Crossing The Sea Of Galilee

Wake up, get ready, breakfast, BOAT RIDE! This is how today started. We climbed on a boat that could hold about 60 passengers to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. We worshiped on the boat, singing at the top of our lungs to our Creator. It was one of the most beautiful times singing praises to Jesus on the same water that He walked on, and that He calmed the storms on. Mike reminded us that faith equals risk. If there were no risk, we wouldn’t need faith. Jesus called Peter out of the boat to walk on the water, but when the storms came he lost faith and begun to sink. Our challenge this morning was to think about what boat Jesus is calling us out of. The winds will blow, the waves will come, but if we don’t come out from the boat, we will never walk on water.

We then got our dancing feet on! We danced and sang together, even learning an Israeli dance on the boat. It was such an amazing time of laugher and fellowship, and some new dance moves! When we reached the shore we got to see an ancient boat from 2000 years ago! It was told that this boat was from the first century during Jesus’ time. It could have been a fisherman’s boat, or something similar to what the disciples fished on, but it was incredible to see the preservation of this boat.

From there we went to Beth She’an meaning “House of Strength.” It was a small hike to the top where we could see the only road that runs from East to West in Israel. 26 different civilizations came to live here because of the location, but just around the corner we came to Scythopolis. We learned here that the Romans came to build a city inspired by Greek architecture, which was later destroyed by an earthquake. As we walked through the ruins, we learned that many came to live here including Nicodemus. The place was beautiful. We saw the theater, the bathing room, the shopping/trading areas, synagogue, and more. The stone that built this city was beautiful and designed with so much detail.

We had lunch, and spent the rest of the day at the Ein Harod Springs, where we got to relax, swim and enjoy each other’s company. There were even these little fish that would come up to your feet and ankles and eat the dead skin from your body. Each person who experienced this couldn’t stop laughing. It was quite an experience. Many of us swam in the Sea of Galilee when we returned to our rooms. Today was a relaxing and beautiful day.

Each day we get to walk this land and see the things that Jesus saw. It is truly indescribable. We are learning so much and it is so fun to experience Jesus in a way that we have never experienced before. As we continue these last few days, pray that we would continue to learn and to be challenged from what we see and hear. Thank you for joining with us on this journey and thank you for your prayers. They are truly appreciated.

Stacey Sturzenacker