Today I awoke in Nazareth! It was a wonderful stay at St. Margaret's Guest House. Little did I realize what I was about to experience. We drove a few mile down the road to the Sea of Galilee...that place where Jesus called his disciples, Simon and Andrew as they were fishing. What a beautiful place. We boarded a boat and cast off out into the Sea of Galilee...which actually is a large lake about 14 miles long and 7 miles wide at the widest point. There was a little mist falling as we began our journey...a little fog still luming over the waters. As we approached the middle of the lake the engines were shut off and we sat in the middle of the lake in silence. I could only be reminded of one of the greatest stories in Matthew when Jesus was out on the lake with his disciples and a storm came and he spoke, "Peace, be still..." and the storm ceased. As we sat there in the boat the crew, who were Messianic Jews, began singing contemporary praise choruses....in Hebrew! As they sang in Hebrew, we sang in English...."The Heart of Worship." Who ever could have imagined that we would be worship with people of differing faith traditions...together in different languages...yet understanding one another....worshiping together. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my entire life!
Following our time on the Sea of Galilee we traveled to Capernaum and visited the temple where it is believed that Jesus taught...as well as the home of Jarius where Jesus raised Jarius' daughter from the dead.
We also had the awesome experience of visiting the Jordan River...where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. I was able to reach down and touch the waters...and even fill an empty bottle to bring back with me.
We traveled on to the outskirts of Jerico where two of our fellow travelers took a "dip" in the Dead Sea. Since it was quite chilly out the rest of us declined...but enthusiastically cheered on the shoreline for our fellow travelers.
My journey is coming to close. Tomorrow is a free day for us to spend time around Bethlehem. We leave for the Tel Aviv Airport at 3 AM on Tuesday morning to depart to Amman, Jordan. From Amman we fly 10 hours to New York and then on to Columbus. We should arrive in Columbus around 11:30 PM on Tuesday evening (EST). Please pray for our safety as we journey back to the states. I look forward to seeing all of you when I return.
Shalom!
Jeff
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