Turkey Day in Israel

We get pretty creative around here when it comes to celebrating American holidays :) Kasdyn didn't go anywhere on Thanksgiving day without Tina the Turkey. Seriously though...

We got to go canoeing on the Jordan River for Thanksgiving!

Lauren and I were canoe buddies. 

Kasdyn and Emma were our entertainment :)

We had a great time with those two :)

Had to get our candid canoe shot with our park ranger hats!

And a good shot of the River. 

For dinner we didn't get turkey but we did get St. Peter's fish!

Fresh talapia from the Sea of Galilee :)

I had fried fish like this all the time in Ecuador do I was used to seeing the whole fish on a plate. It was really entertaining to watch everyone else freak out, gag, hide there fish heads under napkins, and spit bones out. 

Last Saturday we actually had a Thanksgiving dinner in the Jerusalem Center. It was good except they didn't have mashed potatoes. HOW CAN YOU FORGET THE MASHED POTATOES?! It's fine. At least they had turkey right?

And I got the leg :)

The Sea

So we're living on a resort that sits on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee right next to a kibbutz called Ein GeV. It's been so therapeutic to be by so much water. It feels so clean here! We're really lucky because it's been the rainiest fall in twenty years here so it's much more green than normal for this time of year. It's a huge change of scenery and pace and I love it.

Sunset on the Sea of Galilee from our resort beach. 

We've had lots of fun these last couple days! Christ's ministry was all over Galilee  so we've been hitting some key places. 

Mount of Beatitudes 

A church was built in honor of the Sermon on the Mount. 

Sister Strathearn taught us there about how Christ fulfilled the law. I loved learning about how our heart must be in the right place in order for our obedience to the commandments to be sincere. 

Looking out from the church towards the sea. 

Tabgha

From the Mount of Beatitudes we walked down to Tabgha. 

Here is where a church was built commemorating the place where the resurrected Christ asks Peter three times if he loved him. 

Capernaum

This is where Peter and his wife, mother-in-law, and brother Andrew lived during the time of Christ's ministry. 

This is the inside of a church built over the presumed ancient structure of Peter's home. That square in the middle is glass so that you can see the stone home below. 

Synagogue selfie! There's a synagogue just north of Peter's home built on top of a site where a synagogue from Christ's time stood. I think there's a picture of it in the quad (scriptural canon). 

Magdala

Where Mary Magdalene is from! 

They found synagogue ruins here that Christ likely taught in.

There's a brand new church built near the ancient synagogue in Magdala that has a chapel with a large boat where you preach from. There are paintings honoring Christ's twelve apostles, pillars honoring all the women from four gospels, and tile murals depicting events from Christ's life. I really loved it there. 

Ginosar

Where a 2,000-year-old boat was found, excavated, and preserved for display.

This is a fishing boat from the time of Christ!

The Sea of Galilee

From Ginosar we went accross the Sea of Galilee in a boat, back to our resort in Ein Gev. 

As it got darker the waves got bigger and the rain started. We all huddled together for warmth as we read the story of Christ calming the sea and sang Master the Tempest is Raging from our hymn books. We were on a boat in the same sea that Christ walked on and calmed!!

It was an unforgettable day!

The Galilee

We're here in the Galilee! I really hadn't thought a lot about how much this experience could mean to me but Sister Strathearn didn't waste any time helping us understand how powerful our ten days here could be.

The Sea of Galilee 

She told us to look at this place with a spiritual lens instead of a camera lens in order to really come to know who Jesus was. It filled me with a desire to take the opportunity to study and ponder here and not just play.  

So far we've been to some really cool sites.

Bet Shean

An ancient city mentioned several times in the Old Testament and a possible stop during Christ's ministry. 

Nazareth

Small village in Lower Galilee where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus. 

Church of the Annunciation. This church was built in honor of Mary and, more specifically, the event when the angel Gabriel visited her to announce that she'd be the mother of the Son of God. 

Front door depicting the main events during Christ's life displayed chronologically starting at the top left and going counter clockwise. 

First floor of this non-denominational church. 

Where Gabriel visited Mary (with Abigail).

Beautiful chapel on the second floor of the church. 

We walked over to the Church of St. Joseph after that. In the basement was a stained-glass window that Sister Strathearn pointed out to me. 

It depicts a scene with Jesus and Mary at Joseph's side while he lies on his deathbed. Is never really thought about it but we don't hear about Joseph after he begins his ministry. Sister Strathearn said that some historians believe he was much older than Mary and died early in Christ's life. 

We also stopped at a the Synagogue Church which was built over a structure that existed during Christ's time. 

Brother Chadwick taught us here and we sang some hymns. 

Mount Arbel

Beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee.

It was here that we sat down and heard Sister Strathearn's inspiring message about how to make our time here a special experience. Right after she finished it started raining so Lauren and I started to head back to the bus. She turned to me and asked,"What do you hope to get our of this experience?" And thought about it for a moment and then responded with the most sincere answer I could. "I want to make a concerted effort to understand who Jesus is. I know who I've been taught he is and I know who I've said he is. But now I really want to take the opportunity to learn from the scriptures, the land, and history to come to know him better."