Galilee

Our final two days in Israel were spent in Galilee.  But, First we had to pack up and take a few last pictures.

The girls room #207.  You were good to us.

Josh out on the patio.  

One last picture from our room.

The middle sign says "Good Samaritian".

We left Friday morning and drove out to Galilee.  It was a nice drive out there.  We stopped at a McDonalds and splurged on lunch for the kids.  They had been good sports about eating a lot of pita and hummus.  It was very expensive so the adults opted not to eat both for the price and the food.  We aren't McDonalds fans around here.  We then went on to the Jordan River to a spot that celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ.  Many groups will baptize at the site, but we didn't see any while we were there.  The weather was also beautiful in Galilee about 10 degrees warmer than Jerusalem.  Jerusalem had also been beautiful tourist weather.  A light jacket perfect for walking around in, but the warmth of Galilee without a jacket felt nice as well.

The Jordan River

Josh and Benjamin at the Jordan River

Wondering what they did with those sticks in the picture above.  Yes they turned into weapons.

Galilee is beautiful.  It is fertile and warm year round.   It is easy to see how Christ would have loved Galilee and to picture him teaching the people there.  After the Jordan River our first stop was a museum that held a 2000 year old boat.  It was discoverd burried in the mud of Galillee and took over a decade to restore.  The boat was not on display when I visited 20 years ago so it was a new site for me. The boat is believed to have been a traditional fishing boat from the time of Christ.

The Foxes, the BYU couple living in Galilee met us to show us around.  They are in charge of caring for the church owned home/ church for the Galilee area.  Brother Fox is the Branch President and they also participate in humanitarian work for BYU.  They were so kind.  My mom was not feeling well that day and stayed back in the van to sleep as we went sight seeing.  Josh was being quite grumpy and not being nice.  Sister Fox was so good and patient with him.  I was quite embarrassed at his behavior but she was so kind and patient with him, even as he was being rude to her.

We went to the Church of the Fishes and the Loaves, where Christ preformed the miracle of feeding the masses.  We then walked to the Church of the Primacy of Peter.  This is a location where Christ appeared to Peter after his resurrection.  It sits right on the Sea of Galilee and has a beautiful little beach there.  It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70's so the kids took off their shoes and waded into the Sea of Galilee.  It was a very pretty location.

Our next stop was Capernum and the house of Peter.  There are original ruins from the home of Peter and it is a location that is quite likely his home.  In the ruins of the home before it was restored were found Christian symbols and the names of Peter, Simon and Jesus Christ.

Statue of Peter

A church is built over the top of Peter's Home with a glass bottom so you can look down into it.

Our final stop for the day was the Mount of Beatitudes.  It is on a little hill that looks out over the Sea of Galilee.  The grounds are beautiful with flowers and trees and very well kept.  We got there as the sun was starting to set which made for a beautiful view.  We read the Beatitudes and I wish I could say it was a spiritual experience for my kids... but well you know.

After our visits we headed to the only grocery store in town still open.  It was a Friday night so everything had closed down for Shabbat, but this was a secular run store so it was still open.  We then headed to the Foxes and the Church.  The Church owns a beautiful home that is in a nice neighborhood of Tiberius.  It is a few blocks away from the Sea of Galilee, but it is on a hill so when look out the large windows all you see is the Sea of Galilee.  It is a gorgeous view.  It was dark when we got in so we didn't get to fully see the view until the next day.  The Foxes said how people often comment that it is the second most beautiful view from a chapel in the Church.  The first being the view from the Jerusalem Center of the Old City.  When Elder Holland visited recently he said no they have it wrong, this is the most beautiful view.

We had diner with the Foxes.  My mom had made a lasagna and brought it with us.  We also bought pita, salad and fruit and had a nice dinner in the Sunday School room.  We then blew up our mats and rolled out our sleeping bags.  The Church keeps all of these supplies in a bomb shelter for the members in case they need to seek safety at the Church.