The Wrap-Up

Some things I do not miss:

1. Having everyone in the Jerusalem Center see my failings as a parent, like when Joe tried to burn down the Center twice in three days, first by turning on the stovetop and melting a plastic lego container, and second by microwaving a roll of paper towels until it erupted in flames.

2. Trash. Everywhere. Except at the immaculately kept Center, there was trash everywhere in Israel and Palestine.

3. Trying to keep the kids reverent in our apartment on the Sabbath when anyone who walks down the hallway can hear them screaming at each other.

4. Not having Mexican food.

5. The tiny apartment.

6. The crazy drivers.

7. The call to prayer so loud, so often.

Some things I miss a lot:

1. Pita, fresh from the factory. Prepackaged, week-old pita from the grocery store is inedible. And since we can't get pita, we can't eat schwarma or falafel or just pita and hummus.

2. The students.

3. The directors, Eran and Tawfic; the security and housekeeping guys. They were always helpful and always kind.

4. Having someone else worry about all my home and garden and auto maintenance.

5. Being able to drive crazy and not look it.

6. The call to prayer reminding me of the people of faith among whom I lived.

These lists are short and incomplete, but nonetheless true. I'm grateful to be home for now, but grateful I get to go back in five or so years.

The Final Countdown

We tried to hit some of our favorites in the last couple weeks, in an effort to "say goodbye" to the Holy Land. To be honest, though, we had all our bags packed pretty quickly and spent a lot of days just marking time until the day to head to the airport. As much as we loved our year in Jerusalem, we were all excited to go home, too.

One of my favorite Jerusalem landmarks, the Church of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives

A very bright day on the Haram el-Sharif, the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock

The view onto the Western Wall Plaza from the bridge to the Temple Mount.

We didn't have a lot of occasion over the year to use the Piggyback Rider, but Joe seemed to like it.

Here's Isaac trying to give Joe a ride. Joe weighs 30 lbs, but Isaac kept him on for a pretty long time.

The view of the BYU Jerusalem Center from the Dome of the Rock.

Because it was Ramadan, there were a lot of tents set up to accommodate worshippers. Joe liked running around the tent poles in the shade.

One of the metal doors at the Dome of the Rock.

The Dome of the Rock is actually closed to most everyone, especially non-Muslims during Ramadan. But since Abby always seems to melt hearts, we decided to try to use her wiles to see if we could get inside. Ed and I coached her to go and ask the doorman for permission. At first he said "No, no." Then one of the elderly gentlemen sitting by the door beckoned to her, and she went over and gave him a hug. After that, the doorman swooped her up and took her just over the threshold into the sanctuary for a three-second look. Then he brought her out, set her down, and shooed the rest of us away. I guess that's what we get for trying to use our daughter's charms to work the system. 

Some of the beautiful architectural elements of the Dome:

Wandering.

As for the rest of our time, the swimming pools continued to be a hit right up until the very end, or at least they were for Abby and Linda. One afternoon I discovered them pretending they were dead and floating, decorated with jewelry and rose petals. The similarity to Millais' painting Ophelia was startling, I actually asked the girls if they had seen it before. They said no.

Ophelia, Sir John Everett Millais, 1851-52

Abby, by Linda Stratford, 2013

Don't forget to hold your rosebuds!

What's a floating funeral without a goodbye kiss?

SUMMER VACATION: Chapter 2

GALILEE!

We were looking forward to Galilee for three and a half months because this time, instead of a long-weekend, we were able to stay the full ten days. And we loved it. It was hot and muggy like Chicago or Boston in July, and the heat seemed to hit you like a wall every time you walked out the door, but that just made the beach all the more welcome. The lake was like bathwater, so comfortable in fact that at times we wished it were just a little cooler.

We made a party out of the trip north, stopping in Jericho on the way to buy some souvenirs and, most importantly for the kids, have the long-promised CAMEL RIDES!

Isaac and Abby

Mary and Linda

Joe could only say "mackel" instead of "camel."

One of my favorite photos.

Carrie Judd decided to ride with us part of the way. The kids all adore Carrie, as you can see.

We passed an overturned garbage truck on the highway, which smelled for miles before we got to it.

Ein Gev Resort
Upon our arrival, the beach was the first order of business, and we spent nearly every day in the water for the morning or the afternoon or both. The kids got really good at putting on their own sunscreen, but we were so grateful for the swimshirts the Judds loaned us.

Joe just chillin' in  three inches of water.

Isaac and Adam Schade

Jill leading a tube train through the deep end.

Headed to the beach!

The bathing beauty.

It was both Emily and Amanda Judd's birthday during our time in Galilee, so they had a joint party on the beach. For the game "musical beach towels," each round's loser had to have whipped cream sprayed on them. Amanda opted for the whipped beard.

Joe had lots of fun in the apartments, being a typical creative two--year old.

Playing at the playground after breakfast, still in pajamas. It's vacation, after all!

Every evening at Ein Gev is relaxed, at least for the families. 

The Judds having family scripture time.

Sometimes the students had classes to attend, but a couple different evenings they had bonfires, one night for fun and one night for testimony bearing. We attended the fun one so the kids could enjoy the s'mores.

It was getting late, so Isaac was getting a little crazy.

By evening, Dad was ready for a break from students and from his kids. 

Mary chatting with Cat, one of her primary teachers and most favorite people.

Joe having a good time with Tanner.

Beautiful sunsets every single evening.

Baba Yossi's

We went back for an afternoon at the woodshop/playroom, and this time Linda got to paint a woodcraft. The kids had a pretty good time, and Ed liked the shop, but it was the end of a hot day and the kids didn't last quite as long as expected. The enjoyed it, though, as evident on their faces.

Abby

Isaac

Joe

Linda loves art projects.

What a happy boy!

Ed met us at the woodshop after a long drive to prep a field trip, and fell asleep fairly soon after sitting down.

One of the other dads kept himself occupied by building a block tower from the ground up. Impressive.

Bet She'arim

Ed went here without us, but he got some great pictures of the sarcophagi in the tomb caves.

Boat Tour

One of the highlights of the trip is a boat ride across the Kinneret (the Israeli term for the Galilee). It was warm, of course, but fun for all. Abby, being the youngest on the boat, got to raise the flag while they played the national anthem.

Isaac and Joe with Carol Bench.

Looking toward the eastern coast of the sea, at the hills of the Golan.

Mary with Ethan, Rachel and Amy.

During the "boring" devotional, the kids kept themselves busy coloring pictures Linda brought in her backpack. I was so grateful that she was so well prepared!

Ein Gev Kibbutz Train Tour
The Ein Gev resort is run by the Ein Gev Kibbutz, which also has a dairy farm, a banana plantation, restaurants, and a ferry service. We took a wheeled train tour around the kibbutz one afternoon, which I enjoyed particularly because this kibbutz was a good example of how previously socialist communalistic experiments have had to adapt in more modern societies by diversifying and privatizing their economic systems. The kids, of course, just liked the cows and bananas.

Abby with a newborn calf just a day or two old.

Ostriches!

The banana plantation, complete with free banana samples.

Everyone loved it except Mary, who thinks trains are for little kids. She's probably right, but I nonetheless thoroughly enjoyed the video she made while on the train.

My Gamla/Kursi Field Trip
One morning I left all the kids back at the resort and went on a calming, peaceful half-day trip to a couple sites just up the road from Ein Gev.

Gamla
Gamla is famous for the same reason Masada is famous--the mass suicide of Jews being attacked by Roman soldiers during the Great Revolt in the first century CE.

My composition in this photo is not the greatest, but Gamla is actually the peak in the middle of the picture. "Gamla" is a form of both the Arabic and Hebrew words for camel, an appropriate name for the hump shape of the hill. It was so beautiful and peaceful and cool up there, and a mere fifteen ten minutes from the Sea, as the crow flies.

Gamla has the oldest excavated synagogue in Israel, and since the Savior preached all around the Galilee, it is entirely possible that he preached in this very spot.

Looking down on one of the many mikveh (ceremonial washing site) on the site.

Gamla is also a nature preserve with lots of native flora and fauna that I found interesting and beautiful.

Kursi

There are two possible sites for the story of the Savior casting the evil spirits out of a man into the swine. Kursi is the most likely site, and as such, the site boasts the remains of a Byzantine church. I'm sure this arch was reconstructed, but it was still beautiful.

Capernaum on the Sabbath

I took time on the sabbath to visit the two Capernaum sites, the traditional Capernaum with Abby and Linda before church and the Orthodox Capernaum with the Judd girls after church. 

Capernaum

Linda showing off the synagogue. This one dates from the Byzantine period, but is built directly over the first century synagogue where the Savior would have preached the sermon of the Bread of Life.

The "Spaceship" Church, built to float over the excavations. The home directly below is reputed to have belonged to Peter, and the church has a glass floor in the center to look directly down into it.

Orthodox Capernaum
Just up the road is the Greek Orthodox Capernaum. The grounds were beautiful, complete with peacocks and peahens, and we even saw their peachicks!

Amanda, Linda, Emily and Megan under the banyan tree.

Linda and Abby, watching the turkeys and peacocks and chickens, with the church in the background.

Inside the church, Linda and I spent quite a long time reading the paintings. While quite new, they were painted in an old mosaic style (here we see my ignorance of Orthodox art history), which allowed Linda to "read" them like the scripture stories. We enjoyed talking about them, and I was very impressed with how many of the stories she knew well. I have to thank her Religious Education class at AISJ for that!

Abby was captivated by the tapestries.

The Turkish Pilots Monument

Every time we have gone to Galilee, I have been intrigued by a road sign pointing toward "Turkish Pilots." We finally took some time to check it out, and it turns out that in 1918 two pilots of the Turkish Air Force (did they really have an Air Force in 1918?!) set off on a journey from Istanbul to Alexandria, Egypt, but were surprised by the air currents off the Golan and crashed next to the Sea of Galilee. The Turkish government bought the land and put a simple monument on it. 

A view from the monument over the Sea.

Keren Dabush and the Galita Chocolate Factory
In the Winter semester, I met a clerks at Ein Gev's snack shop named Keren. She and I quickly became friends, and I was excited to see her again this summer. She is originally from Netanya, Israel, and is engaged to be married in October. She also loves my kids, and took us to a local chocolate factory, as well as had us to her home for ice cream and smoothies. She has a delightful sense of humor, and a generous spirit. I'm grateful to have met her, and hope one day she'll come to visit us in the States.

Here's Keren. I wish I had a more complete picture of her. Doesn't she have beautiful hair?

Isaac and Linda starting their chocolate lollipops.

The workers told the kids their first order of business was to taste the chocolate.  Keren informed Mary that she wasn't messy enough, so Keren wiped chocolate all over Mary's face. Mary was shocked but absolutely loved it.

The Judds also joined us at the factory. Here's Jill hard at work on her chocolates.

Abby with her finished product.

The chocolate factory is part of a kibbutz, and similar to many kibbutzim in Israel, have dairy cows as one of their economic enterprises. The kids enjoyed seeing if they could get the cows to eat from their hands.

Megiddo

We didn't go with Ed to Megiddo this semester, but he picked up some great pictures.

The Upper Galilee (Golan Heights) Field Trip
This has been one of my favorite field trips, and I was glad this time to be able to take the kids along.

Hazor

Ed and I enjoyed visiting Hazor this time because our friend and BYU alum Cory Crawford was working as a supervisor on the current archaeological dig. It was great to see him and really fun to hear him lead the presentation for the students.

The dig in process.

Frank, Ed, Cory and Aaron on Hazor.

Budding archaeologists.

Joe was getting tired already.

Tel Dan

I loved Tel Dan in April, and it was fun to take the kids and let them wade in the pools this time.

Hiking in the streambed.

Wading.

Watching a backhoe across the wading pool.

Nimrod's Castle

The best part about the castle was showing Abby the den of bats. She was completely enthralled.

Overlooking the foothills of Mt. Hermon.

Har Bental

This mount overlooks Mt. Hermon, the Golan, and down into Syria. 

This is the border crossing between Israel and Syria featured in the film The Syrian Bride. It was also the border briefly captured by Syrian rebels in June, resulting in increased Israeli troop movements along that border.

While we waited for the students to return to the bus, Abby wanted to play hide-and-seek in the bus with me, and she surprised me by hiding in the overhead compartment.

Western Galilee Field Trip
This trip I got to do without the kids. So relaxing.

Chorazin
Luke 10:13-14 "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! . . . for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you."

The synagogue, with partially reconstructed pillars and arches.

An original pillar. Look at that carving!

Lizards: the Israeli national animal. 

A typical home in Chorazin.

These are the roof beams, made of solid basalt, at least four feet long and one foot wide and high. This is what the Savior was referencing in Matthew 7:5 when he said "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Sepphoris

A huge archaeological site, Sepphoris is famous for its mosaics.

The Mona Lisa of the Galilee.

A view of Nazareth from the top of Sepphoris.