate, Allison, and the wonderful time that I had with her today. She is tons of fun when she is sleep deprived!
So the first stop of the day was in a place called Caesarea Maritime, a quite impressive deep-sea harbor that was built by Herod the Great up north on the coast of the Mediterranean. A movie showed us what the establishment would have looked like in the days of Herod and I was quite impressed. He had used this special cement that hardened in water to built these foundations in the underwater sand, and then build these huge establishments on top of them! Nature too k its toll of course though and after falling into disrepair and being conquered by 2 civilizations before finally being razed by the Arabs and being burned to the ground. Now there is quite the town there and of course the great tourist locations!
You may know of this place by the account of Paul and the changing doctrine that happened when we had the dream of being told to eat unclean animals to tell him that the Gentiles should be taught. This is where the soldier that he met came from. Although I have to say that the most compelling story that I think comes from this area is the one of Paul standing before Festus and King Agrippa to defend his faith. I stood in the place where Paul defended his testimony to those leaders and saw where Agrippa would have said, “almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” I tell you what, This is one of the best stories from the post-Jesus apostles, and I am grateful that I was able to stand in that holy place and remind myself of the testimony that I have of Christ and His salvation.
Our next stop was a quick one to look at some aqueducts that the Romans had left behind in the area, and then we were off to the highlight of my day at least, Nazareth. This is a nice clean town that is composed of a lot of Arab Christians and so many masses around town are offered in Arabic as well as English. The biggest church here of course in the Church of the Annunciation which is built over a grotto that is thought could be the place where Mary lived and so then where the angel Gabriel appeared to her to tell her the wonderful news. So the lower level has a shrine that is built inside of the grotto, and then the upper level is a place where the actual church part is. The whole things is huge and it is very beautiful as well. Because this is not just a place for those in Israel, there are depictions of the Virgin Mary all throughout the church from many different cultures, each depicting her in their own unique way. I really thought that it was a beautiful church and very grand in its design, and I could really feel the spirit there as well. It made me think a little bit about the reasons that we feel the Spirit, because I don’t know if that was a real site or not, but at the least, I was being reminded of the sacred nature of the event that this church was trying to depict.
There were a few other church’s as well in the area that we stopped by including ones to St. Joseph, the father of Jesus. This was really neat because we just don’t know that much about Joseph, in fact there are only about 7 verses that really tell us about what kind of man he was, but in this church you could really tell that those were important attributes to have as a father. I’m sure that Joseph was chosen to be the father as carefully as Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Also we went to the Synagogue Church which is the place where the family of Jesus would have gone each week to worship and where Jesus would have made the first real announcement that he was the Christ. The last cool place that we went is the Greek location for where the annunciation happened, which is Mary’s well. The interesting part about this is not the well, but the Church of Gabriel that is near by it. The church is over the place where three springs converge to go down to mary’s well, and so here you can actually tap the water, fill up this tin cup that is provided, and drink from the well. I was glad that I was one of the first ones there, although I guess I don’t know how many people where there before me!
At last we got to the Sea. After gong to a great lookout spot where we could see almost the whole thing as once we went and drove to our kibbutz. Now I am living for the next 10 days in a place that is right on the coast, and where I can watch the sundown every night right over the lake. We had FHE here on the coast of the Sea of Galilee, right here!! I never thought that such an experience could be mine. This is a sacred place, not the kibbutz itself, but the whole area. It is said that Christ made it this way because of the many miracles that were performed in the area of the vital body of water. If the holiness of a miracle sticks, that’s great, but at least for me this place has a spirit. I know that for me it is sacred, and I know that this is going to be one of the best times that I’m going to have to get to know my Savior. I hope that I will be able to give you all a little taste of this wonderful place over the next few days. I love you all!