Dear Fellow Holy Land Travelers,

I trust that everyone had a great Easter. The time has now come to begin our preparations for the Holy Land Pilgrimage in earnest. In a couple of weeks we will begin our monthly gathering to study the places we are touring. This message will focus on details for the first gathering but I do have a reminder that requires some immediate attention.

People are beginning to register with ACTS for the trip. It is not required that you register this early but there is an “Early Registration Discount” of $100.00 if you register by May 1st. There is a registration deposit of $350.00 required. A copy of the brochure is available at church or I’ll send you one via e-mail if you let me know. Registration should be sent directly to ACTS and the information is on the flyer. ACTS sends me a copy of those who have registered each week.

Let me make a couple of notes about the registration application. First, if you haven’t yet determined who your roommate will be, and are not planning to pay extra for a single room, then put TBD in the blank for roommate name and check Assign me a Roommate. We will work with you to determine who this will be rather than have someone randomly assigned. When you get to the second column you should list 1st Pres. SoBo as your Travel Host, Feb. 10th, 2011 as your Departure Date, and Raleigh, NC as your Departure City. Check the Basic Program blank and add the other options if you want them. You can make this decision later. Remember, you do not pay for these now, you only send a check for the deposit at this time. Check your Passport now to be sure that it the dates will not expire until several months after our trip. If you don’t have a passport then you need to apply as soon as possible. ACTS can help with this. If you have questions then don’t hesitate to contact ACTS. They are very helpful. I will be happy to answer questions too if I can.

Now to the 1st Gathering! Kay and I are hosting the first gathering at our home. I’ve sent out an email with directions. Contact me if you didn’t get one. We will meet Tuesday, April 20th at 5:30pm and have fellowship, dinner, and the study of the first day’s tour. We’re hoping for a beautiful day so that we can eat both indoors and out on the porch. Everyone come casual and bring a cover dish. We’ll have coffee, tea, and a variety of soft-drinks. I’ve never yet been part of a cover dish where everyone wasn’t full with plenty left over. It’s like when Jesus fed the five thousand with loaves of bread and a few fish and they took up more than they started with when it was over. We can discuss where the June meeting will be and how to prepare for it during this fellowship.

After we eat we will gather in our den for the study of the first tour. I imagine that there will be quite a few travel details to review that may take some time but this is good for it will help us really get to know each other. That’s another reason we’re having these meetings. My experience is that traveling together on a tour like this creates very strong friendships and lasting memories. We will begin to build these early!

Some of us are already gathering resources for the study of our tours. We’ll be covering Old Testament references, New Testament references, interesting geographical issues, a historic review, cultural perspectives, and the contemporary significance of each place. (at least we’ll be trying to cover each of these. Looks like a tall order!) Finally, we want to begin praying for God’s blessing of the trip, and that His Will be done within each of us as we travel.

Meeting on the third Tuesday may not work for everyone. We will discuss other times for future gatherings. You may not be able to make every month’s gathering but hopefully we can find the right time to suit most of the group. I will keep a summary of our monthly study on the Blog.

Kay and I look forward to hosting this first gathering. We are excited about sharing this trip with each of you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.