June 4 - Up early before our 6:30 AM wake up call and following breakfast headed out for the Mount of Beatitudes.  We were the first bus in the parking lot and had the site to ourselves which made it very special.  Pastor Joe had a devotion that emphasized the part of the Sermon on the Mount that teaches us we do not need to be anxious about our lives because Jesus promises to always be with us.

We returned to Kibbutz Ginosor and from there boarded the boat, Faith, for our trip on the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee is actually a water resovoir and furnished 50% of the water for Israel.  The ship is owned by Daniel Carmel who is a Messianic Jew.  He tells people he met Jesus on the Sea of Galilee.  Pastor's devotion was based on Mark's gospel of Jesus stilling the storm.

 Just as Jesus slept on the boat, so did our guide, Doron.

We finished off the morning by visiting 3 sites on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Tabgha commemorates the feeding of the 5000

and the Church of Peter's Primacy contains the Table of the Lord.  It  is believed to be the spot mentioned in John 21 telling of the great catch of fish.

The highlight of our experience at the Church of Peter's Primacy was our meeting up with a Bishop of the Assyrian Orthodox Church from Australia with 170 of his members.

  We did not know there was such a thing as the Assyrian Orthodox Church.  We understand they were based in Iraq at one time.  Phyllis, Doron & I do a lot of sitting around & waiting.

 Our last visit of the morning was to Capernaum where we visited the house of St Peter and the Synagogue. 

We took a lunch break and enjoyed a meal of either chicken or fish in a restaurant named Deck on the Sea of Galilee.  The fish was served with the eyes still looking at you.  In the afternoon we explored the ruins of Beth Shean- one of the important cities from the Canaanite period.  In addition to the high tell there are extensive ruins of the later Roman city of the time of Jesus.

We finished day 3 with a stop at the Jordan River at a place called Yardenit where we all renewed our baptismal vows. 

 After dinner some of us went to Tiberius for a little Ice Cream