AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH REGION 2015 HOLY LAND TOUR   (aka "Mike and Ed's Excellent Adventure III")

3-12 November 2015

 

PREPARATION FOR THE HOLY LAND

 

1.  PLEASE CHECK YOUR PASSPORTS

It must be valid for 6 months beyond your trip return date. (May 12th, 2016)

 

 2. SPIRITUAL PREPARATION

A tour to Israel is far more than a vacation. It’s a spiritual journey. Here are a couple of ways to prepare for your trip spiritually.

Pray. Ask God to make you sensitive to what He will teach you and to help you retain it. Pray for your guides, driver, and Bible teacher. Pray for your group to be free of injury, to have no lost luggage, and to have a spirit of unity. Also for good weather.

Use Your Itinerary as Your Quiet Times. Before your trip, devote some weeks to connecting the sites you’ll visit with their biblical significance. Here’s how:

  • Look over the sites for each day, and make a list of them.
  • Get a good devotional book with a site index and read a devotional about each site.
  • You can also use the videos on http://www.hamptonroadschurch.com/holy-land-tour/.
  •  Live in expectation of the truths you will re-experience each day

 

3. PRACTICAL PREPARATION

Take a Small Bible or a Digital Tablet. You probably don’t want to take your three-pound study Bible to Israel. For one thing, it’s too heavy for the suitcase and for your daily journey. But you also don’t want it to suffer any damage from travel.

  • Get a smaller Bible you can easily carry.
  • Or bring an ipad or tablet. Not only does it have the whole Bible but you can also use it to take notes, journal in the mornings, take pictures, and Skype with family back home.
  • If you do take a digital tablet, you might consider applying a matte film to the screen.   
  • It’s great not only for protection, but it cuts down on the glare from the bright sunlight.

 Don’t Forget the Basics.

  • Hat and Sunscreen: You’ll be in the sun a lot, and you’ll need protection. Especially down by the Dead Sea. Don’t forget your bathing suit and goggles
  • Good Shoes: Be sure and get some comfortable walking shoes and (important:) break them in before you get there.
  • Modest clothing: I don’t mean you’ll ever be immodest, but some holy sites require “modest” clothing—which includes pants or skirt that cover the knees and shirts that cover the shoulders. Without these items, you may not enter the sites.
  • Water bottle – it’s a dry country and you should be drinking regularly
  •  220 Adaptors and/or Converters. You’ll want to charge your camera battery, so be sure and look into this carefully before you go. Most nice hotels provide a hairdryer in your room.
  • Bring a jacket, a few sweaters and long pants for visits between October and April when temperatures range from the high 40s to the high 60s. Showers may fall during this period, so an umbrella is wise.

 3. PHYSICAL PREPARATION

  • Get in Shape. (Must be able to run a half marathon--just kidding)
  • You’ll enjoy the trip much better if you’ll get used to walking a lot before you go.
  • Prepare for Jet Lag. It will take your body a couple of days to adjust to the new time zone.

 4. CURRENCY

Unlimited sums of local and foreign money may be brought into Israel as cash, travelers’ checks, credit cards or State of Israel bonds. Foreign currency of all kinds may be exchanged at the airport, banks, post offices, most hotels or licensed exchange agencies in large cities. A passport is required when exchanging travelers’ checks. The rates vary from place to place, and banks charge a commission. It is recommended, though not obligatory, to carry a small amount of US dollars, since certain tourist sites, especially in the Old City of Jerusalem, take payment in dollars.

 TIP: The most convenient way to obtain currency is through Bank ATM machines which may be found all over Israel. Enter your 4-digit numeric pin number and receive

 

For general  info contact Phil Booker at 804-640-9216 or  acrholylandtour@gmail.com

For flight or payment info contact Yafa Daisudov at 973-535-8442 oryafa@israeltour.com.

The Holy Land Itinerary

Day 1: Depart USA for Israel

Day 2: Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport.

Day 3: Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Boat Ride, Jordan River, Ancient Boat, Mount of Beatitudes

Day 4: Nazareth, Jezreel Valley, Mount Precipice, Sepphoris, and Beit Shean

Day 5: Caesarea Philippi, Dan, and the Golan heights. - Hot Springs in the evening

Day 6: Mount Carmel and Caesarea Maritima

Day 7: Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Ciapha’s house and Hezekiah’s tunnel.

Day 8: Dead Sea, Jericho, Qumran, Israel Museum

Day 9: Temple Mount, Western/Wailing Wall, Archeological Park, Holy Sepulcher and the Garden tomb.

Day 10: Home

We will be doing introductory videos for each stop of the tour to get you excited and ready for the trip!

Sea of Galilee

Capernaum