“Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” Psalm 107:8-9 This week has been amazing—long, tiring days with little personal time and lots of hardships. Quest 2007 officially started on Monday, as 69 young men from all over the US and several international locations converged on IAA in Big Sandy, TX. It was exciting to watch it happen. I’ve poured my life into preparing this spring and so it is very rewarding to watch the program run. I thank the Lord for the amazing leadership team He brought together. We’ve prayed all spring that God would bring the guys in that He wants as leaders, and the twenty-person leadership team is strong, dedicated, and focused. Even the guys that worried me are doing amazing. I thank the Lord for the maturity of this group. Sure, in every group of seventy young men there are troublemakers. And cliques form, and peer pressure happens, and immaturity bubbles out. But overall, this group is very stable, very focused. That is exciting. I thank the Lord for the wonderful staff here at ALERT, the men and women who support Quest and who have been so ready to encourage me. On Monday, Sara Perkins encouraged me greatly when she pointed out that these young men checking in were scared. They were masking it, but she could see it. This was encouraging because I was scared, too. It wasn’t as bad as last year, but it was still bad. I was quite scared. Cpt. Herring provided encouragement to me, and also provided me with some sound counsel I need to follow up on. Throughout the week, God brought encouragement and insight from many wise men and women. Steve Menzel, who spoke Monday through Thursday, encouraged me by looking at the far picture—the impact of this program on these lives. He also provided quite a bit of counsel. Bob Allison, as always, boosted my confidence with his perspective on God’s control. There have been quite a few challenges this week, but God has been so good to me! His steadfast love and faithfulness endure forever.