The view of the Sea of Galilee from the Peniel YMCA balcony

Speechless

Today was probably the most insightful day so far. We learned about the Baha'i religion and toured the Baha'i gardens, which were so meticulously and beautifully cut by the 70 plus gardeners. We had the honor of going to Forsan's house, who is our incredible host and the CEO of the JIY, in Sha'Ab, to meet his family and have fresh fruit and small snacks with them. He then took us to these 2000 year old Olive trees where he played as a child. We all knew bits and pieces of Forsan's life before today but he actually sat us down and told us everything about his life. He has such a miraculous story that none of us knew what to say afterwards. We were literally speechless. We then drove to the Peniel to stay at the YMCA here for 2 nights. It sits right on the Sea of Galilee....as iif we hadn't already experienced enough today. We had the chance to eat dinner with Eddie, the manager of the Peniel YMCA and he explained the significance of the Y in his life.

The Y has always played a huge role in my life because I literally grew up there. Back home I have come across many people who have had life changing experiences at the Y. But it is an amazing experience to come to another country to meet people who have also had life changing experiences through the Y as well. Who knew that the Y would be this impactful to people all over the world. What an amazing organization we associate ourselves with. I have never been more proud to say I am an employee, volunteer, and lover of the YMCA. 

Written by: Katie Taylor 

Kind of Hard to Describe

So here I am. The cool breeze blowing on me from the Sea of Galilee as I reflect upon another fantastic day here in The Holy Land. Its somewhat difficult to write about all that I am experiencing when I, myself, have not fully digested it all.

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 

Unbelievable

What a day! This whole trip, I have just had to pinch myself over and over. I have to constantly remind myself that I really did put my hand in the Jordan River, the very waters in which Jesus was baptized, I actually looked at the tree that Zaccheus climbed up as he watched Jesus enter the city, and I did indeed see the mountain that Jesus fasted for 40 days on, before being tempted by the devil.
But today, as I gazed upon these amazing sights, walked around Masada, an ancient palace built by Herod and turned into a Jewish rebel camp, and floated in the Dead Sea (which, by the way, was one of THE COOLEST things that I have ever gotten to do), that I could almost begin to picture these ancient stories playing out in front of me. Maybe its the history nerd in me, but I am so fascinated by the thought that these stories that I have only read about and studied, are now all around me.
A huge piece of this absolutely incredible trip for me, however, has been the people that we have met and spent time with. Tonight at dinner, I just sat back from the conversation and the laughter and smiled as I reminded myself that I was sitting in Jericho, eating grilled meats, surrounded by the most wonderful people that I am now lucky enough to call my friends. I know that the trip is only half way finished, but I get a little upset at the thought of parting from these people and this amazing land.

Written by Katey Calhoun

The surface of the Sun

Let me start off by saying today was HOT like really hot. We woke up and started on our journey to Masada, one of Emperor Harod of Rome's palaces (originally) but was used by Jewish rebels during the invasion of Jerusalem. It was under Roman siege for 2 years. The Jewish rebels who took refuge in the palace had to make the decision to either be Roman slaves or to die. They slit the throats of their own children and wives, and then took their own lives. We were able to go around the palace, which by the way was built in 1st century BC. 

Of course it wasn't a palace anymore but there were still some original mosaics and stone work from that period. This palace was built on the edge of a mountain top overlooking the Dead Sea. It must've been a mile long because whenever we thought we had seen the whole palace it just kept going. It was almost surreal to imagine what it actually looked like at the time it was built. There were grand bath tubs, pools, and columns with (what looked like) beautiful detailing. 

These past couple of days we have seen things that I had no idea even existed. I can't help but be extremely grateful for having this opportunity to come to Israel to learn more about the cultures and history that is not my own. 

Written by: Katie Taylor 

At The Dead Sea

The YMCA of Greater Charlotte representatives learning about the  skin benefits of the Dead Sea....but really just playing in the mud. :)

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Remember those storybook Bibles that we had as kids? You know, the ones with the cute little pictures that illustrated the stories inside? Well, Somehow that is the mental image that I had as we drove into Bethlehem today. Just as you may expect, however, Bethlehem is not still this "little town." There is a huge church, the Church of the Nativity, that is there now, and hundreds of people come to visit. We were among those visitors yesterday. We had the opportunity to see exactly where Jesus was born (now with altars and paintings to honor Him) down in this grotto sort of place. 

Another big piece of what we did today was learning about the politics in this area of the world. We traveled to the Ramallah YMCA to see the the building that is under construction there, we visited the East Jerusalem YMCA, and we enjoyed a performance by a youth choir made up of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian teens. Everywhere we went we had the chance to hear the stories and experiences of all the people we met. I thought that I had a basic understanding of the political tensions felt in this area, but, much like the city of Jerusalem itself, this issue has many many layers. Every Y director, employee, and youth choir member had their own point of view to share with us. To say that the political situation is multifaceted would be a massive understatement. Just like the church in Bethlehem, and how it was much more modern and complicated than I thought it would be, there is much more to the politics in this area than any outsider could understand. Every individual has their own set of beliefs, experiences, and opinions surrounding the tensions of this area, and the best response that I can come up with is just to listen and absorb all that they have to share. So far I have learned so much from the people that I have met here, and I am very excited for how much I will continue to learn during my time here. 

Written by: Katey Calhoun