Footsteps of Jesus – Holy Land Pilgrimage

Under The Spiritual Direction Of Pastor Roger Theimer & Pastor Doyle Theimer

12 DAYS

FROM $2,699

Date

October 24 - November 4 ,2024

Activity Level

Moderate – High

Book By

3 / 31 / 2024

Group Limit

90

Pilgrimage Overview

LAND ONLY COST: $2,699*

WITH ROUNDTRIP AIRFARE FROM HOUSTON: $3,899*

WITH ROUNDTRIP AIRFARE FROM OMAHA: $4,099*

*Prices reflect $200 early bird discount (deposit down by 12/31/2023)

Dear Friends! Let us explore the Holy Land and experience the footsteps of Jesus! Consider this a pilgrimage where the people and places of the Bible turn from “black & white” to “full color!” Our journey enjoys the best of accommodations, top tour guides and Spiritual Directors that help create those “a-ha” moments. It will be the trip of a lifetime!
Our trip is hosted by brothers Pastor Roger Theimer from King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha and Pastor Doyle Theimer from Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston. Both churches invite pilgrims from any U.S. location so friends and family separated by distance can make this a reunion trip. Several online information meetings give us ample opportunity to answer all questions. A few months before the trip, we watch online Bible topics and join Zoom discussions that help us better understand the places and events of Jesus’ life before we visit. Spiritual Directors will also serve as hosts that help the entire group become better acquainted and enjoy traveling together! We have fun! We travel in two buses and build community and friendships by creating smaller Travel Groups. Won’t you join us on the joy-filled adventure that will be the spiritual experience of a lifetime!? Follow the Footsteps of Jesus!

Interested? Attend an Information Meeting on Zoom which will occur the second Tuesday of every month at 7 PM CST, September through December 2023. Registrations close March 31st or when the trip is full.
Email either Pastor to request the Zoom link be sent directly to you:
Pastor Roger Theimer: roger@kingofkings.org
Pastor Doyle Theimer: doylet@christ4u.net

Book With Confidence

All new travel bookings automatically come with our Book with Confidence Travel Plan*—free of charge. This plan gives pilgrims the ability to move their booking to another destination or simply a different available departure date in our vast travel portfolio, no questions asked. They just need to let us know 120 days* before departure and we’ll waive all penalties and get them booked on a new pilgrimage.

*The Book with Confidence Travel Plan allows for any new booking made with Holy Land Travel Center to be changed to a different destination or to another available departure date. Notice of change in travel plans must be given 120 days before departure; standard cancellation penalties will apply for full cancellation without rebooking or changes made within 120 days to departure. Applicable price and eligible promotions for the new tour will apply; if new trip is less expensive, a future travel credit will be issued for the difference in price. Cannot be applied to Passion Play Pilgrimages. No cash value. Credit is fully transferable. Offer reliant on space availability. Effective 10.7.2020. May be withdrawn at any time. Additional restrictions may apply; see Travel Terms & Conditions for details.

Itinerary

DAY 1

Depart USA

Arrive In Tel Aviv

Family and friends will begin from a variety of locations but most will depart together on our international flight. Meals and beverages are served aloft, but we already experience the enjoyment of traveling with friends. Each day on our journey we reflect on places and events from Jesus’ life. Today as we make the long ocean crossing, we remember how far Jesus came to enter our world. He left the glories of heaven to become one of us. He gave His life that we would have life with Him forever. Let’s follow His footsteps and experience more deeply the life He lived for us!

DAY 2

Arrive Tel Aviv, Bethlehem

Welcome to the Tel Aviv, Bethlehem!

Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. We meet our guide and bus driver as we travel to Bethlehem. Our hotel accommodation is top of the line and gives opportunity to rest, relax and stroll the area. Our journey begins in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born into our world. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Overnight: Bethlehem (Dinner)

DAY 3

Bethlehem

Ein Karem, Herodian, Shepherds Field, and Church of The Nativity

Our morning begins with a visit to the beautiful village of Ein Karem where we remember Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. The Church of the Visitation remembers Mary’s song that celebrates God’s gift to the world. From here we head to the Herodian in the Judean Hills. We tour this fortress built by Herod the Great and learn more about the political intrigues of this first century world. After lunch we drive to the shepherd’s field and spend some time in a cave reflecting on how God announced the good news of great joy to shepherds in a field. We conclude with The Church of the Nativity that marks the site of Jesus birth. The venerated place of the Savior’s birth is marked with a star and a few feet from the “site of the manger.” The Orthodox Church manages the crowded visitation that requires our group to step down into a cave-like

chapel.

Overnight: Bethlehem (Breakfast, Dinner)

DAY 4

Tiberias

Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Sepphoris, Sea of Galilee

We leave for our journey to northern Israel. Our drive along the coast leads us to Caesarea. We see the crusader fortifications, aqueduct, the harbor from where Paul was taken to Rome, and the Roman amphitheater. Our Sunday worship takes place in this ancient amphitheater. We then head toward Mount Carmel. This was the site of Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal. On our way to the Sea of Galilee, we enjoy a stop at Sepphoris, an archeological dig and national park. It was an important city in Jesus’ day, a capital of the Galilee. We walk the Roman road that no doubt Jesus would have walked at one time. We retreat to Tiberius and our luxurious hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee for rest and relaxation.

Overnight: Tiberias (Breakfast, Dinner)

DAY 5

Tiberias

Nazareth, Mt. Tabor, Cana

This morning we head to Nazareth and begin with the Basilica of Annunciation. This site commemorates the angel’s visit to Mary to announce that she would give birth to the son, who will be the Messiah. We leave Nazareth for Mt. Tabor, scene of the Transfiguration and a panoramic view of the Jezreel Valley. There we visit the Basilica of the Transfiguration. We head back to Nazareth for lunch at McDonald’s and experience another surprise in a foreign land…the five-pound burger! We drive to Cana, the village of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine. We gather in an outdoor chapel and renew our wedding vows. We return through the street markets with the opportunity to buy some samples of wedding wine. This helps us remember Jesus first miracle comparing good wine with bad wine. The bad wine is for sale here!

Overnight: Tiberias (Breakfast, Dinner)

DAY 6

Tiberias

Caesarea Philippi, Galilee, Magdala

We begin early today with a drive north to the ruins of Caesarea Philippi, significant as a city built by Herod Philip (Herod the Great’s son). Built to honor Caesar it also hosted a significant temple to the god Pan, built right into the rock face. This is where Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter professed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus then said, “You are the rock and upon this rock I will build my Church.” “This rock” is his profession of faith that we too profess. We then leave for the sites around the Sea of Galilee. Here we visit the Church of the Beatitudes and the Church of Multiplication (Tabgha Church of the Loaves and Fish) on the north shore, built on the site of the miracle of the fishes and loaves. We stroll through the lovely gardens and recall the Beatitudes. Very near this is the Church of the Primacy of Peter. The rock projecting in front of the altar was known as the “Place of Coals’ and is commemorated as the place from where Jesus offered breakfast to his disciples after his resurrection and reaffirmed their ministry. Next we travel to the ruins at Capernaum, a home base of for Jesus’ ministry in the area. We see the ruins of an ancient Synagogue and then the house of Peter that archeologist find evidence that it was a place of worship or Christian gathering in the first century. In the 5^th Century, surrounding buildings were leveled in order to build an octagonal church around the room. Recently the Franciscans built a chapel suspended over the site. We have a chance to get near the rocky shore of the Sea of Galilee. We set sail on the peaceful waters of the Galilee. After our boat ride, we make the short drive to Magdala to visit the recently discovered ruins and beautiful chapel overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the Duc in Altum (put out into the deep”). We remember the story of the unclean woman with a life-long illness touching the garment of Jesus and being healed.

Overnight: Tiberias (Breakfast, Dinner)

DAY 7

Bethlehem

Jericho, Mt. of Temptation, The Wilderness

We begin our day with a drive down the Jordan

Valley and head towards Jericho. At the oasis town of Jericho, we stop at a market and have a camel ride. We resume with a visit to the excavations of the oldest city in the region, Jericho. We view Mt Temptation, where Jesus fasted and was tempted by Satan. After lunch, drive up to Jerusalem through the Judean wilderness. We pause on an overlook to see the wilderness and the Saint

George of Koziba Monastery, hanging to the cliffs of the Wadi Qilt and the ancient road to Jerusalem. We remember the 23rd Psalm and this oasis as David’s inspiration, perhaps for “passing through the valley of the shadow of death” a place that God makes us lie down in green pastures.