One Couples Journey

As of June, Don and I have been married for 24 years. Of course when we married many moons ago…we had no doubt that we would love until “death do us part”. But then he started to hang his clothes wrong. Would we last?

We were “kids” when we married. It wasn’t until our 30’s that we began to walk confidently in who we are, our relationship with Christ…our uniqueness. We are truly different people now at age 46/47. Will we choose to love each other even after outgrowing the college t-shirts? Yes.

Like some of you, for years, we would stand in front of the card section and “give” each other a card for our anniversary and maybe grab dinner. But for our 25th anniversary, we have saved and made big plans. I’ve cashed in the remainder of my Delta sky miles, and in March, we will fly to Egypt! For two weeks we will be visiting religious sites that we’ve been reading about since children. I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about anything.

Okay, maybe Top Gun 2!!! (not to be released until 2020)

A special thank you, to our parents, family, friends and community who have prayed for us individually and in our marriage. 

2018 in Review

We still host Tuesday night Bible Study at our home…and love it and the people we share life with.

I’ve decorated for more weddings, a couple homes and a business as a side gig. 

We were both asked to stand up for our friend Bill Bush as he wed our friend, Ashley. We were…”grooms people”. Bill is one of our favorite friends from Adventures, who has lived with us over a period of time.

Our dear friend Crystal Reitsma, has been living with us since February. She is a long term missionary who had lived for 7 years in Peru. I had the chance to visited her in Peru years ago and have become sisters. In September, another good friend, Erin Demeter moved into our basement and helps out with Purchase Effect. She’s a little bit granola with a touch of rock and rock. (Both friends are single!) Hint. Hint. 

Our parents are all doing well! PTL! But like us, getting older. The family keeps growing with our nieces/nephews having more and more babies.

I, Connie have been back to Guatemala twice this year. Dons learned how to sell purses as he manages the Purchase Effect, store in my absence.

As for years now, I’ve lead the Cambodia Adventures trip in the spring. However, instead of Thailand, I flew to the Philippines with a friend to visit a ministry (Wipe Every Tear) working with the women in the red-light districts. I came back
excited about the partnership between them and with a small Purchase Effect team through Adventures In Missions. I had really hoped I could have returned this fall. 

Don continues to play basketball in the mornings with the guys at Adventures. He’s usually the oldest guy out there, not to mention the shortest.

Two of Don’s 3 sisters came for a short visit. Our time was filled with laughter and reminiscing. My folks, brother and his family celebrated Thanksgiving together. Ben and Meggie are both at Liberty now. Ben is pursuing his Masters…and Meggie is a freshman. I remember when…

Anyways…

This past Ambassador’s summer involved:
11 countries. 34 Leaders. 140 Students. 300+ Parents. 9 days of leader training 8 days of participant training. Team building. Flights. Daily check in with leaders. VBS programs. Sports camps. Hospital visits. Debriefs in ATL and more…

The 2019 locations have been posted and interviews are in full swing!

Follow on Ambassadors on Instagram – adventuresambassador

We had several returning participants and leaders. Our niece and nephew, Ben and Meggie were again part of these teams. We’ve loved getting to spend this time with them each year. They are two amazing “kids”. I, Connie flew out with two of the Guatemala teams and met up with the third over a period of two weeks on the ground.

Don stayed in Gainesville, to manage calls, emergencies and team check ins. He was also responsible for Connie’s plants. Most survived.

Purchase Effect’s new address:: From garage to brick & mortar!

101 BRADFORD ST SE
GAINESVILLE, GA

I have a business. It’s called, Purchase Effect. It became a LLC in 2012 with the help of friends/family. I make fair price purchases from artisans who are friends, while traveling. Sometimes, I design the item. We then sell the products to the good folks who buy and provide a story card with each item. At the end of the year, we send our ministry partners a check for 10% of the amount sold to support their work. 

Website – purchaseeffect.com
Instagram – purchaseeffect

Purchase Effect has a few part time employees, but can’t pay myself. Don has been the back/muscles of the operation. One day, we hope that it will provide us the opportunity to be tent-makers. 

For years, I operated out of our home. But was given an opportunity to have a small shop inside a larger market. It was only 11-3, Monday-Saturday. I could juggle all my roles. All was well. But then… after asking the Lord for window front, he gave me a 400 square foot store, to lease on the corner of the Gainesville Square!

Floor to ceiling windows. Two of them. For all to see. Now, I’m in the store most days. Sometimes from 10am to 8pm. Sometimes, Monday – Saturday. When it’s slow, I can work on items, this includes Ambassadors, trip planning/leading etc. There are so many ministry opportunities here in our own backyard. Purchase Effect has become a welcoming and safe place in Gainesville. 

The other Ambassador Program!

Ambassador, is the program Don manages with Adventures, but it’s also the title I received at the end of September when I completed all the classes put on by the city of Gainesville.

Not sure exactly why I was asked to be an Ambassador. It could be because I’m a business owner on the downtown square, or it could be my great sense of politics and direction. (said with a straight face and dead stare) I’d like to think it’s because they know how much I believe in being involved in our local community. I love knowing everyones names, stories etc. All that to say…we still love living in Gainesville. Come visit. We’ll show you around. There’s a lot to do.

Want to be a part of our journey? HOP ON! We’ll take you for a ride. Here’s how.

Support. Combined, we raise $40,000 a year. In all transparency, this amount covers insurance, overhead costs, salary, additional cost for trips, along with other expenses. However, it’s not enough. As you can imagine, we continually need help hitting this goal monthly and more.

Would you pray about partnering with us financially?

Prayer. My wise father once said – “It’s the prayer warriors you need to ask the Lord for.” So, will you agree to pray for us on a regular bases?

Encouragement. Life is difficult. We see this all around the world. Injustice is rampant. 

When’s the last time you’ve been stretched? Changed your environment? Looked at life through different lenses? Adventures offers domestic and international trips. Join us on a missions trip, or two. Even three. Contact us. We’d love to tell you how.

I know this has been a long update – thank you for hanging in there with us. 

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Rocks!

and now….for the Adventures In Missions Update 

January 2017 – 120 World Racers came to Project Searchlight to process through their transition home and determine what the Lord has next for them. World Race sends out 183 Racers and hosts 255 parents atLaunch. Adventures storytelling team launches to South East Asia to film a project called Wider Lens. February 2017 – We hosted a church planting conference in India with 48 local pastors. Two World Race squads and
one Gap Year squad host a Regional Awakening in South Africa. March 2017 – The Thailand Pioneer Team started preparing the new Thailand base and hostel. April 2017 – Four World Race squads host a SE Asia Regional Awakening in Cambodia at the Adventures, Overflow Guest House. May 2017 – 150 more Racers came to Project Searchlight. June 2017 – The Short Term Missions/Ambassador department kicked off the summer season hosting 138 trips and 2,280 participants. We complete construction on the dining patio to better host training camps. July 2017  World Race hosts a training camp for Gap Year with 250 Racers. 150 more Racers came to Project Searchlight.

Construction began on the new base in Parramos, Guatemala. August 2017 – We host another church planting conference in Andhra Pradesh, India for 98 Pastors. World Race sends out 157 Racers and hosts 252 parents at Launch. September 2017 – Gap Year hosts its biggest Launch with 400 parents and 250 Racers. 130 more Racers came to Project Searchlight. October 2017 – World Race sends out 87 Racers and hosts 125 parents. Center for Global Action (CGA) hosts it’s 2nd annual Parents Weekend. Thailand Long Term Missions team begins training and preparing to launch. CGA welcomes 30 participants to fall semester. November 2017 – Adventures purchases Zion Hostel in Chiang Mai, Thailand to become the new Long Term Missions Base and Adventures Hostel in Thailand. Adventures celebrates 11 years of the World Race on the weekend of 11/11 by gathering 40+ alumni passionate about planting churches to pray into what God has for the future of World Race Alumni. December 2017 – 27 Adventures Long Term Missionaries came from 9 countries for their retreat in Gainesville. Thailand is added as an official Adventures Base, and a Adventures ministry base is added in Battambang, Cambodia.