Hey all!
We just completed our first day of our trip here in Israel and it was a great start! We’re still getting used to the time change, though. Even though we both slept pretty solid all night, we were a bit groggy and loopy most of the day. It’s still very hard to believe that when we were having breakfast here in Israel it was 1 am in the US! Also crazy to think that we’re gearing up for dinner and y’all are still at work and heading out to lunch. (naa-naa-naaaaaa!)

The hotel is pretty decent, and is European in style (Amy says that, since I don’t know what style European hotels are….well I guess I do now!). I’m also happy to say that we bought the proper voltage converter so all the stuff plugs into the wall correctly – except i’m keeping my iPhone turned off because of the outrageous roaming charges.

The food in the hotel is not too bad so far. They maintain the kosher rules, which basically means that no dairy products can be served together with meat. So for dinner you can’t have cheese on your hamburger, there’s no butter for your bread, no milk, etc. Breakfast this morning was almost all dairy with no meat and lunch/dinner seems to be the other way around. Breakfast had the usual eggs, cereal, pancakes, and cakes.

Our itinerary today focused around the northern “horseshoe” of the Sea of Galilee, which is where most of Jesus’ ministry took place. (Go get a map!) Our hotel is in Tiberias (named after the second Roman emperor who ruled during Jesus time).

We started the “Valley of the winds and the doves”. This is a 22-mile path where Jesus walked from Cana and began His ministry (no we didn’t walk 22 miles thank goodness!). We were able to stroll quietly, listen to the nearby stream, stare in awe at the mountains, and walk on the same path that Jesus Himself walked! It was awesome and a really great way to start the trip!

Our next stop was the “Jesus Boat” in a town called Kibbutz Ginosar, which was right near Migdal (the town where Mary Magdalene was born). This boat was found in 1986 by two brothers on the beach of the Sea of Galilee. Nobody is sure who’s boat this actually was, but underneath the boat were several nails, a bowel, and a oil lamp and all the items (including the boat) carbon date back to Jesus’ time. The boat was reconstructed and was on display in a museum.

After that, we headed to the Mount of Beatitudes. It was truly awesome to be in the place where Jesus’ teachings were spoken (Sermon on the Mount, etc). We congregated on the pack porch of the church and took turns reading scriptures aloud. As we walked around, there were several other large groups doing their thing and occasionally each one would break into different songs. It was so peaceful and joyous to hear different groups freely singing & praising God!

We then visited the “Church of the Loaves and Fish” where the miracle of the same name occurred! The church built on this site is only 16 years old, but the mosaic inside is 1500 years old. There were various musicians around this area playing (violin duet, flute & clarinet, etc.) playing some nice classical music as everyone walked around.

Next stop was the “Church of St. Peter by the Sea” which was the edge of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus gathered the Disciples. There were a lot of people taking their shoes off and wading in the Sea of Galilee here! It was festive and fun. Other areas had some Catholic groups participating in Mass (the clergy were robed and everything), and other pavilions had people in different languages singing praise songs and having their own little services.

Still going!! We then headed to Capernaum which is where Peter lived. This site is also the location of many healings of Jesus (Peter’s mother-in-law, the Centurion’s sick servant, etc). Peter’s houses’ ruins were here, and then a church was built around his house – which was also in ruins, and then another church was built on-top of the original church ruins and his house. There were a lot of ruins around of the city of Capernaum and also the ruins of a traditional synagogue.

Our final two stops after lunch were a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. The boat-ride was really cool because we rode out to the center of the river, killed the engine, and read the scriptures about when Jesus calmed the storm from the boat, and also of course when He walked on the water. We then had the opportunity to rededicate our baptism in the River Jordan. Very very cool indeed!

All-in-all, a really great day!! The visits at some of the places were a little rushed and filled with picture taking and lectures from the tour guide rather than reflective times to realize where we were actually standing. But there were quite a few neat moments – it’s really a whole new “level” to be walking in the same place where Jesus and the disciples lived. Reading about this stuff in the Bible, I know it’s real and it happened but it always seems disconnected somehow. (you know what I’m talking about – we all tend to skip over those hard to pronounce cities as if they’re long gone forever….well there still here and we saw some of them today!!). Actually being here where all this took place is a really awesome experience so far!!!

Okie dokie – I think I’ve written enough and it’s only day #1! Not sure if I’ll write this much (unless you guys are ok with it!! – please let me know in the comments). Although it’s actually helpful for me to look at my journal and a map and re-cap the day for you. As I said, the chaos of pictures and tour-guides and people sometimes makes you miss the moment – but reliving it again as I tell you about it solidifies how special what took place here is.

Talk to you tomorrow!!!

P.S. Between my mom and Amy/Me, we took about 300 pictures today. I had about 17 slated to upload to the blog but they take a long time to upload (i didn't re-size them...guess I should do that tomorrow). Also we only paid for 2-hours of Internet time so far and it may get wisked away while we wait for the pics to upload. So those might have to wait until we get home, but i'll see what I can nerd-up for tomorrow. :)