Galilee Summer 2009

After the students departed the JC for Galilee, Janet Skinner and I drove the vehicles up to Galilee where we stayed for 11 days. I enjoy the ride along the Jordan Valley. The road is wavy, bumpy, and twisty. Some of it borders Jordan and there are military zones along the way. But there is little traffic. We drove into Tiberias for lunch before we went to Ein Gev, our home for 11 days.

We often get the same room when we stay at Ein Gev. We are greeted by Rivka whom we have known for many years. Our room has a nice double queen size bed with two coverlets to wrap up in. There is adequate air conditioning. We have two spare beds, a small kitchen with a hot plate and refrigerator. The view from our bedroom and our living room is of the Sea of Galilee. After I go to bed at night I open up the curtains and look at the stars, the water, and the lights of Tiberias in the distance.

One of my favorite songs is “Each Cooing Dove” which is about Galilee. In years past I’ve been awakened by doves cooing, but this time I rarely heard a dove.

I decided to read Mark and John during my spare time. Some days I’d sit on the beach and read. I enjoyed reading these accounts while I could picture the events in my mind. I don’t know how much Galilee has changed through the years, but I imagine the topography is about the same, the hills are about the same, and the Sea is about the same. It does seem that the level of the Sea gets lower each year.

We went to all of the sites with the students. I’m often asked what my favorite site is. I don’t really have one, but I do love the Mount of Beatitudes. It seems to be the most peaceful, spiritual site for me. If I were to be a nun, I’d asked to be stationed there. But I won’t be becoming a nun.

My favorite thing about Galilee is swimming. I remember in years past floating for a long time with Rogene Huish. I didn’t float much this time. The water seemed to be quite choppy. I fought the waves each time I was out in the water, but I thought it was good exercise. A few times I had a hard time getting up out of the water and I swallowed a lot of water. If only I had my nose plugs!

It was very hot outside so I made frequent trips to the water. It did feel like bath tub water. But it felt a little bit cool as the breeze blew.

We had 3 bonfires with the students. Two of them were organized by the student classes. The class I watched was very clever. It began with 10 cheerleaders performing. I was surprised that there were that many former cheerleaders in one class on the program. I don’t think it was a prerequisite. I thought the whole program was very tasteful.

Our last evening bonfire went well. Kent asked a student to organize it around the thought of one of Jesus’ last nights in Galilee. He hoped to avoid a raucous and loud farewell to Galilee. It worked. We were all seated around a big bonfire….all 93 of us. We began with prayer, hymns, an introduction testimony by Brad and a few thoughts by Kent. Then the students were invited to share thoughts or testimonies about their Galilee experience. They offered some very tender thoughts and testimonies. It could have gone on another hour, but Brad ended it on time. After the closing song many still lingered. I had a good conversation with a friend. A group of students started singing hymns and were still singing them when I left about one hour later. It was a nice peaceful ending to a great time in Galilee.

I had hoped that the students would come away from Galilee with a reverence for the life of the Savior and even a personal commitment to become more like he is. I know many of the students struggle with choices and can be very vulnerable to the ways of the world. Hopefully our Galilee experience gave them one more weapon to fight life’s battles with.