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Israel Study Tour with Sun Grove Church
December 11-22, 2022
Led by Heather Flaig
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Trip Blog Posts
Day 09 - Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Saint Anne’s, Pool of Bethesda, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Ramparts, Israel Museum, Farewell Dinner
posted on Friday December 30 2022 at 10:00 pm UTC
Our final day of the tour was definitely a grand finale! Ronen showed the group the iconic view of the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (which is covered by elevated graves, on which visitors place small stones as a tribute to the deceased and a reminder of their visit). This is the place...
Day 08 - Jerusalem: City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Yad Vashem
posted on Tuesday December 20 2022 at 9:00 pm UTC
Today we went to the City of David (where we learned about David and Bathsheba), walked through Hezekiah's Tunnel, and read John 9 at the Pool of Siloam. The passage talks about Jesus healing a blind man who sat out at the gates of the temple. Jesus made mud out of his spit and dirt and put it over...
Day 07 - Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Western Wall, Rabbinic Tunnels, Herodium, Bethlehem
posted on Tuesday December 20 2022 at 1:00 am UTC
We awoke in Jerusalem (means City of Peace in Hebrew) after arriving last night on the first night of Hanukkah. What a blessing. We began our day at the Temple Mount. This is the most Holy place in the world for Jews and Christians. It is the 3rd most Holy place for Muslims. Jerusalem is home...
Day 06 - Galilee/Jerusalem: Beth She’an, Megiddo, Mt Carmel, Caesarea Maritima
posted on Monday December 19 2022 at 1:00 am UTC
This morning we checked out of Ein Gev Kibbutz where we spent the last 3 nights in cute cottages on the Sea of Galilee. I was fascinated by the concept of a kibbutz, which was introduced in the 1910s by young Zionist Jews. It is common for Israelis to join a kibbutz around 18 years old, but...
Day 05 - Galilee: Chorazin, Tabgha, Mount Arbel
posted on Sunday December 18 2022 at 1:00 am UTC
Basalt (volcanic rocks) surrounded us as we stepped off the bus in Chorazin. We wandered around an insula which means “the house of the father.” In Bible times, as sons got married they added a room (three walls and a door) to their father’s house. This created a “complex” of rooms attached...
Day 04 - Galilee: Katzrin (cultural experience), Tel Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Mount Bental
posted on Saturday December 17 2022 at 1:00 am UTC
Our morning started with a wardrobe change. We arrived at our initial destination and were escorted to a rack of first century tunics and a basket of head coverings. After sifting through our clothing options and donning our outfit of choice, we entered the scene of the ancient village of...
Day 03 - Negev: Ein Gedi, Qumran, Lower Jordan
posted on Friday December 16 2022 at 1:00 am UTC
It’s Day 3, and we are getting into the rhythm of long tour days and soaking in the richness of all that Israel has to offer. We kicked off the morning saying goodbye to the Dead Sea and headed north to Ein Gedi. We went on a visual hunt for Biblical trees (the broom tree, acacia tree and Christ-thorn...
Day 02 - Negev: Masada, Bedouin Hospitality, Tel Arad, Dead Sea
posted on Thursday December 15 2022 at 12:00 am UTC
Today is December 14, 2022. I am here in Israel with Sun Grove Community Church experiencing the biblical characters who have come alive our tour guide, Ronen. Today we went to Masada where King Herod's palace sits. He strategically picked the location because he would control the Roman trade route. We...
Day 01 - Shephelah: Yad Hashmonah, Beth Shemesh, Azekah, Beth Guvrin (Maresha), Beersheba
posted on Wednesday December 14 2022 at 1:00 am UTC
Our first day walking the Land of Israel had us learning so much and taking mad notes! We are recovering from travel and acclimating to a new time zone. We started our day visiting a Biblical Garden called Kiriath Jearim where we learned about seasons and harvests, wine pressing and wheat threshing....
Day 1 - Pre-travel
posted on Tuesday November 01 2022 at 8:14 pm UTC
Shalom (Peaceful Hello), Family and Friends! Israel preparation is well underway as we are counting down these ELEVEN days until departure! Knowing that travel is inconvenient and uncomfortable, we are prepared to be FLEXIBLE and POSITIVE. We have thrown down a...