Huntsmans in the Holy Land: Galilee Days 5 and 6: Class, "Beach," and Church

The first half of Day 5 was spent in class. I met with my students from 8-10 and 12-1, working through large chunks of Matthew and introducing Luke. In the afternoon, many of the students went on a hike, but I finally got some time off, going down to the lakeside with my family. `En Gev actually has a bit of a beach, but because the water level is so high right now, we ended up sitting on rocky stretch while Samuel paddled and flapped around in the water.

Samuel venturing out into the Sea of Galilee

Elaine on our rocky "beach"

After dinner we had a bonfire on this same stretch of "beach."

Another Sea of Galilee sunset pic

The lights of Tiberias can be seen across the sea at night

The view from the church's balcony

Today, Day 6, was Sabbath, so we went around the Sea of Galilee to Tiberias, where the LDS branch meets. Our church meetings are held in a large converted house, which sits on a hillside that affords a beautiful view of the sea during services.

With a group of our students on the balcony of the meetinghouse right before church

With Samuel after sacrament meeting

Kent and Nancy Jackson took the students back to `En Gev on the bus, stopping at the evangelical baptismal site at Yardenit along the way (here is a link to my pictures from our visit last semester). This let us take the center car home, giving us a little family time, which we used to drive around the north side of the lake. Along the way, we stopped so I could take a few pictures of the site of Magdala. This was a fish processing (brining) center at the time of Jesus, also known by its Greek name Tarichaeae. It is most famous, however, as the presumed home of Mary Magdalene.