Israel Tour Itinerary 2009-02

We will spend quality time traveling in Jerusalem and northern, central, and southern Israel. We will visit the places where Jesus ministered in Jerusalem and the Galilee and also go to the desert for rest, relaxation, prayer and study. We will experience many aspects of life in Israel, and we can get our hands dirty at Biblical Tamar Park by either digging at the archaeology site or planting trees, repairing buildings, or other tasks. We will be there to bless Israel in as many ways as possible and we will also learn more about the great historical significance of Tamar and other sites.

Dr. DeWayne Coxon is the founder and president of Blossoming Rose. He has visited Israel well over 150 times in the last 40 years. Israel appointed him curator of Biblical Tamar Park. Chris Josephson is President of “Bible Light International” and has lived in Israel several years, and will be co-hosting with Dr. Coxon on this tour. Note: There may be slight changes on the itinerary due to timing and requests.

Day 1: (Monday – Feb. 16) USA to Israel -- We will be flying from Chicago to New York City where we will depart from John F. Kennedy Airport for our flight to Israel on El Al Israel Airlines. (We must be at the airport three hours prior to the flight.) Meals will be served during our flight.

Day 2: (Tuesday – Feb. 17) Israel – Jerusalem – We will land at Ben Gurion International Airport where our tour group will be greeted by Jimmy Ahoub, our bus driver. We will go first to Jerusalem where we will have dinner and then spend our first night at the Regency Hotel.

Day 3: (Wednesday – Feb. 18) Jerusalem/Gethsemane/David’s City/Western Wall, and Yad Vashem – The day will begin with a panoramic, breathtaking view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We will descend to the Garden of Gethsemane on our way to The Western Wall and the Temple Mount and then walk down the Via Dolorosa, in the Old City of Jerusalem, to the Jaffa gate. We will walk on the Cardo and will visit the most recent excavations in the City of David and the Temple Mount. Shopping in the Old City and eating lunch in the Jewish quarter will be a great experience. We will finish our day at the Holocaust Museum before returning to our hotel for dinner.

Day 4: (Thursday – Feb. 19) Garden Tomb, Jericho, Qumran, Ein Gedi, and Tamar – We’ll start our day with another great Israeli buffet breakfast and then board our bus and drive to the Garden Tomb for a tour and communion. Next, we will drive to Jericho where Zacchaeus sat in the tree to see Jesus passing by. The Mount of Temptation is visible from Jericho. Driving to the Dead Sea will remind us of history dating to the time of Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and to the burning of Sodom. We’ll stop at Qumran, the city of the Essenes, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. The walk up to the waterfalls at Ein Gedi will bring to mind the time David hid from King Saul. We will continue to drive alongside the Dead Sea and arrive at Biblical Tamar Park at dusk where we will be welcomed by the Park Manager and the on-site workers. After a wonderful, hot, American meal in the dining commons, we can relax in our comfortable beds.

Day 5: (Friday – Feb. 20) Masada, Dead Sea, tel Tamar tour, and Shabbat dinner – After breakfast, we’ll have a time of study (history lesson) accompanied by praise and worship. Then we’ll board our bus and go to Masada, the fortress built by Herod the Great. It is known today as the site where 960 religious Jews died rather than go into captivity under the Romans. When we leave Masada, we will go down to the shores of the Dead Sea at Ein Bokek, where there are luxury hotels and shops, and float in the warm waters. After a quick shower, we’ll go back to Biblical Tamar Park where we will tour this historic city, which dates back to at least the time of Abraham. We will learn more about the 25,000 artifacts that have been unearthed at Tamar and about the plan for a museum and welcome center for visitors. We’ll end the day with a good Jewish meal of chicken.

Chris Josephson will be sharing the vision Bible Light has for a library/learning center at Tamar, in memory of Elmer Josephson and Dr. David Flusser.

Day 6: (Saturday – Feb. 21) Sabbath rest, Bible study, and free time – After we awaken and feel the stillness of the desert and see the sun rising over the Red Mountains of Edom and hear the small desert birds as they seek their food, we’ll meet in the dining hall for a cup of American coffee and breakfast. After some praise and worship, we’ll have a Bible study that focuses on the “God of Abraham” and where this man and his family lived. All who are ready, willing, and able can climb Prayer Mountain, to the west of Tamar or spend time in the ancient Turkish/British building on the top of the tel that is now a prayer room. This is truly a home away from home, a rustic center in the desert.

Day 7-8: (Sunday and Monday – Feb. 22-23) Tamar and the Desert experience – After breakfast Sunday morning, we’ll have a Christian praise and worship service, then everyone will be free to work on projects according to their gifts and skills. There are trees to plant, water, or trim. There are several landscaping duties to beautify the Park and there are housekeeping duties, cooking, painting, carpentry work, plumbing jobs and all kinds of tasks that are readily seen by the creative minds of many. For those who choose, there can be times of fellowship, prayer, study, praise and worship. The significance (and needs) of this great historical site can sink right into our bones.

Day 9: (Tuesday – Feb. 24) Scorpion’s Pass, Beersheva, Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth, and Tiberius — Our bus and bus driver will be waiting for us after our last breakfast at Tamar. At 8 a.m. we will bid everyone who stays at Tamar goodbye. The bus will snake its way up Scorpion’s Pass, which is called “the Ascent,” where Moses led the Israelites to Tamar. We’ll drive into the valley of Elah where David killed Goliath and pick up a smooth stone (to add to some collections). The city of Caesarea will loom up before us and we’ll go into the amphitheater and walk the length of that great city, departing through the Crusader’s fortress. Then it will be on to Megiddo and across the valley where the battle of Armageddon may one day be fought and then we’ll drive into Nazareth where Jesus lived. The sun will be setting as our bus delivers us to the beautiful Golden Tulip Hotel in Tiberius where we will move into our rooms for the next two nights.

Day 10: (Wednesday – Feb. 25) Baptismal, Katzrine, Golan, Lebanon, and Syria – We’ll meet in the hotel lobby after a huge Israeli breakfast, and board our bus for the Jordan River and a baptismal service. Then around the Sea and up into the Golan to Katzrine, the capital of the Golan, and then on to the borders of Syria and Lebanon. Caesarea Philippi will be our next stop and then we’ll go to Quriot Shaomoni and then south to our hotel. By then, it will have been a long day but we can still enjoy our last free evening in Israel.

Day 11: (Thursday – Feb. 26) Jesus Boat, Beatitudes, Capernaum, Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport – Together we will board our Jesus boat and ride on the Sea of Galilee. It’s a delightful time together as we sing and pray while crossing to Capernaum, the city where Jesus lived and ministered. We’ll continue up the mountain to the place where the Sermon on the Mount probably was delivered. It will then be time to head for Jerusalem for last minute shopping. Lunch will be on your own as you choose between the Old City, Ben Yehuda Street or other places of interest in Jerusalem. We will leave for the airport at 6:30 p.m. to check through for our overnight flight to the USA.

Day 12: (Friday – Feb. 27) Israel to USA – We’ll leave on our midnight flight and arrive at 5:30 a.m. in the USA where we will check through customs and catch our connecting flights.

PLEASE NOTE: Dr. DeWayne Coxon said the tour for March 2009 is already full. To get in on this February tour, you need to send your deposit right away. ($300 per person.) Go to his website. www.blossomingrose.org and fill in the registration form. Make sure you put my name (Chris Josephson) on the “Tour Host” line.

Tour Summary

Day 1: (Monday – Feb. 16) USA to Israel -- We will be flying from Chicago to New York City where we will depart from John F. Kennedy Airport for our flight to Israel on El Al Israel Airlines. (We must be at the airport three hours prior to the flight.) Meals will be served during our flight.

Day 2: (Tuesday – Feb. 17) Israel – Jerusalem – We will land at Ben Gurion International Airport where our tour group will be greeted by Jimmy Ahoub, our bus driver. We will go first to Jerusalem where we will have dinner and then spend our first night at the Regency Hotel.

Chris Josephson will be sharing the vision Bible Light has for a library/learning center at Tamar, in memory of Elmer Josephson and Dr. David Flusser.