Worship and amazement

We have transitioned from traveling through solely the Old Testament, to walking in the footsteps of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the morning, the winds howled and rushed through our hair as we headed out to the Sea of Galilee. The Spirit of the Lord overwhelmed us as we worshipped on the lake where Jesus powerfully calmed the storm 2,000 years ago. Afterwards, we sat to hear the words of Pastor Gill and Mrs. Morales who explained to us the omnipotence in Jesus’ ability to calm the storm and how we can trust that He will take care of us. From this we ended our sea journey by dancing and singing a Hebrew song about joy that Ronen taught us. We took that joy with us to land as we visited a 2,000-year-old boat found on the Sea of Galilee before climbing up Mt. Arbel.

Mt. Arbel was the first hike for many where the rocks had handle bars that led to an unbelievable view overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the snowy caps of Mount Hermon, and all the surrounding cities of Galilee. Miss Davis had us read through Mark 6:30-52 where she led us to verse 46 that explains how Christ, in between two of His miracles, “went up on a mountainside to pray.” At this time, we were given 25 minutes of solitude on the mountain where Jesus might have taken his time with the Father. What an incredible opportunity it was to have had time with our Father in the place His son ministered and sacrificed. We were able to cherish that time as we left and went out to lunch to have more falafels. The falafels today were even more scrumptious than yesterdays and we were able to enjoy them with great conversation. With our bellies satisfied we hopped back on the bus to Tabgha where Jesus possibly called His disciples. At this site we listened to Brooke as she shared with us the way a boy in Israel would go through school: a chosen few would told by the Rabbi to “come follow me” while the others would be “methetes” or apprentices of their parents or fisherman and other occupations. She paralleled this history that Jesus lived in to the way he called His disciples who were not chosen to be Rabbis, but to help spread the Gospel for the future generations.

This beautiful story of how Jesus chose His disciples then allowed us to enter Capernaum with a better idea of how Jesus continued His ministry. Capernaum was the main stomping grounds for Jesus’ ministry. Ronen took us through the history of the town and explained how it was a cross road for many trade routes. He also explained how the synagogue was the one Jesus, our Lord and Savior, preached and healed and ministered to His people. In this synagogue we read scripture and sat in a place that Jesus was. As we walked in awe of the fact that we were literally walking in Jesus’ steps we were guided to the place Peter lived. In fact, the Catholic church built a church around his house in the 4th century, but today another church stands above it with a glass peering down at the square structure in the center of the octagonal church. After touching the stones we believed Jesus touched and seeing Peter’s home, we ended our day on the Mountain of Beatitudes where Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount. As the sun set, Mr. Molina allowed us to feel a sense of what the disciples felt as Jesus explained how all could come to Him because each of us carry a missing piece that only God can satisfy. Our long day was concluded with worship and amazement at the goodness of God and His creation that surrounded us.