Our third day in the Holy Land began with a journey in a wooden boat on the Sea of Galilee.

We set sail under the Israeli Flag, only to have it joined by the American flag after singing the National Anthem. It was awe inspiring to see both flags flying side by side.

The See of Galilee was incredible. I read the story of Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee from Mathew 8:23-27. As I did this, the sky was dark, the waves were jostling us about, and the wind was kicking the sea in our faces. This short clip is from the boat as when we were stopped in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.

The amazing thing is that after concluding my talk, I went to the bow of the boat, the sun came out, and the sea was calm once again. This must have been what it was like when Jesus calmed the sea. It’s incredible how fast the conditions can change on this body of water.

We then boarded our buses to the Mount of the Beatitudes. We have 80 people on our trip, so we need two buses to travel.

At the Mount of the Beatitudes, we had a special time of reflection on what Jesus taught from this place. I read Matthew 5:3-11 to our people. We reflected on what these verses mean to our lives.

The Mount of Beatitudes is one of the most beautiful places in Israel, and is located just above the Sea of Galilee.

Next we traveled to the Golan Heights. As we traveled there, you could see why this area is so important to the nation of Israel. It borders Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon is on the other side of this fence.

A year and a half ago when the nation of Israel fought the Second Lebanese war, Israel was attacked by 2050 Katyusha rockets.The Golan Heights are so important because Israel must protect themselves against this threat with this buffer.

This photo is near the border with Lebanon. Israeli tanks stand ready in case they are called upon.

For lunch we had St. Peter’s Fish. It is most like Tilapia, but here they prepare it with the skin, bones, and eyes still attached. This is Lindsey Givens eyeing her fish as it is eyeing her.

We concluded the day with baptisms at the Jordan River. Clint Smith and I baptized 26 of our people who braved the cold water of the Jordan.

The Jordan River is so beautiful. Just thinking that this is what Jesus saw when he was raised from the waters is spectacular.

Today was filled with wonderful locations. They were beautiful and meaningful in our lives. We ventured all the way around the Sea of Galilee, taking more then three hours by bus. It would have taken four hours for Jesus and the Disciples to go across the Sea of Galilee by boat.

We’re ready for bed after our exciting day, but looking forward to the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem tomorrow!