The Sea of Galilee.....

 Where do I begin...? The first day we headed off in our buses to the Galilee. The first stop was at Bet She'an this is where King Saul lived (and also where Jesus Christ Superstar was filmed, I have never seen the movie) Well, I had to be selective with my pictures so I didn't post pictures about a lot of the places but I tried to pick a few good ones.

The next stop was at the Nativity Village which was a rebuilt/  re-enacted village that was supposed to represent a typical village during the time of Christ. Not going to lie it was a little cheesy but you got to appreciate people that dress up and act like they are from the 1st century.

 The one cool thing about this place was that they had rebuilt a synagogue that was popular at this time period. We go to a bunch of tels and ruins so it is hard to imagine what it really looks like but this helped me visualize it better.

 Afterwards we went to Nazareth, the first stop was the Nazareth Synagogue where Christ preached. He came here after he was tempted by the Devil three times. It was here that he began his ministry and declared that he was the Messiah.

 The Church of the Annunciation was a church that was built to commemorate when the Angel appeared to Mary.  There was really cool artwork here because countries from around the world donated their version of the annunciation and they are hanging up around the church. This is the front facade of the church

 This is the inside of the church

 The next stop on the way there was one of my favorites, it was on top of Mt. Arbel. We had this magnificent overlook of the Galilean area. Behind me you can see Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Gnessot.  And of course the Sea of Galilee. It was super windy up there which was quite refreshing considering I had already sweated a gallon.

 The next day was our first free day. We were split into our two classes so we would switch off everyday and either have a free day or field trip day. We got the first free day. These are pictures of our resort and beach. On free days we had 3 hours of class in the morning, lunch, and then endless hours out on the beach! It was so nice to just relax on the beach and play in the water. It was the warmest water that I had ever stepped foot in. It was bathtub warm water!

 We would pull out our chairs into the water and just sit there talking. When the other class came back we had the largest chicken fight battle that I have ever been to. I am not going to lie I am really aggressive when I am in a chicken fight and I beat a lot of people. Good times.

 

The Next day we started off with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. So gorgeous. We stopped in the middle of the Sea and had a little devotional about when Peter walked on Water, the stormy seas and Christ sleeping, and also feeding of the 5000. It was an unreal experience to read those stories and actually be on the sea. 

Jess Sloan and I taking an engagement photo on the sea.

 This is a picture of us at the Synagogue at Capernaum. Capernaum was a great spiritual experience because there was sooo many events that happened here:
Healing Peter's mother-in-law
Raising Jairus' daughter
Man with Palsy lowered in the roof
healing the Centurion's servant
The Calling of Matthew
Christ eating with the publicans
The women who touched the hem of Christ's robe
And many many more.....
Christ preached in this exact synagogue!!!

This is us right in front of Peter's house. So this is the location of where Christ would have stayed and also where the man with Palsy was lowered down

 The rest of the day we went to other main sites where Christ spent his ministry, the main one being Chorazin. There are not any good pictures because at this point we were drenched in sweat and dying. 

The next day we had class in the morning and then we went on a hike to some waterfalls. We were right on the Syrian border edge. They were sticklers about staying on the path because it was an old mine field. living life on the edge.

 We stayed at a Kibbutz which is a community where all things are shared (think law of consecration style) but they did have a resort where we stayed. One night we got to go a restaurant. This was the sunset every night. 

 This is Gamla which is typically thought of as the "City upon the Hill" and if you are a history buff then you will appreciate that this is where Josephus lived.  It was quite the hike to the area but it was worth it.

 This is the over view from Gamla

 The next day was Shabbat, so we went to the Tiberias branch. Wow, I wished that I attended this branch every week. It was a house on the Sea with the prettiest overlook.

 Then we went to another baptismal site on the Jordan River. We got to dip our feet in the river and cool enough for awhile.

 I forgot that we went to the Mt. of Beatitudes. This was such a beautiful site, a little oasis. Everything was so green and the church was beautiful! We read the Sermon on the Mount and had a devotional. The sweetest nun came and spoke to us and it was so inspirational.

 I feel like I am skimming over so many things but I think there is only so much blog you can handle. No worries over the next few days there will be more posts.
Shabbat Shalom!