We were Illegal Aliens so we went to Galilee!!

Sunday, April 6-From Tom (This is a week late due to the shut down of internet connection. Sorry!)

We found out we were illegal aliens. Our Jordanian visa had expired on March 10th. We tried all sorts of things but we were told we needed to leave Jordan and return. We thought of going to Egypt and Lebanon but that seemed a bit scary at this time. The simplest would be to just drive to the border crossing ( 1.5 hours north)walk over and go through the checkpoints and turn around and cross back. That would have taken at least 6 hours and would have been a waste of time.

So we got the inspiration to take a bus to Nazareth and see Jesus' boyhood home. It was supposed to be a 7 hour ride one way ( 3-4 hours to go through the very difficult border crossing).

I can't tell the whole story right now, but the short version is that we were very nervous because of all the hurdles and nothing was working out right. We had arranged a bus ride to Nazareth, but reserved a hotel in Tiberias, next to the Sea of Galilee. It turned out that our bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until an hour after everything shut down--I mean everything because of the Jewish Shabbat, or Sabbath. Thus there would be no rental cars and maybe no taxis for the 30 kilometer journey for at least a day. I tried 20 different agencies and they all shut down. I imagined Ronna and I toting bags along the highway.

I'll fill in the details later but there were a good number of miracles; things that are really hard to explain except that our guardian angels were watching over us again.

We returned safe and sound and had an incredible journey. We visited Tiberias, Nazareth, Capernaum, Beth Saida, the Sea of Galilee, the site of the Sermon on the Mount, sites of other miracles such as the loaves and fishes, the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor and the Valley of Armageddon.

One of the best experiences was having a Sacrament Meeting in the chapel overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The meetings are conducted and translated in English, Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew. It was a testimony meeting so there was a lot of translation but a very powerful spirit. The chapel actually has a panoramic view of the Sea. Can you imagine the feeling as we began by singing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" as we looked out on where the Savior calmed the waves, walked on water and healed the sick. It was  very touching experience.

View from our chapel overlooking the Sea of Galilee toward Capernaum

Everything fell into place like we had guardian angels watching over us. I still get choked up thinking of it. We'll fill in the details later since we're now behind in our exams and grading and our internet is really giving us trouble again. We're learning patience.

East shoreline of the Sea of Galilee