Mark was captivated by the Holy Land several years and many journeys before I was. As a missionary, I was busy traveling to every other part of the world and had seen most of it but curiously, I had never even thought of going to Israel.

Twice before, Mark had invited me to join him in Israel and I had been unable. Then in February 2006, he asked me again to join him on a Holy Land tour in April, that same year. He was planning to go for two weeks under the teaching of Kent Dobson, a protégé of Ray Vander Laan. I was scheduled to go to Latin America at that time but providentially, the Latin trip fell through so I called Mark and said: "I'm in!" I confess: apart from traveling with my life long friend, I saw this trip as little more than “another notch in the belt” of nations for my travels.

When we finally arrived in Israel that spring, I was nothing less than ambushed by the Holy Land. It was not what I had expected at all. Where I thought it would be brown and sandy, it was green and lush; where I expected flat landscape, it was as rugged as our Rocky Mountains, though not as high.

The words of Scripture that I’d been reading for more than 25 years began to jump off the page in living colour. Frankly, there were moments when I was moved to tears. What was that about, I wondered?

I am of British descent. When I go to England and Scotland, something resonates there for me, unlike when I travel to places like Ethiopia, Russia, China or India. I think it’s because the British are my people. My family and ancestors came from this part of the world. In a way, I am not surprised to find a kind of emotional resonance there. But when I go to Israel, I realize the connection is even deeper and it goes back thousands of years. This is the link to my spiritual heritage - a very connection to God, it seems.

After that tour together in April 2006, Mark and I talked about making this trip available to our family and friends. We wanted them all to experience what we had experienced. We thought about taking a small group of a dozen or so with us on some future trip.

Mark has a lifetime of teaching and preaching behind him. He has become steeped in the land and people of the Bible. I have a background of extensive international travel and leading groups overseas. Together we sensed the Lord’s favour on this idea of bringing our friends along with us. We just didn’t realize the extent of His vision for us in taking pilgrims to the Holy Land.

We wanted people to Encounter Israel. We wanted to create an experience underscored by a solid foundation in the study of God's Word. We envisioned people learning with their feet. We wanted them to see and feel and smell the land. We wanted to create opportunities for them to meet the Israeli people, talk to them and hear their stories and concerns. This was to be no bus tour. This would be an interactive, walking tour - one to remember for a lifetime.

We hosted our first trip in May 2007 with 33 people (a few more than we’d planned!) We returned again in May 2008 with 43 pilgrims and later in November 2008 with 27 pilgrims. “Word of mouth” became our best advertising. Churches and educational institutions began to hear about what we were offering (the quality of the teaching and the particular style of the pilgrimage).

Since we began in 2007, we have led at least one excursion annually and up to two excursions in some years. We have been honoured to have been accompanied by people from various locations across North America. We have had many Bible school professors and students join us. We also have enjoyed the company of pastors. ministry leaders, missionaries and others from India, Mexico, Japan, Zambia, Philippines, Viet Nam and Indonesia. We are most privileged and excited to be able to offer this remarkable experience to people from many walks of life.