Day 1 - Galilee …

Every grouping of pictures is in backward order . . . oh well! What can I say?

We are here in Israel. We have begun our stay in Tiberius right on the sea of Galilee.

Mark and I slept so well last night. We had traveled for so many hours and neither of us had slept much on the plane but we slept last night.

We awakened this morning ready to go and went down to breakfast with some of the group. The breakfast buffet includes all sorts of breads and cheeses and avocado and fish and salad bar ingredients and yogurt and cottage cheese. You can even make a salad for breakfast!

After breakfast we boarded our bus with our guide, Rafi, and our wonderful driver. Donna Nelson gave a great devotion for day one about the Light!

Our first stop was

the Mount of Beatitudes.

Brian led us in a time of scripture. Rafi led us in a time of learning facts. Then we spent about 20 minutes wandering the grounds and church.

The Mount of Beatitutdes is a beautiful place. These photos don't do it justice. It was sunny wih a breeze today so we wore jeans and coats for most of the day.

We went to Tabgha next. Tabgha is traditionally considered the place where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the thousands.

We walked to the next site which is St. Peter's Primacy. The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter is a Franciscan church located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. We are standing on Holy Ground - ground where Jesus and the disciples walked. This may be my fourth time here but I think this may be the most powerful so far.

The girls from our Sunday School class!

We also went to Capernaum. A church is built on top of Peter's mother's home which means that Jesus spent time in that place. The temple is just down the "street" and it is so amazing to know that you are standing where others worshiped God many years. . . and once again, to be standing where Jesus and Peter and others would have been standing.

We rode out onto the Sea of Galilee. They raised the American flag alongside the Israeli flag and played the Star Spangled banner. It was windy!!

This is the first time we've ever been on a boat all by ourselves. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

Here is the whole group (minus someone who got sick and had to return to the hotel).

One of my favorite parts of the day was the Jesus Trail. This is the path that Mary and Joseph and Jesus and the disciples would have walked between the Sea of Galilee and Nazareth. We just walked a short portion and read scripture and soaked up God's glorious creation. You can actually hike the whole trail and camp along the way.

We ate tilapia from the Sea of Galilee for lunch. Tilapia is native to the Sea of Galilee and folks have been eating it for generations and generations!

After lunch,, we went to Magdala which is a newer site. We saw it in 2020 but we didn't see as much in 2020. The Catholic Church was going to build a hotel/guest house where visitors could stay and when they started digging . . . they found a whole village underneath. Mary Magdalene . . .Mary of Magdala.

This mosaic floor is amazing and in great shape.

Before dinner, we went for a walk along the boardwalk in front of our hotel . . .on the Sea of Galilee and we walked around the town a little. Most everything was closed because it was the beginning of Shabat (Sabbath).

Mark and our friend, Debbie

Here we are -- windblown look!

This picture is totally out of order - this was
at Magdala and you can see the Sea
of Galilee behind us.

Isn't the Sea of Galilee beautiful?

Stay tuned for day 2. I'll try to get the pictures in the correct order. I'm trying to use my phone to load the photos and there must be a trick I don't know.