The trip changed my life by making the Bible real. I always believed it, but now it is real. The ones I talk to about it,I tell them if they have been wrestling with their faith, they need to go to Israel. It will settle everything for them.

You and the Fathers House Foundation have been a mighty instrument in the Lords hand to change my life forever. Scott and I have dreamed for years of going to Israel and often times would say to one another “someday!” you made that “someday” a reality in our lives.

When Scott first told me of the opportunity I was thrilled for him to get to do it. He wanted me to get to go too but I knew without going into debt we couldn’t do it and honestly I was fine with that. However, when my mother got wind of it she was not okay with me not going and offered to take care of all my expenses and come stay with the kids while we were gone. Thank you, Jesus! Now that I have been I have since told Scott, “you can’t ever go without me!” Now that I know what an amazing and life changing encounter it is I want to go back again and again. Unlike other vacations ( I realize this was anything but a vacation but it was in the sense that we were away from responsibilities from church and home) this one didn’t leave me with a longing to get back to my home in Burleson but it left me with a bit of a realization that I was home. I was grieved when the day came to get on board that plane and head back to Texas. I truly understood why Moshe greeted us upon arrival by saying, “welcome home!” That land is my home, it is where all the roots of my faith are, where all my spiritual fathers and mothers lived and loved and grew to know and love our God and Father, God and Son and God and Spirit. Our first Sunday back we took some time to share about some things we saw and did and how it impacted us. I told them it was like going to the place where your grandparents were raised after hearing them describe and tell stories of it for years and years. I told them I truly felt as though I was home and that I wanted to go back again and take all of them with me. Although we don’t have a date yet we are looking to do just that sometime next year. I have already started a “Back to Israel Fund.” God is so good and so worthy of our Highest Praise. He has blessed us in so many ways none of which we in any way deserve yet he was pleased to just shower good gifts on us just because we’re his kids. Thank you for being a vessel of honor for service in his house to all of us who went. May you be blessed in every way as you continue to seek to fulfill Gods plan in your lives. You are dearly loved and highly esteemed.

I am Armando Lagda Valdez, married to Lilybelle Grace Mamaril.  God blessed us with four kids (3 boys and 1 girl), plus added precious children under our care.  I am a product of “Calvary Bible Institute” – supervised by Sir Ken Sandberg.  My wife and I are pastoring a church in Davao City, that is affiliated with – Maranatha Fellowship in Maryland, USA (IPHC).  We have established relationship with Sir Ken & Ma’am Cris and partnered with them in equipping the saints through conferences, summer camps and at CBI. And just recently, after our Sunday morning service (Nov. 8, 2009), we received a phone call with the grandest surprise – A TRIP TO ISRAEL!  It blew me away and made me shout for joy!  Hallelujah, glory to God!  To step in the soil of Israel was only a dream that we hope would come true sometime in the future. Now, that the door to visit the birthplace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is in progress, I can’t explain the thrill and excitement going on as the days go by.  The trip to Israel is truly a big inspiration to us and this is happening because of the Lord’s kindness through my Bible School mentors (Sir ken & ma’am Cris) and through your generosity.  Honestly, we don’t really know how to express the gratitude and the joy that is within us.  Words may fall short to express it, but we sure are grateful to the Lord and to you.  May the good Lord multiply your blessings! Again, i want to let you know that we appreciate the love, the blessings and the big heart.  Thank you for sponsoring our trip.  Indeed, we don’t know how to repay you.  Simply, because we don’t have the capacity to do it.  But the Lord Yeshua HaMashiach will! God bless you and your family Sir Byron and Ma’am Tammy.  God bless you sir/ma’am John Turner.  God bless the “Father’s House Foundation”.  God bless “CBI” family.  We look forward to see you on December 5 & 6, 2009. To Sir Ken and Ma’am Cris, thank you for the high level of trust and favor.  God bless us all. In Christ, Armand & Lilybelle V

After serving in the pastorate for 33 years, I wish that I had gone to Israel 20 years earlier. The Old Testament and the Gospels became crystal clear concerning the plan of God for His people. In fact, everything now is not only clear, but alive. I am aware today that it is not only about what has happened, but about what is happening now. If you have the opportunity to go, do not delay!

I knew a year ago that I wanted to go on the Israel trip. I saw the transformation in Roxie that I knew that I wanted to go if the opportunity came about. When we arrived in Israel we were greeted with welcome home. This is really appropriate since Israel is the birthplace of Christianity. Our family roots are there. My heart seems tied to Israel in a way I can’t really describe. For me the trip has really created more of a hunger to understand God’s Word and pay attention to every jot and tittle. I’m having fun seeing connections that I’ve never seen before. I loved seeing the covenant signs Israel having fun seeing passages about covenants. We stood at the gate where Boaz gave his right sandal to redeem Ruth. We learned that right is right and left is wrong. Right is clean and left is unclean. Then in Gilgal where the children of Israel had their camp when they crossed in to the Promised Land there is a huge outline of a “right” foot/sandal in boulders in the midst of the camp. What a reminder that they were in a conditional covenant with the Lord. If they obeyed they would be blessed if they disobeyed they would be cursed. Now go with me to The Cave of John the Baptist. You go into the cave and then descend steps that lead into the water. Before you get to the water you find a deep impression of a foot. Those coming to be baptized would put their foot in the depressions cleanse and anoint it and then go into the water to be baptized. Afterwards, they would come out of the water and break the jar against the wall of the cave. What a picture of no longer being a slave to sin that would have been for them. They have entered into a new covenant written on their hearts. Now picture us at the wailing wall. What a visual of Israel breaking covenant with the Lord. They are standing on the outside of a broken wall to worship. I was so moved standing at the wall, touching it, and praying for Israel and the Jews. What a privilege to be a Gentile believer and to be in a covenant relationship with the Lord. Our sign of being in covenant is the seal of the Holy Spirit that was given to us when we believed in Christ.

I have been challenged in several areas spiritually and will be using this next year to work through some of the spiritual truths that were shared on the trip. On my first trip to Israel two years ago, I felt like it was more learning about the places and what happened there, but on this trip I really sensed a greater connection between the places we visited with the spiritual themes being emphasized. The repeated spiritual truths and connections were great. I am so grateful John got to share spiritual insights I could grasp. He greatly increased the spiritual growth experience and was always ready to answer my many questions. Ron was also easy to understand and I appreciated his teaching as well. I thought it was great how well they worked together to help us understand the spiritual truths related to what we were seeing. The boat ride on the Sea of Galilee was a spiritual high this trip. After experiencing the wilderness, the beauty of the sea and the worship music was very moving.

Dear Byron, I can’t believe we have been back in the states for one week already. To say we wish we were still in Israel would be an understatement. Also, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the investment you made in our lives. Though we have never met (hope that changes on our next trip to Texas), you have provided Ruth and I the opportunity for our love for Israel to grow deeper. Your generosity and investment allowed us to explore the possibilities of hosting trips and observe what it would take to be effective leaders in that way. Having the chance to observe and assist John and Roxie as a primary task gave us a whole different view than being participants on the trip our first time. (As you know, John and Roxie represent the Lord and your foundation with love, wisdom, and grace. It was and is a huge blessing to have them as mentors.) One other benefit of being on the trip (which was not something I was looking for but had heard from my dad and John) was gaining a clearer understanding of your passion for bringing pastors home to Israel. I can’t yet quantify the deeper connection of the obvious but I have a richer appreciation and connection to the importance of seeing the vision fulfilled. I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store regarding my/our involvement making your vision a reality for more and more pastors. Again I thank you for believing in and investing in our lives. This trip drove home to me the truth that God is able to and will accomplish His purposes in our lives and the world. For He is faithful. Many blessings to you. I look forward to meeting you in person possibly as soon as this summer. Blessings, Mike Harrison. From Byron Stinson, Founder, Fathers House Educational Foundation: The work and journey of the Fathers House is very fulfilling and it is with great joy we hear testimonies like this. After 8 years we are blessed to have hundreds of reports from so many of you and we cherish each note. However, I want to say, if we never receive a note like this we plan to move forward. If Satan himself sticks a knife in our eye we will continue to follow the bread crumbs of the Lord! What motivates us is giving Glory to God. Our path is sometimes hard and crossing the barrier of Jew and Gentile is tough! This walk is not for sissy’s, but compared to those who worked the land before us it is a cake walk. Often I stop and think about those that answered the call of God. Men and women like Abraham, Sarah Jacob, Rachel, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, King David, Deborah, Gideon and more. 12 spies went out and only 2 answered the call to go in. Why? This journey is scary, confusing perplexing financially and even life threatening, work. Now we at Fathers House Foundation are taking more steps of faith. We recognize the times are here and we get to play a small part in the birth of one Covenant Nation. Jew and Gentile will become an inheritance to the Lord as the veil is lifted from our eyes. We must not allow the rocks to cry out louder than his people. Please pray for us and ask the Lord to guide us. Our primary source of funding went dry and we need Him to open financial doors for us and close those doors HE wants to close. Thank you to all the pastors that faithfully have stayed in touch, lifted us up in prayer and continue to support us in so many ways. Thank you, Mike, for taking time to write this testimony, giving thanks and encouragement to our ministry. For those that have traveled with us in the past but now feel separated or have been led to take a different path we bless you and hope you are well. We know that often our part in your life and ministry was to help the spark ignite. If the trip we helped you take led your spirit to begin a new work, we praise the Lord with joy and love to see those works succeed. If you desire to re-connect you will always be welcome in our Fathers House. (Heart) We pray for blessings and love on the entire body of Christ. Thank you, Mike, for taking time to write this testimony, giving thanks and encouragement to our ministry. For those that have traveled with us in the past but now feel separated or have been led to take a different path we bless you and hope you are well. We know that often our part in your life and ministry was to help the spark ignite. If the trip we helped you take led your spirit to begin a new work, we praise the Lord with joy and love to see those works succeed. If you desire to re-connect you will always be welcome in our Fathers House. (Heart) We pray for blessings and love on the entire body of Christ. ~ Byron Stinson

The trip Father’s House arranged was way far and above anything I expected. I came home with an enthusiasm to learn to read Hebrew for a deeper understanding of the Bible I have been reading for most of my life and accepting at face value. The Father’s House team took us places off the beaten path where archeological current findings authenticate and place the written Word in perspective with the people’s lives that were writing it down. This helped me link a lot of teachings to my daily life. I came home knowing this time in Israel had been time that will open up new opportunities for me.