A PILGRIMAGE TO ROME – DAILY ITINERARY – MARCH 16-23, 2013

March 16-SA-Day 1-depart USA on Delta. 

March 17-SU-Day 2-arrive in Rome, meet our bus and guide for a visit to Ostia Antica, St. Paul’s outside of Rome, and an overview of the city.  Check in at Hotel Lancelot, which will be our hotel for the week.

March 18-MO-Day 3- This day will include visits to Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Minerva Church, Gesu Church, St. John in Laterno, La Scala, and San Clemente before returning to the Lancelot for dinner.

March 19-TU-Day 4-Today we will visit the Borghese Gallery, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo, and the shopping triangle before returning to the Lancelot.

March 20-WE-Day 5- Today we will visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Capitoline Museum.  We will also have a walk through Trastevere, where we will visit the Church of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber Island.

March 21-TH-Day 6-We will spend this day at the Vatican Museum, and St. Peter’s before returning to the Lancelot.

March 22-FR-Day 7-Today is a free day in Rome.  We will help you choose things to see that we haven’t done this week.

March 23-SA-Day 8- Arrive back home in USA.

ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013

THOUGHTS ABOUT ISRAEL

Our flight from the US was uneventful including Dr. Parker and Dukes just making the plane at JFK. We were about 30 min late but made it through customs and over to ElDan Car Rental timely and soon were on the road to Neve Elan where we will be the next three nights. We did stop at Latrun (SI) for coffee. The weather is very nice, chilly and clear. We arrived at Neve Ilan about 5:30pm and had supper at 6:30pm. The meal was a Shabbat recognition. There were about 300 people from the local area dining with family. Shabbat is when families generally have the evening meal together. Neve Ilan is about 20 km from Jerusalem. We are in the general area for Emmaus. We are tired. Our bedtime isn’t far away.

THOUGHTS ABOUT ISRAEL

I love the land of Israel, The Lord does to
Arriving is always a coming home, departure sadnes
It is an Eastern Culture, Much different than our own I’ve read so much about it,
That’s why it seems like home

When I am here the Bible is always in my hand, the Lord`s presence near
Thoughts of the Savior, Remembrances of prophets Breathing Israeli air,
Sustenance for my soul The land of the Bible, Where we see God’s actions took hold
How about today, Is it really that important to visit Israel? It enhances our understanding,

When we see Scripture alive We see the dust, the rustic browns and stunning blue skies The Galilee is very special, We see The Lord at work, ministering to great need Every time I come it is different, New People, an insight birthed anew The intensity of our pilgrimages, Tends to hold my attention When I go back home, then I will have time to think thru all the things I saw and heard Israel is a place that will connect with you, Jesus loves you
Clay                  12/28/12

A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

December 29, 2012-January 9, 2013

DAILY ITINERARY

December 29-SA-Day 1-depart USA on U.S. Air

December 30-SU-Day 2-arrive in Tel Aviv, overnight at Hotel Neve Ilan.

December 31-MO-Day 3- We will begin our day with a devotional and then to begin our first day’s pilgrimage in Israel we will visit Tel Gezer and then travel south, visiting the Valley of Elah, where the battle between David and Goliath was waged, as well as Tel Lachish 2 Kings 14:19 where Amaziah was killed by his enemies, where Joshua fought (Joshua 10:34), and Babylon and other ancient nations battled across the centuries. We will also visit the well of Abraham at Tel Beersheva and then continue our south-bound travel thru the Wilderness of Zin and on to the Makhtesh Ramon and then overnight at the Ramon Inn, where we will have dinner.  We will have the daily Bible Study each day before dinner, time permitting.

January 1-TU-Day 4-Today we will travel north to the region of the Galilee. We will visit the ancient Nabatean city of Avdat founded in 3^rd century BC before making our way down to the Dead Sea, where we will visit the sites of Masada and Qumran. We will then make our way up the Jordan Valley to Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, where we will have dinner and spend the first of four nights.

January 2-WE-Day 5- This morning we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. We will also visit the Christian sites around the Sea of Galilee, including Capernaum-the town of Jesus, the Primacy of Peter, Chorazin, and the Mount of the Beatitudes. After continuing our drive across the country, we will make our way towards Cana in Galilee and Nazareth where we will visit the city overlook.  From Nazareth we will drive to Sepphoris where we will visit a town built by the Romans during the time of Jesus.  We will finish our touring in the late afternoon and arrive back to Nof Ginosar for dinner and overnight stay.

January 3-TH-Day 6-Today we will visit Kursi before meeting our drivers for a jeep tour of the Golan Heights. Afterwards we will visit Caesarea Philippi where Jesus taught His disciples and Tel Dan Nature Reserve before returning to Nof Ginosar for dinner and overnight stay.

January 4-FR-Day 7-Our journey today will take us across Central Galilee to visit Tel Megiddo (7,000 BC to 586 BC) that guarded an ancient trade route, then to En Harod (Spring of Harod) where Gideon prepared to fight the Midianites (Judges 7), next to Beit Alpha and then to Tel Bet Shean (Roman city of the Decapolis Scythopolis) before returning for our last night at Nof Ginosar.

January 5-SA-Day 8- After an early breakfast we will begin our journey south towards Jerusalem. Our first stop will be Mount Carmel, where Elijah slew the prophets of Baal. We will then visit Herod’s beautiful coastal city of Caesarea, and Tel Arsuf, also Apollonia originally settled by Phoenicians. We will then arrive in Jerusalem at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, where we will have dinner and spend the first of three nights.

January 6-SU-Day 9- Today we will be in the Old City of Jerusalem, visiting Mount Zion, the Upper Room, St. Peter in Gallicantu, the Mount of Olives overlook, Dominus Flevit, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Church of All Nations. There will also be time to do some shopping in the Old City before arriving back at Ramat Rachel for dinner and overnight.

January 7-MO-Day 10- Our first stop will be at the Panorama Overlook, which will provide a breathtaking view of the city. We will then explore the Temple Mount before walking the Via Dolorosa. Making our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we will visit several sites, including the Russian Orthodox Church. There will also be some time to explore and shop in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City before arriving at Ramat Rachel for our final evening in Jerusalem.

January 8-TU-Day 11- On our last day of touring we will visit several sites in and around Jerusalem, including the Herodian, Nebi Samuel, the Israel Museum, and Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum). We will have dinner in ancient Jaffa before arriving in Tel Aviv for our late evening flight home via U.S. Air.

January 9-WE-Day 12-Arrive back home in USA.

HOTELS:

Dec 30-SU-HOTEL NEVE ILAN -TEL: 011 972 03 9190669.

Dec 31-MO- RAMON INN -TEL: 011 972 08 6588822. FAX: 011 972 08 6588151.

Jan 1-TU-NOF GINOSAR HOTEL -TEL: 011 972 04 6700320. FAX: 011 972 04 6792170.

Jan 5-SA-KIBBUTZ RAMAT RACHEL-TEL: 011 972 02 6702555. FAX: 011 972 02 6733155.

Ophir TOURS-TEL: 011 972 03 5269741 

Sin will not slip away
It stays around clinging to our weakness
Sin is pervasive and seeks to destroy
Don’t let it fool you
It isn’t your friend
It wants to kill you

When we play with fire
Eventually we get burned
Just like a glowing ember sin is ready to burn
Give it a chance and it will break your heart
Wanting to erase any good you have done
Sin seeks the upper hand

Turn to God
Follow His guidance
Confess your sin to Him and turn away from it
Let Christ forgive you and heal you
The ravages of sin are rooted deep in our soul
The forgiveness of God roots out sin and reclaims our life

Clay Corvin -March 13, 2012

Pantheon

ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE-DEC 28 TO JAN 8, 2012

by CLAY on 01/12/2012

NOV 19- SA-arrive Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv and transfer to Kfar Maccabiah Hotel & Suites, 7 Perets Bernstein, Tel Aviv 52109, Israel

NOV 20- SU- early departure, devotional on the bus, travel south near where Samson and Delilah lived, by Bet Shemesh and finally into the Elah Valley where we will visit the site of the historic battle between David and Goliath. Tel Lachish about 40 kilometers from Jerusalem guarded the southern ascent to Jerusalem will be our next stop. We will then travel further south to Beersheva where we will have lunch then we will visit Tel Beersheva. It was the southernmost border of the Israelite kingdom. It is identified in the Biblical phrase “From Dan to Beersheva.” We will see Abraham’s well, the horned altar and the ancient tel. We will continue our drive south deep into the Negev region down route 40 for about 80 km to the little town of Mitzpe Ramon where we will visit the overlook above the huge Ramon Crater and then to Isrotel Ramon Inn Hotel where we will overnight. Our Bible study today will be before our evening meal.

NOV 21- MO- early breakfast, load our bus and depart our hotel in Mitzpe Ramon early and begin our journey north through the Negev Desert. Our daily devotional and then the first stop of the day at Avdat the greatest Nabatean city in the Negev. Avdat peaked as a city on the Spice Route from 37BC until 70AD. It is on a limestone hill overlooking the desert and is on the edge of the Wilderness of Zin that is one of the 7 wildernesses the Bible says Moses and the Israelites crossed in the Exodus from Egypt. Wilderness in Biblical and Middle Eastern terms generally means a desert (unlike what we think of wilderness as a heavily forested area.) At Avdat we will be especially interested in seeing the two churches on the site and the northern churches baptismal fonts. Avdat was destroyed by an earthquake in the 7th century AD and was never reoccupied. Our journey will continue north to Tel Arad an ancient Israelite fortress that is about 18 km west of the Dead Sea and then east descending to the Dead Sea where we will have lunch at Ein Bokek a tourist and therapeutic complex on the Dead Sea shores. After lunch we will visit Herod the Greats Masada and then continue north to visit Qumran were the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Our touring day will end with a quick dip in the Dead Sea so be sure to have your bathing suits ready. Our journey will continue north along the Jordan River into the Sea of Galilee region, thru Tiberias to our home for the next four nights at Maagan Kibbutz Hotel. Our Bible study will be before our evening meal.

NOV 22-TU- breakfast daily devotional and then we journey south to Beit Shean one of the cities of the Decapolis and one of the most ancient cities of Israel. Our next visit will be to Beit Alpha a Byzantine era synagogue located at the foot of Mount Gilboa. We will visit Megiddo next. It overlooks the Jezreel Valley and is one of the oldest cities in the world. Megiddo is built on a mount that overlooks two key trade roads between Egypt and Assyria and the Phoenician cities and Jerusalem. We will travel from Megiddo to the Nazareth Overlook for a panoramic view of Nazareth and the surrounding area. Our drive back to our hotel will be through the Galilean countryside and down to the Sea of Galilee to Maagan Kibbutz Hotel. Our Bible study will be before our evening meal.

NOV 23- WE-breakfast, daily devotional, Sea of Galilee boat ride and then our journey north thru the Golan where we will first visit Ben Tal, and lunch in the Druze Village of Masade. We will then travel to Caesarea Philippi where we will visit the Gates of Hades and Herod Agrippa’s palace. Our next site will be Tel Dan located at the foot of Mt. Hermon and the Golan Heights. This site will include a visit to the high place of Jeroboam, the Abraham Gate from about 1800 BC, and the Ahab Gate. We will complete our touring day by driving south through the Hula Valley and back to Maagan Kibbutz Hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Our Bible study will be before our evening meal.

NOV 24- TH- breakfast, daily devotional and visits to the Christian sites around the Sea of Galilee. This will include the Mount of Beatitudes, Chorazin, Capernaum, and the Primacy of Peter. Our lunch will be at a falafel stand in Migdal. We will now proceed up from the Sea of Galilee into the Galilee region where we will visit Sepphoris a Roman city that has beautiful mosaics and was the capital of the Galilee region during the Roman occupation. Sepphoris was a prosperous town at the time of Jesus and was only a few miles from Nazareth. We will end our tour day with a drive back across the Galilee down to Maagan Kibbutz Hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Our Bible study will be before our evening meal. This will be our last night in the Galilee.

NOV 25- FR-breakfast, load the bus, set our faces for Jerusalem. The daily devotional is on the bus as we drive across the Galilee. Our first stop is Mt. Carmel where Elijah slew the prophets of Baal. On a clear day the view from here is stunning. Back on the bus and drive south through the Jokneam Pass and down to Caesarea by the Sea. We will see the theater, Herod’s house on the sea, the hippodrome and the Crusader City. We will stop for lunch as we sprint towards Jerusalem. Along the way we will read the Psalms of Ascent and discuss current and historical events related to Jerusalem. We will arrive in Jerusalem and go straight to Bethlehem to Manger Square and visit the Church of the Nativity. Afterward we will have a time for shopping in Bethlehem. We will depart Bethlehem and drive to Ramat Rachel where we will be staying in Jerusalem. Bible study will be after dinner tonight.

NOV 26- SA-breakfast then on the bus and we will have our daily devotional at the Promenade Overlook of Jerusalem. We will visit the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Church of all nations and then up to the Old City of Jerusalem. We will walk into the Old City through what used to be the Sheep Market and enter through the Lion Gate. Our first stop will be the Church of St. Anne and the pool of Bethesda. Continuing up the street we will go to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa at the Ecce Homo Convent where we will visit the Lithostrotos Pavement and then begin our journey on the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will identify several of the stations on the Via Dolorosa, including a stop at the Russian Orthodox Church and see the Judgment Gate through which Jesus would have passed on his walk to Calvary. Continuing on the Via Dolorosa we will walk around the corner into the complex of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will have some time for shopping in the Christian Quarter of the Old City and return to Ramat Rachel about 5:30pm for our Bible Study and dinner.

NOV 27-SU- breakfast then on the bus and we will have our daily devotional at the Promenade Overlook of Jerusalem. We will visit the Temple Mount, the Kotel Tunnel and the Davidson Museum and Southern Steps of the Temple. We will walk up to Hurva Square in the Jewish Quarter where we will have our lunch and a visit with Moshe Kempenski at Shorashim. We will have some time for shopping in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and return to Ramat Rachel about 6:00pm for our Bible Study and dinner.

NOV 28-MO- last breakfast in Israel after which we will load the bus and begin our day with our daily devotional at the Promenade Overlook of Jerusalem. We will begin at the Upper Room. Afterward we will walk over to St. Peter in Gallicantu where we will see the location of Peter’s denial of Jesus, a Roman Stepped Way from the time of Jesus, the Assumptionist Church St. Peter in Gallicantu built over a traditional location for the house of Caiaphas and an overlook of the City of David and a Southern view of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Yad Vashem’s Holocaust Museum will be our next stop and then the Israel Museum Shrine of the Book. Our visit to Jerusalem will be completed at the Garden Tomb located not many steps from the Damascus Gate. After the Garden Tomb we will begin our trip to Tel Aviv. We will visit several sites along the way to Jaffa where we will have our evening meal. Then on to the airport for our 11:55pm flight home.

NOV 29-TU- arrive home in the US by late morning

ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE  - NOV 2010 PICTURES

NOBTS PILGRIMAGE TO GREECE, EPHESUS, AND PATMOS

MARCH 12-23, 2010

Featuring teaching and devotions with Dr. Bill Warren

Trip Cost is $2, 945*

*$2,195 for enrolled students

Join other NOBTS students, faculty, staff and friends as we travel to the Biblical sites of

Greece plus Patmos and Ephesus. The trip itinerary is below. If you are interested in this

opportunity of a lifetime, please complete the application and return it with your down

payment of $300. This trip is first-come, as space is available.

If you are interested in going, DO NOT DELAY!!

DAILY ITINERARY

March 12, 2010-FR-Day 1-Depart USA for Athens ON LUFTHANSA

March 13-SA-Day 2-arrive in Athens, transfer to Hotel City Plaza

Corinth Corinth Canal

March 14-SU-Day 3-Tour Athens and the Acropolis, overnight at the Hotel City

Plaza

Hanging Monasteries at Meteora

March 15-MO-Day 4-Visit Delphi and Meteora, overnight at the Hotel Divani

Meteora

March 16-TU-Day 5- Day 4-visit the hanging monasteries, and then visit to Philip

of Macedon’s tomb, Veria, and on to Thessaloniki where we will overnight in

Thessaloniki at the Hotel Capsis

March 17-WE-Day 6- Visit Philippi and Kavala (ancient Neapolis) overnight at the

Hotel Amalia Thessaloniki

Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens

March 18-TH-Day 7-Drive to Athens and visit Thermopylae, overnight at the Hotel

City Plaza

Mars Hill, Athens

March 19-FR-Day 8-SA day 9 and SU day 10—three day cruise visiting Patmos,

Kusadasi (Ephesus) and Rhodes

March 22-MO-Day 11-tour of Corinth and Mycenae, overnight at the Hotel City

Plaza.

March 23-TU-Day 12-return to USA

ISRAEL PILGRIMAGE – OCTOBER 2009 – 2