Hello to you all. Every one in our group sends their best to all family and friends following this blog. You can see them all in the first picture. The second picture shows you where we are "SUFFERING FOR JESUS" at Galilee. It's the Maagan Kibbutz right on the shore. We can literally walk off the sidewalk into the water.
Picture three is of the Jordan River. We stopped there for a devotion. Rick Malec gave a devotion there.
The last picture was taken at Beth Shaun. This is a most remarkable sight. I'll have more on it later. But do you see the steps leading up the side of the mountain in the background? Well, a few of us (including Pastor Rick of Hillside, took the opportunity to climb to the peak of the hill to see a piece of the ancient wall on which the bodies of King Saul and his sons were hanged after their defeat at Gilboa. Can you say, "SORE THIGHS, anyone?"
The remainder of the blog is written by Kyle Bates from Saugus, CA.
I'm not really sure where to start! It's a pretty difficult finding the words to describe all the things we've seen today! I mean...I actually stood where Jesus stood. I walked where Jesus walked. I looked right into the home of Saint Peter. When you stand in a place like that, there's just no way to put into words how you feel.
We started the day by viewing a pretty remarkable site. I'm sure most of you reading this recall the story where Jesus healed a possessed man and cast the demons into a herd of pigs. Our group had the thrill of being right there where the pigs ran down the hillside into the Sea of Galilee!
Then we went to Capernaum (or Kefar Nahum) which is right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And, as I'm sure you've read, that's the place where Jesus spent half of his entire ministry. There's an incredible 4th century white synagogue built right on top of the foundation of the actual synagogue that Jesus taught in! We had the amazing privilege to walk through the synagogue and then down the path that lead right to the shore where Jesus and the disciples have been. The experience was completely overwhelming.
Next we went to Beth Shaun. Now, most of you probably haven't heard of that, but these are the most remarkable ruins in all of Israel! The ruins on top of the hill in the picture above were first mentioned in the bible at around 1050AD. But they were actually built much earlier than that. The part of the city down below was an incredible pagan city built by the Roman Empire. And as such it was complete with a massive theatre (where Ron Roberts sang a hymn from the stage), several bath houses, temples, and the "red light district". The city was destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned to be buried beneath centuries of earth. Now uncovered, we had the unique opportunity to actually walk right through the city as it lays in ruin.
We ended the day at Qumran, the town where archeologists (with the help of a little shepherd boy) found the dead sea scrolls!
So, needless to say, today was an amazing day! Never in my life have been in a place filled with so much history and spiritual significance. I'm sure that I (and everyone else) will never be able to read our bibles the same way again! We've been to these places and seen them with our own eyes. We've walked in the very footsteps of Jesus himself. My prayer is that we'll continue to follow those footsteps when we return home.
Blessings,
Kyle Bates
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