Words cannot express the gratitude I feel towards you for what you have done in my life. A number of years ago when I was doing some work to help in the aftermath of Katrina I met a new Christian who was telling me about his story. He said that God had totally “messed up” his life! He went on to explain that God had so changed his life that he would never be the same in a good way God had changed his whole perspective of life. Well this Israel trip and what I saw and heard has totally “messed up” my life! In a good and most incredible way!

It is as if blinders have been removed from my spiritual eyes! Every passage, every reference to God’s people,  a place so captures my attention that I get hung up in a verse or two and feast upon His Truths. The perspective of what God did where it took place layer upon layer literally blows my mind! I can’t take it all in. And I feel like I am just getting started. Needless to say, it has transformed my life, my preaching and my ministry. How God allowed my life to be connected with you, with Bono, Moshe, the Fathers House… Well, that still amazes me! But I do know this, what you have sown into me has spread to our church! Like a wild fire, the desire to go to Israel is spreading we will, Lord willing, go with the Fathers House next year. This is the plan we believe God is leading us in and I can’t wait for it to come about! Your gift came at such a good time for us. Leslie and I needed a break together. We are so blessed to have such a gracious and loving church family, but our time away was refreshing and invigorating. In fact, Leslie and I have resolved one day to find a spot on the Sea of Galilee to just spend a week or two! Who knows what will happen but we take great delight in even thinking about it. Well, more could be said. Yet “words” seem so inadequate in expressing the overflow of my heart. Thank you. Thank you for your gift for your investment in me for looking beyond the things of this world that you might sow for the next. That is a rare thing in our day yet I believe you have brought the Father and all His House great joy and glory in what you have done. May the fullness of His Spirit rest upon each of you this day, and like Joseph of old may He cause to prosper all that you set your hands to! To God be the Glory!

Distances of populated sites to others were much closer than previously thought; Historically, the same sites were richly reused. Mountains much steeper than pictured before; great effort, thought, & preparation required then & now to scale them & transport goods & people. The Bible is more personally real now in understanding site, task, & time difficulties faced by the Jews. Seeing, hearing, & witnessing the Bible places unfold: “They were here” & “I am in the same place!” The guide and leader of the group were well educated with clear delivery. Safety minded. Compassionate, pleasant, & professional. Free connections on the bus to the internet, laptops, & cell phones. Materials beforehand & “live” on location. More time to study!! I would recommend a Father’s House Trip to others as it was excellent on all counts.

My journey to Israel was God ordained from the very beginning. I was in nursing school and we are limited on how many days we can miss. This was the first time ever the college decided to close down the entire week of Thanksgiving. The insanely busy schedule of a nursing student doesn’t leave much room for anything that doesn’t involve nursing. Waking up an hour earlier to dig into the Word like I did before work started getting less and less every day; attending church and Stonewater U classes every week started to turn into online services and not attending to try to squeeze in any time to study. I have grown a lot over the past few years in my walk with Christ. This trip took the intimacy I have with God to a whole new level. I was excited about this trip and spending a week in the Holy Land, being where Jesus walked and spending much needed time in His Word. The second day in Israel, Roxie asked me what the Lord was speaking to me. To be honest, it took me a day or so to calm my excitement down and hear what He was speaking to me. He was telling me to “be still.” With that I finally slowed down and started soaking everything in. My uncle had shared some insight with us, when you look around Israel there is a lot of trash on the roads, stone buildings, not what you picture when you think of the Promised Land, but it is like our hearts, filthy, full of trash, and ugly, yet we are Holy because God says we are, just like His Land. Standing at the true birthplace of our Savior, the first place we worshiped and I couldn’t get any words to come out; I was humbled, and moved to tears from being overwhelmed with feeling His presence. This wasn’t the only location this happened at. God has done some amazing things in my life, even earlier this year, but He showed up in a huge way while I was in His land. There was a strike with our airlines and talk of maybe not making it back in time, which would’ve had me missing exceeding the number of days we could miss in school, 2. John had the travel agent working to get my mom and I on a flight out on different airlines but it would have to be early. Without a second thought I said, “no, absolutely not.” I felt God saying “are you really going to put all your trust in me or take the first opportunity to get back?” The strike ended for us to get back on schedule, before going back on strike a couple days later. I felt Him putting a whole new passion in my heart. There were some fires being started by terrorists all throughout the land in Israel, including Jerusalem. Not once was I afraid, I felt at home and safer there than I do even here. I feel like God was starting a wildfire in my heart, and John and Moshe’s passion for teaching fanned the flames. I have been non-stop in the Word since I’ve been back, and God has opened a huge door for me to go back this February for a month and learn more about Him. “For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrew 12:29  

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.