He walked on our planet

This trip has been the ultimate “unfiltered” experience. As we read scripture, we all get images in our mind of what the scenes in describes might have looked like, based on our own experience, background, and culture. Often, the reality is very different from what we imagine! Getting to see the lands where the stories of the Bible took place has been not only life-changing, but faith-changing. Growing up, it sometimes felt like Jesus lived in another world. But he didn’t... he walked on our planet, living life with us, talking with us, and teaching us.

Speaking of Jesus’ teaching, today we visited the Mt. of Beatitudes, where he delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount. Michael took us through those chapters in Matthew, where Jesus first introduced us to the character of his kingdom. It was a beautiful location that looked out across the Sea of Galilee, and as Michael observed, a very practical place to address a large crowd.

Today was also a very rainy day, resulting in a whole lot of mud! We trekked through two trails that lead us alongside the Jordan River, one at Tel Dan and one at Caesarea Philippi. The latter was one of the highlights of the trip for me because of the power rapids that were rushing past, not far from our feet. We ended the day at Golan Heights, and heard incredible stories from Ronan of the recent history of Israel. We ended the day with a Shabbat dinner, and are now drying our clothes to get ready for more adventures tomorrow!