Michael's Family @ Ben Yahuda St

Mike couldn't leave without another shawerma sandwich, and no one blames him.  Our last night we spent  on Ben Yahuda St, enjoying live music and great food.

We packed up early the next morning to tackle the border.   

I should have included these pictures before Jerusalem, but here they are.  

Around Christmas time we put together quite a few puzzles with Amy and her boys.  

Christmas with kids is so much fun.  Their reactions were priceless.  Michael just hasn't given that kind of enthusiasm when we've had our own quiet Christmases.  

The boys made Santa's sleigh and a reindeer. I especially like the markers and legos for arms and fingers. 

Michael's Family @ Galilee

We didn't have much time here before sunset, and the fog settling on the lake made it difficult to get good pictures, but the peacefulness of the Sea of Galilee was radiating.  The glassy water was almost still enough for Michael to walk on water, but not quite.  Maybe we'll work up more faith for next time we come here.   It was easy to imagine Christ on this water and in these hills.  He spent so much time in the Galilee.  On lds.org I learned that Galilee was a busy crossroads leading to Damascus, Egypt, and eastern Israel back in Christ's time.  The  fertile soil and abundance of fish by the Sea of Galilee made this a weathly area. 

Here are some scriptures of Christ miracles and ministry in Galilee:

Matthew 4:23 Christ ministers, teaches and performs miracles in Galilee

John 2:1-12 The miracle of Christ turning water to wine at the marriage.  After the miracle He went to Capernum, which is where these pictures were taken. 

John 4: 43-54 A nobleman came to Christ and said he son was dead.  Christ told him, "Go thy way; thy son liveth."  Through the man's faith the miracle happened and his son was brought back from the dead.  

John 6  Jesus feeds the five thousand, He walks on the water to His disciples

Matthew 28:16-20 Christ rises from the tomb and tells His disciples to meet Him in Galilee.  There He teaches them to teach all nations and be His hands. 

Matthew 15:29-38  Christ heals the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others and then feeds them from 7 loaves and 7 fishes. 

John 1:14 Christ calls his disciples to come follow Him.

And my favorite: John 21 After Christ's death, some disciples decide to go back to what they knew best; fishing.  Christ appears to them and kindly scolds them, teaching that He needs them to feed His sheep, not go back to fishing. This reminds me to prioritize my life.  Do I love Christ? Do I show Him my love? Because we all know that actions speak much louder than words.  The picture of this biblical story is so well painted by Elder Holland in the last October General Conference.  The Fist Great Commandment.  Here is an great reminder for myself from His talk: 

"I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty."

I have a testimony of Christ and I am certain that He lives; all my spiritual senses tell me so.  I have not seen Him face to face, and I don't expect I ever will in this life, so I suppose I do not have a perfect knowledge.  But, I do believe that after all is said and done and I meet my Maker, I will be so glad that I chose to believe in Him.  And, if for some reason I am wrong in my beliefs, and it all ends at death, I still would be happy that I chose to live my life for something good.  It is better to believe.  I am happier because of my faith in God and an eternal plan. 

Michael's Family @ Mediterranean Sea/ Tel Aviv

As we drove to Galilee, we got closer and closer to the Mediterranean Sea.  We could see it on the GPS, and it looked so close we could touch it, but sadly, a hill obstructed our oceanic view.  Seeing it on the GPS wasn't enough for me, and I couldn't pass a chance to dip my toes in the Mediterranean, so with Janice's help I convinced the guys to take the next exit to the beach.  The weather was beautiful.  You'd never had believed it was the end of December.  The sand was so perfect and you could pick up seashells by the bucket full.  There were even some random parallel bars on the beach so Michael showed Tel Aviv his mad gymnastic skills.  

Michael's Family @ Jerusalem

We are still trying to figure out how our rental car was meant to fit five people.  All we can figure is that on the rental website they must have meant five gnomes.  Luckily, our apartment was nice and roomy for all five of us.  It had a beautiful garden and we ate grapefruits and lemons fresh off the tree every morning.  There was a bitty kitchenette that we found very useful.

We ran ragged all over the hills of Jerusalem.  We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, David's Tower Museum,  The Pools of Bethesda, The Garden Tomb and Skull Hill, and the Garden of Gethsemane.  On Saturday we attended church at the BYU Jerusalem Center.  The chapel overlooks an incredible view of the old city.  It was such a neat experience to listen to the speakers talk of Christ while we looked out on the very city He walked. 

We shopped, we walked, we had a picnic, we walked, we got lost, we walked, ate some great new foods, we walked, and we had the time of a lifetime.  When we asked Granny if she was seeing everything she wanted to, she said she didn't even know there was so much to see. She even got her hair done right there within the walls of the old city!