2009 Journey Home to Israel Tour

Day 1 - Journal @ Capernaum (Kefar Naẖum), Israel

2009-11-02T08:00:06.000Z

Torrential rain didn’t dampen the collective spirit of joy-filled participants on their first full day of The Fellowship’s 2009 Journey Home Tour. Instead, the Christians realized that the rain – a precious commodity sorely needed in Israel – was an answer to prayer, and almost gleefully donned rain gear and carried umbrellas.

Nola Moss, one of the Israeli guides for the Fellowship tour, explained that water is a luxury in Israel, where the government recently imposed a drought tax that costs taxpayers twice what they must pay for water itself. She said that it would take 150 days of the heavy rain that pelted the Sea of Galilee region – the focus of Monday’s journey – to make a difference in the Holy Land.

ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS:
Tour buses traveled from Tiberius, the spa town built by Herod Antipas, on highways with standing water to stops at the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount; Capernaum, where Jesus lived during his Galilee ministry; Mount Carmel, associated with prophets Elijah and Elisha; and Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine.

Day 1 - Journal @ Tiberias, Israel

2009-11-02T10:00:50.000Z

OLDEST AND YOUNGEST PARTICIPANTS: Mildred Cline, 88, of Hugoton, Kan., delighted in the fact that she is the oldest Journey Home Tour participant and her great-grandson, Garrot Kilbourne, of Liberal, Kan., is the youngest at age 17. The two are joined by Roger Cline, Garrot’s grandfather, and Tiffany Lanning, Garrot’s mother.

Day 1 - Journal @ Megiddo, Israel

2009-11-02T12:00:14.000Z

RECOVERY NEWS: Darlene Sillanpaa of Au Train, Mich., missed Monday’s activities because of a knee problem aggravated by the long flight to Israel. After a visit to a doctor, she was out of her wheelchair and walking again Monday night.

Day 1 - Journal @ Nazareth, Israel

2009-11-02T14:00:17.000Z

QUIP OF THE DAY: After a day of seeing familiar sights such as McDonald’s and Burger King, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken atop a billboard in Nazareth prompted Nancy Sauls of LaGrange, N.C., to respond: “Sometimes there are things you just don’t want to see.”

Day 1 - Journal @ Kafr Kannā, Israel

2009-11-02T16:30:04.000Z

MARRIAGE VOWS RENEWED: At Cana, married couples renewed their wedding vows in a quaint chapel during a meaningful ceremony conducted by Rev. Jerry Clark, the Journey Home Tour director. The observance was particularly meaningful for Pastor Edward and Danyelle Crouch of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas, who celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary Monday.

THANK YOU ENDS DAY: Yael Eckstein, daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president of The Fellowship, addressed Monday evening’s dinner, thanking Journey Home Tour participants for their support of Israel. “You don’t realize the power you have as one person coming to Israel from America,” she said. “Coming to Israel is the most encouraging thing you can do – you are telling the Jewish people of Israel, ‘We stand with you.’ Thank you from my father and the whole country.”

DAY TWO’S ITINERARY: Special activities on Tuesday will include a visit to Caesarea, along the Mediterranean coast; a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee; and a much-anticipated baptismal ceremony in the Jordan River.

Day 2 - Journal @ The Jordan River Valley (Jordan Valley), Israel

2009-11-03T08:00:59.000Z

DAY TWO HIGHLIGHT: Baptisms in the very chilly Jordan River highlighted Day Two of the 2009 Journey Home Tour sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Rev. Jerry Clark, tour director, and Pastor Ed Crouch of Holly Lake Ranch, Tex., performed the emotional baptisms and symbolic baptism renewals in the narrow Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Day 2 - Journal @ Lake of Gennesaret, Israel

2009-11-03T10:00:40.000Z

SEA OF GALILEE HIGHLIGHTS: Journey Home participants enjoyed a lunch of St. Peter’s fish, a tilapia-like fish unique to the region, at Lido’s on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. They joined the restaurant staff in singing “Holy Ground” and “God Bless America” before gathering on a large boat for a memorable ride on the waters where Jesus rebuked the winds and calmed the storm. Peg Barry of the Fellowship’s Chicago office, Rev. Barbara Walker of the IFCJ board of directors, Pastor Altheresa Howard of Charlotte, S.C., and Dr. Charles Holt of Davenport, Iowa, read Scripture and briefly discussed their interpretation of the Scripture.

Day 2 - Journal @ Haifa, Israel

2009-11-03T14:00:21.000Z

VISIT TO ORPHANAGE: Early Tuesday, the tour visited Yemin Orde Initiative on 70 acres in Carmel. The orphanage – which houses and educates 500 otherwise-abandoned children from Russia, Brazil, China, the Ukraine and Ethiopia – has received more than $2 million in IFCJ support. Chaim Peri, the visionary who began the orphanage 30 years ago, told Journey Home participants that his goal is for the children to overcome their devastating pasts and fear of abandonment to become “the best of Israel.” “New life is beginning here,” explained Peri before thanking IFCJ donors for the lifeline provided through donations from Christians. Pastors Ahamad and Sandra Alli of Queens Village, N.Y., were particularly moved by the opportunity to see the modern facilities and meet some of Yemin Orde’s teens from Ethiopia, acknowledging they appreciated seeing first-hand how their IFCJ donations are being used.

Day 2 - Journal @ Caesarea Maritima, Israel

2009-11-03T16:00:13.000Z

HIGH TIDE AT CAESAREA: Crashing Mediterranean Sea waves, the result of strong overnight winds, greeted the tour at the Roman port city of Caesarea, which drew “oohs” and “aahs” from archeological buffs as they toured the ancient amphitheater and grounds, crossed a 12-mile aqueduct built by Herod the Great, and viewed Herod’s remnants of Herod’s 2,000-year-old quarry.

BEST HOLY LAND SOUVENIR: While the majority of tour participants chose souvenirs of jewelry, olive wood, art, and books from shops such as Amber Gallery in the Sheraton Hotel in Tiberias, 17-year-old Garrot Kilbourne of Liberal, Kan., captured a small lizard at Caesarea which he named Herod.

THANK YOU FROM SOLDIERS: Several young Israeli soldiers dined with tour participants Tuesday night to thank them for their contributions to the Fellowship project which helps soldiers facing financial difficulties with basic needs such as clothing and scholarships.

DAY THREE’S ITINERARY: Wednesday will begin with a visit to a private bomb shelter, one of 2,000 shelters restored in a $10 million IFCJ project. Tour buses will then depart Tiberius for the Holy City of Jerusalem

Day 3 - Journal @ Tiberias, Israel

2009-11-04T08:00:23.000Z

REALITY OF WHAT ISRAELIS FACE: Wednesday morning began with a visit to a low-income housing complex in Tiberius where one of Israel’s 2,000 private bomb shelters was upgraded in a Fellowship project costing $10 million. Most Journey Home participants were stunned to realize improved bomb shelter became a necessity after Israel’s 2006 War when Israelis and their families were forced to live in their inadequate bomb shelters – usually without adequate food, no lighting, no water, and no plumbing – for 31 nights as bombs threatened their very existence. Because the Israeli government could not afford to renovate existing bomb shelters in both public and private residences, the Fellowship stepped in to provide funds for the much-needed upgrading shelters including improved lighting, a toilet, water, new carpet, and air conditioning in the shelters.

Day 3 - Journal @ Bet She'an, Israel

2009-11-04T11:00:22.000Z

ALONG THE ASCENT TO JERUSALEM: Leaving Tiberius for stops at Gideon Spring and Beit She’an – the most spectacular excavation in Israel on the location where the bodies of King Saul and his sons were put on display by the Philistines – Journey Home participants were enthralled with the changing scenery along the route parallel to the Jordan River and the Israel/Jordan border. Leaving the lush area around the Sea of Galilee, the tour quickly reached the sandy-colored Samarian and Judean mountain ranges, nearly void of any vegetation, and passed the Mount of Temptation where Jesus spent 40 nights.

Day 3 - Journal @ Ma`ale Gilboa`, Israel

2009-11-04T13:00:40.000Z

FAVORITE ANIMAL SIGHTINGS: While pelicans migrating to Africa caused the most commotion on Tuesday, Wednesday’s animal sightings of donkeys, goats, horses and cows paled in comparison to the squeals of delight and gleeful response to the first sightings of camels. Nola Moss, one of the Journey Home’s tour guides, explained that the Israel’s camels aren’t wild, but rather are owned by farmers who use them as investments.

GUESSING WHAT’S GROWING: Most Journey Home tourists expressed surprise at the variety of edibles growing along Israel’s highways and byways including olives, avocados, dates, bananas, strawberries, pomegranates, and grapes.

Day 3 - Journal @ Jerusalem, Israel

2009-11-04T15:00:16.000Z

DAY THREE HIGHLIGHT: The 2009 Journey Home Tour’s much-anticipated arrival in Jerusalem was celebrated with an official welcome – complete with the tradition of eating bread with salt and drinking grape juice – from Yael Eckstein, daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Soaking in the expansive overview of Jerusalem, Pastor Ahamad Alli of Queens Village, N.Y., responded, “This is beyond my imagination.”

INITIAL SIGHTING OF JERUSALEM: Tears and rejoicing were evident as the Journey Home pilgrimage reached its destination of the Golden City after traveling from Jericho – the lowest and oldest city on earth – up to Jerusalem, an ascent of 4,000 feet in 13 miles. The first glimpse of the recognizable shiny gold Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount prompted camera enthusiasts to move to one side of their buses to capture the glorious scene.

DAY FOUR’S ITINERARY: On Thursday, the tour will begin exploring Jerusalem and visit an absorption center, where those making aliyah under Fellowship sponsorship are educated about their new life experiences in Israel.

Day 4 - Journal @ Jerusalem, Israel

2009-11-05T08:00:39.000Z

DAY FOUR HIGHLIGHT: Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, returned from Italy to greet participants in the 2009 Journey Home Tour during a morning visit to Beit Canada Absorption Center in Jerusalem.

“Prophecy is not something you just read about in the Bible – it’s something we can participate in. We can bring the fulfillment of prophecy,” he explained, adding that the Fellowship has brought more than 350,000 persons home to Israel in the past 15 years as part of its Wings of Eagles program.

RESETTLEMENT DINNER TOPIC: Three youths who made aliyah to Israel and graduated from a subsequent resettlement program for immigrants sponsored by the Fellowship and the Jewish Agency spoke at the Fellowship’s evening dinner. They included Roman Vaizman, who made aliyah from Kazakhstan three years ago and is a commander in Israel’s Defense Force; Vanessa Olivero Moreno, who made aliyah in 2007 and currently serves in the IDF Air Force Unit; and Hadas Trongo Yosef, who made aliyah from Ethiopia in 1983 and studied architecture at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. Entertainment was provided by 13 youths from Netanya.

DIPLOMATIC ACTION NEEDED: David Baker, senior foreign press coordinator of the State of Israel Prime Minister’s Office, told an after- breakfast gathering of the Journey Home Tour that the nuclear weapons program of Iran is Israel’s No. 1 threat. “People want to hurt us, inflict terror upon us,” he stated, insisting, “Now is the time for fierce, fierce diplomatic action.” Noting that his two teen-age daughters have not seen peace in their lifetime, Baker quickly added that neither has a 62-year-old living in Israel. He thanked Journey Home participants – mostly Americans – for visiting Israel: “We look for our friends to come be with us – to laugh with us in the good times and cry with us in the sad times.”

SIGHTSEEING STOPS: Tour members walked down the Mount of Olives before observing the world’s holiest Jewish Cemetery, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, King David Tomb, and the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City.

THRILL OF THE DAY: To everyone’s delight, a camel interrupted the taking of the official 2009 photograph of the Journey Home Tour. Petting, riding or being photographed with the camel was a first for most tour participants, prompting Melissa Webb of Bainbridge, Ga., to be thrilled to cross off one of the three remaining items on her Bucket List (a wish list of personal accomplishments).

SMALL WORLD DEPARTMENT: Cathy Brown and Sandra Lloyd had to travel to Israel to discover that they live 10 minutes away from each other in Fordyce, Ark. The two vow to continue their new friendship in their hometown.

DAY FIVE’S ITINERARY: Friday’s itinerary will include visits to the Western Wall, where tour participants will be intercessors for the thousands of prayer requests from Fellowship donors; the Via Dolorosa, the mile-long route with markers depicting the final mortal journey of Jesus; the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; and the Garden Tomb, where a communion service will be conducted.

Day 5 - Journal @ Jerusalem, Israel

2009-11-06T08:00:22.000Z

DAY FIVE HIGHLIGHT: The process of taking the 16,000 prayer requests submitted by donors of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews began Friday when Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president, and his daughter, Yael Eckstein, led 2009 Journey Home Tour participants to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. After personally praying over the individual prayer requests handed to each of them, the tour members rolled the donors’ important requests into tiny cylinders and, according to tradition, tucked the rolled requests into the crevices of the stones in the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism. Darlene Sillanpaa of Au Train, Mich., spoke of the honor of standing in the gap to pray on behalf of donors. Having read several initial requests, Rabbi Eckstein noted that most requests concerned health, children, family relationships, financial problems, and a need for employment.

CELEBRATING THE RESURRECTION: A meaningful afternoon communion service in the lush and sunshine-filled Garden Tomb, where many Christians believe Jesus Christ might have been buried, celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rev. Jerry Clark, tour director, led the service and singing which included “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Because He Lives.” Like many tour participants, Luanna Cokeley of Liberal, Kan., was overcome with emotion saying, “This experience has touched me more than I ever expected. I can’t stop crying. Now I just want to keep learning more.”

WALKING WHERE JESUS WALKED: Hours of walking the Old City also included stops at the Pools of Bethesda, St. Anne’s Chapel, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Visitors walked the Via Dolorosa observing the 14 Stations of the Cross marking the final mortal journey of Jesus from His condemnation by Pontius Pilate to His death.

A LESSON IN NEGOTIATING: After jostling the narrow cobblestone passageways in the Old City’s crowded Muslim and Christian Quarters, Journey Home Tour participants were taught how to negotiate lower prices by Nola Moss, tour guide. The lesson in economical shopping proved especially successful for Thomas Harrison of Pasadena, Calif.; Rev. Barbara Walker of Carol Stream, Ill.; Peg Barry of the Fellowship’s Chicago staff; and Luanna Cokeley of Liberal, Kan.

A LESSON IN LISTENING TO GOD: When extenuating health complications created considerable tour problems for Rev. Mercy Wood of Yucaipa, Calif., Mary Gilcreast of Calimesa, Calif., lovingly volunteered to meet the minister’s every need 24 hours a day. Though Gilcreast and Pastor Wood had never met before joining the Journey Home Tour, Gilcreast says her acts of unconditional love are in response to the voice of God.

DAY SIX’S ITINERARY: Saturday’s itinerary will be a relaxing day with stops at Masada, where participants will ride a cable car to the top of the mountain to view Herod’s desert fortress; the Dead Sea (the lowest place on earth), where participants will float and cover themselves in black mud; and Qumran, home of the authors of the historic Dead Sea Scrolls. Saturday’s forecast: Sunny and high 80s.

Day 6 - Journal @ Dead Sea, Israel

2009-11-07T08:00:00.000Z

HOMEWARD BOUND: Emotional and tearful farewells and the traditional adieu of "Next year in Jerusalem" were prompted when two-thirds of the 2009 Journey Home Tour participants – weary but inspired – headed to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv late Sunday night for the initial leg of the long trip from Israel to their respective homes.

DAY SIX HIGHLIGHTS: Saturday’s events included a drive to the region surrounding the mineral-rich Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth at 1,365 feet below sea level. The group visited Qumran, where Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls about the Bible and the sect that lived in the area; took a cable car to Masada, Herod’s once-magnificent palace and fortress and the site of the last Jewish stand against the Romans in 73 AD; and floated in the saltiest body of water on earth. Once the floaters emerged from floating in the salt water, they covered themselves in black mud hoping to feel younger and have their skin feel smoother.

Day 6 - Journal @ Jerusalem, Israel

2009-11-07T17:00:30.000Z

FAREWELL BANQUET: Addressing the tour’s farewell banquet on Saturday night, Rabbi Eckstein stated, “We need your prayers, your support, your encouragement. By your very presence here, you’re telling us we’re not done.” Pastors Ahamad and Sandra Alli of Queens Village, N.Y., presented checks to Rabbi Eckstein totaling more than $9,000 for various Fellowship projects.

Day 7 - Journal @ Jerusalem, Palestinian Territory

2009-11-08T08:00:52.000Z

DAY SEVEN HIGHLIGHTS: On Sunday, the tour experienced solemn Yad Vashem, site of the memorial/museum remembering the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Yael Eckstein, daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, told the Fellowship visitors, "We need to remember … so that something like this can’t happen again." The granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Eckstein said the greatest lesson to be learned at Yad Vashem is: "In the greatest darkness there will be light, and the Jewish people will not be destroyed."

WITNESSING A LIFELINE: On Sunday, the tour visited the amazing workshops of Yad LaKashish, a non-profit organization supported by IFCJ and dedicated to integrating Jerusalem’s needy elderly and disabled into society. By providing daily work opportunities for more than 300 needy elderly and disabled immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia and South America, Lifeline for the Old also offers monthly stipends, monthly bus passes, dental subsidies, annual eyeglass allowances, and a hot meal for those who learn how to become an artist, learn how to create with wood or metal, learn how to knit or crochet, or learn how to make jewelry. After watching the Lifeline participants at work, the Journey Home Tour guests shopped in Yad LaKashish’s gift shop, buying, among other items, jewelry, note cards, crocheted animals, banners, magnets, handmade baby clothes, and hand-painted silk scarves.

'JOURNEY TO ZION' TEACHING BEGINS: On Monday, Rabbi Eckstein will begin his "Journey to Zion" teaching extension in Tiberius and the region around the Sea of Galilee for the remaining Journey Home Tour participants

Day 1 - Journey to Zion Teachings @ Tiberias, Israel

2009-11-09T08:00:10.000Z

ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE SETTING: The first day of the "Journey to Zion" teachings by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, had an ancient setting: The ruins of the synagogue of Qasrin, dating to 135 A.D., in Israel’s Golan Heights. The synagogue, which served the Qasrin community for nearly 400 years, was destroyed by an earthquake.

RABBI’S FOCUS ON OBSERVANCES: Rabbi Eckstein told his audience - all participants in the "Journey to Zion" extended study portion of the Fellowship’s 2009 Journey Home Tour - the significance of the eight-day Festival of Succot in the Fall and the Festival of Purim in the Spring.

BUILDING THE SUCCOT HUT: Rabbi Eckstein explained why Jews still build a three-or four-sided hut to celebrate Succot, also known as a harvest festival and assumed to be the model for what has become Thanksgiving. Jews carried temporary housing - huts - from Egypt through the desert for 40 years, learning they had to trust God. "One of the greatest gifts I have is knowing my limitations. I'm one of those people who can barely put in a light bulb. I couldn't put together my children’s bikes. The Bible tells us to build a Succot hut - it's a temporary hut, but in my case it’s very temporary. It’s a good year for me when the hut lasts eight days," admitted Rabbi Eckstein.

LESSON OF SUCCOT: "Though the Succot hut should have four walls, it's okay if it has only three," explained the rabbi. "It’s okay if we operate on three cylinders rather than four. Succot is trying to teach us that we’re human and that we’re to feel vulnerable to the elements. Our lives are fragile... in one second, our whole Succot hut can fall down. Remember that life is fragile, and life with three walls is still okay."

GOOD VS. EVIL: The message of Purim is that God has an ongoing battle with evil, Rabbi Eckstein told his attentive audience. "There are Hitlers, Stalins... in every generation who seek to destroy the people of Israel. Remember that evil exists even today and should be fought," he stated, adding that, in the Jewish view, every remembering is a call to action. "One of the ways to remember evil is to light a candle, replacing evil with good," stated the rabbi.

PROPER RESPONSE TO DESPAIR: "Never despair," emphasized Rabbi Eckstein. "We should pray that our response is, 'Here I am, Lord, ready to serve you.'"

Day 2 - Journey to Zion Teaching @ The Jordan River Valley (Jordan Valley), Israel

2009-11-10T08:00:51.000Z

SETTINGS FOR TUESDAY'S TEACHINGS: Settings for the filming of the second day of the "Journey to Zion" teachings by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder/president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, were on the sun-filtered banks of the Jordan River, in which Jesus was baptized, and a Syrian bunker on the mountainous corner of the Syria-Jordan-Israel borders. Hairpin turns on the narrow road to the Syrian brought squeals, "wows," and accolades for the expert bus driver who ever-so-casually maneuvered them.

IFCJ FOCUSES ON THE WEAKEST: Rabbi Eckstein told participants in the extended study portion of the Fellowship’s 2009 Journey Home Tour that the Fellowship has helped to bring more than 400,000 Jews to Israel. "That means that one of every 12 to 13 people you see on the streets is someone the Fellowship has probably helped bring home to Israel. That’s a privilege we’ve been given," the rabbi said. "Our ministry focuses on the weakest people and, without our help, they wouldn’t be able to live, get to Israel, get jobs."

RABBI WELCOMES FAITH TEMPLE TOUR: On Tuesday night in Tiberius, Rabbi Eckstein welcomed the tour group led by Rev. Shawn Baker, pastor of Faith Temple in Middlesboro, Ky., and his wife, Holly. Strong supporters of IFCJ, the Faith Temple congregation has brought Jews home to Israel from the Former Soviet Union every month since the 1990s through the Fellowship’s Wings of Eagles program. "You represent to me the fulfillment of a dream: A young pastor and his wife come on a Fellowship tour (the Bakers were on the 2008 Journey Home Tour), fall in love with Israel, and now bring others to share their love of Israel," said Rabbi Eckstein.

LUNCH AT A CLONE OF STARBUCKS: "Journey to Zion" participants enjoyed a lunch break at Café Aroma, the Israeli version of Starbucks, which has no franchises in Israel because Israelis aren’t interested in large cups of flavored coffees (instead preferring black coffee, espresso or one-flavor lattes). The visitors munched on salads, soups and/or sandwiches of egg salad, tuna salad, mozzarella, avocado or roast beef before walking to a nearby store serving gelato and frozen yogurt in papaya, cantaloupe, blueberry, coconut, strawberry, guava, and tiramisu flavors.

REACTION TO 12 DAYS IN ISRAEL: Asked his reaction to the 2009 Journey Home Tour, Fernando Herrera of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., replied, "Coming to Israel has opened my eyes, and I have new vision. As a Christian, I never understood how intertwined Christians and Jews are. Actually seeing the ancient sites and seeing the Fellowship’s projects puts the glue on my faith."

HEADING HOME TO U.S.: "Journey to Zion" lessons end early Wednesday afternoon when participants are taken to Tel Aviv for a late evening departure from Ben Gurion Airport to Newark, N.J., for connecting flights to their U.S. homes.

NEXT JOURNEY HOME TOUR DATES: Dates for the Fellowship’s 2010 Journey Home Tour are Nov. 1 to 10.