Just got my annual advertisement from Illinois International Travel (apparently run by JW’s). For $1,199 I can take a tour from September 17-25. Why are they printing so much Bible literature if the witnesses are supposed to be using tablets?
Saturday: First stop at New York’s Newark Airport, then transferred to a Marriott hotel.
Sunday: Depart by private motorcoach to Manhattan for sight-seeing tour of New York City. Tour guide will point out interesting sights as the Empire State Building, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue, Central Park, Chinatown, the Garment District, Wall Street, Ground Zero and much more.
Optional boat tour to see the Statue of Liberty including all of the Society’s buildings for the boat as you pass under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Monday: Depart on our motorcoach to visit the factory and Bethel Home at Watchtower Farm to see the latest expansion work taking place at Wallkill to enlarge all the facilities. The bindery line has 33 machines that can produce 50,000 books and Bibles a day or 120 per minute. The paperback book line assembles 100,000 books a day. There are now over 25 million pieces of Bible literature printed annually in more than 360 languages. In the shipping department, you will see how literature requests for over 15,000 congregations in the United States and Canada are processed each month on conveyors that are 1.5 miles long. See how literature is printed differently for those who are in prisons and for those that can only read Braille.
After lunch, it is a one hour drive to the Watchtower Educational Center in Patterson where the Bible School of Gilead and other schools are held. Since its beginning, Gilead School has sent more than 7,000 missionaries to over 200 lands and islands.
The Patterson auditorium seats 1,700 for the Gilead graduation, the Bethel Family Watchtower Study and other special programs. Branch committee members from around the world also gather here for an 8-week course designed to unify the work of the Branch Offices.
Tuesday: Our private motorcoach will travel over the Brooklyn Bridge to visit the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Your tour will begin at the Brooklyn Bethel Office where the work for over 100 Branch Offices is coordinated. This is where the Governing Body is located that handles materials related to the preaching activity worldwide. Under the direction of the writing committee, material is prepared here that will be published worldwide. It is then sent to Branches around the world so it can be translated into different languages.
Wednesday: As mentioned in the Kingdom ministry, your visit to Bethel will be encouraging and educational. You will see how Bethelites of all ages enjoy working, eating and studying together at the World Headquarter….Encouragement to visit various places in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Thursday: Either return to home town or continue to Washington D.C. to visit United States Capitol Building, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, Washington Monument, Smithsonian and the White House.
Friday: Visit the Holocaust Museum which is dedicated to the story of how many people were persecuted by the Nazis. In the resource center there are documents and interviews with Jehovah’s Witnesses who were victims of Nazi rule.
Saturday and Sunday: Free to visit points of interest returning home on Sunday.