What an amazing day this was in the Galilee area.
We started off the day with a firm warning that if we were any later than 7:30 a.m. sharp to the bus, we would be left. Lyndsay (my roommate at Galilee), and I arrived at 7:32 a.m....but don't worry! We didn't get left. Thank goodness. The only reason we were late, too, is because we decided we'd have a bathroom break after breakfast and there were some Spanish-speaking ladies in there and I talked to them for a minute while we were waiting in line. It was busy. Luckily Brother Emmett was a tiny bit of a softy and didn't leave without us. Whew!
So the reason for the harsh bus time that morning, was because we were going on a boat ride across the Galilee! It was amazing. We got in this boat (larger than the ones in Egypt) and there were chairs sitting facing the front and we all sat down. Well, it didn't take us long to figure out that we wanted to sit on the edge of the boat with our legs dangling over the side and hold onto the railing. It was so fun sitting there. We were reading scriptures and singing hymns. It was great. And the lake was beautiful!
This is the boat that we took across the Galilee. What a beautiful day!
It was a little chilly, but I was so excited for the day.
Me and Anna Daines making funny faces :)
Everyone sitting in the chairs in the middle..
The Sea of Galilee!
Sarah Ingalls, Hilary Barker, Lyndsay Denton, and Ashley Wheeler hanging legs off the boat while we were moving!
Me hanging my feet over the edge of the boat. I was having a great time.
Studying our scriptures and getting to the other side of the lake.
We stopped in the middle of the Galilee to have a small devotional/lesson. We talked about how Peter walked on the water of the Galilee to meet Christ, who was walking out to meet them. Our main focus was on Peter's faith, and Christ's aid to Peter. We talked about how there are many times when we feel we need the Lord's help but He doesn't reach out to help us immediately, but with Peter He immediately reached out to help him when his faith diminished and he started to sink. We talked about how Christ will always be there to help us, and when help is absolutely vital, He will always be there. The reason He doesn't reach out to us immediately is because He wants to push us to do our best, and to be more faithful. He knows our limits and will be there to help us when we need Him. It was a very powerful moment on the Sea of Galilee.
After the boat docked across the lake, we visited an exhibit of a fishermen's boat they found in 1986 buried in the mud at the shores of the Galilee during a year that there was a drought and the waterline was way down.It is called the Ginnesaur boat, for the Kibbutz that it was found on. It is dated back to the first century, and is an example of the length, size, and structure of a boat like the ones Jesus' disciples would have used as fishermen. If not the boat of the disciples, it was certainly on the water at the same time as them, which is interesting to think about. The only structural difference is that there would be a mast on it. (The mast to this boat was probably removed to be reused when this boat was scuttled at the end of its days.)
Me and the Ginnesaur Boat.
This is a diagram of all the different types of wood used to build the boat. It is dated from 100 BC to 100 AD.
I had never heard of this boat before, and so it was really interesting to see. It took them days to uncover it, and they dealt with problems with the boards being waterlogged and then the level of the Sea of Galilee started to rise so they had to pump water out and hurriedly dig it out (while being very careful) before the water got to it. After they got it out they had the problem of transporting it. If they tried to move it, the boards would crumble because of age and water damage. So, what they ended up doing was covered in a "polyurethane" shell. (Basically a big foam coating that dried and hardened around it to protect it from water and sun.) Then they floated it off the beach and over to an exhibit where it was soaked and treated over many months, finally being coated with wax so it could be displayed in open air. It was quite the process, and very cool.
After the boat exhibit we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes. This was where Christ taught His disciples The Sermon on the Mount. There is an octagonal church there and a beautiful garden. It was very cool. I wrote in my journal, "I can see why Christ would've wanted to teach the gospel there. It is incredible. Such a beautiful view." We had a lesson there on some of the things that Christ talked. Brother Emmett assigned different students to talk about different ones. It was really neat. After that we were given free time to go read scriptures, write in our journals, and think. I picked a gorgeous spot in some trees, on a rock, overlooking the sea of Galilee. I sat and thought about Christ, and how He knew us. He knew what He would go through, and He knew why He was going to do it. I can't help but think of us being in the forefront of His mind when He taught, and when He was experiencing persecution.
This is a very fuzzy view from the boat we took across the Sea of Galilee of the Mount of Beatitudes. You can see all the trees that surround the church on the top of the hill.
The octagonal church on the Mount of Beatitudes :)
The garden on the Mount of Beatitudes.
This is me sitting on a rock where I ate my lunch and read scriptures.
This is the view from the place I had to move to after a tour group came and kicked me out of my first spot. It was a gorgeous view of the Sea of Galilee.
This is me standing on the balcony to the church, which is where I moved to. Beautiful view!
After the Mount of Beatitudes, we walked down to the shore of the Galilee. That was originally not on the agenda, but Brother Emmett had done it when he came to the Holy Land when he was in his 20's, and he wanted us to have that experience, because Christ would've walked down to the shore after teaching. There was a little path all the way down the green, beautiful hill. It was really fun. We walked down and went to a little place called Tabgah. This is where they commemorate Christ appearing to the disciples after being resurrected, when He told them to feed His sheep. There is a church there with an altar, which is supposed to be where Christ fed the disciples fish and bread after calling them in from fishing during the third watch (which would be between 6 am and 9 am.) He blessed the disciples with an abundant catch and then taught them. He told them to Feed His Sheep. Here Brother Hamblin talked to us about the disciples and how they had returned to their old profession after Christ's crucifixion. He appeared to them and basically called them to repentance. He kind of had to say, "hey guys...what are you doing? I gave you a job to do." But He says it ever loving and gentle, helping Peter understand his mission as the new head of the Church in Christ's absence.
And here is the rock table that Christ supposedly had "The Last Breakfast" with His disciples. They call it the Last Breakfast because it's the Last time Christ is seen with His disciples, eating with them. 
These are the heart-shaped boat anchors dating back to the first century. :)
Me at Tabgah, down by the shore of the Galilee.
I just can't get over how beautiful the area of the Galilee was. So pretty!
It was a really cool site. I liked it. We got to go down to the shore of the Galilee and sit and think and just kind of hang out. The site had heart-shaped boat anchors dating back to the 1st century, too. It is where fishermen would have tied off their boats when they came to the shore. It was really cool.
Next we went to the Church of the Seven Springs. It is where they commemorate the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. It is the spot where the famous mosaic of the two fishes and the loaves is on the floor at the altar. It is where, traditionally, Christ fed the five thousand. We just went in a looked around. It was pretty busy and we couldn't get very close, but I tried to get a good picture.
The inside of the church in these pictures..
This is me with the mosaic in the background, right on the floor in front of the altar..
And there is the very famous mosaic of the loaves and the fishes. it was very cool to see.
After that, we went to our second to last stop of the day, to Capernum, which is where Peter lived. We saw the remains of Peter's house and the first meeting houses of the Church. Peter's house originally became the first church, and then they expanded it in later generations and build newer churches around it. So there is a 1st century church, which coincides with the 1st century village and synagogue, and then there is a Byzantine era church, along with a new synagogue build on top of the old one. We got to sit in the synagogue and talk about the Bread of Life Sermon, which was probably given there, by Christ, in that synagogue!
There are about ten or fifteen ways to spell Capernum...
Capernum has a bunch of ruins from the different buildings there, including the different churches there. So this is the oldest depiction we have of the Arc of the Covenant.
So this is Peter's house... Some religion, I can't remember which, built a church above it... and it's really ugly. It's all new-age looking and has really weird artwork in it. I didn't even take a picture of it, so this is the closest one that I have.
These are the ruins of Peter's house. It was very cool to see. We could see the foundations of the several additions/new churches around it.
Me and the ruins :)
This is all that remains of the village of Capernum :)
This is the 6th Century Byzantine Synagogue that is on top of the 1st century synagogue.
Happy to be there!
This is a section they've removed of the 6th century church to show part of the foundation of the 1st century synagogue.
This is one of the oldest depictions of a Menorah that we have. Brother Hamblin made it into a scavenger hunt to see if we could find it. The first person to find it would receive extra credit on their quizzes. (He did this because he didn't remember where it was...) And he found it first. Lame! :)
We talked about Christ delivering that Sermon and how shocking it was to the Jews. They were expecting a political messiah, someone who would free them from the reign of the Romans. They mistook the words of the prophets throughout history meaning that instead of a spiritual messiah, a political messiah would come and free them. So when Christ announced that they would partake of His flesh and blood, He was speaking figuratively about the sacrament, but they took Him literally. There was a lot of confusion among the disciples of Christ. The first problem is that the partaking of any kind of blood by any Jew is against the Law of Moses, and the person would be considered unclean. And it's the same with human flesh. The next problem is associated with them thinking that Christ was a political messiah. If He was going to free them from the political reign of the Romans, then how could He do that if He was going to die? (Because He would have to die for them to partake of His flesh and blood.) Many of Christ's disciples were upset after this sermon and left the Savior, not following Him anymore.
After that we went to our last stop of the day, Bethsaida. Bethsaida is one of the three cities that Christ condemned for not believing in Him. The other two were Capernum and Corizin. It's pretty true, too. Bethsaida as we saw it was a ruin. There was nothing else, nor had there been anything else since its destruction. It was a short stop, and we were pretty worn out. But it was still pretty cool. I only took a couple pictures. Oh funny story. When we left for the day we were told to keep a lookout for good marshmallow roasting sticks, for a bonfire we were going to have the next week. The reason we couldn't get them on the kibbutz is because the bushes there are poisonous...which would be bad to roast a marshmallow on. So at Bethsaida we found a ton of long sticks, and we put them on the bus and took them home with us. Mine was a good....4 or 5 feet long. (That was a little longer than most people's :))
This is Bethsaida..
Sarah and I putting on our happy faces for our last stop.
This is the kind of tree we got our sticks from...I forget the name though.
After that we tried to go to Kursi, which is the site where Christ cast the devils, named "legions", out of the swine, and they ran down the hill into the Sea of Galilee, but it was closed, so we couldn't. We went back to the kibbutz, at Ein Gev, read for our New Testament class in the morning, and went to sleep.
Another wonderful day in the Galilee!
