SEVERAL KIDS SAVED... AND BAPTIZED IN THE RIVER! THANK YOU JESUS!!

 

We got back late last night from our annual Adventure Trip with the ZEAL Middle School Youth Group from Calvary Chapel Fellowship. They call the trip ZAMP (ZEAL + CAMP), and it took place at a wonderful group campsite in Brevard, NC. It was a God-awesome week full of faith & fun that culminated with several youth receiving Jesus as their Saviour and being baptized in a picturesque stream about a mile from camp!! Thank You Jesus!!!! That's what it's all about! This is why we do what we do!! I can't compliment the CCF leadership team enough for how much love, support, and encouragement they pour into their students. I can't thank the GTD staff & volunteers enough for all they did to make this week so special. And I can't thank our amazing supporters enough for all that you do and sacrifice in order for this one moment to take place. This is the fruit of your sewing and watering! You share in the harvest because you participated in the gardening process!! One person plants, another person waters, and God causes the growth... ALL GLORY TO GOD!!! We are so thrilled with all that God did over the past week! I've got a lot more highlights to share this week, but I thought I would kick things off with the best news first!

 

 

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IT'S BAAAAAAAAACK!! ...FALL RETREAT Oct 20-22, 2023 ...ONLY $55/person!!!

 

We had about 100 people join us last October for a fUntastic camping retreat at an AMAZING group campground in Ocala, FL. I'm thrilled to announce that the Fall Retreat is coming back again this year!!

 

This is a fun adventure for people of all ages with an emphasis on young families with young kids! Check out some of the highlights:

<> LOCATED ON A 71 ACRE SPRING-FED LAKE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

<> PRIVATE BEACH AREA

<> INDOOR KITCHEN SPACE FOR MEAL PREP

<> HISTORICALLY RESTORED BEAUTIFUL 1930s DINING HALL

<> MODERN RESTROOMS W/ FLUSH TOILETS & WARM SHOWERS

<> PADDLEBOARDS & KAYAKS PROVIDED

<> 100 FT GIGANTI-SLIDE (GIGANTIC SLIP'N SLIDE)

<> INFLATBLE BOUNCE HOUSE & WATERSLIDE FOR KIDS

<> OUTDOOR MOVIE / TEAM SPORTS / CAMP GAMES PROVIDED

<> NIGHTLY CAMPFIRES WITH PRAISE & WORSHIP

<> DAILY DEVOTIONS... GROWING CLOSER TO GOD!

<> CHRIST-CENTERED FAMILY-FRIENDLY EVENT

<> TENT CAMPING PROVIDED BY GTD -or- BRING YOUR OWN TENT

<> COTS PROVIDED BY GTD FOR FIRST 100 REGISTERED

<> SLEEPING PADS PROVIDED BY GTD FOR 101st+ REGISTERED

<> RVs & TOWABLE CAMPERS WELCOME (No Electrical or Sewer Hook-Ups)

<> GREAT SPOT FOR HAMMOCK & CAR CAMPING

<> BRING YOUR OWN FISHING BOAT (25hp Max)

<> BRING YOUR OWN FISHING GEAR & LICENSE

<> BRING YOUR OWN HORSE (34 mile equestrian trail)

<> 5 MILES AWAY FROM JEEP, ATV, OHV, & DIRT BIKE TRAILS

<> 35 MINUTES AWAY FROM GREAT MT BIKING TRAILS

<> NEARBY HIKING TRAILS

<> SO MUCH MORE!!!

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ONLY $55/PERSON!!

YOU CAN'T STAY HOME WITH THE FAMILY FOR LESS THAN THIS PRICE!

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FALL RETREAT website

(For more details & registration)

 

 

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For the first time in many years...

 

For the first time in many years we are all packed up, trucks prepped, trailer connected, and ready to hit the road A FEW DAYS BEFORE we actually have to leave!! This may be one of the final signs before the rapture happens LOL
 
Special thanks to the AWESOME Yates family who set aside their day last Saturday to volunteer and help us prepare for our summer Adventure Trips!! You guys are an amazing blessing and a huge answer to prayer!
 
And another special thanks to Carson and his girlfriend Lauren who tirelessly help me ALL THE TIME with their great zeal and fun-loving attitudes!
 
GTD is kicking off its 27th summer of outdoor ministry in a few days in NC, and we couldn't do it without big-hearted volunteers and selfless donors!! Volunteers helped us prepare, volunteers are helping us run the camps, and volunteers / Ministry Partners are helping & housing us in SC, NC, GA, & TN... it's a total team effort by some of the best people I've ever been blessed to know! As one of my friends said, "There is no greater power for good in this world than the Body of Christ." We get to experience that truth every year! Thank You Jesus!
 
Keep us in your prayers as we undertake a lot of hard work, primitive living, & healthy risk taking in the months ahead.
 
The other dynamic that I covet your prayers for is that I will be traveling back and forth from camps to home in FL to help with my Dad, keep working on his living space in my house, and try to chip away at a very loooong list of responsibilities that I'm years behind on. Please pray for my Sister and Laurie who are helping with Dad as well as family friends who help with Dad a lot too. And, of course, pray for Dad who is making great improvements.
 
Thank you so much!!

 

 

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CARSON IS VERY "TIRED" TODAY! ...GTD GETS 25+ NEW TRAILER TIRES!!

 
Carson is literally changing about 25 tires today and tomorrow on all the GTD trailers so I would have to say he is going to be very "tired" LOL! This is waaaaay overdue on a few trailers and perfect timing for the rest of the trailers. As a mobile ministry our trailers are one of our top 3 most important pieces of equipment so getting some new treads will set us up for about the next 4 years on the bigger trailers and maybe 8 or more years on the smaller trailers. This is a big deal for our ministry and is made possible by the VERY GENEROUS $10,000 local grant we received to address our trailer needs. GTD currently has 7 trailers (3 enclosed trailers, 2 utility trailers, 1 kayak trailer, & 1 boat trailer) plus 1 golf cart. Thank you awesome grant donors for enabling our ministry to address our trailer needs and keep on trucking for Jesus with God-awesome events in the Tampa Bay area, central Florida, and all over the Southeastern United States!! Aaaaaaaaaand special thanks to my right hand man, Carson, for all his hard work as part of the GTD NASCAR crew!!

 

 

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I'M YEARS BEHIND ON EVERYTHING, BUT I JUST GOT A YEAR+ AHEAD ON OUR PUBLIC EVENTS!

  
Being years behind on everything is an awful way to live so as I fight my way out of this terrible pit I'm tackling one chunk at a time to get caught up and then going the extra mile to actually get ahead of the game with that "chunk". One example of this is our Public Events. At GTD our goal is to provide 1 monthly adventure that's open to the public, either free or very inexpensive, has a website with specific details, has a registration page for sign-ups, and has been fully planned out. A lot of work goes into each event. I've been behind on all of those tasks for our Public Events for the past 4 or 5 years. BUT NOT ANYMORE! I've not only gotten caught up with all of our monthly Public Events for 2023, but I'VE GONE THE EXTRA MILE and planned out all of our 2024 Public Events!! That has never happened in our 27 year history! That may not be a big deal for some or most people, but it's a huge deal for me. It marks a moment in time - the first time in about 5 years - when I'm actually "bailing out water" faster than the water is coming into the boat. That's a big deal to me! Up to this point I had been bailing out water non-stop, but no matter how hard I would work at removing the water it would fill up faster than I bail it out. It felt like I was bailing out the Titanic. I'm exhausted, but happy to share that most of our Public Events are ready to go for the next 19 months!! PTL and thank You Jesus! Click the pic to see our upcoming schedule for GTD's Public Events for 2023 & 2024, and start planning ahead to come out play with us in God's amazing playground!
 
You can also visit each event page (see left side menu) for specific details and to register for some God-awesome events!
 
Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!
 
 
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DAD IS MAKING STRONG GAINS! ...I'M WEATHERING SOME DEPRESSION

 
Earlier this month Dad had to go on dialysis which was something we've been trying to prevent for several years because it requires him to go to a Dialysis Center 3 days a week for 3-4 hours each time. Little did we know just how much dialysis would improve his health and strength. Since going on dialysis he has been able to walk with a cane, he started back driving, he has gone grocery shopping, he has cooked a few of his world famous delicious meals, he has slept better, he has to go "potty" less often throughout the night, he and Traci got matching iPhone watches (this is probably the biggest miracle of them all haha), he has been giving away tomatoes & gifts, and he has started back attending City of Pinellas Park functions among other small (but actually HUGE) little steps of progress in his quality of life. Just prior to going on dialysis he was hospitalized for 10 days and had pretty much hit rock bottom (we all had)... he started talking more and more about this probably being his last months of life. But to all of our surprise, he started on dialysis and immediately started feeling better. We want to thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and love throughout this very long & difficult journey with our parents. We have learned many times along the way that things can change dramatically overnight, but today we are happy to share that things changed dramatically for the good over the past few weeks. Thank you everyone for your prayers... they mean everything to us!! My Sister and I aren't doing the greatest. To say that we are exhausted and a mere shell of our normal selves would be an understatement. I'm weathering mild to moderate (and sometimes severe) depression about 75% of the time, and feel less like a human being and more like a zombie from longterm exhaustion. But that other 25% of the time I'm very happy and find myself belly laughing for the first time in years. That 25% of good stuff reminds me that the 75% of depression and discouragement will eventually pass. Like backpacking in the middle of a thunderstorm you realize that you just have to outlast the storm and keep putting "one foot in front of the other and soon you'll be walking out that door" like a young animated Kris Kringle used to sing. Thank you again for your love & prayers :)

 

 

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SIDEWINDER WAS AWESOME! ...CHECK OUT THESE GR8 PICS!!

 

A couple of weeks ago we did our annual FREE paddleboarding event called SIDEWINDER. It was a perfect day to be on the water, and we had a blast! We paddled over to a nearby island, swam, had squishy ball & water blaster wars, and just had a great time hanging out and fellowshipping.

 

Special thanks to our fun-loving participants, our amazing volunteers, our wonderful staff, and our incredible donors & supporters for making events like this possible and such a blessing to everyone!

 

Our next big public event is SLAMMED (June 21-25)... a 5-day Adventure Trip in Benton, TN for ONLY $55 per person!! You can't stay home for 5 days for less than that! Read all about it on this link:

 

SLAMMED 2023

 

And you can check out all of our SIDEWINDER pics and videos on this link.

 

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry 

God-awesome adventures since 1996!

 

WE HAVE ABOUT 6 SPOTS LEFT!!

  

Join us on May 6th (this Saturday) for our annual SIDEWINDER Stand-Up Paddleboarding Day Trip to a nearby island in St Petersburg, Florida. 

 

This event is FREE and INCLUDES LUNCH!!

 

Beginners welcome!

  

For event details and to register for SIDEWINDER click on this link.

  

We hope to see you there! 

 

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry

God-awesome adventures since 1996!

 

 

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Newest update on Dad:

  

Dad was discharged from the hospital Saturday night after almost 2 weeks of diagnostic tests and treatments. The doctors still aren't sure if it's his heart or kidneys that are the main culprit, but his kidney function has declined from the already fragile state they were in. He is doing better overall and they were able to remove the 20+ pounds of swelling from his body including fluids from around his heart and lungs. Unfortunately he has to be on dialysis 3 days per week at a dialysis center for about 4 hours each time... after a month of that he should be able to do a certain type of dialysis from home 7 days per week. While in the hospital they did surgery to place dialysis ports inside his stomach and up by his right shoulder. There is a small possibility that the dialysis is short term, but it may be necessary for the rest of his life. He got very little sleep while in the hospital and is exhausted. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for the past 2 weeks. Carson and I are working nonstop (in addition to my GTD work) to create a nice area in my house for Dad to reside in. The progress is slow, but very good. Thank you all for your love and prayers, and thank you to all the medical professionals that study and work so hard to help others, especially the wonderful staff at Morton Plant Hospital who helped The Tomato Man :) . FYI, Dad was distributing gifts to everyone who helped him at the hospital including watermelon cubers, flashlights, salt & pepper shakers, and personalized pens with his phone number and his nickname: "The Tomato Man"... it's amazing how much a pen can make someone's day LOL!

 

 

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GETTING TO THE "HEART" OF THE PROBLEM

 

Please keep Dad in your prayers. He swelled up with 20 lbs of retained water over the period of a week or two, and his bloodwork came back with some concerning numbers. His Primary Physician wanted him to go to the ER, but Dad is so worn out with being hospitalized that he wanted to try to manage it from home. After a few days of increased diuretics, a trip for a couple diagnostic tests, and a few home health nursing visits he dropped 10 lbs. It was looking like he may avoid the hospital. But his heart Dr wanted to see him. After another set of labs his bloodwork was showing that despite the drop in retained water some of his other numbers were significantly worsening. The P.A. & Heart Doctor implored Dad to go on to the ER so that he could get several diagnostic tests immediately and be admitted to the hospital where his heart and kidney doctors could treat him and zero in on the cause. On Tuesday we went straight to the ER from his heart Dr's office where Dad spent 6 hours getting a myriad of tests by a great hospital staff. Around 10pm he was admitted to Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater. Yesterday his Dr's were trying to figure out the cause and then the course of treatment for whatever is going on. Even though his kidney numbers were crashing they were able to rule out his fragile kidneys as the root problem. They have narrowed it down to his heart, and are still determining exactly what's going on, and ultimately what means of intervention to take. Open heart surgery was mentioned as a possibility, but later ruled out. We were hoping to have a final diagnosis before posting this update, but would rather ask people to lift him up in prayer while it's all being figured out. He has had an excruciating past 7 months and has displayed an amazing level of resiliency with each crushing situation. Over the past 2 months he has actually taken several positive steps forward (literally) since his knee replacement surgery. We knew the recovery would not be a perfect straight line and that he would probably have a few hiccups or setbacks along the way... this is one of those hiccups. PTL, he has been trending in a better trajectory since mid February. Today he is battling something related to his heart plus the exhaustive toll that journeys like this take on your overall morale. Thank you so much for your love and prayers (even if it takes us days, weeks, & months to reply back to your loving & supportive comments, cards, texts, & voicemails). We are not worthy of such love and support, but we praise God for it!! Traci and I will keep you updated as we learn more specifics. All our love <3 !!

 

 

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5 DAY GTD ADVENTURE TRIP FOR ONLY $55!! JOIN US IN TN THIS JUNE FOR OUR 28th ANNUAL SLAMMED!!!

  

Join us JuNE 21-25 in Benton, Tennessee for my favorite GTD event >>> our annual SLAMMED Adventure Trip!! 

 

This trip is regularly $250/person, but we run one public SLAMMED event each year at a greatly reduced cost, and this is it!

 

This trip includes tent camping at a fantastic group campsite, daily devotions, nightly campfires, waterfall sliding, cliff & bridge jumping, rappelling, paddleboarding, hiking, lake swimming, team sports, group games, nice restrooms with flush toilets & warm showers, tons of fellowship, an outdoor movie, and the option to go white water rafting on the world famous Ocoee River (add $50pp for rafting)!! Now that has all the ingredients for what we call a God-awesome time!!

 

I would wish the trip upon everyone!!

 

For more details and to register for this event click HERE!!

 

Aaaaaaaaaand as always, our deepest love & appreciation for all of our generous donors, supporters, & volunteers that make events like this possible!! You! Are! Simply! AMAZING!!!!

  

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry

God-awesome adventures since 1996!

 

 

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Our next FREE event is PADDLEBOARDING on May 6th!!! LUNCH INCLUDED!!

 

Join us on May 6th (a Saturday) for our annual SIDEWINDER Stand-Up Paddleboarding Day Trip to a nearby island in St Petersburg, Florida. 

 

This event is FREE and INCLUDES LUNCH!!

 

We have 24 paddleboards so register very soon to reserve your spot!

 

Beginners welcome!

 

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of our phenomenal supporters that have enabled GTD to get some pretty awesome gear (including new paddleboards) over the last few years and expand our list of activities!! You guys ROCK!

 

For event details and to register for SIDEWINDER click on this link.

  

We hope to see you there! 

 

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry

God-awesome adventures since 1996!

 

 

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RECORD BREAKING CROWD OF NEARLY 60 PADDLERS JOINED US ON LIQUID LAST SATURDAY!!

 

Despite a few hiccups here & there we had a blast this past weekend with a record breaking crowd of nearly 60 paddlers on our annual day-before-Easter LIQUID Kayaking Trek!! The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the devotional was impacting, the people were fantastic, and we even got to see a few dolphins! God blessed us with a great day :) 

 

Special thanks to Dad and Dianne for preparing a yummy 5-star lunch, to Nate Zeitler for preparing a heartfelt devotion, to our volunteers & staff for helping prep equipment & shuttle participants, and to Cocoa Kayaking & our awesome donors for enabling us to have soooooo many tandem kayaks & great gear!! We praise God for this total team effort that made LIQUID 2023 very special :) 

 

See pictures of this event here:

https://goingthedistance.smugmug.com/2023/2023-Day-Trip-LIQUID-Paddling-Trek/

 

Register for LIQUID 2024 here:

https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/liquid.html

 

Check out our next 2 public events here...

SIDEWINDER Paddleboarding Trek (May 6th):

https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/sidewinder-sup-trek-war-veterans.html

 

SLAMMED TN Adventure Trip (June 21-25):

https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/slammed-tn.html

 

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry 

God-awesome Adventures Since 1996!

 

 

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HAPPY EASTER!! HE IS RISEN!

HAPPY EASTER! 

 

For Resurrection Sunday we attended a wonderful church service to celebrate our risen Savior, and we went to the National Cemetery to see the new headstone of our amazing Mom (BIRDDOG) who put her complete trust & faith in that same risen Savior. For us it was a mixture of joy & sadness. We miss Mom & Dad misses his wife, but we know that for followers of Jesus to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord so we celebrate Mom's new address at the intersection of Joy Avenue & Peace Street in the presence of Jesus :) . 

 

They did a great job with the headstone, and the entire cemetery is an incredibly beautiful hallowed ground full of military veterans and their spouses who faithfully served this country. 

SOLD OUT!! OVER 50 PEOPLE REGISTERED FOR TMW'S LIQUID KAYAKING TREK!

We are thrilled to have such a great response to this year's LIQUID Kayaking Trek! With over 50 people registered it's officially SOLD OUT!!
 
HUGE thanks to Cocoa Kayaking for donating 15 amazing tandem kayaks and to our loving & generous supporters who enabled us to purchase 10 tandem kayaks a couple of years ago before the cost of kayaks & equipment inflated.... and an additional HUGE THANKS to our incredible supporters because we are able to offer monthly public events like this for FREE or at a greatly reduced price! From the bottom of our hearts here at GTD, THANK YOU SO MUCH AWESOME SUPPORTERS!!!
 
We are looking forward to a God-awesome adventure tomorrow! Happy Easter weekend everyone :) 

 

 

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HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY!!

Thank You Jesus that brutal Good Fridays lead to liberating Resurrection Sundays! Only from a Godly perspective of what was to come could a blood soaked cross grossly attached to someone with a pummeled unrecognizable face be seen as a "Good Friday". And that's the Gospel (which means Good News)... that by grace through faith Jesus took our sin, suffering, & scrutiny upon Himself and by the scourging on the cross He exchanged it all for our salvation. His marrow removed my sorrow! The old adage that blood is life has never been more true! As one of my T-shirts proclaims, "A blood donor saved my life." That Blood Donor was Jesus... and the date of His blood donation is what we refer to as Good Friday! THANK YOU JESUS for dying on the cross so that we may have eternal life by grace through faith!!
 
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
- Ephesians 2:8-9

 

 

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DAD IS BACK AT DUG'S SHANTYTOWN... AND BACK TO WORK!

 

Over the weekend we successfully moved Dad from The Vescovi Resort to DUG's Shantytown. We are 6 weeks into renovations for Dad's space over at my house and he jumped right in with the renovation work. We have many many months of work as we create his space, reconfigure the GTD office, and eventually renovate my personal fixer-upper home. Dad has made great progress with his knee replacement over the past few weeks PTL!

 

 

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JOIN US FOR OUR FREE KAYAKING TREK (INCLUDING LUNCH) AS WE DEBUT OUR NEW KAYAKS ON APRIL 8th!!

   

It's our annual Day-Before-Easter FREE Kayaking Day Trip we call LIQUID, and everyone is invited! Join us for a fun day of yaking as we debut our newly donated kayaks from Cocoa Kayaking!

 

To claim your spot all you have to do is register on the link below and show up ready to paddle!

 

Location: War Veterans Memorial Park

City/State: St Petersburg, Florida 

Date: Saturday April 8, 2023

Time: 10:00am - 2:30pm

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Website:

https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/liquid-tbd.html?m=1

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Registration Link: 

https://gtdbullhorn.blogspot.com/p/registration-liquid-canoeing-day-trip.html?m=1

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We can't wait to host another God-awesome GTD event that we hope blesses your day & soul!

 

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A TRIBUTE TO A GTD DOG NAMED FAITH!

I'm saddened to share that one week ago today we had to put one of our GTD Dogz (Faith) to sleep. Faith has blessed our lives and so many of our participants for nearly 15 years. She & her sister Courage "joined" GTD when they were 6 weeks old - a day after a bear came into one of our campsites and I decided to get a dog to be our "wild animal alarm". Faith & Courage instantly became part of my family & the GTD family and traveled with us on adventures throughout the southeast from the swamp trails of the Everglades, to the canoeing trails of central Florida, to the rock climbing mountains of Tennessee, to the waterfalls & gorges of North Carolina, and to the backpacking trails & State Parks of north Georgia. Faith loved going on all of these great adventures and both dogs did an outstanding job fulfilling their role as alarms for & deterrents of wild animals entering camp, alerts of strangers walking nearby, and most importantly they served as a fun-loving face-licking affection-giving representative for our ministry. In many ways they were as much of a GTD staff member as any employee or volunteer. Everyone loved Faith as soon as they met her, especially kids! No matter how God-awesome an event was this Labradoodle could always make it even better just by being the lovable & silly dog she was. I never used to understand how people could get so attached to pets until I got these dogs. Second only to God Himself, these dogs have taught me more about unconditional love, the power of asking and receiving (they were always asking for snacks, truck rides, belly rubs, & to go outside), unstoppable joy, not holding a grudge when others (me) let them down, and the importance of stopping office work & going outside for some fresh air. Faith was a much better dog than I was a owner, but she was always so happy when I walked through the door and would run over and start pouring out the love. And as much as she loved me she adored Laurie. They say that you don't pick your dog, your dog picks you. Courage picked me as her best friend, but Faith picked Laurie as her bestie. As happy as Faith was to see me she was a thousand times more thrilled to see Laurie. Laurie is a much better pet owner than me. I call her, "Laurie Finger - Friend Of The Animals". Faith would come alive and sprint to Laurie as soon as she saw her... it was like everyday was Christmas and Laurie was Santa Claus! With all that was going on with my parents over the past few years I never posted this on social media, but Faith has been aging very poorly over the past few years. She went completely deaf, had terrible arthritis in her hind legs that made walking difficult & caused her to fall many times throughout the day, and for about 18 months she has had dementia which caused her to walk aimlessly & stand facing the corner in any room. Even with all of that she was almost always happy. But there were also times when she would fall and be unable to get back up on her own and begin to panic. I was hoping she would make it to the end of the year, but last Thursday she took a sudden turn for the worse and lost all sense of balance. She couldn't sit, stand, or walk without falling and hitting her head. Her eyes were twitching uncontrollably. We believe she developed Nystagmus. I didn't want to put her down, but over the next 24 hours it became obvious that was the only option. We called Laps of Love who come out to your house. Laurie came over and slept next to Faith all night on Thursday night and then we had Faith outside (her favorite place) all day Friday feeding her rotisserie chicken & cheese. Faith's final act of affection was to nuzzle up into Laurie's lap just before the meds were administered. It was so touching and crushing at the same time. Faith passed painlessly while laying securely in her best friend's lap. She was a fantastic dog and lived a great dog life, and she served our ministry well for nearly 15 years! Thank You God for making animals... what a cool invention!! A few years ago there were 4 cats and 2 dogs living with me. Now it's just 1 dog. The house feels a whole lot emptier without all these fun-loving furry friends... but that's the hard & unfortunate part of having pets... they just don't live as long as you wish they did. Goodbye Faith! Thank you for your service and all the doggone good times!! And thank you to the thousands of people who loved on Faith over the past 14+ years on events and to the long list of people who dog-sat for her & Courage during trips and events that they weren't able to travel to (like Costa Rica, the Grand Canyon, etc). Check out all of the great pictures of Faith (and Courage)... from 6 weeks old to her last day... with thick hair, closely shaved hair and everything in-between :) . Faith was one-of-a-kind with so many quirky & hilarious behaviors... the house and our hearts are emptier without you Faith! That just shows what a great dog you were!!

 

 

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THE COMEBACK KID IS... WELL, HE'S MAKING A COMEBACK! THAT'S WHAT HE DOES =)

 
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for and checked up on our Dad! We are happy to report that he is doing really good. His cellulitis is gone, swelling is gone, redness is gone, and pain to the touch is gone. His knee replacement surgery was a success and he is receiving physical therapy. He is walking with a walker and making small gains of progress everyday! This guy is The Comeback Kid! PTL!!
 
He has been at The Vescovi Resort & Spa (aka, my Sister's house) for the past month. Traci, Dave, & Carson have been doing a fantastic job of caring for him while we continue to move forward with preparing a nice place for him at my house. He really looks forward to being more independent and a lot more mobile! This guy never gives up! Way to go Dad!

 

 

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SAY HELLO TO GTD's NEWEST ADDITION!

 
We are beyond thrilled and overwhelmed with gratitude for a local grant we received during our annual fundraising season for $10,000 to go towards replacing our aging trailers!! Since we are a mobile ministry trailers are one of our top 3 most important pieces of equipment. Without a trailer we couldn't run most of our events. All of our trailers are 20+ years old and have served us incredibly well. But they are aging and we need to replace them as we gear up for our next 20 years of ministry, and work on our expansion strategy. Well say hello to our newest addition!! This is GTD's "new" 2019 barely used trailer that spent most of its life parked at a house and utilized as a storage container. It's a heavy duty enclosed car hauler and it's in mint condition including new tires! It's 6 ft longer than out current trailer so we can hold a lot more "fun stuff"!! And it's 7 ft tall so Carson & I won't hit our heads anymore haha! Wowww, we are soooooo happy to have received this generous gift!! This is such a big deal for our ministry! I estimate that this trailer will be used to provide God-awesome adventures to over 20,000 people in the years ahead... now that's an impactful use of just a portion of a $10,000 grant! Aaaaaaaaand we still have remaining funds from this grant to go towards more trailers!! Our kayak trailer is rusted out so that's next on the list... especially since we have "new" 2-year old tandem kayaks that were just donated to GTD (from Cocoa Kayaking) in January that are worthy of a new ride :) . It's with hearts overflowing with gratefulness that we say THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH to our local grantor!!!! You just made this ministry stronger, better, and more capable to impact young people's lives (and all ages, but especially the youth) for many many years ahead!!! God bless you!!!!!

 

 

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MEGA THANKS to Tabernacle of Tampa Bay and the Zeitler family!!

MEGA THANKS to Tabernacle of Tampa Bay and the Zeitler family for setting aside last Saturday for a volunteer work day & service project day at GTD Central Command (aka my house) including my Dad's renovation project!! They shoveled tons of leaves... moved, stacked, & stored building materials... removed old windows... washed & cleaned backpacking gear... helped us clean up from the last project... and thoroughly blessed me & GTD immensely!! I want to thank Pastor Dan for making outreach and serving others an emphasis of his church and for the wonderful fellowship we were able to enjoy on top of all the productive work. Carson & I spent the next 4 days building upon the work this wonderful group accomplished. Thank you TTB for blessing GTD, my Dad, and my life! You guys rock!! God bless you!

 

 

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