by Audrey Staples
"We drove up to Mount Arbel and hiked a short trail to the top. It was such a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee as well as the surrounding cities. It was unbelievable to look out and see so many places that we had already been!"
Today is day 7 in Israel which means that we have officially been here a whole week! This morning we started the day by doing some community service in Magdala. Magdala is the village where Mary Magdalene lived and they had beautiful tributes to the important women in Jesus’ life. They also had an amazing picture of the woman touching Jesus’ clothes to be healed, which they think may have happened in that spot. We got a beautiful tour of the hotel there, did some landscaping, and helped clean the floors and windows inside. We also got to go past the barriers and pluck weeds from the first century ruins there.
Next, we had lunch at what was probably my favorite restaurant so far because we got french fries with our meal. We had some free time this afternoon after serving at Magdala so Dr. Sanders treated us by taking us to the nearest McDonald’s for drinks and ice cream.
On our way back to the retreat center, we drove up to Mount Arbel and hiked a short trail to the top. It was such a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee as well as the surrounding cities. It was unbelievable to look out and see so many places that we had already been! We were reminded that we had already traveled all the way around the Sea of Galilee! Dr. Sanders pointed out places like Mount Hermon, the Mount of Beatitudes, Migdal, and Tiberius. It was so crazy to think that I not only knew about the places he was talking about but that I had been to those places. We also talked about The Great Commission and how Jesus could have been talking to His disciples while looking out and seeing a view similar to the one we were seeing. While He looked out, Jesus told His disciples to go to all of the nations starting here in Galilee and all of the places they could see from this mountain. It is so powerful to talk and reflect upon the teachings of Jesus in Israel where he taught them.
After we came down from Mount Arbel, we had a very yummy dinner and some free time. But our day wasn’t over yet; we ended our day by going to a nearby community center. A good portion of the group played basketball with a few of the boys who were there. But a few other girls and I got to help a group of 12-year-old girls put bags together with books and candy for an upcoming library party. The girls were so sweet and fun, and it was nice to help them finish this job so that we could have some time to play with them. When we were done with the bags, we went outside and played basketball with them. Everyone cheered one another on and we laughed and had a really good time with them.
It was another beautiful and amazing day in Israel! I am so thankful to be here and having these wonderful experiences that I will never forget!
