Spiritual Pilgrimage
​(flexible & tentative) Itinerary
April 30-May 11, 2021

FRIDAY, APRIL 30--Board your port city's international flight to TLV sometime between 11 AM and 6-7 PM. (If booking your flight on your own, please be sure that it arrives in TLV by 5:30-ish PM, but earlier is better.)

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SATURDAY, MAY 1--Arrive in Tel Aviv, go through passport control, grab your luggage and meet Kim on the ground floor Aroma Coffee Shop by 5:30 PM local time. We will get you settled with exchanging dollars for shekels or using the ATM. We will grab some food at the airport and bring it with us, and then load up our van, and go check into our Tel Aviv hotel or Air BnB (Night 1) and crash for the evening of recuperation. If anyone is feeling adventurous and wants to go out for a walk to stretch out the kinks in Tel Aviv, we can do that.

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SUNDAY, MAY 2--Awake feeling refreshed and enjoy a breakfast buffet at our hotel. Load up the van and drive off on our adventure.  Driving north, we will stop at (Option 1):  Atlit Detention Center OR view of Armageddon from Elijah & prophets of Ba'al spot, then the Ancient Port of Caesarea and the Roman Aqueduct. We will continue northeast toward the Galilee. Stopping at the overlook from Mount Arbel before driving into Tiberias for dinner along the boardwalk. We will then drive out to our hostel on the seashore, Karei Deshe and check in for three nights.

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MONDAY MAY 3--Awake early and enjoy a wonderful breakfast before our Jesus sites around the Galilee Day. Order will depend on what time we can get tickets for our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. ​Mount of Beatitudes, Jesus Boat museum and boat ride on the Galilee, (Optional: St Peter's Primacy spot), Capernaum, Magdela for tour and contemplation, Jordan River Baptism. Clean up and wander through Tiberias. Stop for dinner. Drive back to Karei Deshe. If our Jesus boat leaves from Ein Gev Kibbutz's port bec's of weather we will have our meal at their restaurant this day. (It may be a big fish lunch instead of dinner, when we can grab something a little lighter.) After the Beatitudes we'll drive up the mountain to Gamla and see if we can find any eagles that are flying.

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TUESDAY MAY 4--Tentative to the Golan Heights Day. Breakfast at 7, load up van by 8. (big driving day). CHOICE DAY 2: A. Drive north to the border with Syria at Mount Hermon and Mount Bental. (if war appears dangerous at this time we will reschedule this time, plenty of options). Time of intercession on the border, and coffee or lunch depending on time. CHOICE B: Can consider trying to get into Kishor for an afternoon wine tasting. A few of the following can be added to the above choice. View volcanoes, Caesarea Phillipi, perhaps explore/climb in "Nimrod's castle." Banias Waterfall stair-hike near Philippi. Dinner on the road home. Early evening for final team meeting on the shore of Galilee. Pack up. Choice C: Drive west to the Valley of Armageddon, Megiddo National Park, and Mount Carmel if we didn't get to see it on our way into Galilee. Nice dinner at Decks literally on a deck over the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias. Start packing up to check out in the morning.

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WEDNESDAY MAY 6--Late relaxing morning to sit by the shore, explore the property, linger over coffee, or catch up on journaling. We will pack up our van/car and depart around 10:00. ​We'll stop at Bet She'an (where Saul and his son's bodies were hung on the city walls) to explore the ancient ruins up close. Driving south, if we're ready for lunch or take a coffee & pastry stop at Aroma Coffee and drive a few miles over for a swim (or walk) at the lush landscape at Gan HaSlosha (the 3 pools/3 gardens). Drive past Jericho and then on to Qumron where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Drive further into the Dead Sea area to check in at our resort for 1 night. Hotel TBA, but it'll be nice. Take time for a leisurely Dead Sea soak after dinner at our hotel.

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THURSDAY MAY 7--​Check out of our hotel by 10 AM (time for another salt-sea dip in the morning hours). We will make our way to the mountain fortress of Masada, then on to Ein Gedi for an early morning hike where David hid from King Saul, (wear your swimsuit or clothes that can get wet) and take a dip in the waterfalls and pools! (coffee and changing rooms available). Pass Jericho again and stop at St George's Monastery (Valley of the Shadow of Death) for a steep hike or just take a look over the cliffside to see the monastery carved into the mountain, and meet some Bedouins. Then on to Jerusalem! check in at our AirBnB. Dinner location will depend on where in town our Air BnB is located, (First Station, Ben Yahudah Street, or Mamilla.) We'll buy some breakfast groceries at a local grocery store on the way back to the Air BnB apartment.

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Check here for latest update day and see if there is something new on your trip. Last update: 9-7-20

Cost & Payment Schedule
The land-only tour=$2996 
(based on double occupancy. Single supplement=$815).
$500 due with application
$1500 due November 15, 2020
​$996 due February 15, 2021
if you need Ruth Israel to arrange your flight for you, that cost is payable in full at the time of purchase (likely in Nov/Dec '20 timeframe)

Apply Now

Download your PDF application and mail with your deposit. Please read the fine print and suggested preparations before applying for this team. (Located after the itinerary on this web page.)

Unplugged
It is not required, but we highly suggest going unplugged at least during the day while you are on tour so you can fully engage in where you are. Share with friends at home & on social media at night or when you return. If your phone is your only camera, decide to use it only for taking photos or ask around and see if you can borrow a camera for the trip.
​Insurance
If you want to purchase trip insurance to ensure your travel, trip interruption, or emergency medical evacuation insurance you'll need to contact your personal insurance specialist. Or try  www.travelinsurance.com (we don't get a commission or anything & you choose your level of coverage)
Packing
Check out our packing  suggestions here! We are limited to only what you can carry in one-go. :) Usually one checked bag and one carry-on sized bag. We suggest a backpack that rolls for ease of transiting long international terminals. Also our Airbnb will have a washer and dryer.
​Food/Snacks/Coffee
Lunch and snacks are on your own. We suggest bringing a box or two of protein bars in case lunch is delayed by our adventures. We don't want anyone to get hangry!

FRIDAY MAY 8--Wake up in Jerusalem. Early morning Walking Orientation Tour walking on the Old City ramparts (walls) of Jerusalem with intercession time on the Armenian and Jewish side toward the Western Wall Plaza. Jaffa Gate, Western Wall for prayer, David's Tomb, lunch/shopping in Cardo area, (Most things close around 2 pm) we will try to add Upper Room, Zion Gate. Afternoon free time, can go to an early dinner at Focaccia and then return to the Western Wall in time for prayers, or reverse and have a later dinner around 8:30/9 after prayers are over. Then walk back to our Air BnB.

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SATURDAY-SHABBAT MAY 9--Leisurely morning, devotions or walk and explore on your own. Around 11, taxi to the Top of the Mount of Olives, view the city from the place Yeshua lamented "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem..." walk down the mountain past the Tomb of the Prophets and to Garden of Gethsemane by 2:30 re-opening time. Follow the Kidron Valley back into the Old City at Lion's Gate. Late lunch-on-the-go in the Arab Quarter. Walk through Damascus Gate over to the Garden Tomb by 4:30. Leave around 5:45 with options for walking around the city, reading the Bible in a park, just hanging out with people in the city. [Option to drive by a Bethlehem Overlook and the US Embassy in Gilo earlier in the day]. Late dinner after the city opens back up.

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SUNDAY MAY 10-- Jerusalem Underground Day. The order of this day will by dictated by what time we can get tour tickets for the first two locations: Rabbinical Tunnels, Temple Institute, City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel, Caiaphas' House and Cistern, and exploration at David's Citadel at Jaffa Gate.

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MONDAY MAY 11--Pack up most of your luggage and we will take an early trip (8am) via light rail system and walk to Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial 3 hrs. (9-noon). We'll take an early light lunchbreak at the coffee shop on site. Light rail back to Ben Yahudah Street for last minute shopping, early finale dinner in the Old City, then walk back to our Air BnB. There will be time for a little rest and a shower and finish packing before we head to the airport by 8 or 9 PM. Your flights should depart between 11 PM May 11 and 3 AM May 12. (depends of the airline you chose).

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WEDNESDAY MAY 12​--​Continue through security and board the early, early AM flight home. Fly all night and most of the day, with a possible European layover for a good stretch. Arrive home.

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About 2 weeks later we will do Zoom debriefing meeting with the team to help us on our processing  journey. 

What to know before we go!

INCLUSIONS: Trips include accommodation, breakfasts and dinners, entrance to sites and all the spiritual side of things and A Spiritual Guide Through Israel journal. However, lunches, snacks, tips, insurance, and souvenirs are on your own. Flights are priced separately and cost is set by the airline. Pricing of 2996 for the land-only portion is based on a group size of 5 to 7 people which makes getting in and out of places a cinch--not your normal tour! Our accommodations will vary greatly, offering you a full sample of an Israeli hotel, a resort, a hostile, and our Air BnB apartment lets you feel what it might be like to be a real resident of Jerusalem (even if only for a few days).
PHYSICAL PREPERATIONS: Physically you will need to be able to comfortably walk at least 7 miles in a day. At two miles at a time at a pace of 2.5 miles/hr and be limber enough to climb uneven stone steps. Our Jerusalem days are walking-only, though you are welcome to get a taxi back to the Air BnB at your own expense if you need one. 
MASKS :As of this date (Sept 2020) masks are required by airlines for the duration of the flight and in the airport. Masks are also required in Jerusalem, and you will be fined without one. (You can pull it away from your face for photos :) ) I'd recommend looking for a clear one so we can see your smile and something that is comfortable to wear. (It will not be required in the van or house where we are staying). I suggest working on boosting your immune system in the months before you travel, drinking lots of water and isolating as much as possible in the week or so before we leave. Also bring hand sanitizer, pro-biotics, vitamin C, and Zinc with you to keep your system strong in travel.

SPIRITUAL & MENTAL PREPERATIONS: There is an aspect of  relationship with God development through personal spiritual development, prayer activations, spiritual formation exercises, and "Friendship with Jesus" strengthening and deepening that accompany each Ruth Israel Initiative Unhurried Pilgrimage at nearly every location stop in the Land, and the Lord usually shakes some things up in our hearts in a beautiful way. If you are not accustomed to journaling or "listening prayer," Seth Barnes book Listening Prayer is another book you'll want to pick up from Amazon to prepare your heart and skills for listening for God's voice as you interact together in the Holy Land. This 28-day devotional is great even if you are skilled at hearing God's voice. 
In addition, the volume of information available to you while you are in Israel won't sink in unless you have a proper grid of understanding already formed with which to process all that we will experience. To prepare, you will want to take the 13-week Israel Basics Small Group curriculum which uses Israel Basics and Israel II to lay a foundations for understanding Israel. If that's not possible, purchase the book Unbroken Cord by D.H. Withers to read on your own. One or the other is a prerequisite for preparation. If you've already read that one, Templinsky's book Why Still Care About Israel? will really fill out your foundation so that you can get the most out of your time in Israel. See the Resources Page for even further study. 

We will offer several team meetings scattered throughout our time together before we go and in the land to build friendship and openness within our team as we share what God is doing in our hearts, but you will also have some evenings free to rest or explore on your own.