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Israel Familiarization Trip
January 7-17, 2015
Led by Rich Ferreira
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Trip Blog Posts
Study Tour Wrapup
posted on Monday January 19 2015 at 10:33 pm UTC
Now that we've returned from our study tour you'll hopefully be able to talk to one of us in person about what we saw, heard, learned, and experienced! Below is a wrap up video that serves as a nice summary of the trip and a reminder of all that we did. Leave us a comment below or head over and...
A Series of Pendulum Swings
posted on Friday January 16 2015 at 11:37 pm UTC
As our time in the Holy Land draws to a close, the group buzzes with excitement over all we've experienced, but it's mingled with a dash of grief because we feel the goodbyes looming. The week has been a series of pendulum swings. A group of strangers have become a community of friends. Together...
Darkness and light
posted on Thursday January 15 2015 at 11:10 pm UTC
If I could give a title to our day I would call it “darkness and light”. Today we found ourselves in many dark tunnels with limited light. First was the Rabbinic Tunnels, which lead you under a bridge that went to the Temple Mount and along side the Western Temple Mount Wall. Second, we found...
Renewed Vision
posted on Thursday January 15 2015 at 12:34 am UTC
Our day began overlooking the Sea of Galilee at sunrise. Today was our last morning in Galilee, and after a quick breakfast we began the journey from the North to our final destination of the trip – Jerusalem. Rich led our morning devotions on the Eastern shore of the Sea with a reflection on...
Sovereign over every circumstance
posted on Wednesday January 14 2015 at 12:02 am UTC
We began our day by visiting a restored village dating back to the 3rd century A.D. The village is Katsrin, and the emphasis was to see how an ancient family and community lived together. We crowded together in a reconstructed house and learned of the faith of 4 friends who lowered their friend through...
Sea of Galilee
posted on Monday January 12 2015 at 9:27 pm UTC
We started the morning with a boat ride to the middle of Galilee. Like many places around Israel it’s not nearly as big as I’ve always imagined when I’ve read and taught scripture. It’s more of a lake because of it’s size but the water acts a lot like the sea…it’s “crazy choppy”...
God, kings, and priests
posted on Monday January 12 2015 at 12:06 am UTC
We got an early start and headed for the coast, from our hotel on the shore of the Dead Sea. Our guide and bus driver were amazed at the amount of the water flowing through the dessert that on average gets about 10cm of rain a year. Our first stop, Ceasarea, was a former port designed and built by...
Exactly what we needed
posted on Saturday January 10 2015 at 11:49 pm UTC
Today began with word that the road to our planned sites for the day was closed due to some flash floods. As we got on the bus to pull out of the Dead Sea for the day our wonderful tour guide Ronen saw a friend of his who worked at Masada and got word that it was actually open, we just had to go...
Rain and Snow and Four Sites
posted on Friday January 09 2015 at 6:47 pm UTC
Through the rain and snow (that’s right, it snowed this morning), we made it to four locations on day one of our sprint through the Holy Land. We started the day off in Kiriath Jearim, an area in the mountains not too far east of Jerusalem, where the Ark of the covenant stayed for twenty years...
Hello from Tel Aviv
posted on Thursday January 08 2015 at 10:26 pm UTC
Just a quick update to let everyone know that we made it to Israel safe and sound. The Huston and Chicago group caught an earlier flight to Tel Aviv and are already resting at the hotel. What a long flight but as they say, once you board an airliner to the Middle East your trip to the Holy Land...
Arrived at LAX
posted on Thursday January 08 2015 at 12:47 am UTC
Hey everyone! We are excited to tell you that all the California crew have arrived at LAX airport and have finished the fun check in process on Turkish Airlines. We are all here, besides our friends flying out of Houston and Chicago who will be meeting us in Israel. While our group is not all...
The Time Has Come
posted on Saturday January 03 2015 at 5:30 pm UTC
Shalom friends and family, I can hardly believe that the time has come for this trip to begin. We at Hume Lake and GTI Tours are very excited for the experience these men and women are about to partake in. Within their busy ministry schedules they have spent the last 4 months studying through a 9...
A Journey of a lifetime
posted on Monday December 08 2014 at 10:00 pm UTC
On January 7-17th of 2015 a group of 40 pastors, teachers, students and spouses (in association with GTI tours and Hume Lake Christian Camps) from different churches and schools throughout the United States will be traveling together on a once in a lifetime study tour of Israel. We invite you; friends,...
Preparing for Israel
posted on Thursday September 11 2014 at 12:36 am UTC
Our trip to Israel will be here before you know it! Once we're on the ground in Israel, we'll post periodic updates, photos, and recorded audio. Check back often or get update notifications using the subscribe options on this page. We'll be sharing our travel experiences online with you, our...