April 6, 2009 Dear Byron, John, and Father’s House, Thank you so much for sending me to Israel.  I have tried to wait to write a thank you until I had time to process more of what we saw, heard, and experienced.  The truth is, I am still in something of a state of awe at the wonder of God manifest by the whole trip. It has been a long-standing desire of mine to go to Israel and see the places where biblical events took place.  I could never have imagined the impact that being there would have on my understanding and perspective on the Word of God.  There is a deep, spiritual stirring in my soul that is like a revival meeting but much deeper and longer-lasting in its influence.  There is new fire in my preaching and new depth in my teaching.  People here at First Baptist have commented about the difference they hear and see in me. The things I have learned and believed for years have been re-formatted by the trip.  I know them in a way I could not have known them before.  It is in a small way like what our transition from hope to sight will be when Jesus comes: We hold to the reality, but we have not experienced it in its completeness.  I know that I have yet to experience the fullness of Who God is and what redemption is, but there is a greater appreciation for the revelation of God in His Word and in His Son that makes the present reality so much sweeter! Thank you, thank you, thank you for answering God’s call to send pastors to Israel.  John, thank you for being with us and making the trip more wonderful with your songs and your servant heart.  Byron, thank you for your heart to help move us toward revival through the experience of biblical places in Israel.  You have blessed my life and enriched my ministry more than I can express. I am encouraging every believer to go to Israel and experience the wonder of the land of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and the disciples.  We are praying and working on details to try to take a group back in 2010 because the excitement of the group that went has taken hold of the church!

Dear Byron, I thank the Lord for you and the ministry of Father’s House! My family an dI were so blessed by our fellowship with you and the other members of the team visiting the Holy Land these last weeks. Our faith was strengthened as we witnessed the historical accuracy of God’s Word affirmed through the sites we visited. We gained a greater appreciation for our Jewish heritage and the foundational importance of every “jot and tittle” of the Old Testament. Finally, our enthusiam for the study of the Scriptures has known no bounds as the Spirit uses the events and teaching of the trip to expand our insight into the Word. May the Lord bless you for your generosity, and may He help us to be good stewards of the insights to greatly increase His kingdom! Gratefully in Christ,

This was the greatest journey I have been on in my life. I’ve not been out of the states, never even been to Mexico and all of a sudden I am invited to go as a part of a group to Israel…. It was just a life changing experience for me. Having seen in my own mind, trying to picture where Jesus walked and what it was like to walk there and then to be there was such a phenomenal change in my life…and to walk, not just where Jesus walked, but as we walked thru the ruins of David’s house and remembering those stories…. I get God bumps right now just talking about it. But I didn’t really go having any idea how it was going to impact me and my ministry back home…. but so many people in our church have talked about it has changed the dynamics… of my ministry there. I don’t know that I sense it that much but they said they just sense such an intensity in the message…. Now even when I’m sitting in my easy chair at home reading my Bible and I read a verse and all of a sudden I realize I’ve been there.. I’ve been there and I see what that really was.