Israel Study Tour with The Forge
February 26 - March 10, 2023
Led by Jared Schuler
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Trip Blog Posts
Day 10 - Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, St. Anne's Church, Pool of Bethesda, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Ramparts, Davidson Center, Cardo, Southern Steps, Farewell Dinner
posted on Thursday March 09 2023 at 10:00 pm UTC
Lizdawg here. WE MADE IT! After learning about Jesus’s ministry in Galilee and wandering like Moses in the Negev desert, we finally made it to Jerusalem to walk through the passion week of Christ. This was a pretty crazy day, so buckle up and get ready for some BIG sites!! We started...
Day 09 - Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Western Wall, City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Pool of Siloam, Herodium, Shepherds Field/Bethlehem
posted on Wednesday March 08 2023 at 11:00 pm UTC
We’ve finally made it to the big money attraction, Jerusalem! Today marked the first day that many of us here got to wear our Shema rings, so many of us spent our first bus ride this morning showing off our new bling on our way to our first site of the day, the Temple Mount! The best...
Day 08 - Jezreel Valley: Nazareth, Megiddo, Mt. Carmel, Caesarea Maritima
posted on Tuesday March 07 2023 at 11:00 pm UTC
When we first arrived in Israel, our tour guide Ronen told us that we would be going to Jerusalem—but not yet, because we were not ready. This morning when we hopped on the bus, Ronen told us we were going to Jerusalem and we all cheered. Hooray, we’re finally ready! So, we waved goodbye...
Day 07 - Decapolis: Galilee Boat Ride, Jezreel Valley, Ein Harod, Beth Shean
posted on Monday March 06 2023 at 9:00 pm UTC
It would have been a really cool story. To start the day by milking cows by the Sea of Galilee. Avoiding “land mines”, probably taking lots of pictures. But that’s not how the story goes. Instead, we started our day on a boat in the Sea of Galilee. I don’t think I...
Day 06 - Upper Galilee: Katzrin, Caesarea Philippi, Tel Dan
posted on Monday March 06 2023 at 1:00 am UTC
Hey everyone! It’s your friend Hannah from the Forge here checking in to recap our 6th day in Israel for y’all! We started off our morning by the Sea of Galilee to pray and Shema together before the day ahead. It was here that Jared told us to “prepare our hearts”...
Day 05 - Galilee: Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Upper Jordan
posted on Sunday March 05 2023 at 12:00 am UTC
"And he (Jesus) went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people." - Matthew 4:23 Yesterday we discussed the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Today, we experienced the truth that,...
Day 04 - Galilee: Mount of Beatitudes, Mount Arbel, Magdala, Tabgha, Shabbat Dinner
posted on Friday March 03 2023 at 8:00 pm UTC
We began the day with the Sermon on the Mount. Overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Mt. Arbel to our right, it wasn’t hard to picture this location as a place He could’ve been. We ventured into the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry by looking back. Exodus 19, God commanded that His people...
Day 03 - Judean Wilderness: Ein Gedi, Qumran
posted on Thursday March 02 2023 at 10:00 pm UTC
This morning we started at the Salt Sea, better known to us as the Dead Sea because nothing can survive there. Water was a running theme of the day. Water is always necessary for survival, but when you’ve been wandering in the desert it feels like salvation. Looking at the hills all around we couldn’t...
Day 02 - Desert: Makhtesh Ramon, Masada, Dead Sea
posted on Thursday March 02 2023 at 1:00 am UTC
Life has never been about getting out of the desert. Too often, we section our life into “seasons.” We see the high points as rolling hills of luscious grass next to still water, and we see the low points as endless deserts filled with rocks and sand. What if we saw both as the...
Day 01 - Shephelah: Yad Hashmonah (garden), Beth Shemesh, Azekah, Caves of Adullam, Beersheba
posted on Wednesday March 01 2023 at 12:00 am UTC
Today, we started our journey within a garden. Well, techniquely we started by waking up in a hotel in Jerusalem. But, our first stop was a garden in Kiriath Jearim which is the town where the Ark of the Covenant rested for 20 years before David brought it back to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 4-7:2). Here, we...
Day 00 - Arrival
posted on Tuesday February 28 2023 at 1:00 am UTC
We made it safely to Israel! We are resting now at our first hotel then ready to start our first day of touring in the morning....
Preparing for Israel
posted on Wednesday February 22 2023 at 10:43 pm UTC
Our trip will be here before you know it! Once we're on the ground we'll post periodic updates and photos. 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 friends and family, to not only bring you along...