Participated in a tour organized by Richard Holzapfel, professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU. Flew into Tel Aviv (only 10 hours from New York — not so fun, but survived), and stayed at the Sheraton on the shore of the Med

Next day we began our tour, which included Mt. Carmel and Capernaum.

From there we got to see the Jordan River (north end prior to it’s entering into the Sea of Galilee),

and the Sea of Galilee,

including a short boat ride.

Next, it was on to Nazereth, where Jesus grew up

Finally, we arrived at Jerusalem,

where we visited the Garden of Gethsemane

the temple mount, including the courtyard and several other parts of the temple grounds,

and the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies

While staying in Jerusalem, we also visted the dead sea,

and Masada, where I hiked up to it.

We saw many other things and visited many other places. In sum, it was an incredible experience.