Trip to Galilee on Wednesday

It's hard to explain how a trip to Israel affects you spiritually. That was very true on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. We did not get to go to Bethlehem because it is under Arab control, but I will include a photo here of a young shepherdess (Moslem) at an area overlooking Bethlehem that we visited on Tuesday afternoon. Our guide felt it was not safe to visit Bethlehem.

We ate early on Thursday morning and left for a trip that would take us as far as the North side of the Sea of Galilee. UDee (sp?) was our Bus driver and he did an excellent job. The city of Jericho could be seen off to our left as we traveled North toward Galilee. It also is in Arab control. I've included a picture of some of the barren area that we passed through headed North. some of that area gets about a half inch of rain a year. Our travels took us by the border of the country of Jordan to the East of us. Finally we made it to the North side of the Sea of Galilee and crossed over the Jordan River, which feeds into the Galilee. At that point the river is very narrow, though it widens some later.

We arrived at the ruins of the city of Capernaum. Here Jesus healed Peter's mother in law and did other miracles. He also foretold that Capernaum would be destroyed. Matthew 11:23 - And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Included is a picture of the synagogue ruins at Capernaum. We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant down on the Sea of Galilee. It was thrilling to afterward take a boat ride out on that famous body of water. It became somewhat windy as we rode though not stormy. It was a good reminder of how Jesus can calm the storms in our lives, even today.

One of the highlights of the day was a baptismal service at the Jordan river.  Dr. Mark Smith and I were privileged to baptize some from our group who wanted to be rebaptized and also to baptize his son Doug who had not been baptized yet.  We don't know the exact spot where John baptized Jesus, but it was still a thrill to be in the same river.