Update!

Hey all :) I sent out an email yesterday...so I thought I'd just post it here for others, I don't have much time to do a real post. So sorry if you've read it already, hopefully I'll get a better one up soon. Today has been an amazing Sabbath-loved it. We leave for JORDAN tomorrow! Way excited, we'll be gone for 4 days and it'll be lots of fun. So I hope you enjoy. Love you all!

Also, I stole these pics from Meg's blog. The first one was taken on top of Nimrod's fortress in northern Israel-beautiful view of Syria and Lebanon-and the second was taken at our Turkey Bowl! k bye :)

Erev tov! Good evening :) and happy Thanksgiving! Thought I'd send out a little email update since it's been so long.

These past few weeks have been pretty crazy! We were in Galilee for 10 days! It was so amazing, I really think it is one of my favorite places on earth. It is so beautiful up there and there is such a strong feeling of peace, it's really neat. We stayed in Ein Gev in a 'holiday village' owned by a neighboring kibbutz. We stayed in little bungalows looking over the sea, ate loads of pita and hummus and miniature pancakes, and made 'friends' with the millions of feral cats that hang around the resort. The beach was literally in our backyard...We had quite a bit of class time and went on many field trips. It was way awesome to learn from the New Testament while we were up there, so much of Christ's ministry took place there. We spent long hours on a bus traveling all the way to the northern borders of the country. We visited over 20 places on field trips, including

-Caesarea Maritime

-Nazareth-LOVED it, especially the Church of the Anunciation that is built around what is believed to have been the place where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary.

Bet She'an

-Mt. Arbel

-Boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Tiberias-This was one of my favorite parts as we sang "Master, the Tempest is Raging" and read the accounts of Christ calming the sea and walking on water.

-Banias (Caesarea Philippi)

-Capernaum-this was probably my favorite place. We visited the 'white synagogue', which is built on the basalt foundations of a 1st centuries BCE/CE synagogue, which is where Christ would have taught. We saw Peter's house, where Christ would have stayed on many occasions. We walked through the streets where He would have walked and saw the houses in which He would have healed Jairus' daughter and healed the man with palsy. It was really an amazing place.

-Hazor

-Mt. of Beatitudes-Loved this place as well as we learned about the Sermon on the Mount and the feeding of the multitudes. There is a beautiful church there too that I really liked.

-Tel Dan

-Nimrod's Fortress

-Mt. Carmel-Where Elijah faced the priests of Baal. Had one of my very favorite experiences of the entire trip here.

-Gamla

-Akko

-Nain

-Mt. Tabor

-Templar cemetery in Haifa, where two LDS missionaries are buried from the mid-1800s. This gave proof of an established LDS presence in the Holy Land, which is part of what made it possible for the building of the Orson Hyde Garden and then the Jerusalem Center.

-Overlook, looking into Syria and Lebanon and over Mt. Hermon

Here are some other things we did:

-Took a rafting trip down the Jordan River.

-Went hiking in the Golan Heights with a local guide.

-Went to church in Tiberias with the Galilee branch.

-Had multiple bonfires on the beach.

-Ate at the fiish restaurant in Ein Gev (I ate the fish! And loved it! Even with it sitting there staring at me. This is a big accomplishment for me).

-Walked the boardwalk in Tiberias.

-Swam in the sea and relaxed on the beach! (And made a sand castle of the temple mount...that's when you know you've been studying in Jerusalem too long).

Anywho, sorry that was kind of scattered and random and long, but I thought I would give you a little idea of what we did. It really was amazing. We had some really neat experiences and I learned so much about my Savior. We read so many of the accounts in the places they occurred, it really was neat. It was really hot the whole time, our teacher said it was the hottest November there in years, it is usually much cooler and stormier.

We got home on Wednesday night and had free days yesterday and today. Much of yesterday was spent souvenir shopping, the shopkeepers definitely missed us. Our chefs here made us a Thanksgiving dinner! Mashed potatoes...don't worry Grandma, they were not as good as yours. After dinner, a group of us went to see Harry Potter! It was a blast. It was a neat experience, kind of awesome to see so many groups of Orthodox Jews heading to a movie. And apparently they have intermissions here. They stopped the movie mid-sentence and turned up the lights for a few minutes. It was funny. Also, it was crazy to be out past midnight haha I forgot what that felt like-we had to get special permission in order to do that. Today, we had a Turkey Bowl! A bunch of us went to a park in West Jerusalem and played some soccer and football, which was a lot of fun.

So yeah, life is good here! We leave for Jordan on Sunday for a few days, which will be great. :) We're just soaking up every minute of our last few weeks here! I can't believe it's coming so fast, but I can't wait to see you all. And eat some Macaroni and Cheese... :) I am happy as ever, they had the center decorated with Christmas stuff when we got home and everyone is singing Christmas music left and right. It makes me happy. :) I love you all and would love to hear from you! Have a wonderful day!

Love, Meg

(Also, thank you so much to all those that contributed to my birthday present from my mom I LOVED it! You are the best-thank you for all your love and support!)