The Israel trip has been re-scheduled for Sep/Oct 2010. Please check back later for details.

Tour to Israel

with Mike and Debbie Riddle

This trip was originally planned for Fall 2009 and has been postponed. The original tour schedule is posted here for your reference and may change.
DAY 1 ?

Depart Houston International on your international flight to Tel Aviv.

DAY 2 ?

Morning arrival into Israel. We will be met by our guide and bus driver. Then board
our air conditioned bus and travel north along the Mediterranean Coast to Caesarea,
the beautiful port city built by Herod the Great. This is the city Paul would have set
sail from on his missionary journeys and where Cornelius became a believer. We’ll
continue east through the Jezreel Valley to Megiddo. This is a city situated on a
major crossroad that has seen war throughout the centuries and overlooks the valley
of “Armegeddon.” Traveling north we’ll stop at Mt. Carmel where Elijah fought the
false prophets of Baal. Overnight for the next three nights in our hotel next to the Sea
of Galilee.

DAY 3 ?

A morning drive up to the Golan Heights then on to the northern border of Israel to
the Dan Nature Reserve. We’ll stop at Caesarea Philippi the headwaters of the
Jordan River where Peter declared Jesus to be the Son of God. Then travel through
the city of Safed. If there is time we’ll stop at an artist colony here and overnight in
our hotel by the Sea of Galilee.

DAY 4 ?

After our breakfast we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee then visit
Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry and to Tabgha, the traditional place where
Jesus fed the multitude. We’ll travel to the Mt. of Beatitudes for a time of reflection
and prayer. A St. Peter’s Fish lunch will be included in your day. We’ll stop at the
Jordan River for a baptismal ceremony.

DAY 5 ?

After breakfast we will travel to Nazareth to visit the boyhood home of Jesus. We’ll
visit Nazareth Village a replica of a Galilean town 2000 year ago. Next to Beit
She’an, one of the cities of the decapolis and largest Roman archeological find
outside of Rome. This is where the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were nailed to a
city wall. We will travel south through the Jordan River Valley. This afternoon we
begin the Feast of Tabernacles celebration on the shore of the Dead Sea at Ein
Gedi. Paul Wilbur will be the guest worship leader. After this outdoor event we will
ascend the Judean Hills to our Jerusalem hotel where we will overnight for the rest of
our tour.

DAY 6 ?

Our morning begins at the Mount of Olives and walk down the hill to the Garden of
Gethsemene. We’ll walk through the Lion’s Gate to the Old City and visit St. Anne’s
Church and the Pools of Bethesda. We’ll be able to do a little shopping the Old
City Shuk and Christian Quarter. After lunch in the Old City we will visit Mt. Zion
and go to the Upper Room. This will be our first night to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles
at Jerusalem’s convention center. It is a night filled with praise and worship where the
nations will come up to Jerusalem.

DAY 7 ?

After breakfast we will travel to the City of David and see a multi-media presentation
which will give you an understanding of where King David lived. Then on to the
archaeological ruins of the city of Jerusalem. Here we will be able to walk up to the
steps leading up to the Temple during Jesus’ time. We’ll visit the Jewish Quarter of the
Old City and have time to pray at the Western Wall. Walk through the Cardo and do
some shopping in the Jewish Quarter. We’ll continue our Feast celebration with praise
in the city of Jerusalem at the Convention Center.

DAY 8 ?

Our morning begins at the port city of Jaffa This is where Simon the Tanner lived. Then
travel to Tel Aviv. This is the city’s 100th anniversary and we’ll begin at the Palmach
Museum, a museum which tells the story of the Palmach, an elite group of the Haganah,
and its history in establishing the State of Israel. Then on to Independence Hall. This is
where David Ben Gurion announced the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. We’ll ascend
the hills of Jerusalem to our evening of praise and worship at the Christian Celebration
of the Feast of Tabernacles.

DAY 9 ?

There are morning seminars to chose from. This afternoon we will join hundreds of
Israelis in the streets for their Jerusalem March. (This is not a definite date, as the
municipality of Jerusalem sets the date.) This evening we will celebrate with hundreds
of Christians from around the world at the Convention Center.

DAY 10 ?

This morning we’ll travel to Shiloh to the spot where the Tabernacle rested for hundreds
of years. In the early afternoon we will go to the Garden Tomb for an early afternoon
communion service. Another night of praise and worship in Jerusalem.

DAY 11 ?

Today is a free day to explore Jerusalem on your own. You may want to just walk the
streets and experience day-to-day life, or you may want to visit a museum. This is a day
where morning seminars are available to chose from and tonight is the Grand Finale of
the Christian Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.

DAY 12 ?

This morning we will drive through the Judean Hills to visit Qumran the site where the
Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. Travel south beside the Dead Sea and see the hills
of Ammon and Moab. Ascend Masada by cable car and explore this palace in the
desert built by King Herod the Great. We’ll stop at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and
walk up to the waterfall. This oasis is the area that David hid from Saul. We’ll head back
to Jerusalem for dinner and depart for the airport late this evening.

DAY 13 ?

Arrive back in the United States.
Itinerary is subject to change.

Israel, Why Go?

We have this ancient text that has a place of honor in our home. When we rise in the morning, we open it for our daily devotional. It comforts us in times of need. We read and study its pages for answers and inspiration.
We know in our hearts and minds this is the inspired word of the One and only True Living God, given to man thousands of years ago. Words to comfort and reassure us till He returns. So we study. We attend services and classes to hear this word dissected by our pastor and teachers. But in Israel, the stage for the majority of this ancient book, we have a visual picture that no artist dead or alive could re-create.
From waking the first day in Nof Ginosar and watching the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee to ending our tour watching the sun set at Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea, God was revealing Himself and the wonder of His plans through His word with the marvelous interpretations from our Tour Guide, Hal Ronning.
From Masada to Megiddo you know that you were standing where it began and where, when Jesus returns, it will end for the Old Jerusalem. Only to see a new and glorious beginning for the New Jerusalem.
Arrive at the Mount of Olives and view the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent so many hours after leaving the Temple. Beautiful ancient Olive trees that shaded Our Savior as he prayed. Then look down toward Jerusalem. You will see above ground graveyards with large concrete graves. The Jews are buried in the one closest to the Mount of Olives. Then there is an area for Muslims graves and an area for Christians. Separate and yet so close together.
Beyond the concrete graves you see shining in the sun, the Dome of the Rock. The walls of the City of Old Jerusalem surround the Dome. Following the road Jesus walked on Palm Sunday from the Mount of Olives to the City of Jerusalem you had a perspective on distance and time Jesus had to share with everyone along the way.
Our visit to the Garden Tomb, where Jesus was placed was made more profound as we remembered the common bone boxes in carved out rock. There is a small chapel near the Garden Tomb you can enter for quiet worship and remembrance that a miracle occurred here. Michael Kubosh read from this ancient text and we shared communion together.
We were Baptized in the Jordan River while groups stood on the steps above lifting their arms toward heaven singing hymns of praise. We floated in the Dead Sea and covered ourselves in the healing mud and we visited Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Some rode camels and all marched in a parade down a main street under the Flag of the United States of America flanked on each side by sweet and loving people waving, blowing kisses and singing God Bless America.
We visited the Pools of Bethesda, Calvary, Bethlehem and Old Jerusalem. Everywhere we went, beautiful churches and cathedrals were erected over or near these holy places. Jesus is remembered, thought of and spoken of in this country every minute of every day. And we were blessed to be there and absorb the love and spirit of this place into our very being. We were not strangers in this land. As the sign in the Ben Gurion Airport stated, “Welcome Home.”
Man cannot properly express with words the feeling you have seeing this land.
Your emotions leap from joy viewing the eternal flame at the Memorial to where Jesus was born in Bethlehem to humble reverence where Jesus was crucified for the sins of everyone. You are changed forever being there. You are renewed in a way that makes you want to sing and dance and praise The Lord from sunrise to sunset.
All in our tour were humbled and grieved over Yad Vesham (The Holocaust Museum). It was distressing to visually witness the horrors that were inflicted upon these sweet victims of their birthright.
If you go during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, a day set aside for fasting, depriving oneself of pleasures, and repenting from the sins of the previous year), Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) or any other day of the year, just go. Go without fear, go expecting a blessing, go with anticipation. But most of all, just GO.
We left Houston September 24, 2007 acquaintances, and returned October 5, 2007 a Family.
By Kay Smith
Link to website with pictures of the trip:
http://web.mac.com/jacqueline.foster/iWeb/Site

Class Members In Attendance:

Debbie & Mike Riddle

Carolyn Lanier

Yvette Smith

Chris Kramer

Jacqueline Foster

Kay Smith

Kathryn Lanier

Linda Patterson

Barbara Terry

James Hendricks

Belinda Bellar

Walter Robin

Dale & Carrie Hearn

Becky Krenek

Glenda & Michael Kubosh

Brenda & Len Nelms

Hal Ronning – Tour Guide

David Langer – Tour Driver