William Griffin, DDS VP of Dental Ministries and wife Linda
Join us for a trip of a lifetime . . .
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem….” These words of Jesus (Mark 23 and Luke 13) express the deep affection God has for the land and people of Israel. Whether reflected in the stories of Scripture or in today’s headlines, there is something of historical and spiritual significance about that land. And visiting there makes it all the more special!
Please join us and other CMDA colleagues as we tour the Holy Land. We have an excellent itinerary: from Galilee to the Wilderness, visiting sites prominent in the Old Testament and the life of Jesus. We also have an optional extension to Jordan where we will visit additional historical sites including the incredible Nabataean city of Petra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our guide, Jeremy Bulow, is a wonderful man of God who will help bring the Bible alive right before your eyes. Jeremy has been a blessing to all who have participated in our previous Israel Tours, and being with him as we travel makes the trip even more special.
To ensure a more treasured, intimate experience, we are limiting our group size to one bus of 50 people. Your fellowship with the CMDA family and our biblical education will make a lasting impression. Won’t you join us?
Experience the Holy Land and see how it transforms how you read the Bible.
Tour Package Includes
- Nine nights lodging at four-star hotels
- Hotel city tax and porterage at hotels
- Breakfast and dinner at hotels
- Three lunches; David’s Harp Fish Lunch, Qumran, Genesis Land – Abraham’s Tent
- Government licensed tour Christian guide throughout the tour
- Entrance fees to museums and other sites
- Use of Whispers headsets to hear the tour guide
- All tips and gratuities (guide, driver, hotels), excluding lunches not included
- Bus transportation throughout tour
- International Travel Insurance from Tuesday, November 7 – Saturday, November 18, 2023 (allows for an extra day of travel at the beginning and end of the tour). Additional days are available for $7 per person per day. This coverage includes Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Medical Expenses, Disability Income, Emergency Medical Evacuation, Crisis Management, including the expense and coordination of a security evacuation, Personal Property, and General Liability.
Optional Three-Day Extension Includes
- Three nights of lodging (November 17-19, 2023)
- Hotel city tax and porterage at hotels
- Government licensed tour guide throughout the tour
- Breakfast and dinner at hotel
- Entrance fees to each site toured
- Use of Whispers headsets to hear the tour guide
- All tips and gratuities (guide, driver, hotels), excluding lunches not included
- International Travel Insurance from Friday, November 17 – Tuesday, November 21, 2023 (allows for an extra day of travel at the end of the tour). Additional days are available for $7 per person, per day. This coverage includes Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Medical Expenses, Disability Income, Emergency Medical Evacuation, Crisis Management, including the expense and coordination of a security evacuation, Personal Property, and General Liability.
Tour Package Does NOT Include
- International flights
- Airport baggage transfer
- COVID testing related to entrance or exiting the country
- Lunches
- Beverages including bottled water for meals
Main Tour
Double Occupancy (per person)
CMDA Member and Spouse/Family $2,859
Non-Member $2,959
Single Occupancy
CMDA Member $3,942
Non-Member $4,042
Optional Extension
Double Occupancy (per person) $728
Single Occupancy $1,148
Cancelation Policy
If Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) cancels your tour:
Passengers booked on a tour where the cancellation is initiated by CMDA and our in-country partner can have all funds paid to CMDA applied to a future tour or returned in the original form of payment. We ask that you be patient and allow 10-15 days for the refund process.
If you would like to postpone or cancel your reservation:
If you choose to cancel your reservation, your cancellations and requests for refund must be submitted in writing to CMDA, Attention Kim Hodge P.O. Box 7500 Bristol, TN 37621-7500 or email kim.hodge@cmda.org.
Cancellation charges will be assessed as follows:
Travel Arrangements
- Fly IN TO Ben Gurion Airport (Ben Gurion International Airport – TLV) no later than Wednesday, November 8, 2023
- Fly OUT OF Ben Gurion Airport (Ben Gurion International Airport – TLV) on Friday, 17, 2023 or
- Jordan Extension Travelers – FLY OUT OF Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) Monday, November 20, 2023. Departing flights can be scheduled as early as Sunday, November 19 after 9 p.m.
You may consider arriving a day or two before the tour begins to recover from jet lag or staying a few days following the tour or extension. Kim Hodge can assist with additional hotel nights*.
*Additional lodging nights for pre-tour and post-tour hotel reservations reflect a group discount and are non-refundable.
Visas and Passports
Visa – a Visa is not required for entry into Israel. The necessary Visa/Exit Boarder Tax for entry to Jordan will be secured by our Jordanian partner and is included in the cost of the extension.
Passport
Each participant must have a valid passport. Passport expiration date must be 6 months beyond the last day of the tour. CMDA requests a photo of the first two pages of your Passport be emailed to Kim Hodge (kim.hodge@cmda.org). If you prefer, you may also mail a copy of these pages to Kim’s attention at CMDA, P.O. Box 7500, Bristol, TN 37621-7500.
Activity Level
All participants should be in good health and able to walk a few miles each day on uneven terrain without difficulty. The activity level for this tour is moderately strenuous. If you have mobility issues, this tour may not be for you.
By registering for this tour, travelers are acknowledging they are of reasonable health and considered fit to travel and are not travelling contrary to any medical advice. By acknowledging their health and fitness to participate, travelers are indemnifying CMDA from all actions, claims and demands arising out of any lack of health and fitness. We reserve the right to remove a traveler from a tour activity if their health or fitness interferes with any other passenger’s experiences or the day-to-day running of the tour. In this instance, our normal cancellation terms and conditions will apply.
If you have questions, please contact Kim Hodge before registering.
Hotels for main tour:
Hotel for extension:
Centro Mada Hotel, Aman Jordan
You may consider arriving a day or two before the tour begins to recover from jet lag or staying a few days following the tour. Kim Hodge can assist with additional hotel nights** both before and after the tour if you need them. If you have travel delays or changes, work with the airlines or your travel agent to get rebooked, then update Kim Hodge and George Courtney regarding your new schedule.
**Additional lodging rates for pre-tour and post-tour hotel reservations reflect a group discount and are non
-refundable.**
A member of CMDA since dental school, Bill Griffin, DDS has served on the Dental Advisory Council since 2013. He is a 1983 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, and he has been practicing in Newport News, Virginia for 35 years. Dr. Griffin formerly served as Board Chairman and Dental Director at the Lackey Clinic, a Christian medical-dental clinic in Yorktown, Virginia. He averages four international dental mission trips each year, and he is passionate about opportunities to communicate the love of Christ to others, both domestically and internationally. He and his wife Linda have been married since 1983, and they have been blessed with two married children – Katherine and William, Jr., and one grandson – Barrett.
For more than 28 years, George Courtney has found much joy in helping families navigate their personal stewardship and legacy giving journeys. He helped lead CMDA’s first capital campaign allowing CMDA to build its national ministry headquarters in Bristol, Tennessee. Earlier in his career, George served in leadership roles in Christian day schools, higher education, and international mission organizations. He currently serves CMDA as the Vice President of Stewardship Development & Legacy Giving. George’s wife, Rose, has served CMDA members for more than 28 years as a placement specialist in CMDA Placement Services.
Our guide, Jeremy Bulow, is a wonderful man of God who will help bring the Bible to life right before your eyes. Jeremy has been a blessing to all who have participated in our previous Israel tours, and being with him as we travel makes the trip even more special.
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. Shuttle to hotel on the coast for dinner and a good night’s sleep at Hotel Vert Lagoon Netanya or similar (1 night)
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Up the coast to Galilee. We will begin the day visiting Caesarea Maritima, a city built 2,000 years ago by King Herod for the Romans. It served as the capital of Judea for 600 years. We then drive to the highest point on Mt. Carmel and recall 1 Kings 18 and Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal and Asherah. From here, we go to Megiddo, a chariot city of Solomon and the location of Armageddon. Then we cross the Jezreel Valley to the city where Jesus grew up, Nazareth. From Nazareth, we head to our hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Kfar Blum Hotel or similar (3 nights)
Friday, November 10, 2023
In the Footsteps of Jesus in Galilee. Visit The Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus gave His first teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. We will visit the site of Peter’s Primacy on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus prepared breakfast for the disciples. We then go to Capernaum, the town where Jesus based his Galilean ministry. On then to Bethsaida, the House of the Fisherman, and the location of the Feeding of the 5,000. In the afternoon, we will see a 2,000-year-old fishing boat and take a ride on a worship boat on the Sea of Galilee.
Saturday, November 11, 2023
The Northern Reaches of the Promised Land. Driving through Naphtali, first to Tel Dan, the largest karstic spring in the Near East. We recall Judges 18 and 1 Kings 12, the sin of Jeroboam and the beginning of the Divided Kingdom (3,000 years ago). We also visit the oldest vaulted mud-brick gate system in the world from nearly 4,000 years ago. On then to Caesarea Philippi, the second largest feeder of the River Jordan. Matthew 16 comes alive here with Peter’s confession of Christ. Then, climbing up the Golan Heights, we visit Druze villages and climb onto a dormant volcano that overlooks Syria and Lebanon. Then, we return to the Sea of Galilee and drop in on Kursi, where Jesus delivered a man and sent demons into 2,000 pigs.
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Down the Jordan Valley (The Lowest Place on Earth). We start the day with baptisms in the River Jordan, then we will travel south to a city of the Decapolis, Bet Shean, with its amazing tel and stunning Roman remains. Onward and south, passing by Jericho to Qumran, the community of the Essenes, who wrote The Dead Sea Scrolls. Then, to En Bokek for a float in the Dead Sea and overnight in a spa hotel. Royal Dead Sea Hotel or similar (1 night)
Monday, November 13, 2023
Come, Let Us Go Up to Jerusalem, the City of the Great King. We start our day at Masada, the final battle site of the Great Rebellion against the Romans 67-73 AD. Then to Ein Gedi, an oasis in the wilderness. We climb Wadi David, passing by pools of spring water, recalling scripture. Then toward Jerusalem, but first to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Logos Hotel, Yad Hashmona or similar (4 nights)
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
In the Footsteps of Jesus. First to the Mount of Olives, then a pilgrim walk down to the Garden of Gethsemane via the Church of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. A short walk across the Kidron Valley, we enter the Old City through the Sheep Gate. We visit the Pools of Bethesda, remembering the miracle of John 5, and we sing in the Crusader Church of St. Anne’s. We then walk the 14 Stations of the Cross called the Via Dolorosa and end up at the Holy Sepulchre Church. We then leave the Old City through the Jaffa Gate. Our bus will take us into the Samarian Mountains, where we meet and have lunch with Father Abraham in His tent. We will also ride camels then return to Jerusalem.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
We start this day on Mt. Zion in The Upper Room, where our Lord partook of the Last Supper with His disciples. This is also the place where the promised Holy Spirit fell on crowds of people. We then walk to the ruins underneath several churches, remembering where our Lord was kept in a prison by Caiaphus before being taken into the Praetorium the next day. We then enter the city through the Lion’s Gate and explore the Jewish Quarter: The Cardo, the Broad Wall, and the Western Wall. We have lunch in the Jewish Quarter and then take the bus to modern Jerusalem to Machane Yehuda Market.
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Continue In the Footsteps of Jesus. We visit the Israel Museum and see an amazing model of the Old City of Jerusalem in 66 AD, one year before its destruction in AD 70 by the Roman Xth Legion under Titus. We see the Shrine of the Book, where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed. We then go to an area outside the Damascus Gate called the Garden Tomb. We will tour and be reminded of Our Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection as we worship Him together and take communion. A fitting way to end our tour of The Holy Land. The afternoon is then free.
Friday, November 17, 2023
DEPARTURE/EXTENSION
Those doing the Israel-only tour will check out of the hotel and travel to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) for departure flights. For those staying for the Jordan extension, there will be an early departure from our hotel to the Sheikh Hussein Border.
Optional Jordan Extension
Friday, November 17, 2023
Early departure from our hotel to the Sheikh Hussein Border. After completing passport formalities, we enter the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. We travel to Jerash, one of the best preserved and most complete provincial Roman cities. Jerash, Gerasa of Roman Times, was one of the cities of the Decapolis, a confederation of 10 Graeco-Roman cities dating from the first century BC situated in Jordan, Syria and Israel. Known as the Pompeii of the East for its extraordinary state of preservation, the ruins indicate human occupation at this location for more than 2,500 years. Centro Mada Hotel, Aman Jordan (3 nights).
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Mt. Nebo, believed to be the site of the tomb of Moses, commands a spectacular view across the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. The drive continues to the town of Madaba, the biblical Medeba, 30 kilometers south of Amman. Madaba is best known for its byzantine and umayyad mosaics, and at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George we may view the earliest original surveying map of the Holy Land. We cross back into Israel and drive to Jerusalem for dinner and one last night.
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Onto the King’s Highway we drive through the land of the Moab, where to the east we view the hilltop palace/fortress of Machaerus, the place where John the Baptist was beheaded, to the amazing city of Petra. Walk through the “Siq,” an immense crack in the Nubian sandstone, to the city of Petra. Two thousand years ago, the Nabateans carved a city out of the rose red rock, and the Treasury, El Khazneh, is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity. Beyond El Khazneh, we are surrounded on both sides by hundreds of Petra’s carved and built structures. Back to Amman for overnight.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Homeward. Check out of hotel and take transport to Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) for departing flights. Departing flights can be scheduled as early as Sunday, November 19 after 9 p.m.
Please contact Kim Hodge for additional details or questions:
Mail: Email:
Kim Hodge kim.hodge@cmda.org
CMDA
PO Box 7500
Bristol, TN 37621
Phone: 423.844.1063
