We had a huge field trip this day.
First we went to Nain, which is where Christ healed the widow's son. It was so simple and unexpected. Just a small, little church, with excellent acoustics, which Sarah Ingalls, Emily Andersen and I sang in. I didn't really want to leave, which was surprising.
It was gorgeous!
After that we went to Mt. Tabor, which is the place that is believed to be the site of the Mount of Transfiguration. It was so amazing to sit on top of the mountain and talk about Christ, Peter, James, and John, and think of them receiving the endowment. Surreal, actually.
Mt. Tabor (A Mountain set apart)
There's always a church at the top, on top, nearby. Always.
Another great hair day and cheesy smile picture!
The view from Mt. Tabor
Inside!After Tabor we went to a place called Bet Alpha, which is an ancient synagogue with a beautiful mosaic floor. It is both ancient and complete, that is. The actual mosaic is pretty un-beautiful as far as mosaics go, but it's beautiful because it's completely intact. It shows paganism reconciled with Christianity.
You can see that the actual artwork is not very sophisticated, but the fact that it's intact tells us so much about that time period and the reconciliation between Christianity and Paganism. Brother Hamblin got all excited about it, anyway.
After Bet Alpha we went to a natural spring pool to swim in. I loved it. It was huge! A small pond, and probably 12-15 feet deep. It also has little fish that suck on your feet and toes, and sharp rocks all along the bottom and edges. Sarah and I went to explore a cave where the spring came from, a fish sucked on her toes so she screamed, which scared me, and I kicked out to go back out of the cave and gashed the top of my foot open on a rock. I nearly didn't make it back to the side of the pool to climb out because it hurt so bad and I couldn't swim. The nursing students took a look and said it was really deep. Brother Emmett had told us a story about a girl diving in a cutting her head open and needing stitches, which meant a 4 hour trip to the hospital for the entire bus....and I didn't want that girl to be me. So, no hospital trip for me, just some band aids. Now I have a friendly little scar on my foot for a souvenir. No problem.
Can you say Paradise?
I love this pool! It is so beautiful! Cut foot and all, I had an amazing time
and would go back in a heartbeat.
After the swim we had one more stop, at a place called Bet-Shean, which is where Saul and Jonathan's bodies were hung on the wall after they were killed. It was a sweet ruin, though. I forgot to grab my camera from my swim bag, so no pictures, and I didn't hike the tel because my foot hurt really badly, but it was awesome to see the columns and all the roman-style marble...ruins. It really was sweet.
After that we went home to the Kibbutz, had dinner, and then a bonfire. It was spiritual and great. Several students were asked to stand a give a short message about Christ. Ally spoke, and was crying because of the spirit she felt, and I heard Brother Emmett's youngest son, Will, who is about 4 years-old, ask his dad, "Why is she crying?" and Brother Emmett responded, "That's the Holy Ghost making her cry, because she is so happy." It was such a sweet moment.
We made s'mores and were a little crazy with our singing and dancing around the fire, and then we settled down and got to spend another wonderful night on the shores of the Galilee.
Fireside :)
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