BYU Jerusalem: Galilee Trip: Nov 29

This morning we started out by going to Mount Carmel, site of Elijah and the priests of Baal. During our devotional we heard the other class in the distance cheering like crazy. I thought, "here we go, another couple engaged." Well, it had to do with a relationship but it was my good friend Michael Stallings and his woman announcing that they were dating by kissing during the reenactment of the priests of Baal and Jezebel. Its a weird moment to do that, but whatever. We went into the monastery and sang hymns, there was something going on today, but we were on fire with our singing. The monastery there is small and has great acoustics, we packed into it and belted our four part harmonies. There were other tourists at the door waving to their straggling counterparts to come and listen to us, it was for sure a missionary moment through music. We went up on the roof to enjoy the beautiful panoramic view. We traveled next to Haifa, if there was a city in the Holy Land that I could literally move to and live I think it would be this city. It was beautiful! We weren't there long enough to make my previous statement valid, but from what I saw, I was convinced. There were Baha'i Gardens that we visited which were absolutely gorgeous. I really like the Baha'i faith. I had the opportunity to teach and speak with people who were of this religious persuasion. Such a peaceful religion. We then visited the graves of early church missionaries and members here in Haifa at the Templer Cemetery. It was way cooler than I imagined, hearing their stories from their journals and letters, and Professor Judd getting emotional as he spoke of these young missionaries one was a husband and father who sacrificed everything they had to serve the Lord. We then drove to Caesarea. This place must have been the sweetest city back in its time. We checked out the theater then watched a film on the place. There was a creepy guy there who was saying creepy things to our girls back on Mount Carmel and he had now followed us. They informed all the guys and told us to watch out for him. We never saw him after we watched the movie about the site. We had a devotional, walked through the hippodrome, then had free time to check out the rest of the site. This place was amazing, Herod had a man-made harbor built here with state-of-the-art underwater hardening cement. There is only underwater archaeological findings that remain now. We drove down the road a bit to the aqueduct they were so big, it blows my mind on how much effort it would take just to get water. Now, after 10 days, we drove back to Jerusalem. It took a while because of an accident and some detouring. Upon arriving back at the center we were greeted by the staff and their families with open arms and warmth. The center was decorated with Christmas decorations and for dinner Ahmed made us a Thanksgiving meal (with his own twist). It was such a great feeling walking back into the center. Its that feeling of home, comfort, and ease. I thoroughly enjoyed our Galilee trip, I grew spiritually and am grateful for all that we were blessed and privileged to see. It felt great being back in the Holy City of Jerusalem.