Day one is a wrap

---

We made it back from our first day at the dig site safe and sound with a much better idea of what will be happening the next couple weeks. The goal of the dig is to uncover the ancient city of Bethsaida which thrived from as early as the 10th century B.C. through several hundred years after Christ. Excavations have been continuous for the last 30 years, so a great deal of the city has either been uncovered or reconstructed. There are three different spots that we will be focusing on and we will figure out which we will be primarily working in tomorrow.



We were also able to visit a museum today that housed a fishing boat that was found on the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum, about 30 years ago. The boat was amazingly well preserved after being underground for about 2,000 years and had been somewhat restored to its current state. Our guide said it was big enough to fit 12 people inside and 1 walking outside. It's obviously impossible to know if this was a boat used by the disciples or even by Peter and his brother Andrew before they were invited to drop their nets and follow Jesus, but the possibility is pretty incredible!



Yesterday we were able to meet up with the Australian members of our consortium and tour a few of the holy sites around the Sea of Galilee. We started out in the Biblical city of Chorazin. We don't know much about this place besides that it was cursed by Jesus, so we didn't spend much time there. Next we drove to the far Northeast corner of Israel, within sight of both Lebanon and Syria. This was the Golan Heights/Banias area otherwise known as Caesaria Phillippi. It was here that Peter was given the keys to the kingdom, where Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and also a cave known as "the gates of hell." We went on a beautiful walk through the national park for an hour or so before we came to some great waterfalls that were the main tributaries to the River Jordan.



Next we drove back to the Sea to the Mount of the Beatitudes, or the hill where Jesus supposedly gave his sermon the mount. It's nearly impossible to explain how powerful the idea of being in such an incredibly influential place was. Next up was a place called Tabgha where Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection and asked Peter to take care of his flock. This was also the site where Jesus fed the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Finally we went to the Greek Orthodox church in Capernaum. We hadn't been to this kind of a church before, and we were blown away by the amazing artwork.



Thanks for reading! We appreciate your prayers and look forward to talking to you again soon.

---