“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth — If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Psalm 137: 4-6
We leave Israel tomorrow for Rome, and spend one night at the airport Hilton before moving downtown near the colliseum. Although the Hilton looks pretty schnazzy and gives us an incredible breakfast, Internet costs 20 Euros. Punks. So, expect a break in posts until we have free wifi again!
For our last day, we visited more sights around Galilee, including the site of the Sermon on the Mount and Tagba where the fishes and loaves may have happened. The Beatitudes place was a lush garden area, blooming with bouganvilla, canna lilies, geraniums, and some purple trees we think are jacarunda. Unfortunately, a religious group has built a “church” right in
the middle and wanted us to pay to use the WC. Humph.
It felt good to come home to Ein Gev and enjoy several hours of lolling around. Jim and Dave took the plunge and body surfed while Jane and I took their pictures.
We couldn’t leave Galilee without eating “St. Peter’s Fish”, and found some just down the road at the Ein Gev Kibbutz. Yum!
(I have a “before” and “after” picture of Anna eating her fish…but wifi is slow tonight. 🙁 Maybe in the morning…)
Thoughts on leaving Israel:
1. We’ll miss the country. This place is fascinating, from the Western Wall to the shores of Galilee. There is no place like it in the world.
2. We loved the food! Anna likes the yogurt and fresh fruit, Tim likes steak and Fanta, Jim the lamb kebobs. Jane thinks everything tastes better because it is fresh.
3. I loved seeing all the different peoples here, and the one-on-six interactions we were blessed with. I think this is due to our traveling on-our-own, not in a huge group!
4. Dave says, “thank you, Israel.”
5. We agree that Israelis seem to be genuinely happy to have visitors here; they like sharing their country with us because they love it.
6. The final touch on this evening were the beams of sunlight streaming through the clouds from across the sea, illuminating Tiberias. We took our last pictures looking at the sunset from Ein Gev Kibbutz.
7. Tim says he and Anna have been here three times, and each time is a little different. They appreciated this time because we were a small group and could go at our own pace.
8. Dave says he is glad the Lord gave this land to the Jewish people, and that He has a future for them — Jeremiah 31.