Close your eyes and you can imagine...

After an extremely refreshing night of sleep, (jet lag has all but disappeared, which means we are not waking up at 1am), and another wonderful Israeli breakfast, we headed off to the Town of Karmiel – mid way between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean coast. This is the location of Bridges for Peace’s Northern Operation and where we were to learn of the amazing work that this ministry is involved in. From humble beginnings 50 years ago, they now feed 22,000 people a month with 49 Tons of locally purchased food as well as feeding 400 students of low income families in 10 schools, supporting 18 towns with food, along with other practical examples of showing God’s love in such areas as home repair teams, welcome gifts for new immigrants and numerous other ministries. The team at Karmiel is obviously very dedicated and laid out the welcome mat for us and were proud to show us what the donations from those around the world supporting them, are used for. BFP (Bridges For Peace) has offices in 9 countries and if you have never heard of them, I strongly suggest you check them out as they really do spend all donations very wisely and in a Godly manner.

From Karmiel we travelled back to the Galilee where we were to learn of the bringing back to life of an actual fishing boat from the 1st century and see the restored boat in all its glory. It is really hard to imagine that a wooden boat could sit underwater and be preserved after 2,000 years but is looks amazing and the restorers have done an amazing job. We then got to experience the Galilee for ourselves as we sailed on the sea in a much larger version of the boat. (Ok, sailed maybe too fancy a description as our boat had an engine, and all of the modern safety equipment, but from a distance it did look like a wooden fishing boat!) It was exhilarating to get out into the sea and look back to the shoreline, realizing that Jesus and the disciples would have experienced that same view as the surrounding mountains have likely not changed too much over time. Some of the more adventurous of the team did entertain us with some Israeli folk dancing on board and others enjoyed a time of singing along to some of the hymns that the boat captain played over the sound system. (Sort of like a Gospel Disco boat I guess?)

After a traditional lunch of falafel, we journeyed into Tabgha on the shores of the lake and the place where Peter had his fishing business. It was the same location that Jesus cooked the disciples breakfast after His resurrection and Doctors Noel, Tom and Dennis gave insightful messages relating to this, which I will not spoil for you here, but for the scholarly among you, take some time to study charcoal fires in the New Testament and I think you will be amazed at the lesson.

From the beach, we headed off to Capernaum, the home of Peter’s Mother in Law and the location of much of Jesus’ ministry. This is a fascinating site as it includes the ruins of the house, the home of Jairus, and a synagogue whose foundations date back to the time of Jesus. Here you get a real feel for gospel coming to life, albeit through just ruins, but you get a real sense that here you are standing on ground that Jesus really spent time on and if you close your eyes you can imagine the hustle and bustle of a small town with the narrow streets and stone houses.

Our day ended with a highlight, namely a visit to Yardinet – a baptismal site on the Jordan River, where we got to witness the baptism of 7 members of our group. This was a very moving and joyful experience as each of them professed their faith and were submersed in the waters of the Jordan. (And yes, they all did go 100% under!) What an end to another terrific day in the Land of the Bible and we are expectant for what adventures and excellent teaching we will be blessed with tomorrow.