We began with a walk to The Church of the Holy Sepulcher to observe the service that happens there on Sunday mornings. I was pleasantly surprised when I understood about 1% of the Latin mass thanks to my Music 101 class from this past semester at Wheaton College (thanks Dr. Trotter!) I really enjoyed watching the many different people that came to the church, both visitors and locals alike, for a common reason, illustrating the similarities that humans can have, despite many differences in our lives.
We then hit the road and went to Akko for "the best falafel sandwich in the world" (or so claimed Forsan, the CEO of the JIY and our host.) Even if we may have had initial doubts (we had eaten some dang good falafel), we definitely all agreed with him by the end of our lunch! After that, we went to the Baha'i gardens, which were not only breathtakingly beautiful, but also very educational for all of us that knew nothing about the Baha'i faith.
Next, we traveled to Sha'ab, to eat and spend time with Forsan's parents in his home. We then sat under an olive tree and had the opportunity to hear Forsan's story and some of his background in peacemaking. This was an incredible experience for all of us and, as my dad said, it was "not something that I could learn in any classroom."
We finished our day in Peniel, the YMCA retreat center on the Sea of Galilee. We shared fish that had been caught in the sea and had the chance to meet Eddie, the director of the Peniel YMCA. Before going to bed, I tried to take a picture of the unbelievable view off of our balcony of the huge moon above the Sea of Galilee, but I found that I could not quite capture the moment the way that I wanted to. I guess that is a good illustration of this once in a lifetime trip. We can blog about it, take pictures, and tell stories, but each moment is so unique and impossible to recreate, adding to how special this opportunity really is.
Written by Katey Calhoun
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