Professor Sonny Branham leads Holy land tour
After touring with 40 of his Oral Roberts University students, former Louisa resident Professor Sonny Branham has returned from a rewarding and significantly educational early July trip to Israel. The group was in the Holy Land for nearly two weeks, and it visited quite a number of historical sites. The students, who represented a broad cross-section of major areas of study, also heard from leading Israeli political, military, and civic leaders in a series of presentations while there.
The study tour was sponsored by the advocacy group “Passages”. Sponsored by the Philos Project and the Museum of the Bible Foundation, Passages offers Christian college students with leadership potential a fresh and innovative approach to experiencing the Holy Land. Participants will encounter the roots of their Biblical faith first-hand and come face to face with the modern-day miracle that is Israel. Upon their return, participants will have opportunities to build upon their trip experiences by engaging in further leadership training, with an end goal of being an informed voice for both their Christian faith and for Israel.
The organization’s generous contribution to the students allowed them to participate in a life-changing experience at a very reasonable cost. More information about “Passages” can be found on the internet athttps://passagesisrael.org/about-us/.
A summary of the itinerary included travel in Israel to:
+ The Old City section of Jerusalem
+ City of David and Mount Zion
+ The Western Wall
+ The Upper Room
+ Nazareth
+ “Mt. Precipice” over the Jezreel Valley
+ The Mount of Beatitudes
+ Cruise on the Sea of Galilee
+ Capernaum
+ The Golan Heights
+ Garden of Gethsemane
+ Pool of Bethesda
+ Garden Tomb
+ Via Dolorsa
+ Kibbutz Yad Mordechal and Kfar Aza near the Gaza Strip
+ Masada
+ Ein Gedi
+ Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum
+ Israel Supreme Court
+ Independence Hall in Tel Aviv
+ Modern Tel Aviv and its nearby city of Jaffa
“A trip to Israel is in essence almost a rite of passage for every Christian – a pilgrimage in the truest sense”, Professor Branham said. “The origins of both ancient Biblical faith and of a modern day miracle intersect here. The land and the people of Israel have a story to tell. By going to Israel, my students made Israel’s story part of their own story.”
A 1967 graduate of Louisa High School, Professor Branham is the son of the late Millard F. Branham and Merica Skaggs Branham. The late noted and beloved Lawrence County pastor and evangelist Rev. Felix Skaggs was his grandfather. Sonny’s sister Mrs. Ruth Ellen Kelley lives in Huntington. He has other family and friends still living in the Louisa area. Sonny asks that anyone who would like to contact him send an email tosbranham@oru.edu or “friend” him on Facebook.
Located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the school was founded to educate the whole person – spirit, mind and body – Oral Roberts University promises a thorough education in the context of a vibrant Christ-centered community. ORU is a place for advancing knowledge, pursuing intellectual discovery and building life-long friendships in a vibrant campus community.
ORU students are empowered on the quest for wholeness; having the time of their lives, while preparing for their life’s mission.
A comprehensive university dedicated to student outcomes, ORU offers more than76 undergraduate majors, as well as 12 master’s-level programs and two doctoral degrees. Faculty members educated at the nation’s top graduate schools serve as academic, professional and spiritual mentors to students. Professor Branham earned both a BA and MA degree in government at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. In August he begins his 18th year teaching political science at ORU.
ORU continues to redefine what it means to be a leading Christian university by embracing a globalized format at home and abroad. The Tulsa campus is home to students from all 50 U.S. states and 89 international countries. ORU and its students also deliver the Whole Person distinctive to all inhabited regions through distance learning, study abroad, educational partnerships, missions and outreach work, all anchored in a Christian worldview. For more information log on to WWW. ORU.edu.
Sonny Branham
Assistant Professor of Government
Oral Roberts University, Tulsa OK 74171
