About Us

Cheryl LaBaw

It is important to me that our clients experience a seamless process. With good communication and a collaboration, a dream trip happens without a hitch. Peace of mind for a client is worth its weight in gold. My mission to ensure a successful trip!

My three-decade career serving in the airline industry brings and unique and necessary perspective when developing the tour details with our clients.  I have a passion for connecting people with different cultures. Whether it’s tracing the footsteps of Jesus in Israel or exploring the Mediterranean journeys that Paul took to spread the good news. I feel the most important part of travel is immersing yourself in a destination to gain a fuller sense of the culture, that is why we closely vet knowledgeable and experienced tour guides to lead our tours-the guide not only makes the tour but provides peace of mind to our clients.

Travel is such an enriching experience and having the ability to share those type of experiences with groups brings me a great amount of joy. Realizing my calling was to get as many people as possible to the Holy land to experience holy sites fuels the enjoyment of working with the people in our groups.

It’s the collaborative, hands-on approach at Pilgrimage Tours Worldwide that is greatly appreciated by our tour group leaders and their group members.

I am blessed to be part of the Pilgrimage Tours Worldwide team with my husband, Michael LaBaw, and our associate, Dean Kato. With our combine travel experiences we bring a wealth of knowledge to the table and ensure that our client’s travel details are carefully arranged, and your travel dreams and expectations are realized.

Michael LaBaw

I work hard to ensure my clients’ trips are always stimulating, authentic and – above all else – fun.

I’m privileged to work with a gifted and exceptional team at Pilgrimage Tours Worldwide; my wife, Cheryl, a 32-year veteran of the airline industry and Dean Kato, senior travel advisor.  We deliver genuine life-enhancing worldwide travel experiences to our clients.

A pilgrimage tour is truly transformational; the Bible will transform in your hands from 2D black and white to 3D color as you walk where Jesus walked and stand where New and Old Testament events took place. Expect to experience spiritual renewal, personal growth, cultural encounters, bonding with fellow travelers while learning about Biblical and historical Israel as well as contemporary political and economic and geographical Israel.  

Pilgrimage tour planning is very detail oriented. I enjoy working with our tour leaders, making suggestions to enhance the tour, arranging group airfares, hotel accommodations, transportation and itineraries and tour activities and vetting and selecting tour guides so each group has the best pilgrimage experience possible.

I am committed to providing unequaled value to our clients in traveling well and realizing their dreams.  I am dedicated to carefully helping our clients organize and plan their travel, always doing my utmost to provide 100% customer satisfaction.

Dean Kato

I've traveled for most of life, half for business as a VP of International Business Development and half for pleasure, exploring much of the world with my wife Sharleen. I've put in about 4 million air miles to date to over 50 countries. Traveling well is a personal passion.

For many years, I have focused on travel to the Holy lands of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. I have helped plan, organize, and lead tours that explore Bible stories where they occurred. Many say that these tours are life changing. I know that at the very least, you’ll read the bible from a new perspective once you walk through the Old City of Jerusalem, Gethsemane, Capernaum, Nazareth, and follow where Jesus walked.

I’ve often planned my own trips in all parts of the world. After many business trips to Tel Aviv and Haifa, I went with a group on a Holy lands trip. Engaging local experts and tour guides provided an experience much richer than anything I could have done myself.

Helping make dream-trips a reality is a passion for me. Each group has different priorities of integrating ministry, history, and tourism. My goal is to assist in creating an experience where you are immersed in the local culture and don’t have to think about logistics. From the airport greeting to a closing celebration dinner, your carefully curated visit will create a lifetime of memories.