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Thursday, April 14, 2005

Tour Israel with us - February 20 - March 1, 2006!

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The time slot for the Israel Trip has now been set! It will be February 20-March 1, 2006! What a great time to be in Israel. I've hosted a spring tour to Israel before and the mild weather and wonderful spring smells makes touring comfortable and a delight.

If you have ever considering taking a trip to the Holy Land, I would encourage you to join us on this trip. I will do some teaching, relating the Bible to the sites we will see, but the real treat, besides being in the land of the Bible, is that the plan is have one of the best Jewish tour guides in Israel available to us.

She is a fabulous Jewish lady who because of her expertise is often used by Israeli tourism as a special lecturer. She has led tours for presidents, celebrities, and even football players like Reggie White.

She is articulate and funny and deeply passionate about Israel. Her goal isn't just to give a tour, it is to have everyone love Israel before they leave! And you will!

From Galilee in the north, to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea in the south, we will tour places you have always read about: The places where Jesus fed the 5,000 and gave his Sermon on the Mount; the Western Wall (also called the Wailing Wall by us uninformed folks) Masada, and Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

(See link in my profile to the upper right about the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute that is part of the University where I am on the Board of Governors.)

We'll also see Gordon's Garden Tomb and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; the Old City of Jerusalem with its stations of the cross and old world feel with merchants still selling wares like they did 2000 years ago, will be a special treat.

The Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, a St. Peter's fish meal on the Sea of Galilee after a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, a baptism in the Jordan river and many other fascinating stops are all part of the itinerary in planning. When I have the dates fixed and brochures made up, I'll give you an address where you can request them or will have "e-copies" available online for signing up.

Right now I am looking at a group size of about 30 as I make reservations. 30 is a comfortable size for travel and for personal interaction with our tour guide and with each other.

Space is limited in Israeli tourism right now. Tourists are filling up available spots a year in advance I have been told. So if you are interested, please do e-mail me early with your contact information (name/address/e-mail and phone number for now). Brochures are being printed right now. When I receive them I can send them off to you. A $200 refundable deposit is required to hold a spot. ("Refundable" before certain dates, which will be spelled out in the brochure.)

If our group exceeds our target of 30 early on in the process, I will book more space, but it would be better for that to happen early rather than late, for reservations sake. We can go up to 60 and still have one tour guide...my preference due to who our tour guide is!....so we do have some flexibility if we establish our reservations early.

I'll look forward to hearing from you! Going to Israel truly is a trip of a lifetime. You can e-mail me at: Israel Information Request

Cost details have just come together: $2395, which includes air fare from Chicago, first class hotels, breakfast and evening dinner, all entries into tour sites, tips for guides and hotel personnel. Spending money and lunch money are the only extra's you'll need! I just got this information (May 13) and need to rewrite this page, but wanted to get it on the web site right away.

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