the Sea of Galilee

the sea of Galilee is actually a lake. it is 13 miles long and 8 miles wide. there was not sand around it that i could see, but rather volcanic rock and other large rocks lining the shore.

it was some of the most beautiful water i have seen in person. the color was such a wonderful deep blue.

during our stay near the sea of Galilee we traveled to Nazareth, Tel Dan, Laish, Caesarea Philipi, the Jordan River, Capernaum, and the Mt. of Beatitudes. there were many interesting things to see and learn. (for a little more info and pictures on these, check out my facebook album)

we took a boat ride across the sea and while on the boat our guide pointed out to us that 2/3 of Jesus' adult ministry took place on the NW area on the sea

this and to the left and right a bit span the majority of Jesus' ministry

these are the places of many miracles and parables and things that i pictured entirely wrong in my head as i learned about them on the flannelgraph.

but now having seen them, re-reading and re-learning them it is much more clear to understand the significance of some things and the simplicity of some things. many of the places we saw are the place believed for certain events to have happened. they may not be accurate, but with the evidence given about the locations, they make up the best bet for the location.

things like the sermon on the mount, the feeding of the 5,000, the healing of the paralytic, Jesus telling Peter 'upon this rock...' now i have a mental image for them. and for me a mental image and hands on experience make all the difference in learning. i cannot be told how in just words. i need to see and touch things.

on our boat ride i was able to see the shoreline of the sea where Jesus and the disciples spent much time. we learn about the teaching and the ministry that happened. but i wonder what their recreation was like. did they take boats rides for fun or was that too much like work? did they have picnics by the water or was life then more intensive so they didn't do those things? did they go for hikes for fun or since they walked everywhere anyway, they didn't enjoy a good hike like we do? maybe i'm naive, but i can't help but wonder more about the mundane details of their lives.

this was in the middle of the sea of Galilee.

the water was sooo deep in color and beautiful. just think this is the same body of water Jesus walked on and calmed the storm. this was a little more than amazing to me.

aunt cherry, dad, me, and uncle paul on the Galilee boat ride