My brothers and I met Dr. Neal and his wife Marilyn when I was a sophomore in high school after we had joined our home church at the time. To say that he came in at an incredibly crucial and pivotal time in our lives is an understatement. As a young man of 16 who had just recently accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior, the proper wisdom and guidance were essential to helping me come into a deeper more profound knowledge of God and my duties and obligations both spiritually and in life as a young man. To this day I reflect on with fondness and appreciation moments and times during our fellowships and bibles studies together when we were a part of Dr. Neal's young men's ministry “Men of Valor” and draw encouragement, self-confidence, and reinforcement on my belief system and how I view my faith and relationship with Christ and the people in my life. In short, the man I am today and the faith and perspective that has been the foundation of who I am and who I'm on my way to becoming was largely influenced and born out of our many talks and the time spent laughing together, encouraging and edifying one another. I'll always be grateful for the time invested and the love and priceless wisdom and experience he poured into and shared with us over those years. I can't think of a more faithful and dutiful man than Dr. Gary Neal especially when it comes to mentorship and instilling the tenets of selflessness, love for your fellow man, honoring and keeping one's word to your family and friends, and simply carrying yourself through life with a quiet yet powerful sense of pride in who we are in Abba God. I thank him for all that he has done for Danny, Matt, myself, and our entire family and all that he has meant to us in those very crucial years when we were kids trying to find ourselves and our place in this world."