“Do you really want to understand the people of Israel? Why not go there and TALK TO THEM!”

There are MANY GOOD TRIPS to Bible lands. Tourists get on a bus and meet their local guide. They travel and see thrilling sites. They meet new people that are traveling with them. The one thing most NEVER do is actually meet local people. They don’t sit down and talk to them. They come back thinking they understand the issues by hearing only the voice of a guide and their bus driver. They don’t engage people and they aren’t shown HOW. They don’t bring care and comfort to them– because they are disconnected from them. It is time for something different. We CAN learn to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with people a world away from our own and bring that experience home with us.

Why be a “tourist” when we can make a “friend”?
Isn’t it time we really learned to share our lives with people and heard their story?

You will see the Galilee, the Coastal plain, the Dead Sea and the City of Jerusalem… you won’t miss the things you have read about. At the same time, our focus will be to take time and deliberately SERVE PEOPLE engaging them to try to listen and UNDERSTAND PEOPLE.

• EXPERIENCE THE SCRIPTURES through the eyes of biblical culture traveling by chartered coach.  The tour will be led  by Dr. Randall Smith, a pastor, an expert in Holy Land studies and a man who lived in Israel for 13 years!
• LEARN HOW TO INTERACT in loving ways with people of other faiths, especially Jews, Muslims and atheists in order to enhance our understanding of the people.  Participate in synagogue services on Saturday.
• OFFER DAILY ACTS OF LOVE AND SERVICE to the people living in Israel.
• CONNECT with internationals  by staying in varieties of housing  and sharing meals at kibbutzim, youth hostels and hotels.
• UNDERSTAND more of contemporary news by learning what is happening in the Middle East from their perspective.
• RENEW your passion for God’s people and the land of the Bible with worship times and understanding God’s special love for his people in the past, present and future.
• SLOW DOWN at lunch and go out and talk with people. Have planned opportunities to meet and engage people with some guidance on how to engage people and really get them sharing.

SEE INCREDIBLE PLACES you have read about for a lifetime!

CAESAREA MARITIMA—MT. CARMEL– THE VALLEY OF ARMAGEDDON—THE SEA OF GALILEE—CAPERNAUM—THE GOLAN HEIGHTS—TEL DAN—BETH SHEAN—QUMRAN—DEAD SEA—MASADA—BETHLEHEM—THE MOUNT OF OLIVES—MOUNT ZION—THE WESTERN WALL—CALVARY… AND MUCH MORE!

ISRAEL DAILY ITINERARY

DAY 1 – Wednesday, Nov 7, 2012

Departure from Newark, NJ at 3:55p on United/Continental flight #84.  Meals and beverages in flight.

DAY 2 – Thursday, Nov 8

Arrive at 8:25a (local time) at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, near Tel Aviv.

• Beach project – Interact with Israelis on the Mediterranean Beach. (You will be provided with questions to help you discover how Israelis think.)  At lunch we will discuss what you learned.
• Caesarea – Roman port built by Herod the Great (Builder); city where Peter was sent to Cornelius in Acts 10; prison where Paul was held before being sent to Rome (Acts 23-26).  Teaching time will focus on how Jesus’ ministry was inter-twined with the conflict between Rome and the Jews … and archaeology that illustrates scripture’s cultural references.
• Drive north along the coast in a modern coach, while Dr. Smith gives an orientation to the Land and its Biblical culture.
• Mt. Carmel – story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal (I Kings 17-18), and how that applies to ministry.

Dinner and overnight at a modest guest house (private rooms) on a kibbutz in Galilee (2 nights).

DAY 3 – Friday, Nov 9

• Morning service project in Galilee
• Nazareth – boyhood home of Jesus; excavated cave-home helps us understand Biblical narrative.
• Sepphoris – important connection to Jesus’ occupation; Herod Antipas’ capital in the Galilee during the time of Jesus; archaeology illustrates Biblical descriptions of the Roman world
• Shabbat (sabbath) dinner                                                                    

Return to our kibbutz guest house; Dinner and overnight at a modest guest house (private rooms) on a kibbutz in Galilee.

Day 4 – Saturday, Nov 10

• Boatride on the Sea of Galilee
• Hill of Beatitudes – see Matthew 5-7
• Capernaum – center of Jesus’ 3-year ministry in Galilee
• Tel Dan & the Dan Nature Reserve – headwaters of the Jordan River; site of Jeroboam’s pagan altar      (I Kings 12:29); overlook into Lebanon; an ancient mud-brick city gate from the time of Abraham
• Golan Heights – Biblical Bashan; overlook into Syria

Dinner and overnight (private rooms) at Kibbutz Ashdot Yaacov (2 nights)

Day 5 – Sunday, Nov 11

• Tour of kibbutz with resident member
• Service project at Kibbutz Ashdot Yaacov

Dinner and overnight at Ashdot Yaacov, in the Jordan Valley.

Day 6 – Monday, Nov 12

• Beth Shean – Old Testament tel next to excavated New Testament city of Scythopolis (one of the Roman cities of the Decapolis)
• Jordan Valley – drive south along the Jordan River to the Judean Wilderness and the Dead Sea area (1200 feet below sea level), past the Hills of Gilboa, the region of Perea, and the oasis of Jericho.  The drive-time will be used as a mobile classroom.
• Qumran – Essene area where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered
• Masada – stronghold where Jews held out when Rome conquered Jerusalem
• Dead Sea swim – unique phenomenon due to the very high mineral content

Bedouin experience at Kfar Hanokdim: camel ride into the desert; bedouin hospitality; traditional bedouin dinner.  This is a unique opportunity to experience bedouin culture.  There are a variety of accommodations. The big tent will accommodate everyone, and has simple, but modern facilities nearby. Priority for ensuite private rooms will be offered based on the order in which reservations are received. Overnight Kfar Hanokdim

Day 7 – Tuesday, Nov 13

Morning service project in Bet Shemesh.

Teaching about Arab culture during the drive to Bethlehem and the Shepherds Fields (story of Jesus’ birth; area of Ruth & Boaz). Extended lunch time to interact with local Arabs in Manger Square and explore their thinking.  Meet with an Arab believer.

View the topography of the Jerusalem area from the Haas Promenade on the south of the city, and then drive through Jerusalem to our hotel.

Dinner and overnight at Royal Wing Hotel (newer wing of the Ramada) in Jerusalem (3+ nights)

Day 8 – Wednesday, Nov 14

Walk down the Mt. of Olives, visit the Garden of Gethsemane; worship in the dungeon beneath the House of Caiaphas; enter the Old City through the Zion Gate, visit the Jewish Quarter (Roman/ Byzantine/ Crusader Cardo), using an extended lunch to talk with local Jews. Then we will view the Temple Mount and visit the Western Wall plaza and the South Wall steps & excavations (steps used in Jesus’ time to enter the Temple Mount).

Dinner and overnight at the Royal Hotel.

Day 9 – Thursday, Nov 15

• Morning service project in Jerusalem
• Extended lunch and opportunity to talk with Arabs in the Old City
• Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; walk through the Old City streets; worship at the Garden Tomb
• After dinner visit with Israeli families in their homes.
  

Dinner and overnight at the Royal Hotel.

Day 10 – Friday, Nov 16

• Yad Vashem (memorial to the holocaust)
• Classroom recap, including “How to make use of what we’ve learned”
• Extended lunch on Ben Yehuda Street (famous pedestrian mall in Jerusalem)

You will keep your hotel room during the afternoon so you can pack and shower. After a farewell dinner, you head for the airport and the late-night flight home.

Day 11 – Saturday, Nov 17

The journey will have ended, but your hearts will be overflowing as you return to the USA. Items in bold are activities and/or sites that will be visited.  Although we will have an Israeli guide with us, Dr. Smith will be teaching most of the time, both on-site, and during drive-time.

Every effort will be made to complete the full itinerary.  Yet, because conditions are often unpredictable in travel, we reserve the right to make changes during the tour.