Tour Reflection

HOPE Tour 2019 was amazing! Our boutique pilgrimage into the Holy Land and Promised Land was wonderful. We had a full team of 14 people and travelled for 23 days. We had several young people on team with the youngest being 19, ranging all the way up to our older team  members with the upper age limit being 80. Ben and Helen Betz were the team leaders, as pastors they have been leading mission trips, retreats and discipleship groups for 10 years. It was a combination of a being a discipleship tour, spiritual retreat and pilgrimage all in one.

We began in Amman, Jordan and travelled through the desert until we entered the Promised Land. After exploring some Old Testaments stories, we then we retraced the steps and life of Jesus through Israel in a fairly chronological manner. Activities included beautiful worship services, floating in the Dead Sea, riding camels, sailing on the Sea of Galilee and lots of time meditating on God’s Word. The trip was a wonderful God based adventure. Everyone gained a new sensory understanding of the Bible, grew in their faith, had some sweet God encounters and came home encouraged.

The 2019 Group Joined Rev Tim and Merridie Costello on a journey of history, theology and fellowship through ancient Greece and Turkey. Inspired by the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, we spent Easter Day at Mars Hill where Paul famously spoke the gospel to those worshiping an unknown God. The book of Acts came to life on this tour, and we will never read it the same way again.

We were so pleased to present Tim and Merridie Costello for our tour guides for the Steps of Paul 2019. Rev Tim Costello is a well known Christian in the public arena. He’s a Baptist minister now working as Chief Advocate for World Vision Australia. Merridie has been a Pastor with Tim in their days leading St Kilda Baptist. She has also been a School Chaplain. They share a love of history, theology, and good stories. He’s big-picture, she’s good on detail. They promised a tour we would relish and they delivered.