Charles and I went on the 2nd trip (the first trip was a cruise of the Mediterranean) which consisted of a bus tour around Israel and many of the religious sites mentioned in the Bible. I can't even begin to tell you how different it is now to pick up the scriptures and be able to visualize places like the Sea of Galilee, or Jerusalem and the temple mount, or Mt. Carmel and the Valley of Armaggedeon (to name a few). Or to take the sacrament and picture the Garden of Gethsemane at 5:30 in the morning like Savior would have experienced it.
An added bonus was, of course, getting to spend time w/ my in-laws (including a brother-in-law that was a Near-Eastern Studies major in college) and to meet so many neat people on our tour.
I so hope to be able to return one day. But until then, I will study and learn and share all I can so that these pictures and memories stay alive in my mind!
