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October 13-22, 2012
With tour leaders Pastor Jamie and Karen Gerber.
Friends of TourMagination share our desire to build bridges with people around the world. This special service tour offers you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of the Bible as you visit both Old and New Testament sites, as you get to know people of faith in Israel/Palestine today and as you make a difference by offering service to Nazareth Village. Nazareth Village is a recreated first-century village that offers "a living presentation of the life, time and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth" to people from all over the world. On this tour, led by Pastor Jamie Gerber of Crosshill Mennonite Church, Crosshill, Ontario, and his wife, Karen, you will assist Nazareth Village staff with the seasonal olive harvest as well as participate in other tasks in the village. Familiar Bible passages will come to new life and your understanding of biblical history will be enhanced as you experience the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of biblical life and as you visit the hills, land and seashore that Jesus knew so well. This is certain to be a faith-enriching tour!
Click here to read past blogs about tours to the Holy Lands.
 Experience life in Jesus' time at Nazareth Village
Evening departure from Liberty International Airport, Newark or Pearson International Airport, Toronto. Our groups will connect in Frankfurt before boarding a plane to Tel Aviv where we will arrive on Sunday. We will travel to Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, where we will stay for three nights.
 Observe an ancient olive press at work
After a good night's rest and a delicious Israeli breakfast, we will be eager to experience our first day in the Holy Land. We will begin our time at Nazareth Village by taking a parable walk, hearing Jesus' parables in a setting that might have inspired the images he used. Then we will learn how to help the village staff with the olive harvest, which will provide needed assistance to the village while allowing us a personal glimpse of what life would have been like when Jesus walked the streets of Nazareth. Our appetites whetted, we will share a first-century lunch at Nazareth Village. In the afternoon, we will take a walking tour of Nazareth, visiting sites such as Mary's Well, the Basilica and the Sisters of Nazareth.
This morning, we will return to our work harvesting olives and other tasks as requested by Village staff. After lunch, we will visit Caesarea where Peter met and baptized Cornelius and his family. In Haifa, we will see the unique Baha'i Gardens, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and will remember the story of Elijah as we visit the Stella Maris Church.
 Listen to Jesus' teachings on the Beatitudes
By now, we will be old hands at harvesting olives. This morning we will spend our last morning at Nazareth Village, harvesting olives that will be crushed into oil as it was in the first century. In the afternoon, we will visit the Mount of Beatitudes, the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, and the town of Capernaum, the center of much of Jesus' public ministry.
This morning, we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. This is always a deeply meaningful time for participants on this tour. We will visit the baptismal site at the Jordan River before enjoying lunch in Jericho, the city whose walls crumbled at the blast of a trumpet and which is the lowest city on earth. In Jericho, we will take time for a bit of shopping – you may wish to bring home some Hebron glass or Dead Sea products. Then it's on to Qumran to learn about the Dead Sea Scrolls and their discovery. We will have an opportunity to float in the Dead Sea. We will relive the story of the Good Samaritan as we travel along the road to Jerusalem.
There is so much to see and do in Jerusalem. Today will be a full day visiting sites including the Mount of Olives, the Upper Room, the Pool of Siloam, Canada Park (where we will discuss the Emmaus story) and much more. In the evening, we hope to listen to a Jewish speaker at the Ambassador Hotel and engage in meaningful conversation together.
 Meet with MCC representatives in Jerusalem
This morning we will visit Bethlehem. You will enjoy a tour of the Church of the Nativity and a visit to Shepherd's Field. The day will also include an opportunity to shop at a Christian store in Bethlehem and to enjoy an afternoon visit with MCC workers from Jerusalem to learn about their work in Israel.
We will begin the day with a visit to the Israeli Museum where we will see a model of the Temple. Following lunch, we will walk the Via Dolorosa and observe the Stations of the Cross. During our afternoon visit to the Garden Tomb, we will have a special communion service together, which will undoubtedly be a significant memory of your time in Israel. We will conclude the day with our farewell dinner.
It's time to return home and we have an early start. As pilgrims and friends, we will have sung, prayed, worked and learned together as the Bible came to life for us on our tour to Israel/Palestine.
For further information regarding the complete tour fare, please
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