Emphatically. ..YES!!!. The Holy Land!!!

We made the announcement several months ago that we were planning another group trip to the Holy Land, March 3-12, 2015.  Since then, understandably so, there has been some security concerns in that region that has caused inquiries by some folks interested in going whether we were still planning on taking the trip.  At this point in time, we are still planning on enjoying exploring the ground where Jesus walked.

Here is our rational.  We have been on two other occasions and experienced absolutely no security concerns while visiting that fascinating place.  We have had friends and clients who have visited within the past several months as tourists and on mission trips without being harmed or inconvenienced.  Our trip is 7 months away, and we are confident there will certainly be some kind of truce between the Israel and Palestine governments before we go. 

Another boost to our confidence is in the tour operator we have used on the two other occasions, Educational Travel Services.  The Holy Land and other Biblical sites are their only markets, so they are heavily invested in the security of the guests for which they are responsible.  They have been selling tours to this area for almost 40 years, and at no time in that span has the Middle East been totally peaceful.  In recent communication, their CEO had this to say:

“Since the early 1990’s, we have seen 2 Gulf Wars, a wave of terrorism, 9/11, 2^nd Intifada, 2^nd Lebanon War, the Gaza War, Arab Spring and Egyptian Revolution.  Few of these came with warning, but throughout all of these events the safety of our guests (pilgrims) was our priority, and no pilgrim has been harmed in Israel during any of these events.”

Their practice is if there are State Department warnings, or conflicts that have occurred with rockets being fired into those populated areas, they will promptly evacuate anyone and suspend the tours with appropriate refunds to the guests.  They have staff on the ground in Israel who carefully monitor the situation daily.  Interestingly the travel warning to Israel has been in place since 2007, but does not apply to an organized tour group or locations that are a part of their itinerary.  If it is not deemed safe to travel to Israel, Egypt, or Jordan, then their policy is to cease travel.  If the clients have been ticketed, they will work with the airlines to preserve the value of the ticket purchased whether that is a change to the ticket or the refund of a ticket.

Our goal is to still go ahead with our plans for the trip in March, and based on testimony of many who have gone before, it will “be the trip of a lifetime”, or “my life will never be the same after this experience”.  The pastor/leader of the group, Stan Allcorn, has been there on two other occasions, and because of his knowledge of the Bible and personal experience he is the perfect host.  Contact Russell Berry at The Travel Factory, 4150 Southwest Drive, or call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040 for further information.  Better still, visit our website under “Tour Packages” for a video and complete details:  www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.