Welcome!

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Patti and I invite you to come with us to Israel to visit and explore the biblical setting of our faith – January 3-15, 2023.  My first trip was in January 2019 and I returned home vowing to return with as many of my friends, family, and peers as possible. We invite you to embrace your own experience of exploring the places where Jesus lived, walking where the biblical accounts actually happened. It will transform your world because it will change you from the inside out!

 

Dr. Steve Notley of Alliance University will be our teaching guide.  His world-class biblical scholarship combined with his intimate knowledge of the land—including his archeological expertise and mastery of the three biblical languages—qualify him to be a tour guide you will want to follow long the trip is over.  (Take a look at his attached credentials to see why he ranks among the best of guides for good reasons.  Go the General Information tab to the Instructors tab.)   

 

Patti and I are looking forward to being your host couple.  Dr. Notley has already secured excellent housing arrangements that you will enjoy, along with food that will satisfy any appetite. As your hospitality host, we will help you feel at home in our group as we travel together. Should you join us without a familiar face beside you, we will seek to connect you with others on the journey; together we will live, learn, and laugh. New and renewed friendships will be a lingering benefit of our adventures together.

 

Our travel will include the Negev where we’ll explore Beersheva, Elah Valley, and Gezer.  The Old Testament stories will come to life as we traverse The Sharon Plain, Mt. Carmel, and the Jezreel Valley.  We’ll cross over to Nazareth and then head to the Sea of Galilee where we’ll stay at Ein Gev on the east shore against the Golan Heights.  A couple of days in Capernaum will contextualize where most of Jesus’s ministry took place.  

 

Jerusalem will expose you to the most sacred places, along with the opposition perspectives of Judaism. A visit to Bethlehem will forever change how you observe Christmas, and a trip to the Herodium will give you ample perspective of who Herod was.  A trip to the Dead Sea will be worth your weight in salt!   We’ll visit Masada and Qumran, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were entombed until their recent discovery.  Our final day will be unstructured so that you will be able to explore Jerusalem on your own; by then, you will be comfortable in the Old City.

 

Take some time to explore this website, where you’ll find answers to many of your questions.  As additional thoughts come to mind, contact me.  

 

I’m planning to offer some reading and mapping suggestions prior to our travel that will be of great benefit to you not only on this trip, but also in your personal Bible study and devotional life.

 

One last affirmation about safety—Israel has the tightest and best security of any country in the world. 

 

Patti and I look forward to you joining with us on this exciting adventure.

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Ross L. Halbersma

Pastor of New Hope Alliance Church 

Winchester, VA

rosshalbersma@gmail.com

540-327-0487

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