October 5, 2010 marked the day that 97 disciples, family and friends embarked on a journey that would change our lives forever. Married and single “Steppers” arrived in Rome from the U.S., Barbados, Canada, Cambodia, Germany, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Together we boarded the beautiful Celebrity Equinox, which would be our home for the next two weeks and sailed to the ports of Athens, Greece; Ephesus, Turkey; Haifa and Ashdod, Israel; Alexandria, Egypt; Messina, Sicily, and Naples/Capri, Italy.
2010 Steps of Jesus and the Apostles Tour
Seeing the actual places where Jesus and the Apostles walked, preached and served inspired each of us to be more like Him. Our classes at sea, led by tour director Roger Lamb of Disciples Today, helped the Bible and the places we were visiting to come alive in a powerful way. He also gave an Inspiring devotional on Mars Hill (Acts 17) in Athens and delivered a stirring reading of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6, &7) as we celebrated our Sunday worship on the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel. These were two of the incredible highlights of the tour and marked heart changes in all of us. Walking through the ancient streets of Ephesus helped us picture life as it would have been in the first century….almost as if the streets and ruins of buildings were telling us their history. The ancient theater is an engineering marvel and you could almost hear the roaring crowd at the riot in Ephesus. (Acts 19).
Equally inspiring were the opportunities we had to meet disciples in the churches in Athens, Jerusalem and Cairo. Their warm embraces will never be forgotten as we joined them for devotionals and dinner in their respective cities. Who can forget dinner on the Plaka in Athens, in an upper room in Old Jerusalem and on the Nile in Cairo! It is amazing how in the Kingdom of God all cultural and language barriers are broken down when disciples are together!
Special treats for us were the overnight tours in both Israel and Egypt arranged especially for us by Aziz Abu Sarah. Aziz is a great Palestinian brother who became a disciple and then led our churches in Israel for many years. In two days we saw Mount Carmel, Nazareth, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ashdod. The time in the Old City was a dream come true. (Click here for Marcia Lamb’s article on our experience at the Western Wall of Herod’s Temple.)
As the “crowning jewel” of the whole trip, we were able to witness a new brother, Bill Slaughter, added to the Lord in baptism in one of the ship’s swimming pools while sailing on the Mediterranean Sea! Bill is the brother-in-law of two other “Steppers”, Eric and Cindy Holmstrom of San Diego. Bill was deeply impacted by the Word of God as well as by the fellowship of the group. He is an amazing brother and is now in the San Diego Church of Christ! Pray for Bill and the five others who began studying the Bible on the Tour seeking a relationship with God.
None of us will ever forget the special appearance by “Salome” the mother of James and John.We were drawn into the gospels by the acting talent of Marcia Lamb as she portrayed this first century mother in a very convincing way! Speaking of talent - two of our Steppers won the Talent Contest for the entire ship of 3,000 passengers! Congratulations to Rod Pincaro and Kristen Commodore!
The Steps of the Apostles Tour will not be held in 2012 to encourage as many in the International Churches of Christ as possible to attend the amazing Jubilee in San Antonio, Texas July 5-8, 2012. Lord willing, our next Steps Tour will be in 2013. Watch for details on DisciplesToday.org In 2011 DT Travel will offer two opportunities for disciples, one to Alaska and the other is a Singles Cruise in the Caribbean. Details will be announced soon. Send me an email if you are interested: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The following are what some of the “Steppers” had to say about the trip:
“God works in amazing ways, and along with that, so do his disciples of The International Churches of Christ. Not only did he guide my sister-in-law Cindy and her loving husband Erik Holmstrom to me in Florida; he allowed me to accompany them and 94 more brothers and sisters on the most inspiring trip to the Holy Land I have ever seen. The insight that he showed us all throughout the holy sites of his Son and all his disciples opened a door for me to study the Bible with four insightful and devoted brothers. My baptism on the ship as it left the Holy Land was the most meaningful action I've ever taken in my life. I am now born again into a land of love, understanding, new brothers and sisters, God's wisdom and all through his son, Jesus. “ Bill Slaughter – San Diego, California
“Going to the spots where Jesus and Paul began everything has really built my faith immensely in the facts of God's love for us and how divine he truly is. Every single penny spent was absolutely worth it because I also had the pleasure and blessing of meeting and talking to all of you (Steppers).” Chris Iszak – Winnipeg, Canada
“I don’t think the Bible will ever seem the same again. The tours, the sharing, the lessons, the one-woman play, and the fellowship were such precious gifts from God.” Bruce and Jill Thompson – Chicago, IL – USA
“I will have many memories and inspiration for years to come.” Nancy Sheahan – Boston, MA – USA
“I will highly recommend the Steps tours to family and friends. Visiting the Biblical sites with disciples is definitely the way to go!” Cindy Fetherman – Cambodia
“I never would have undertaken such a trip without Disciples Today’s support. I felt protected in places where I was very much a foreigner. My most memorable part of the trip is when we went to see Jesus’ place of crucifixion and resurrection. I was deeply moved to tears to be where he suffered so much for us.” Judy Barber – Boston, MA – 
USA
“I loved the mix of our group – marrieds, singles, older, younger, men, women and children, those from different countries and friends who were not yet disciples.” Doug Williams – Boston, MA - USA
Sally Hooper
DT Travel Coordinator
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Click here for information about the next Steps of Jesus and the Apostles Tour in 2013.