The last three days in one highlight reel of a blog post seems to me like picking one sentence to describe your lifetime. That might sound a bit dramatic and maybe it is, but these last three days have been filled with over 14 different sites where the stories of the Bible took place. It is almost a dream to me that I am actually here. Which I will talk about that feeling in a moment, but first I will give you a glimpse into the places we have gone these past 3 days. Then I will share a moment the Lord has really pressed on my heart to share. 

April 13th 

Ein Gedi 

Qumran

Jordan River

Jericho

April 14th 

Chorazin 

Mount of Beatitudes (Aremos Topos) 

Sea of Galilee (Tabgha) 

Capernahum 

Mount Arbel

April 15th 

Qatzrin

Caesarea Phillipi

Tel of Dan

So, as I said before this trip has felt something like a dream to me and parts of it still do but day 4 on the 14th around 11:30 am at the Sea of Galilee the Lord provided a moment for me to really feel the weight of His presence. This was the location Jesus called Peter to be His disciple (Luke 5) & again the same place Jesus finds him after He had risen (John 21).

One of the many things that stuck with me from this sermon, was how Peter struggles with his faith.  Peter built up what he thought Jesus was so much so, that when Jesus was in the flesh it was hard to believe. Israel has been like that for me. With all of the buildup and preparations to come to the Holy land the arrival felt more like a dream. Parts still are hard to wrap my mind around but as I have prayed that the Lord give me understanding and to make me more present here, He has given me clarity that the Bible really took place in these lands.  Jesus took these same hikes and the stories I’ve read for so long are so real. What a humbling time this has been. My time here has brought me new eyes and an urgency to tell people about Jesus, His land and how He truly loves us. I pray that the Lord gives me eloquence, so when I share the history and imagery of these places they not only get a glimpse of what happened in Israel, but also learn about a loving and graceful God.

Written by: Lauren Woody