Experience Israel Today
Tour Hosts: Dr. DeWayne A. Coxon and Chris Josephson
February 16-27, 2009
Price: $2,895 (Chicago)
We will spend quality time traveling in Jerusalem and northern, central, and southern Israel. We will walk where Jesus walked, pray where Jesus prayed, and visit the places where Jesus ministered in Jerusalem and the Galilee and also go to the desert for rest, relaxation, prayer and study. We will experience many aspects of life in Israel, and we can get our hands dirty at Biblical Tamar Park by either digging at the archaeology site or planting trees, repairing buildings, or other tasks. We will be there to bless Israel in as many ways as possible and we will also learn more about the great historical significance of Tamar and other sites.
Dr. DeWayne Coxon is the founder and president of Blossoming Rose. He has visited Israel well over 150 times in the last 40 years. His knowledge of Jewish, Christian and Muslim history gives him a unique perspective on contemporary events taking place in the Middle East. Ministry and worship leaders will assist him in devotions, prayers, and bible studies during this tour. Chris Josephson is President of “Bible Light International” and has lived in Israel several years. She now lives in Kansas and will be co-hosting with Dr. Coxon on this tour.
We will begin our journey as we depart from John F. Kennedy Airport for our flight to Israel on El Al Israel Airlines. (We must be at the airport three hours prior to the flight.) Meals will be served during our flight.
We will land at Ben Gurion International Airport where our tour group will be greeted by Jimmy Ahoub, our bus driver. We will head out for Jerusalem where we will have dinner and then spend our first night at the Regency Hotel.
Day 3: (Wednesday – Feb. 18) Jerusalem/Gethsemane/David’s City/Western Wall, and Yad Vashem
The day will begin with a panoramic, breathtaking view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We will descend to the Garden of Gethsemane and then go on down to an underground chapel where Jesus was betrayed. The Western Wall will be next and then we will go to the Temple Mount, down the Via Dolorosa, through the Old City of Jerusalem, to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and to the Jaffa gate. We will walk on to the Cardo, the Upper Room, and to David’s tomb. The most recent excavations in the City of David and at the Temple Mount will be of special interest to us. Shopping in the Old City and eating lunch in the Jewish quarter will be a great experience. We will finish our day at the Holocaust Museum before returning to our hotel for dinner.
Day 4: (Thursday – Feb. 19) Garden Tomb, Jericho, Qumran, Ein Gedi, and Tamar
We’ll start our day with another great Israeli buffet breakfast and then board our bus and drive to the Garden Tomb for a tour and communion. Next, we will drive out of Jerusalem on the Jericho road and see the tree in which Zacchaeus sat in the ancient city of Jericho in the shadow of the Mount of Temptation. Driving to the Dead Sea will remind us of the history dating to the time of Lot, the nephew of Abraham and to the burning of Sodom. We’ll stop at Qumran, the city of the Essenes and the place where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. The walk up to the waterfalls at Ein Gedi will bring to mind the time David hid from King Saul. We will continue to drive along side the Dead Sea and arrive at Biblical Tamar Park at dusk where we will be welcomed by the Park Manager and the on-site workers. After a wonderful, hot, American meal in the dining commons we can relax in our comfortable beds.
After breakfast, we’ll have a time of study (history lesson) accompanied by praise and worship. Then we’ll board our bus and go to Masada, the fortress built by Herod the Great. It is known today as the site where 960 religious Jews died rather than going into captivity under the Romans. When we leave Masada, we will go down to the shores of the Dead Sea at Ein Bokek, where there are luxury hotels and shops, and float in the warm waters. After a quick shower, we’ll go back to Biblical Tamar Park where we will tour this historic city which dates back to at least the time of Abraham. We will learn more about the 25,000 artifacts that have been unearthed at Tamar and about the plan for a museum and welcome center for visitors. The vision for a prayer center for people to come and pray for the “peace of Jerusalem,” will be shared. We’ll end the day with a good Jewish meal of chicken.
Day 6: (Saturday – Feb. 21) Sabbath rest, Bible study, and free time
After we awaken and feel the stillness of the desert and see the sun rising over the Jordanian mountains and hear the small desert birds as they seek their food, we’ll meet in the dining hall for a cup of American coffee. After some praise and worship, we’ll have a bible study that focuses on the “God of Abraham” and where this man and his family lived. All who are ready, willing, and able can climb Prayer Mountain, to the west of Tamar or spend time in the ancient Turkish/British building on the top of the tel that is now a prayer room. This is truly a home away from home, a rustic center in the desert.
Day 7-8: (Sunday and Monday – Feb. 22-23) Tamar and the Desert experience
After breakfast Sunday morning, we’ll have a Christian praise and worship service, then everyone will be free to work on projects according to their gifts and skills. There are trees to plant, water, or trim. There are several landscaping duties to beautify the Park and there are housekeeping duties, cooking, painting, carpentry work, plumbing jobs and all kinds of tasks that are readily seen by the creative minds of many. For those who choose, there can be times of fellowship, prayer, study, praise and worship. The significance (and needs) of this great historical site can sink right into our bones.
Day 9: (Tuesday – Feb. 24) Scorpion’s Pass, Beersheva, Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth, andTiberius
Our bus and bus driver will be waiting for us after our last breakfast at Tamar. At 8 a.m. we will bid everyone who stays at Tamar goodbye. (They will feel lonesome even before we get gone, hoping that we will return in another year.) The bus will snake its way up Scorpion’s Pass, which is called “the Ascent,” where Moses led the Israelites to Tamar. We’ll drive into the valley of Elah where David killed Goliath and pick up a smooth stone (to add to some collections). The city of Caesarea will loom up before us and we’ll go into the amphitheater and walk the length of that great city, departing through the Crusader’s fortress. Then it will be on to Megiddo and across the valley where the battle of Armageddon may one day be fought and then we’ll drive into Nazareth where Jesus lived. The sun will be setting as our bus delivers us to the beautiful Golden Tulip Hotel in Tiberius where we will move into our rooms for the next two nights.
Day 10: (Wednesday – Feb. 25) Baptismal, Katzrine, Golan, Lebanon, and Syria
We’ll meet in the hotel lobby after a huge breakfast, and board our bus for the Jordan River and our baptismal service. After that, we’ll continue on around the Sea and up into the Golan to Katzrine, the Jewish capital, and then on to the borders of Syria and Lebanon where we can pray for God’s safety for this area. Caesarea Philippi will be our next stop and then we’ll go to Quriot Shaomoni and then south to our hotel. By then, it will have been a long day but we can still enjoy our last free evening in Israel.
Day 11: (Thursday – Feb. 26) Jesus Boat, Beatitudes, Capernaum, Jerusalem and Ben Gurion Airport
We’ll walk together down to the Sea of Galilee and board our Jesus boat. It’s always a delightful time together as we sing and pray while crossing the Sea to Capernaum. This is the city where Jesus very likely preached in the synagogue. We’ll continue up the mountain to the place where the Sermon on the Mount may have been delivered. It will then be time to head for Jerusalem for last minute shopping. Lunch will be on your own as you choose between the Old City, Ben Yehuda Street or other places of interest in Jerusalem. We will leave for the airport at 6:30 p.m. to check through for our overnight flight to the USA.
Day 12: (Friday – Feb. 27) Israel to USA
We’ll leave on our midnight flight and arrive at 5:30 a.m. in the USA where we will check through customs and catch our connecting flights.
Tours Include: Not Included:
-International flight -Flight insurance
-Hotels – breakfast/dinner -Lunches (except at Tamar)
-National Park Pass (six passes) -Optional entrance fees
-All tips (except housekeeping) -Hotel housekeeping tips
-All meals at Tamar -Gondola at Masada
-Galilee Boat
-Baptismal gown
For additional information contact:
Dr. DeWayne A. Coxon, P.O. Box X, Cedar Springs, MI 49319
Phone: 616-901-4153 Email: dcoxon@blossomingrose.org
Web: www.blossomingrose.org