Galilee Day One

June 28

Today was our first day of the four-day Galilee field trip! Galilee is spectacular. We started at Caesarea, where Herod the Great had a palace right on the Mediterranean. The amphitheater is still there, as well as various other ruins such as his bathhouse and swimming pool, which is a stone inlet in the shallow part of the ocean. This was a place of entertainment, and I could totally envision people coming from all over to enjoy life there. It wouldn’t be too bad of a vacation spot even now ☺ From there we went to Mt. Carmel and Megiddo. We ended the day at the top of the Arbel Cliffs, where some people believe Jesus gave the great commission to his disciples. This would be a striking place for this event to take place because it has an amazing view overlooking lots of land. We climbed down the cliffs and hiked down the rest of the mountain, which was quite an experience! It’s been really good to push my limits and do things that are kind of scary and physically challenging. It’s also a unique opportunity to really engage with the land.

We arrived at our hotel later that evening, which is right on the Sea of Galilee! The Sea of Galilee looks like a big lake, so at night we can see straight across to the lights of Tiberias. The water is really warm, so we all went for a night swim right after dinner. I’m staying in a room with my roommate from JUC and two other girls that are a lot of fun. Again, the community here has been such a blessing.