***NEW INFORMATION, 8/22/2011:  Our third meeting will be September 18th, 5:00pm, at Westside Chapel in Lake Oswego.  We are going to begin with a potluck at 5:00, a chance for everyone going on the trip to get to know one another better.  Then we will discuss the Jordan Valley and southern regions. going over some of the places we'll have occasion to visit.  An important note: as of today, we have only 5 guaranteed slots available for the tour.  If anyone is interested and has questions, they should call the office, or email through this website.   You may also show up at the meeting on the 18th, but that is the official close of registration and you would need to pay the $300 registration at that time.  Anyone considering going after that time cannot be guaranteed a spot.



***NEW INFORMATION, 8/9/2011: Our second meeting, for travelers commited to the trip, will be August 9th at 7:00pm.  We will be discussing trip insurance and passports, as well as having a study on the first section of the itinerary, the Galilee region.  The $300 registration fee should be paid by all travelers, and the first installment payment of $1300 will be due August 15th, to assure your place on the trip.

Download Updated Itinerary

Download Upcoming Meeting Schedule

Download Travel Insurance Document

Download Trip Payment Schedule and Legal Info



*** NEW INFORMATION, 6/3/2011: Our first "Real" meeting for everyone considering going on the trip will be July 7th, at 7:00pm.  Location below.  If you are on the list to go, we ask that you try to attend as we will begin passing on important information specifically related to our trip.  Also, if you missed our informational meeting, we do still have limited space available, so please just show up on the 7th and we will answer any and all questions you have before or after the scheduled meeting.  We will be collecting a $300 registration fee (per traveler) at the meeting, so if you're sure you're coming with us, please come prepared for that.  We can accept cash, check, or credit card.



*** GENERAL TRIP INFO, 4/4/2011:  We at Compassion Ministries believe that Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God.  We also believe that an amazing way to solidify the Word in our hearts is to personally see where so many of the amazing, miraculous things we read about actually happened.  It is in this spirit that we continue to lead groups of pilgrims to Israel, to walk in the footsteps of our spiritual ancestors, and of the Lord himself.

  The trip we took in 2010 was amazing... 30 of us spent almost 2 weeks walking through such places as Capernaum, Nazareth, and Jerusalem.  We stood on the Mount of Olives and looked down on the Eastern Gate; we spent time in prayer kneeling in the shade of olive trees dating back to Jesus time in the Garden of Gethsemane; and we rode on a re-creation of an ancient fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee.  We walked the "Palm Sunday Path", and saw the Dead Sea scrolls, written thousands of years ago, yet nearly identical to the text of our own bibles today!

  The comment we hear time and time again from those who have traveled there with us, the one that touches me the most as a tour leader, is "When I read the Bible now, I can actually picture the places I'm reading about - it brings a whole new dimension to the Word, and I don't see it the same!"

  We're very excited about this trip because we're doing something we've never done before.  In the middle of the trip, we are going to split the group for about 3 days.  We will all go initially to the Galilee region  to see the areas of Jesus initial ministry.  Then, on the way to Jerusalem, we will split, with half the group going on to the Holy City, and the other half heading further south, to walk in the "Old Testament" lands of Abraham.  After about three days, the second group will head on to Jerusalem to meet up with the first, and we will be together for the remainder of the trip.  Anyone can choose either itinerary, but the trip was planned with the idea that first time pilgrims would take the Jerusalem leg as we concentrate more on the actual footsteps of Christ and see all the things people want to see on their first visit, while people who have been to Israel before might choose to go south, to areas of the country most tour groups do not visit.

  Another reason we're excited about this is that it provides an option for people who might have been before, and have considered going again, but didn't want to see the exact same things.

 You might ask, "Ron, the trip is pretty close to Christmas - why did you choose that time?"  Well, there are several reasons, but here are a couple major ones.  First of all, tourism in Israel is booming.  Last October when we were there was the largest month of tourism ever in the history of Israel.  It was VERY busy.  So one reason we're going a little later is so it will be less crowded.  Another is weather.  While people do of course enjoy sun, the last trip we had several days of 100+ degree weather accompanied by around 60% humidity, so it was quite warm.  The weather in late November/early December should be cooler, but still nice.

  And if you're not intimately familiar with Compassion Ministries, you might ask, why travel with us as opposed to taking one of the myriad other tours out there?  Well, for me there are two reasons that I stand behind our tours.  First of all, the staff going on this trip have over 20 tours under their belts, taken between the late 1970's and 2010.  So we've been enough times to know the tourist traps from the authentic locations.  We do not merely accept a "canned itinerary" from the travel agent we work with, as many tours do... we build our own itinerary from the ground up, based on our knowledge of the area and our prior experience.  Secondly, we are very conscious of security.  We have traveled with the same guide for almost 30 years, and she is constantly in contact with people on the ground, every day, so that if there are any issues we modify the itinerary as needed.  We plan our flight schedules and the airlines we take with security being the first thing in mind, and convenience and cost second.  And we will spend extensive time before the trip discussing all aspects of the trip with our travelers, personal security being one of them.

 Please feel free to call us at (503) 626-0101, or write us at "info@compassion-ministries.org" if you have any questions you need answered in order to help you make a decision as you consider traveling with us.  Please check back to this page in the future, as we update it regularly and will soon have a more complete color brochure in addition to the itinerary and information downloadable below.



1st Meeting Info:

Date: July 7th

Time: 7:00pm

Place: Westside Chapel, 15555 SW Bangy Rd., Lake Oswego, OR, 97035

Directions: From the I-5 / 217 interchange, simply head south on Bangy Road (parallels I-5 on the East side), through about 3 or 4 stoplights, and you will run into the parking lot.  It is in the green "Homebuilder's Association" building, on the second floor.



Click here for Itinerary, flight, and pricing info: