DAD IS IN THE HOSPITAL WITH SEVERE HEADACHES

  
Please keep our Dad in your prayers (Jerry Garner - The Tomato Man). I took him to the VA ER at 4.45a yesterday morning with debilitating, excruciating, & unbearable headaches. He has been admitted to the Neurological wing of the hospital and is undergoing a lot of diagnostic testing. He has been in so much pain & agony... hardly able to function at times. The past 6 months have been especially brutal on him, but the last 2 months and more specifically the last 2 weeks have been agonizingly brutal for him. About 6 weeks ago Dad started developing bad headaches. We have been going the traditional medical route of appointment with primary, order CT scan, get results, referred to specialist, make appointment... this all takes many weeks & oftentimes months to go through... then throw in a couple hurricanes and rescheduling of appointments and then it gets even longer. His CT scan showed something, but nothing too crazy. He had a Neurologist appointment scheduled for mid November, and a dialysis related surgery scheduled for today (Friday) so we were trying to manage this day by day and keep the surgery date, other upcoming appointments, and see the Neurologist in a few weeks, but over the past 2 days the headaches have intensified greatly so we hightailed it to the ER. The VA is AMAZING!!! They are doing every test known to man and trying to determine what's going on. I've only had a migraine headache 2 times in my life when I was a kid and I'll never forget how bad they hurt... all I could do was curl up in a ball and cry... so I can only imagine how much misery Dad is experiencing. You can tell that he is in so much pain that he wants to cry, but he holds back. With Dad's stage 4 kidney failure he can only take Tylenol for pain, and it hasn't helped him at all. The only relief he gets is laying flat or at a slight angle and then the pain subsides. But then eventually you have to go back upright to eat, stand up, go to the bathroom, change positions, etc, etc. So that's the whole story. He is on the 5th floor of the Bay Pines VA Hospital in Room #: 5D-109 (Bed 2) ... even in the midst of all the pain the first thing he thinks about is giving out gifts at the hospital which now includes pens, flashlights, watermelon cubers, and his new "limited edition" 2025 calendar hahaha!! I told him that he should make a Tomato Man Swimsuit Edition and circle his birthday (Dec 19th) on all the calendars hahaha! He got a good laugh out of that. They say laughter is the best medicine so I've been doing a pretty good job of giving Dad a daily dose of haha's lol. I'm way behind on social media, but I'll do my best to keep you updated. Thanks for your love & prayers!!

 

 

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GLOW CANCELLED TILL 2025

Ugh, so much going on that I forgot to post publicly that the GLOW Bioluminescence Paddling Event that was rescheduled for tonight (Oct 5, 2024) has been cancelled due to family health issues and the impacts of the hurricane. Jan contacted everyone registered earlier this week, but we like to do a public post on social media so nothing falls thru the cracks. I'm happy to say that GLOW is back on the calendar for next year - August 23, 2025 and registration is already open 😀

GLOW Website

 

 

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UPDATE ON DAD

First off, we weathered the hurricane well. We only had branches down and lost power for 16 hours (we had a generator to get us thru). Compared to the devastation that others are experiencing we were unscathed. Our hearts are broken to see so many in our community lose just about everything. It's brutally gut wrenching. So giving an update about Dad feels almost inappropriate. But I know he has so many that love him and genuinely want to know how he is doing. To sum it up, he isn't doing well. He hasn't been able to walk since Friday which makes everything waaaaay harder. He has recently lost dear friends & close family members which crushes his heart. He had his lower GI tract probed and they found polyps with high risks of cancer so he has another system that is failing. His kidneys & heart are always in decline. He is 100% of the time in a lot of pain & discomfort, but because of his kidney disease he is limited on pain meds. Basically he is miserable, but he rarely complains. There are days when I think he is in the last season of his life. I honestly don't know how he keeps on keeping on. I never give up, and I would have given up a long time ago if I had all that he has going on... so I have great respect for his perseverance. Over the past 4 days he can't walk and is on laxatives, and that is a crazy combination... he needs help getting to the bathroom and the laxatives sneak up on him without warning so it's an around the clock race to the bathroom before things get real messy. And yes, things have gotten real messy!! I have seen "things" and cleaned "things" I've never wanted to see or clean... I may need counseling when this is all over hahahaha! But it's what we do as a family... thick and thin. Neither one of us has slept hardly at all in 4 days because of the laxatives. I just tell him we are having a weekend frat party as we party all night long on the "potty" haha. He is around 200 lbs so not everyone can help transfer him from bed to wheelchair, from wheelchair to vehicle, from vehicle back to wheelchair, from wheelchair to toilet, etc. Overall his medical needs have skyrocketed over the past 6 months. Every issue that occurs requires a doctor's visit then a referral to a specialist then an appointment for diagnostic testing then a doctor's visit to go over the results then an appointment for surgery or procedure then hospitalization then follow up doctor's appointments for results & continued follow up... and this goes on for every system that goes wrong... and then Dad has the same types of doctors in both the VA and private health care so many times we are duplicating visits simply because he wants to go to both providers. That part is insane to me, but Dad has a way of doing what he wants to do. He is an unstoppable force, and that's not always a good thing lol. So currently we have 1-2 doctor's appointments or dialysis 6 days per week... everyday but Sunday... this frequency has been going on for months and will go on for many more months. We are blessed with the best village of helpers - Tom, Dianne, Laurie, Dave, Carson, myself, others, and Dad's home health aide thru the VA who comes here 5 days per week (M-F) for 4 hours each visit. It's astonishing how many people it takes to keep one person surviving. It's a heavy toll that paralyzes your ability and availability to do much more than caregive so it's very difficult to see the local need of devastation and know I could help with the clean up and rebuilding, but I need to stay within 50 feet of my Dad because that old laxative is going to be calling soon. I'm just saying that because I want to be involved in helping others, but this is where God has me right now helping my Dad, and I've got to be alright with that... and I is. It doesn't make it easy to not be able to help friends and community, but I'm content knowing I'm doing what God has me doing. I'm going to give you an update on me on another post because I just celebrated my 54th birthday (still haven't read my FB birthday wishes from last week, but I'm looking forward to it), but basically I'm doing GREAT!! Ever since my breakthrough in early August God healed me of a lot of things in a split second when I stopped resisting Him on this current journey I'm on. Everyday since then has been one of the best days of my life... even while cleaning up "messy" things. Keep my Dad in your prayers please. Growing old and going thru the long "dying process" is about the worst thing I have ever witnessed with my Mom and now with my Dad. It's hard to watch, especially when there is nothing you can do to stop the inevitable. The best thing I can do is turn laxative messes into late night frat parties and administer the best 3 medications ever created >>> companionship, love, & laughter 😀

 

 

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MOVIE NITE "SOARED" DEEP IN THE HEART OF THE FOREST!

It was Pizzadillas & a Movie in the middle of Pisgah National Forest as we relaxed around the campfire, roasted s'mores, and watch Top Gun Maverick soar halfway across the globe to save the world.

Special appearances included The Moo Moo Girlz and the reigning 2024 Miss S'mores LOL!

Last year we switched from running our projector & sound system from a gas powered generator to an EcoFlow solar charged power bank for a quieter & simpler movie set-up & experience.

It was a great night!

 

 

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Hello Florida!

Hello Florida! Just got back from NC... GREAT trip! PTL 😀

 

 

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BEST! HUMAN! AVALANCHE! EVER!!!!

This is how SEU College Students roll! Or should I say slide 😉 .

(No animals were harmed during the production of this aqua adventure.)

Southeastern University (Countryside Satellite Campus) Adventure Trip 2024!

 

 

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RAFTING & FUNYAK DAY WAS THE PERFECT DAY!!!

 

I couldn't put into words what a phenomenal day rafting & funyak day was on the French Broad River in North Carolina!! It was simply perfect from start to finish! Perfect weather. Perfect temperature. Perfect location. Perfect scenery. Perfect time of day. Perfect duration on the river. Perfect activity. Perfect thrills. Perfect group of people. Perfect focus on Jesus. Perfect moments. Perfect instant memories. It was one of the best days of our lives! ...a day we will all cherish & savor forever! We love, love, love these students and their leaders from Southeastern University (Countryside Satellite Campus) ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

 

 

 

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We are back up in NC

 

We are back up in NC for one last Adventure Trip of the season!! Welcome back Southeastern University students for your 3rd Annual GTD Adventure Trip!!!

 

  

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BREAKTHROUGH!!

  

On August 1st & 2nd I experienced one of the greatest breakthroughs of my life. It happened as I was breaking down the campsite by myself in NC after an Adventure Trip. It's extremely rare to have to break down camp without any volunteers or staff, but about every 15 years it happens. We usually try to have about 5 people breaking down camp and it usually takes 3-5 hours. By myself it took me 18 hours spread out over 2 days. This was so orchestrated by God. The past 5 years of caregiving had pretty much annihilated me & my Sister as all of you know, and I have been on this TAKEback campaign since hitting rock bottom last Sept (a year ago). There were many issues that had me completely gutted, but a couple of those issues revolved around the idea that I'm nearing my mid 50's and I was in the worst health of my life from caregiving and feeling like the last of my best years are over, and with that was the probability of the greatest dream & desire of my life since I was a kid to one day be married and raise a family has been ripped away from me. The hard part of caregiving is that it literally kills you... kills your availability, kills your energy, kills your finances, kills your joy, kills your health, kills all your relationships, kills your business or ministry, kills your drive, kills your hopes, kills your dreams. Most caregivers literally die before the person they are caring for dies. It's a statistical fact. It is reality, and it has been the reality I had been living for 5 years. And to be raw and real, I haven't been happy about it at all as anyone could tell from my social media posts over the past 5 years. I have had the disgruntled heart of Job along the way. That doesn't mean I didn't want to care for my Mom. It was one of my top 3 callings in life. It just means that I totally underestimated what caregiving required. Totally. Not even close. And the losses I was experiencing, well those were the things I was disgruntled about. The near bankruptcy. The loss of nearly every close relationships. The barely keeping the ministry alive. The loss of any chance at a dating life or romance or marriage or kids or a family. And many many other things that are of immense value to me that died or were dying. All those things are totally annihilated in the life of a caregiver. But I've been making a bit of a comeback over the past year with my TAKEback campaign, but the gains have been agonizingly slow, but they have been gains regardless of their pace. They have been encouraging signs of a heartbeat and life. But still my joy has been so little, but yet it has been more joy than I've experienced in 5 years. And I missed so many things about my true & authentic personality and character that I haven't seen in many years. I used to laugh all the time. I used to joke around all the time. I used to dream and chase those dreams all the time. The "recent Doug" has been disgruntled, joyless, & very angry. I missed the "former Doug" more than I can articulate. That is, until a month ago when I ran into "former Doug" in the forest of NC during my 18 hours of breaking down camp by myself!! I found my best friend again - "former Doug"!! As I was breaking down camp and tempted to be disgruntled I had a few breakthrough thoughts that I leaned into. They aren't profound thoughts. In fact, they are quite simple & elementary... sort of like a childlike faith that leads to salvation. As I was drying off tents and packing them up, cleaning out showers, and inventorying pasta noodles my thoughts were, "God I just feel like this is a big waste of time and resources. I need to be back home taking care of my Dad. I'm years behind on countless important things. My house needs so much work to be completed. I have so many friends in need to reach out to. You could have supplied me with an army of volunteers and we could have knocked this out in a few hours, and then we could be putting this time & energy to more productive uses for Your Kingdom. Quality time with people where real ministry takes place. Honestly Lord, I don't really like how you run things. I'm not on board with You, and You do this all the time. Thousands of people dying without You Lord, suicide rates going through the roof, thousands of people literally starving to death and You have a willing servant here wasting time & energy folding up tents all alone in the middle of the forest (and here's the breakthrough thought), BUT I GUESS THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT ME TO BE DOING." Did you catch that?? In that moment friends I STOPPED RESISTING God's directives... the very directives I've often found to be "pointless and mundane", but are the tasks the Lord has orchestrated for this season of my life. This was the breakthrough point >>> I STOPPED RESISTING. I STOPPED RESISTING. I STOPPED RESISTING. Sometimes personal ambitions rob you of living fully in the moment. And in that moment I dropped my ambitions and started accepting that which I did not want. I "embraced the suck" as they say in the military. I stopped fighting God's "mundane & pointless" tasks, and started embracing them. "I GUESS THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT ME TO BE DOING." And in that moment I STOPPED RESISTING!!! A pastor once preached a message about John 15 and bearing fruit for God's glory. He asked, "Do you know how you can tell if fruit is mature? It's when you push on it with your thumb and IT ISN'T HARD AND DOESN'T RESIST THE PRESSURE." It's a lesson I've learned and applied many times throughout my life, but I passed all those pressure tests in the school of life during all my formative years from "1st grade thru 12th grade". But I've been failing this same lesson at a higher level of education over the past 5 years. As TD Jakes says, "New levels brings new devils." So as we go on to the next level of the same lesson the difficulty level substantially increases. And as soon as I STOPPED RESISTING this same lesson at a higher level EVERYTHING CHANGED!!!! In an instant "former Doug" was back!!! I folded all those tents with a pep in my step! I was loving being in the outdoors and listening to the creek and my tunes. I was loving seeing that at 53 years old I still had it in me to break camp for 18 hours all by myself. I felt so strong, so encouraged, so healthy. And the best part was that I stopped trying to be God's manager and advisor, and started living in the moment again albeit the mundane pointless moment. Although I think He should do things differently. I STOPPED RESISTING the way in which He chooses to do things. Since returning home I have continued to walk in what feels like one of the most radical breakthroughs of my life!! None of my circumstances have changed. The caregiving demands are as high as ever with my Dad, but I'm no longer disgruntled. I have "embraced the suck". I'm "counting it all joy" (James 1:2). "I guess this is what You want me to do God." And in that letting go I have rediscovered the awe & wonder of living in the moment again... even when that moment is undesirable. I'm laughing again. I'm having fun again. I'm working out hard again. I have dreams again - but with less unhealthy ambition and no rigid timeline. I have hope again. In one simple but profound truth I have been set free again. I find God's approach many times to be inefficient. I honestly don't like the way He does things many times. That's my honest opinion, and I tell Him all the time that I know my opinion is inaccurate... I is dead wrong because I know His ways are higher than man's ways... His thoughts higher than man's thoughts. It's His universe and He knows way more than me. Like Saul I had to learn to stop kicking against the bricks (STOP RESISTING) so He could turn me into Paul. I'm back babie!! I'm 24 again!!! In my lack of fitness over the past 5 years I went above 20% body fat for the first time in my life. Now I'm back eating healthy ("embracing the suck") and working out hard. I'm already down to 16% body fat with the non rigid goal of getting to under 10% as I hit 54 years old later this month. I STOPPED RESISTING AND STARTED LIVING AGAIN IN THE "POINTLESS" MOMENT and everything changed. On a side note, as I was breaking down camp and listening to some of my favorite songs,  "The Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams came on (I LOVE THAT SONG!!!) and one of the lines in the song were the perfect words at the perfect time. He sings, "Ain't no use in complainin when you've got a job to do." That is now my mantra! That is now my wake up song. I play that little clip before I do what I don't want to do... which is the vast majority of my day... and I'm finding by the end of the day I had the best day of my life by willingly and even joyfully going ahead and doing every "pointless & mundane" thing that I don't want to do, but "I guess this is what the Lord wants me to do today." I daily have to let go of all my ambitions and desires in that moment to answer the call, but I'm finding along the way that I sometimes like God's way better than mine. Sometimes I find that I'd rather do what I hate more than doing what I like... one of many paradoxes of following Jesus. Thank You Jesus for BREAKTHROUGHS and for NEVER GIVING UP ON ME!!!

 

 

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GLOW POSTPONED TILL OCT 5th!!

  

With all the crazy nightly thunderstorms this week, the forecast of similar storms tomorrow night, & Doug's Dad's hospitalization yesterday we are postponing our sold out GLOW Bioluminescence Paddling Trek till Saturday night October 5th. The last place you want to be in the middle of a lightning storm is on a paddleboard or kayak on open water. Hopefully our new date will have a better weather pattern. There is nothing that you need to do. We will transfer your registration to the new date. Let us know if you aren't able to go on the new date and we will open your spot for those on our waiting list. My sincerest apologies if the new date doesn't work out for you!!!

 

 

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BACK TO THE HOSPITAL! ...AND DON'T FORGET THE PENS!!

 

A little bit after returning home from dialysis this afternoon Dad "didn't feel right"... abdominal pain, low blood pressure, lightheaded, borderline passing out, profuse sweating. After about 45 minutes of taking BP, pulse ox, changing his positions, etc, etc he was feeling worse and started to pass out so I called 911. Jan was working here today and was so helpful comforting Dad. The Pinellas Park EMT's & Paramedics showed up and took great care of the Tomato Man and loaded him up and took him to the Emergency Room... but not before Dad reanimated and summoned the strength to say one last thing before being carted off, "Doug, can you go over to that box by my chair and grab a handful of pens so I can give them out at the hospital." LOL! That's The Ambassador / Tomato Man!! Always loving to give gifts to others... that's just who he is. The EMT's & Paramedics really loved the pens! Watch out hospital, the Tomato Man and his pens are on the way!! I'll update this post as I learn more. Thanks for praying for Dad... this is his 4th trip to the hospital in 2 weeks... that's a lot of pens!!

 

 

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Beautiful sunset tonight...

Beautiful sunset tonight at Redington Beach... Goodbye Mr Sun!! See you tomorrow!! 😀 

 

 

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It's good to be back in church :)

 

It's good to be back in church :) 

 

 

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OUR FALL RETREAT IS 2 MONTHS AWAY!! ....REGISTRATION PAGE IS NOW OPEN!

 

 

Our annual Fall Retreat is back babie! We've reserved an AMAZING group campground on a 71 acre spring fed lake with all kinds of family friendly & kid friendly activities!! Keeping Jesus first is our main objective so join us on another God-awesome GTD adventure as we say goodbye to the dreaded summer heat & humidity and say hello to the wonderful fall Florida weather in late October!! I can't wait!!!!!

 

CLICK HERE for Details & Registration Page on our website

 

 

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Back to the hospital for the 3rd time this week

Poor guy! Back to the hospital for the 3rd time this week. Dad returned home yesterday afternoon from our early morning ER run. He ended up receiving a stent for a partially blocked artery near his heart. Today while receiving his regular Thursday dialysis treatment his heart rate dropped so low that the doctor on site felt it would be best to err towards caution since he just had a heart catherization and send him back to the hospital. Dad is in good spirits and is being checked out by the ER staff at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater... hoping he can return back home quickly!! It has been quite the week for him!

 

 

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EARLY MORNING TRIP TO THE ER CAN'T STOP DAD FROM GIVING GIFTS TO OTHERS!

  
Around 1am this morning my Dad woke me up complaining of chest pain & heart attack symptoms. Over the next 20 minutes he took 3 nitroglycerin pills spaced out 5 minutes apart. That's the first time he has ever taken nitroglycerin. The pain went away and we continued talking about going to the ER or not. Dad has had a few times when he had chest pain and it resulted in several days in the hospital running a lot of tests to find out it's not a heart attack. The hospitalizations take a negative toll on him so it's not as easy as saying everytime I feel chest pain we are going to the ER. It's more like pick your poison. So after a few minutes of weighing the pros & cons he opted for going back to bed. Around 3am he woke up with more chest pain so we went straight to the ER while taking 1 more nitroglycerin pill enroute. My role is to break the speed limit (yesssss!!) and keep his mind distracted usually by minimizing what's going on, "This is probably just a false alarm like the others. You'll be fine and back home quickly. How 'bout that Rays game last night!" So we arrive at the ER in record time lol (it helps that nobody is on the road at 3am). And there are no other patients waiting. They take Dad straight back and start running all the tests. So what does Dad do? He does what he always does and that's that he had me load up his "briefcase" with all his goodies he loves to give to people (while he thinks he is having a heart attack, mind you) and then we drove to the ER (had to backtrack for a minute) and then while the medical staff is caring for him he is handing out his Tomato Man pens to everyone!! LOL, you've got to love this guy!! I was able to snag a pic of him in action. You would never believe how much nurses & doctors ABSOLUTELY LOVE a good writing pen!!! It's like giving them a brick of gold! They absolutely love it!! I tell the nurses that tonight will be like getting Santa Claus for a patient hahaha! Well, long story even longer, the preliminary tests showed no signs of a heart attack, but they wanted to admit him for more testing (that's the part that takes its toll over time... for elderly people to be confined to a hospital bed even for a few days can have a lot of negative impacts, especially the strength to walk. It can take weeks to recover from hospitalizations for aging people not to mention all the infections & diseases you get exposed to in the hospital. I love hospitals and greatly honor & appreciate those in the medical staff - I used to be a Respiratory Therapist - but a few more tests and observation can turn into pneumonia or covid in just a few hours for elderly people. Like I said, pick your poison.) So Dad is in the hospital for only a day or two (hopefully), but I already know that it's Christmas time in Room 627 for anyone who is taking care of the Tomato Man :) :) :)

PS: This is an unrelated post about Dad's health from my post yesterday. Dad had a procedure done and went under anesthesia, but by yesterday afternoon he was back home and doing great.

 

 

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Dad has had a very full summer of procedures...

Dad has had a very full summer of procedures, Dr's appointments, & dialysis. Today he was up at 4am getting ready for his outpatient procedure today at St Anthony hospital in St Petersburg. He will be under anesthesia for a couple hours, and hopefully returning home later today. Dad has been averaging about 5 days per week of medical appointments (along with dialysis) for the past few months. He is in good spirits... he keeps on keeping on :)

I'm soooooo thankful for Traci, Dave, Carson, Laurie, Tom, Dianne, and everyone who helps the Tomato Man get to all his appointments, especially when I'm out of town running events!! It takes a village, and God has blessed us with a great village indeed!! After being gone for weeks at a time I try to return and make up for all the Dr's appointments that I would have been helping with if I was here. My aim is to alleviate Traci & Laurie's load for the 5 weeks that I'm here before returning to North Carolina in September. 2 weeks into it and so far so good! PTL :) 

 

 

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INTRODUCING GTD'S NEWEST OUTREACH >>> SAILFUTURE ACADEMY (SFA) FOSTER CARE AGENCY & PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR AT-RISK TEENS!!

OUR RECENT 5-DAY ADVENTURE TRIP WITH SFA WAS FANTASTIC!

 

(Note: SFA is a secular private academy not to be confused with a faith based private academy.)

 

I'm thrilled to share with you that GTD has recently been blessed with a wonderful outreach opportunity with an incredible organization based in St Petersburg, Florida that reaches out to foster care youth & at-risk teens in a very unique way that includes sailing. In fact, we just got back from our first 5-day Adventure Trip with them in North Carolina, and God blessed us with a great experience sprinkled in with some challenging moments that SFA teachers & staff turned into mechanisms of growth. On the 3rd day a few teachers shared with me that they could see some significant breakthroughs in some of the students. Camping and adventure has a unique way of stretching you & growing you quickly in a concentrated amount of time.

 

Long story short, a few months ago one of our former GTD employees (Tessa Ward) who now works for SFA introduced me to Hunter Thompson (Chief Operations Officer of SFA) and I was able to tour the academy and their enormous 100+ ft sailboat. I was immediately hooked on what they are doing, how they are doing it, and the results they are seeing. We began to talk about ways GTD could partner with SFA. Since we had an open week on our calendar and a campsite already reserved in NC, and since the students typically don't have the funds to do trips like this, and since we could run this event at minimal expense, and since God through our amazing supporters & donors blessed us exceedingly & abundantly at last year's Annual Banquet, and since it seemed that God was prompting my heart to reach out, I offered SFA a free 5 day Adventure Trip in North Carolina for up to 60 people. And praise God, with deep gratitude they accepted the offer. So in a matter of a couple of months they organized things on their end and we organized things on our end and it all culminated into 30 staff & students arriving to camp in 4 rental vans for a 5 day adventure in Pisgah National Forest!! We not only all survived, we had a fantastic time!!

 

In the weeks ahead I look forward to sharing with you special moments throughout the trip.

 

I want to profoundly thank all of our donors, supporters, Ministry Partners, & volunteers for making this event & experience possible!! You would have all loved seeing how the week transpired. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to GTD!! God bless you dear friends of GTD!

 

ABOUT SAILFUTURE ACADEMY (from their website):

"SailFuture is an innovative foster care agency, and private school based in St. Petersburg, Florida. We serve children and families across seven different programs throughout the Saint Petersburg community.

 

Our comprehensive continuum of care is designed to serve Florida’s highest-risk teens in foster care, meeting many, if not all, of their needs under one umbrella.

 

As an organization, we offer a broad range of programs and services designed to holistically treat childhood trauma and equip teens with the skills and resources necessary to navigate life."

 

More posts and updates to come!

 

 

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SLAMMED 2024 was a blast!

SLAMMED 2024 was a blast! Not even unrelenting rain to start the trip could dampen the spirits of this near record crowd of adventurers!! Everyday was a new day full of excitement & new memories being made. ...I've got so much more to share!

 

 

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Got back a couple days ago...

Got back a couple days ago from our July Adventure Trips in NC... it has been a full & blessed summer!! I'm behind on our social media updates, but lots of good stuff to report PTL!! I'm back for a few weeks to work on Dad's home renovations before our next series of events. Many pics, vids, & updates to share!! Thank you Ministry Partners for all the love, support, & prayers throughout a very full God-awesome summer :) 

 

 

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SLAMMED 2024 - SOLD OUT!!

 

With 60 people registered for our annual SLAMMED Adventure Trip we are officially SOLD OUT!! This is my personal favorite GTD event so I totally understand why it's such a popular trip. It's so much fun!!! Praying for this to be a powerful & unforgettable event in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina! Thank You Jesus!!

 

 

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SOMETIMES IT'S NOT GOOD TO BE POSITIVE! ...LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON > COVID POSITIVE

   

After being gone for 3 weeks running summer adventure camps in NC I was able to squeeze in a week of COVID just before we head to Costa Rica for a Mission Trip then back to Florida to run a night paddle then back up to NC to finish up the month with back-to-back Adventure Trips. Unfortunately my Dad tested positive for COVID right after I got back from NC and soon after I test positive too. Dad had a lot of congestion & fatigue with no fever, and I had a very mild sore throat with mild fatigue and no other symptoms and no fever. It has almost run its course, and we are just about on the other side of this. Thankfully some of the newer strands of COVID can be a lot less potent as it was a few years ago to the point that it's now advised to treat it like having the flu if the symptoms aren't bad. I had a lot of other ways I wanted to spend the past week, but I'm very thankful it happened when it did and it was very mild PTL!

 

 

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TRIP 3 FINISHED STRONG & SO DID WE!!

   

Our 3rd Adventure Trip in a row finished yesterday, and the ZEAL middle school youth group from Calvary Chapel Fellowship of St Petersburg, Florida had a blast! It was our first time doing back-to-back-to-back Adventure Trips since before COVID. 3 non-stop action-packed labor-intensive adventures in 14 days, and we finished strong PTL!!! The immediate feedback that I've been getting from the pastors, group leaders, & participants has been incredible & heart warming... so much more to share! Thank you to our amazing supporters, encouragers, prayer warriors, volunteers, staff, family, and friends who make all of this possible!! And most importantly ALL GLORY TO GOD who powerfully uses camp ministries combined with His amazing outdoor playground to forever change the trajectory of people's lives! I've got so much more to share!!

 

 

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TRIPS 3 IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!

 

The Annual ZAMP Calvary Chapel Fellowship Middle School Youth Group Adventure Trip is about to begin!! Entire group arrives to NC safely PTL!!

 

 

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WOW, WHAT AN AMAZING GROUP!!! TRIP 2 ENDS TODAY... TRIP 3 STARTS TMW!

 

It's hard to put into words just how incredible this youth group is... they are so much fun, they are so in love with Jesus, they are such a great example, and they are such an inspiration!!! Maybe the following story sums it up best: While we were at Turtleback Falls having a blast in God's ultimate water theme park a random stranger walked up to me and asked, "Is this a church group?" I told him yes. He said, "I thought so. These kids are so respectful, kind, & thoughtful." He was compelled to search me out and compliment their behavior. That has been our experience as well. We have been so blessed and honored to host the high school youth group of Suncoast Community Church of Largo, and we can't wait to see them again when we get home. God bless their youth pastor, leaders, & parents for raising up such incredible kids!! /// 2 trips down in our first back-to-back-to-back series of Adventure Trips since COVID... now we prepare for TRIP 3 that starts tomorrow with the awesome ZEAL middle school youth group from Calvary Chapel Fellowship. They call their summer Adventure Trip "ZAMP" (ZEAL + CAMP = ZAMP)! GTD has been hosting their summer camps for 20 years!! Can't wait to keep the tradition going!!!!

 

 

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DEVOS, EXTREME TUBING, & RAFTING DAY!!

  

Our 5-Day Adventure Trip with the high school youth of Suncoast Community Church of Largo, Florida is already off to a GREAT start!! We love this group! They are so much fun! And they have deep roots in their faith! We had a wonderful quality devotional time with a deep dive into John 15 followed with some extreme tubing down a waterfall and culminating with white water rafting down the French Broad River... what a terrific start to this trip!!

 

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TRIP 1 IS DONE... AND TRIP 2 HAS JUST BEGUN!

 

This morning the families of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater completed their 5 day Adventure Trip with GTD... it was AMAZING!!! Thank You Jesus!! With a few hours to spare we went into town, had a celebration lunch, restocked the groceries, returned to camp to tidy up, and then the next group arrived. We are kicking off Suncoast Community Church's first ever youth Adventure Trip with GTD!! They've already slid down sliding rock, played volleyball, set up their sleeping areas in the tents, had a delicious meal, met around the campfire, and now off to bed. White water rafting tomorrow!! This youth group is soooooo much fun!!! Can't wait to see all that God does over these 5 days!! Heading back to camp and 10 miles from cell phone coverage!

 

 

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OUR LARGEST ADVENTURE TRIP EVER IS OFF TO A [FAM]TASTIC START!!

   

75 participants from 18 families of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater arrived safely to camp in NC. It's our largest Adventure Trip ever! This is our 4th annual event with the Calvary families and it grows bigger & bigger each year. We are 10 miles outside of cell phone range so we will update sporadically throughout the week. Thanks for the prayers!!

 

 

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WE MADE IT TO NC!!! ...THE PAST 6 WEEKS HAVE BEEN CRAZY SO I'M THRILLED WE ARE BACK ON TRACK!

 

We just arrived to Brevard, NC and are about to kick off our 1st of 3 back-to-back-to-back Adventure Trips over the next 2 weeks. The past 6 weeks have been crazy with 2 hospitalizations for Dad, helping Laurie finish & move her into her condo, 5 days of sickness, moving a whole lot of stuff for the tree to be cut down, siliconing the storage container, & 7 days of reorganizing the backyard for an inspection by my new homeowner's insurance. All of those things needed to be done, but I wasn't planning on doing many of them until the fall. Unfortunately it put me waaaaay behind on getting ready for our summer trips... but Praise God and with very little sleep we pulled it all off, and God blessed us with safe travels to our amazing friend's house in Easley, SC on Wed. Jason & Heather Lazzaro put us up in the wonderful home for 3 nights where we got caught up on much sleep (thank you Jesus!!)... this morning we drove just over an hour from Easley, South Carolina to Brevard, North Carolina. Our campsite opens up at 12.30p today... we will be outside of cell phone service most of the time. Our first trip is going to be our largest Adventure Trip ever with 75 participants (the families of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater)... this is their 4th year in a row and it gets bigger each year!! Thank you for your prayers for safety & spiritual impact!!! It's go time!!! Thank you to everyone who has helped us get here and who supports this ministry and enables us to do what we do!!!!

 

 

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WHAT A RE"LEAF"!! ...7 TRUCK LOADS OF LEAVES REMOVED!

    

Over the past few months I along with our Young Guns and awesome volunteers worked together to remove about 7 truck loads of leaves from my yard / GTD Home Base. About a year ago I bought a Lawn Sweeper to pull behind the riding mower (or golf cart)... all I can say is that the Lawn Sweeper is one of my favorite inventions ever!! In about 2 hours I can sweep up as many leaves as it used to take me about 2 weeks to rake up!! Game! Changer! I had a build of leaves over the past 2 years that was killing my weeds/grass, but now we are all caught up on leaf removal... WHAT A RE"LEAF"!!!

 

 

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SEAL THE DEAL! ...SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOP!!

We're getting a lot of work projects done, and it feels so good that I've got to shout it from the rooftop... literally ;) . I was recently able to use liquid flashing to seal the joints of the plywood decking on top of the storage container (we built the decking to insulate the exterior of the container). After that dried I applied Henry's Tropi-Cool silicone roof sealant to waterproof it as well as reflect 85-90% of the suns heat. It turned out perfect! Cool to the touch!Aaaaaaaaand just in time for the summer heat & rain! 

 

 

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