Micro-group Spiritual Journey with Practical hands-on relief help in Israel. ATTN Nov 22nd update: This trip is the rescheduled Oct 23 micro group. All outreaches mentioned are unconfirmed and subject to change according to needs of the ministries at the time we are available to help.
March 29 - April 9, 2024
note: Some of the locations below are clickable for more info. The itinerary will remain flexible throughout our time. No location stop can be guaranteed, as is the nature of travel. If a location is closed, we will swap for another stop. So many, many places to experience! Day 1 (March 29th) Travel Day (Friday)
Board your international overnight flight sometime in the afternoon or evening and fly, fly, fly Day 2 (March 30) Arrival Day! (Saturday) Fly and fly then grab your luggage and meet up in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport around 5pm in the main arrivals hall. Get into our van and ride directly to Jerusalem and unload at our Airbnb, meet the team, have a little dinner and crash for some restorative, horizonal sleep. Day 3 (March 31) - (First Fruits Sunday) Resurrection Day Before it is light, we will rise like Mary and walk across town to the Garden Tomb and join other English-speaking pilgrims from around the world in a sunrise service to celebrate the first fruits of Jesus rising from the dead! If restaurants are open, we will have breakfast while we are out, otherwise, we will head back to the airbnb for breakfast. Today we will see the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of all Nations, and The Western Wall for prayer. We will take a little free time in the afternoon and head out to a local congregation King of Kings Assembly for their 5 pm service. Dinner at a restaurant and grocery shopping on way back to our apartment. Day 4 (April 1) Monday Outreach and Yad Vashem Day This morning after breakfast from our grocery stash, we will start our relief efforts with a local ministry. 9:30-2:00. Then we will head to Yad Vashem the Holocaust memorial and museum from 3-5:00 closing. We will ride the light rail back, stop at the shuk for a pub or restaurant dinner, semi-alfresco. Day 5 (April 2) Tuesday Touring & Outreach Day We start with a 10-minute walk through New Jerusalem’s streets over to the Old City's Jaffa Gate then we climb up the ramparts to walk on top of the Old City Ramparts (walls), over Zion Gate and then walk out the Dung Gate to the City of David (active archaeological dig video) & submerge into a 533-meter underground tunnel containing the Gihon Spring up to 2.5 feet deep in Hezekiah’s Tunnel. It's very close quarters (as small as 20 inches wide in some places & definitely watch your head!) for nearly 1 KM in the water, and completely dark so bring a flashlight or headlamp with your water shoes today--no flipflops or crocs! If you’re claustrophobic or just need a break you’re welcome to grab an ice cream or coffee and chill or talk to some locals on the shaded patio and wait. We will come out at the Pool of Siloam and take a taxi back up to the entrance of the City of David. Then we continue uphill to Zion Gate where we will go to the Upper Room for some "Come, Holy Spirit" time and stop by King David's tomb (not much to see, but to say you were there). We will stop by Caiaphas' House and find a quick lunch in the Cardo (on your own) as we walk back to the apartment to pick up the van and head to our afternoon appointment. Our afternoon will be spend serving just outside Jerusalem in a Kenneth Copeland partner ministry Vision for Hope-Joseph's Storehouse. In the evening, we will head back into the Old City for an Armenian Quarter Food Tour with local friends Tony & Nicole. Day 6 (April 3) Wednesday Outreach serving & transfer to the North Day After we tidy and check out of our apartment this morning, we will drive to a local Jerusalem Messianic Synagogue and help with their weekly outreach, sorting produce and perhaps cooking a meal for lunch. After clean up we will drive north toward the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias. Along the way we will stop at Bet She'an, where once David went in to remove the bodies of King Saul and his sons, later this Roman Baths spa-city became a haven for the Christian community until it collapsed and was frozen in time by an 8th century earthquake. We continue driving north around the western shore and stop for dinner just before we check into our hotel. In the evening you are free to explore the boardwalk in town. Day 7 (April 4) Thursday Christian Sites around the Sea of Galilee Day After a nice Israeli breakfast, we will visit the Jesus-Biblical sites today. We will start with a contemplative time at Magdela, the hometown of Mary Magdalene and a 2009-discovery of a 1st-century synagogue where Jesus would have preached! Then on to St. Peter's Primacy, where Jesus cooked the fish breakfast and Peter found forgiveness. Then on to Capernaum to see Peter's home near a 300-B.C. Synagogue. We will enjoy another quiet contemplative stop at the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the sea. On our way back, we'll stop to see the Jesus Boat Museum and take a 50 minute "cruise" on the Sea of Galilee. (The stops' order today will be determined by our sailing time and weather-influenced port). We will also grocery shop for our dinner tomorrow. Tonight's dinner is at a local restaurant in Tiberias. Check out this video of the 2019's experience of this day here. Day 8 (April 6) Mount Carmel (Friday) We begin with an early breakfast in town, tootling a few miles up to Mount Arbel for a short hike to a grand view of the whole Sea of Galilee. The we continue to Mount Carmel to see the site of the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Ba'al overlooking the Valley of Armageddon. We will stop for an early lunch (included instead of dinner today) at a mom-n-pop shop ethnic Lebanese lunch. We will continue to our next outreach and spend the afternoon helping out at another local congregation. and break to enjoy our alfresco picnic dinner (bought yesterday) before participating in the congregational worship service this evening. Then we will drive back to our hotel (an hour-ish) so we will be arriving pretty late. Day 9 (April 7) Judean Wilderness Day (Shabbat) Today we will have breakfast at the hotel and check out. Then we drive south. We continue driving south past Jericho and enter the Judean Wilderness, and our ride will drop below sea level by 600+ meters! Continuing down the coastal mountain road, we will stop at Qumron where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Have lunch on your own at the restaurant. Shopping available here too. Then we continue south along the Dead Sea to Ein Gedi where David hid from King Saul and hike up to David’s waterfall. Bring wet/dry sandals for hiking and a bathing suit because you can climb into any number of enticing blue pools or waterfalls and the desert air will dry you off before you return to the van! Then we return for free time to enjoy the resort amenities and another Dead Sea float. After checking into our resort hotel, Leonardo Inn Hotel, for the night. You'll have a few hours to explore on your own, soak in the pool, relax in the property's many lounge chairs, or enjoy a long Dead Sea float before dinner. We will enjoy a magnificent dinner at the resort tonight. Team meeting out on the shores of the Dead Sea to view the same sky as Abraham when God promised him descendants as plentiful as the stars of the sky. (You can get back in the water after if you have the energy). Day 10 (April 8) Finale Day (Sunday) Enjoy a bountiful Israeli breakfast (best of our trip, you don't want to miss this one for a few minutes of sleep!) Pack up the van and check out of the hotel. Our first stop: Masada (video), Israel’s last stand in 73 AD. [You may take a strenuous climb up the “snake path” (no snakes) in 40-50 minutes ~1800 feet from the valley floor, or take the cable car to the top.] We’ll learn the story of Herod’s Fortress in the Desert and tour the massive grounds. We continue turning toward Jerusalem. We will stop for a overlook at St George's Monastery clinging to a cliff side a.k.a. "the Valley of the Shadow of Death" and where Jesus' temptation is said to have occurred. You'll have a chance to meet some Bedouin peddlers who sell their wares at the top of the cliff. Another 25-30 minutes of car time as we "go up to Jerusalem" and read the Songs of Ascent (Psalms 121-136) together just as they did in the ancient days. If we have spare time, we can stop for a last view of the whole of Jerusalem from the top of Mount of Olives or Mount Scopus. Then we will find a place for an early finale dinner before continuing toward Tel Aviv for your airport drop off. Day 11 (April 9) Flying Home (Monday)
Fly, fly fly, arrive home mid-afternoon or evening. About two weeks later... After returning home, we will have a final team meeting and debrief about our time together to help you process all the Lord has added to your heart! |
This group will be limited to a total of 8 active people.
Apply HereFeatures include:
1. Easter sunrise service at the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem 2. Spiritual development through spiritual formation exercises and team meetings to build relationship while we are traveling. 3. We will split our time between experiencing God in contemplative practices with offering hand-on relief work with various ministries throughout Israel. 4. We will drive around in a 9-passenger van together and have flexibility in our schedule. COST
Land only = $3880.00* Flight: plan for ~$1100-$1350 from a major port city we accept checks & see below to pay online Important Information
Payment scheduleIf you need help arranging your flight, just let us know. Payment on that is separate and will need to be paid at time of purchase. Go ahead and purchase or shop your flight as soon as you've been confirmed on the Relief team.
Easy Payment Schedule: $1000 due with each application Balance due Feb 15, 2024 (~45 days ahead of travel). credit card purchases add 3.5% to the cost of each payment as these prices do not include any office or admin fees. 
Insurance
You'll need to purchase trip insurance to ensure your travel, trip cancellation, interruption, or emergency medical evacuation insurance. You can contact your personal insurance specialist or try our favorite here: Travel Insurance.com. Packing Check out our packing suggestions here! Due to van space, we are limited to one checked bag and one carry-on sized bag. We suggest a backpack that rolls for ease of transiting long international terminals. Team Meetings We will have a team meeting on Zoom a couple weeks before we leave the country to prepare you and get questions answered. 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 any one to run out of steam! 
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