July 14, 2010

     Our last full day in the Galilee. Our first stop was Zippori (it means 'bird' in Hebrew). It had some really famous, pretty cool mosaics. Bro. Brown made the connection that these mosaics were focused on Abraham and the aaronic priesthood and how it is passed via lineage and some mosaics in Italy that shows a chalice and shewbread—all of them are acceptable offerings... and anyone can offer them up. The blessings are based on righteousness, not lineage. Akko was moderately cool. It had some beautiful shoreline. It was the last major crusader stronghold. Bro. Hamblin retold the final siege when Saladin defeated the templars. It was really interesting. Then we had free time and Chris and Brooke and I got trapped in a Turkish bath house. Long story. To make it shorter, it was a really underwhelming experience. To be honest, it was one of my least favorite field trips. I took more pictures and movies today than any other, though, because one of my favorite people in the whole program was sick today! He did not go, so we made him a special video telling him about what we learned and saw so he wouldn't feel left out. We got home and swam for a few last hours together (it was way fun—the water was perfect), had dinner, and then a testimony meeting. I really can't believe that this is over. I am so happy. I am so nostalgic. I have had so many experiences here. I will never be the same again.  

July 13, 2010

My day was AWESOME.  It was hard at first, because I was super tired as my roommates were up until 1am playing pranks on a girl's bungalow—which, of course, included the girls trying to infiltrate our apartment to play pranks on my roommates... sigh. Maybe I'm just lame (To be honest, I was feeling a little left out when they were talking about it the next day). Anyway, I can't really tell you much about Hazor except that it had a cistern, it was one of the main cities of the Northern kingdom with a wicked king (Jabin), and... I was really tired. Chorazin was much better. The sleep on the bus got me to a more coherent state. It was really thought-provoking. This was one of the places that Christ cursed for rejecting Him. It spurred a discussion on what it means to have an opportunity to receive the gospel and the level of understanding needed for accountability. Dan was beautiful. We hiked around and saw the source of the Jordan river. We also saw the Winnie the Pooh tree, as well as the place that Jeraboam set up the altar as a political move to tell the people that they did not need to go to Jerusalem to the temple. 

By far, though, my favorite was our next stop: Caesaria Philipi. Bro. Manscill talked about Peter's confession of faith and testimonies in general. He asked for volunteers to share their testimony and I raised my hand (usually I wait to give others the chance, but the last time I did that Bro. Manscill took the brief silence to mean that no one wanted to... and moved on!). Even though I didn't have time to think of anything, I was so glad I raised my hand. I simply told the story of how I felt when President Monson had said “I stand before you and declare this First Presidency is united as one under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Thomas S. Monson, “To Learn, to Do, to Be,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 60–62, 67–68) and how I felt my testimony being renewed in a very full, conscious way. I felt the spirit and throughout all of the free time I thought about the evolution of my testimony. I reread my patriarchal blessing and realized how far my testimony had come since I had received it—and I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. A testimony really is a gift. I had the idea to record my testimony at that spot. It was a little hard to hear it because of the running waters, but it felt good to just do it so that there would be a record that I had a testimony of the gospel when I visited the place where Peter testified of him.

Our next stop was a mountain with a huge fortress on top of it—Nimrod's castle, as it was called. It had a good view and another bat cave, both awesome. Our last stop was an overlook of the UN embassy of Syria—another sad reminder of the disquieting relations of Israel and its neighbors. At night, we had a bonfire with SCONES (soooooooo yummy!) and then I helped my teacher with a computer problem (their email account was hacked).

July 12, 2010

I thought Hippo was a cool Roman archaeological dig? Beth She'an blew it away today. It had a huge main road, a complete hippodrome that is still used for events (we tested out its projection abilities and we could hear someone sing perfectly all the way from the furthest seats). They had complete bath houses, rows upon rows of columns, and it just... felt like a complete city. It was large enough that I really could imagine people living there and using it. Originally, it was a Philistine city where they hung the head of Saul after killing him and his sons (See the last chapter of 1 Samuel). Our next stop was bet alpha, an honestly lame mosaic of various biblical events—though the best preserved of just about any. Next we swam for two hours at the natural spring of Gan Hashelosha. We then went to a church built at Nain which commemorated Christ's raising of the widow's son there. Our last stop was Mt. Tabor, one of the two claimed spots for the Mount of Transfiguration. Besides the Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb, this was one of the most important spots in all of Christianity—hopefully I can talk more about that later.

July 11, 2010

Today was another class day. Bro Manscill likes to quiz on pretty minute details... kinda frustrating... and sometimes the details he chooses to go over are a little too tangential for me, but some things are really interesting. We talked about resurrection today. He recommended a talk by Robert J. Matthews on resurrection. I am totally going to look it up. The resurrection is something that I've always thought is a little confusing—who is resurrected when, when does it start, what happens with the Second Coming and the Millennium, etc. If anyone else has a good talk that sets it out in a deep, yet understandable way, I'd love it! At 1, we had the best lunch (they had these fried rice cakes—worlds better than keesh!), and right after (they said 2pm) we were going to go to Hippo. I went back to my apartment to start my homework for our evening class, and I get a knock on my door at 1:40 saying they were leaving right then! Because I knew our teacher was driving us personally, I didn't even grab anything—I just left (in my light, athletic clothing—basically my pajamas!). But I am SO glad they came and got me. It was a waaaaaaaaay cool spot! It is an active archaeological dig with an original Roman road, a temple, a bath house, and other buildings with huge Roman columns in amazing condition. But the best part was definitely the cave we found. It was alongside the Roman road, and it had huge beetles, scorpions, and bats. Dozens of bats! No one brought a light with them, so I went first with my phone's LED light (until the very end, when I started the video). It was so cool! We had bats fly into us (riiiight over our heads) several times. My friend Chris actually got hit once, but he had a hat, so he was ok. We got back to the Kibbutz at about 3:15, so I was able to do my reading in time for dinner and class.

July 10, 2010

We attended the Galilee branch today. It was sooooooo cool! Not only did it have an amazing view (which reminded me of the view at the JC itself—but in a very... Galilee way), but there was just a special feeling there. Scott Paul Johns, a man who I always thought had that quality of inner dignity (here defined as people where I don't really have to know them long or deeply to just feel like they were an exceptionally good person) gave the best talk I have heard in a sacrament meeting in a year, easily. He talked about how the Atonement applies to saints as well as sinners. My favorite story was about his grandmother being killed in a car accident and his mom responding, instead of with resentment or retribution, with love. She went out of her way to help this man: to know that she forgave him, that he should forgive himself, and that she loved him (She even set up a special meeting with her, his family, and his bishop). Awesome. Before church, I had the honor of being one of only 5 students to get invited to a special outing to see a bunker that was used in the '67 war (I found spent gun shells!), as well as the oldest temple in Israel—they think it is over 3000 years old! After church was a fireside where I got to talk to some members from the Galilee branch. Jorge, Patricia, and their 6 year old son Julian. 

July 9, 2010
Field trip day again today! I could totally get used to this schedule! Every other day we get to go out and tour the Holy Land!! Today we went to a few... noticeably lesser places. We went to Gamla--where the Roman battled some Jews led by Josephus, old bunkers in the Golan heights, and the traditional place where the casting out of the legion of devils into the pigs took place (Kursi). After we got back, we had lunch and then a half hour until we had another hike—this time, though, there was swimming involved. It was fun, except our guide did not know English very well and we took so long so we didn't get to go to the biggest waterfall... When we got back, the other group went to the fish restaurant, which means I missed out on ever experiencing Tiberias at night... but at least the Kibuttz here had the best desserts ever. I had 6. Tonight people played kissing tag, but I just talked to other people who weren't participating. Am I really not wanting to participate because I think it is inappropriate, or am I just lame?


In addition to the pics below, here is a youtube video of my teacher talking on site.  More for my benefit of remembering than anything, but feel free to enjoy it!

July 5, 2010

Today we woke up at 5am and left for Galilee! I was so excited, that I didn't even let it phase me. I got on the bus and was so so so so excited. I was talking to everybody, commenting on the teacher's comments (while everyone else was completely out). It was really fun! I even took notes on the commentary that Bro. Hamblin was telling us about the scenery. I thought I would be fine the whole day, but it actually ended up lasting only a short time. Every other time I got on the bus, I was out within a few minutes (well, half-consciousness only). I even slept through the parts that were talking about the places we'd be visiting! But I was really blessed: whenever we stopped, I was able to be completely awake.

Our first stop was Caesarea. We talked how the city developed into the Gentile capital (Herod wanted to compete with the port at Alexandria, so he built an aqueduct). We discussed Acts 10 in the big amphitheater and how Cornelius wanted to share the gospel message with his family and how we should have the same desire. Bro. Manscill asked for volunteers to share missionaries experiences and I shared my story of opening my mouth with Bro. Ibarra. He also made an interesting point about Hellenization and how Paul talks about hypocricy, which he was probably comparing to Greek theatre: appearing to be something we are not. Next we went to the shore, and talked about Acts 24-26 and the trial of Paul. This was my favorite part of the whole day. I have always felt a great affinity for Paul and Joseph Smith's defending the reality of the truth that they know—and now I have been to the place Paul stood trial! We made a comparison between King Agrippa and Constantine—both in positions of power, but only one of them accepted the truth.

Next we went to Nazareth. We visited the sites of Christ's growing up. One church claimed to be built on where Joseph's workshop had stood. Another, the church of the Annunciation, was the biggest Church in all of the middle east! Our last stop was a lookout point of the Sea of Galilee—the view was incredible. I feel like I am going to love it here!! For FHE, we just talked while having our feet soak in the sea of Galilee. I stayed for another hour, though, talking to Blake and Jud about life. They are so awesome. They encouraged me to be a teacher—Jud phrased it in a way that I never gave much stock to: A teacher is a type of therapist, just in prevention mode instead of correction mode of problems that are already there. Verrrrrrry interesting.  

July 6, 2010
Today we had class in the morning. It was supposed to from 8 to 9:50 and 11-noon. But it turned out to be 8 to 11 and 12:30 to 1:15pm. It kind a felt like Bro. Manscill wasn't that aware of some things (not just time, but some of the details he chooses to highlight are obscure and he talks about them “past their time” if that makes sense). But I love him. He is a really kind teacher—I honestly love how he asks questions of us like how we think the people of the New Testament felt experiencing the things they did. Today we had a panel of students pretending to be Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and Zechariah. I was Zechariah, and they asked me why I doubted the word of the angel. I took creative license and said that I felt resentful that we had been praying and living righteously our entire lives and were never blessed with the one thing we wanted most. That spurred a lot of thought within myself and others.
During the second half of class, we tried to play a game of “finding out who the real John the Baptist is.” I thought it was ruined because people tried to overcomplicate things—the point of the game was to learn about the life of John the Baptist, not to win. After lunch, the same phenomenon occurred. We organized a tournament for ultimate frisbee, and everyone was just... so 1. overly concerned about winning, 2. uptight about every rule, 3. would leverage all of the rules that were in place (such as the three-step rule which is intended to allow stopping from a running catch) to the point where every time a standing catch was made they would take three large steps, and 4. quick to made excuses that they weren't that good and not to expect much. We still had fun, but it would have been a lot funner if people could have just chilled and played the game that's what a game is all about! Even though my team lost our game, I had a great time... but I thought it tragic that we took that fact so hard. We were doing great in the beginning, but when the other team was on a 3-0 run, we just got that unspoken aura that “we suck” and we weren't enjoying as just a game anymore. As a result, I am kinda upset at the BYU/perfectionist mentality right now. How do I fight against such tendencies?

July 7, 2010
Today. Was. Awesome. Woke up at 6am, showered, ate breakfast, and got on the bus to go to a 2,000 year old boat that they think was used around 66AD—maybe earlier. It was called the Ginnosar boat because some people from the neighboring Ginnosar kibuttz found it. It has a pretty interesting story behind it. Next we went to my favorite stop of the day: the mount of the beatitudes. Bro. Manscill and our class had a discussion where we re-read the beatitudes and had a discussion about each one. Other insights included that they went up to the mount to listen to him—casual followers did not come, the mount is symbolic of how Christ raises us up from out of the world to a higher law, and it is a gesture to Moses receiving the law from a high mount—only now Christ is giving the law from a high mount. [See this AMAZING talk by Harold B. Lee]. The biggest thing I liked from the discussion was that within the sermon on the mount are principles that can transform us to having hapiness being an inward fountain of joy—not something that is external to us. Then we went to a stone of Ebenezer, the church of St. Peter's Primacy (“lovest thou these more than Me?”), Tagbah—commemorating the loaves and fishes miracle, and then Capernaum—which was Peter's home and Christ's home base for a majority of His ministry. Our last stop was a cool Greek Orthodox church depicting events from Christ's life as well as things from the Book of Revelation.

July 8, 2010
Today was more of a relaxed day. We had class outside—right alongside the Sea of Galilee. It was kinda fun, but to be completely honest, the novelty wore off as our teacher seemed to be frazzled by not being able to use his powerpoints... I had to help him with his computer several times as well (mostly it was related to the fact he couldn't see his screen as well because we were outside—I also think it is weird that he went to me first when I've only had him as a teacher for a week... do I have computer geek etched into my forehead?). After lunch, we went RAFTING IN THE JORDAN RIVER!! It was really sweet, not only because it was hot and a great change of pace, but because I decided to go with the other class's group (they went a little later because our class was going to go to a fish restaurant after... but I really don't like fish). I love my class (seriously, I heard stories of the other class's rafting adventures and was jealous that I wasn't in both places at once) but I do so many things with them, I feel like I don't get to know the people in the other class nearly as well. And I got to play around in ways that I never had with them before: we had boat wars to the point that just about everyone's boat was commandeered and/or flipped throughout the trip. I myself switched rafts about 5 times either trying to saving girls who didn't want to get flipped over or just for change's sake. I ended up not going to the fish restaurant afterward... and apparently it was a big annoyance to the administration here... I felt bad. But there was nothing I could do... so I tried to forget about it and move forward.

There is also a really special atmosphere here in Galilee—when I read my scriptures, things seem to pop out more easily and concepts become clearer. For example, today I was reading the story of Christ and Peter walking on the water—and it occurred to me that the story could be interpreted to be a representation of the Plan of Salvation! SO COOL! Ask me about it sometime.