Israel - part 3

From the desert in the south, we drove north to Galilee.  It was so nice to watch the landscape become greener and so fertile.  We passed groves of citrus, olives, and date palms.

 

We arrived at our kibbutz/resort on the shore of the Sea of Galilee that evening.  It was so beautiful and very peaceful there.  The Savior spent most of his life in this area and I could feel how special The Galilee is right from the start.

This dead fish on the shore is a tilapia.  They call them St. Peter's fish in Israel.

 

It was a bit windy and the sea was sort of choppy that first night.  I could picture the Savior calming it, walking on it and teaching His disciples from its shores.  I loved that we were going to stay here for two nights.

 

The next morning we drove up near the Golan Heights to Tel Dan.  This is where the Jordan River begins. I liked the fig leaves all along the banks of the river.

 

 

 

This hillside is where the Savior cast devils out of a man and they went into a herd of swine and fell off a cliff into the sea.

Mount Hermon - some people think this was where the Mount of Transfiguration was, but it wasn't.

Capernaum was the home to Peter and other apostles.  Jesus lived here for eighteen to twenty months of his three-year ministry.

Jesus taught in this synagogue in Capernaum

The city is no longer inhabited.

We took a boat ride out on the Sea of Galilee.

In Tiberius we ate my favorite meal of the entire trip. It was fresh St Peter's fish (tilapia), better than any I've ever eaten.  Dave's fish had a coin in its mouth.

The fam.

The "city set on a hill", that the Savior may have been referring to.

One of the highlights of Galilee had to be the Mount of Beatitudes.  It was so peaceful and beautiful looking out at the Sea of Galilee.  I really felt the Spirit here.

 

 

The next morning, before we left our kibbutz I just had to put my feet in the water.  It was so clear you can't really even tell they are in the water.

I could have sat there for hours.  Galilee is now in my heart.

Israel - part 2

We started all of our tours right after our 6:30 am breakfast.  Our first day was a day in the desert.

 

First stop: Qumran Caves.  This location, near the Dead Sea, is where The Dead Sea Scrolls were found by accident as some Bedouin boys were playing in the caves here.  A part of every book of the Old Testament except Esther was found, including a complete Book of Isaiah.

 

 

 

This is an "immersion font" found in the ruins there where the Essene Jews once lived.

The sun's rays were shining down on the Dead Sea as we passed it on our bus ride.

We next went to Masada.  We took a tram to the top.

 

 

Herod the Great built this fortress.  Our guide (Daniel Rona), Dave, and Russell rest in an entry chamber of Masada.

The original painted walls can be seen in many of the rooms.

Jewish Zealots took over Masada from the Romans and were besieged there until they finally decided to take their own lives rather than be ruled by them.

This little model shows what it used to look like.  According to our guide, the center tower was much taller, however.

After touring Masada we were able to go to the Dead Sea.  In Hebrew the word for it is "Great Salt Lake".  It is about 1300 feet below sea level with a mineral content of about 27 percent.

We had so much fun floating in it.  But if you have any open wounds it can be painful.

It was pretty rocky on the bottom, so I put on my Salt Water sandals.  They really held up well in all that salt.

Elaine didn't get in all the way so she was a wonderful photographer for those of us who were wet.

The Dead Sea area is a very barren, desolate place.  But I'm glad we got to experience it.

Israel - part 1

I still can't believe how generous Dave's dad is to send us on this trip to Israel.  We felt very spoiled and blessed.

 

We left SLC on a Friday morning.

We had a layover at JFK in New York.  Elaine, Russ, Sandy and Phil came on this trip, too.

We switched planes again in Rome.  My ticket name didn't match my passport and it seemed for a time that I might be left behind in Italy.  But it all worked out and off we flew again towards Tel Aviv.  The kosher airplane meal was interesting.

I love when I get to have a window seat.  The sun was setting over the horizon and we flew onward.

About 24 hours later we finally arrived in Israel. 

Our hotel in Jerusalem had a nice little snack ready for us.  But we were so tired we crashed without eating it.

Birthdays

We celebrated Dad Grose's 82nd birthday a couple of weeks ago.  We brought his favorite pizza, from Ogden Pizzeria, and ate dinner with him.  Then sang to him and had Costco cake.

 

Mitt has so many of his expressions.  You can't tell from this photo, but he really looks a lot like his Great Grandpa Grose.

 

 

The three great grandkids that are in the Chinese immersion program at their school sang, "Happy Birthday" to him in Mandarin.

The next night we took Lily on her birthday date.  She always chooses Chinese food.

She picked out some fun gifts at Walmart.

We are so pleased with what a wonderful girl she is.  She is in 3rd grade and reads on a 6th grade or higher level.  She is rocking the Mandarin Chinese language.  She is such a big help with her siblings.  We love her to pieces!