Wednesday, October 6 by Karen

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Today was our first day in Galilee, wow…who would have imagined that there is actually land in Israel that is lovely after the desert! Temperatures are still high but there is a cool wind often blowing which makes it so much more tolerable. It’s really beautiful here, the flowers and landscaping remind me a lot of Honduras. We can see the Sea of Galilee from our dining area and it’s very peaceful and quiet here, it’s easy to imagine Jesus walking and teaching in this area. Our morning started by climbing a hill that is believed to be where the teaching of the Beatitudes was given, possibly the feeding of the five thousand and where Jesus went at times to pray. This hill has a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee. I was amazed to hear that the residents do not care for the sea, for generations they have thought of it as the abyss. Many don’t even know how to swim. So it is particularly interesting that 5 of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen.

We also visited Capernaum. This town was famous for making millstones to grind grain; people came from all over to buy these mills. Judging from the size of them, I haven’t the faintest idea how they transported them, they look awfully heavy. Capernaum is right on the shore of the sea, a beautiful location. We even saw Peter’s house where Jesus is believed to have lived. Unfortunately, the Catholics built a huge raised church over it, so that diminished the awe somewhat.

After lunch we climbed Mt. Arbel. This mountain has a horrific story connected to it. While Herod the Great was king, the Roman soldiers under his command would raid villages with unimaginable brutality. The women, children and elderly would flee to this mountain and hide in caves. The soldiers would then build fires in the entrance caves, causing the people to come to the front to breathe. They were plucked out of the caves with hooks and dropped to the rocks below. In one afternoon 5,000 people were killed using this method. It certainly helps you understand why the Jews were crying out for deliverance and so desperate of a righteous king to free them from their oppressors.

To all of those who left comments, thank-you. It does motivate us a little more if we know that you enjoy the blog…and thanks for understanding that there are nights when we are far too tired to attempt it. A special thanks for the update on our children, while it brings tears to our eyes, it is much appreciated and we thank-you for caring so well for them.