Ein Gev Resort-Sea of Galilee

Each Cooing Dove

Each cooing dove and sighing bough

That makes the eve so blest to me

Has something far diviner now

It bears me back to Galilee

O Galilee, sweet Galilee

Where Jesus loved so much to be

O Galilee, blue Galilee

Come sing thy song again to me

Each flowery glen and mossy dell

Where happy birds in song agree

Through sunny morn the praises tell

Of sights and sounds in Galilee

And when I read the thrilling lore

Of Him Who walked upon the sea

I long, oh, how I long once more

To follow Him in Galilee

I've just had the most amazing week in the Galilee. :) We toured every possible site and tel in the whole area and I'm absolutely convinced coming on this study abroad has been the best way for me to experience the Holy Land. The days were so tiring but I have learned so much!

I have had a lot of personal experiences this past week and I've grown to really know and better understand my Savior and friend, Jesus Christ. We have talked a lot about drawing "our line in the sand" in my Old Testament class last term, so it was cool to literally do so. ;)

I don't really have the words to describe my Galilee experience, but I can say that I have come closer to my Savior this past week more so than I have my entire life. Experiencing the Galilee made the scriptures come to life for me as I studied the contextual landmarks mentioned in the scriptures and pictured a real life movie of the Bible inside my head. Its changed my whole perspective of reading the scriptures and has made me more aware of the time periods, seasons, and other important details that help make up the historical story of the Old and New Testament.

The last night we were in the Galilee, we had a testimony meeting around a bonfire on the shore and the spirit was so strong. I really love each one of my 79 class mates and have learned something from every single one of them. Again, something I can't really explain but a feeling I will always remember. :)

I'm so grateful that I have been able to experience the Galilee. I have learned so much about the life of Christ, and loved learning about the wonderful missionary example He is. I know Christ lives and wants us to draw closer by communicating with Him every moment of the day. One of the things I really developed a testimony of was that Christ is so real, that He could come and visit me any second of the day He wanted to. Not that I'm expecting He will, just a super cool thought to have a testimony that Christ is always with us. He is literally that close to me and knows each and every one of us on that personal, friendship level. As the new LDS Easter video states, He loves us in the past, in-between and future and I know this to be true.

It was a very sad moment as we loaded the buses to come home to the center. I am so blessed to be coming "home" to Jerusalem (because I absolutely love Jerusalem!!); However, there really is no place like The Galilee.

Grateful to have walked the shores the Savior walked, swam the shores the Savior walked, and followed in His footsteps in the sand.

I hope every person reading this can one day visit The Holy Land. It truly is such a peaceful, wonderful place! I love you guys-

XOXO, alyson :)