Information POWER HOUR: Galilee

I was surprised to see how long it's been since I've blogged. Sorry guys! I'll crank out as much news as I can right now. These few weeks have not slowed down. Take it from someone who likes to work with knots– the first few threads are tedious to work out, it takes a lot of wheedling and coaxing to get the stuff loose. Then they get to a certain point. Suddenly the thread is untying itself– slipping, falling away without prompting fingers and it's over, undone in your hands. The semester is over.

Things always unravel faster at the end. There have been some beautiful things tied into my last few weeks. My parents came to visit. I went on a field study to Galilee. I made it to 21 (despite my driving) and had an amazing day. I stumbled across the mother-load of National Geographic magazines– a gold mine in the library. They all have propelled my time forward forward. I'm going to dig my heels in now and share a few of these threads.

My parents came to visit for a couple weeks the middle of March. It was awesome to have them here. I was nervous at first, "I hope they know how to handle walking through the Old City." "What if they're lost?" "Why in the world did my dad buy that hat? (The one that has the neon light over it flashing 'TOURIST')" and lots of similar questions, comments, concerns weighing down my brain about their presence in the city.

Dr. Wright– my program director– put me in my place, "Em, now you know how they feel about you."

I bargained with dad– he scrapped his tourist hat and I took off my mom hat. With all that fresh room in my mind, I really, really enjoyed having them here. It's one thing to share about Israel through a blog, it's another to pull someone with me onto the crowded arab bus and show them these places for their own eyes, not just through mine.

My parents came with me on our field study in Galilee, which was perfect! It was the richest region (biblically) that we've visited so far. I was stoked about the timing.

I was nearly well equipped for the trip. There are a few essentials for these field studies. Here is my packing list (for Galilee, but it applies to every other field study as well):

Things to pack:

Sense of adventure. ✓

Game face. ✓

Mommy. ✓

Good humor. ✓

Camera .

....Uh oh.

Seizing the horns of the altar for this confession: I went to Galilee and left my camera behind. Thankfully, Krissi has saved the day. She let me shanghai some of her photos! So please, I invite you to witness Galilee through a collaboration of Krissi's eyes and Emily's commentary.

We started the trip off at Cesaeria. A city on the mediterranean coast with a powerful Herodian print. Actually, Herod has a lot of powerful signatures in this land, but this one was my favorite. He manipulated an unfriendly coastline, forced a harbor into this section of the coast. The man had vision.

Here we are!

Top: Dan, Emily, B.B.

Bottom: Ryan and Krissi!

The waves were fierce!

We went to Nazareth Ridge (the same ridge they tried to chuck Jesus off of) and looked down on Nazareth.

On Nazareth Ridge, looking down to Nazareth

We were looking pretty sharp that day because B.B. dressed us!

My favorite stop of the trip was the Cliffs of Arbel. We had a beautiful view of the Kinneret (local term for Sea of Galilee... more fitting I think because the 'Sea' is basically a small lake).

B.B. and I, living on the edge, sitting on a ledge.

We got back in time to watch the sunset from the shore of Ein Gev.

Andrew and I

The ruins up north, Hazor and Dan, were some of my favorite in Israel in terms of surroundings. I was only a few miles away from both Syria and Lebanon, but unfortunately not able to cross to either because of tension between the countries. That was painful.

Hazor

Dan.

I thought these walls were unique compared to what I've seen so far. The stones look like giant river pebbles.

Krissi and I at the headwaters of the Jordan

The Jordan River

We started our last day with a boat ride out on the Kinneret

And wrapped it up at Bet She'an, an up and coming city in Jesus' day that was demolished by an earthquake in 700-something AD.

... that is the dramatically abbreviated version of the field study. There are too many good things for one blog!

Thanks Krissi for providing the photo evidence. (I also forgot to bring a comb on that trip... but I didn't realize that until the last night. I can't decide if I'm proud or disturbed by how long it took me to miss it. ) The good news: I did bring my camera on the Jordan field study! That blog is in the womb of the web now.

Also, I can't possibly convey my thanks in a short paragraph, but I want to shout out to all the people who made my birthday so, so incredible. My parents, Amoun Sleem, Krissi, B.B. Hermana, Levi and all the rest of JUC– it was an honor to usher in this new year, a new season, with you all. I've got that day tucked away in my memory. I'll be looking back on it in the years ahead and just remembering how blessed, how unbelievably blessed, I am.

Alright, I still owe you an update on Jordan!

Thanks for reading!

Emily