Thanks Laurie!!

Special thanks to Laurie for all her hard work over the past few days to help GTD accomplish our "3 P's" - Plan, Prepare, Provide a God-awesome event - for yesterday's canoe trip. Only a few days after having her wisdom teeth extracted she was pouring her heart & soul into a physically demanding ministry. Impressive!! Great job Laurie!!

Canoeing The GTD Way!

I've always found canoeing by itself to be pretty boring especially for youths... so GTD uses our canoes as a means to tree jumps, rope swings, squishee ball battles, canoe flipping rampages, ramming speed collisions, and water wars!! Now that's a canoe trip I'll sign up for again & again!! It's the GTD Way! Here's a couple of trees the students (and adults) found to be jump worthy!! Great times :)

Hurricane Smurricane!

What do you do when you hear a hurricane may be coming?  We go canoeing!  Heading up to New Port Richey to meet up with Elevate Youth Group of Calvary Baptist Clearwater and the East Lake campus.....EXCITED!!!

PREPPING FOR TOMORROW'S EVENT

SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!! Preparing for our canoeing trip with the youth group of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater!! Can't wait :)))

BACK TO WORK!!

BACK TO WORK in the GTD office!! Preparing for a canoeing trip this Saturday, a backpacking trip on the AT in 2 weeks, our Grand Canyon Trip, our fall events, uploading 10 trips of pictures, updating 2 months of finances, tackling 2 months of emails (and piles of mail), and so much more. And I'm looking forward to every minute of it!! It's not just a job... it's a calling!! Seize the tasks! PJ!!! (Praise Jesus!!!)


...

Bring It!!

Usually after returning from a full summer of adventure camps I'm exhausted and need a week of rest & recovery in my bed. Not this year! I'm hitting the ground running. Can't wait to tackle so many projects & tasks!! PJ!! (Praise Jesus!!)

FL Bound!!

Peek-a-boo!! We're driving back to FL today :)

Thanks Stacy & Anna!!

We want to give a HUGE Thank You to Stacy & Anna for all their support and help over the past 5 days as we created GTD's first ever Gear Cache. They went ABOVE & BEYOND to help us get our equipment settled into Hiawassee, GA. We've loved spending quality time with them and sharing in a lot of laughs and deep conversations. We love their heart and passion for Jesus and we celebrate their upcoming marriage!! Thanks Stacy & Anna!!! We love you guys!! See you in a few weeks :)

Welcome to Hiawassee GTD!!

We are excited to announce a new development for GTD... Our first "Gear Cache" location >>> Hiawassee, GA. Although this may not sound like BIG news, it is very significant. Hiawasee is smack dab in the middle of the southeastern Appalachian Mtns. The AT passes right by here. The tallest mtn in GA is here. We are surrounded by tons of hiking, climbing, and rafting destinations. AND we are about 2 hrs away from 5 different airports... that's HUGE!!! (not a fat joke!!) We will continue to be based out of FL, but we will be caching (storing) a lot of GTD's gear & equipment in Hiawasee which will enable us to run more events ALL year long (not just in summers) and it will open up several new adventure destinations throughout GA, NC, TN, & SC. It will increase our ministry opportunities. It will greatly reduce our costs related to trailering everything up & back. It has the potential to greatly increase our annual revenues. It will open up opportunities for adding on new guides... And a whole lot of other benefits!! Laurie and I (along with 2 friends - Stacy & Anna) have been working on building shelves, cleaning equipment, and organizing gear. It's all coming together and we've loved watching God's hand weaving it all together. We are beyond excited!! It almost feels like we just opened up a new office up here. This is a development related to our "52 Days" campaign as we prepare for the next 20 years of ministry. We look forward to all that God does in and through our first Gear Cache location! Thank you to all our participants & supporters. We love you guys!! PJ!!! (Praise Jesus!!!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

As a non-profit ministry we are blessed by generous & loving people who believe in and support our ministry. They see the value & impact that God uses GTD to make in people's lives. About 25% of our annual revenues come through generous donors. All summer long we have been using 2 of our most important pieces of equipment that enables us to be a mobile ministry and outfit groups for a large variety of adventures - this amazing truck and this large enclosed trailer. Both items were donated by incredible couples that want to remain anonymous. We just want to jump for joy and say THANK YOU to these donors and all of our supporters for partnering with us in ministry!! You have impacted so many lives through your giving!! You would be so pleased to see all the great and impacting things that happened this summer!! God was glorified, souls were saved, lives were changed, and many people were renewed & greatly encouraged. You would all be so pleased to see how your donations were invested!! From the bottom of our hearts we want to leap for joy and say THANK YOU!!! WE LOVE YOU!! GOD BLESS YOU!

Rattlesnake Bite :(

One of our GTD Adventure Dogz named Courage was bit in the face by a rattlesnake about an hour ago. She is being treated with anti-venom at an animal hospital in Hiawasee, GA. Because of the health & size of the dog, the quality of care she is receiving, and the quick response we were able to take the prognosis is optimistic that she will survive & recover over the next few days. In other news, we will be making rattlesnake nuggets tonight after 1 shotgun blast by Stacy Alan Meunier. Thanks for everyone's concerns and prayers. Courage is an awesome dog and possibly just prevented one of us from stepping on the snake as we were walking around. Thankful for several small "circumstances" that increased the probabilities of Courage's survival.

Thanks Landry Academy!!

Our backpacking / rafting trip with Landry Academy ended yesterday. We spent 7 days together in circumstances that can be challenging - sleep deprivation, loss of a sense of control, no climate controlled housing, no toilets, no electricity, no showers, purifying water from a river, exposure to the elements, bug bites, potential encounters with wildlife, sore muscles & joints, inexperienced hikers, non-stop human interaction 16 hrs per day with strangers of a wide variation of ages, and many other circumstances that go into outdoor adventures. But do you know how many times we had conflicts, arguments, lashing out, or drama??? Absolutely zero!!! The situation was ripe for tensions and understandable disagreements, but the level of character displayed by the Landry participants was second to none. We had 3 students that were 13 years old and we watched as they helped everyone around them. We had parents in their 50's being stretched past previous limitations and we watched as they helped everyone around them. One of the greatest aspects of running this ministry for the past 19 years is the high concentration of cream of the crop Godly people we get the honor & privilege of meeting and spending quality time with. Contrary to popular belief, it's not the activities that make our adventures so great - it's the people who participate! In this case it starts with the incredible Landry leadership, especially Jen Brown Henriksen (her zeal & passion for life and adventure oozes out of every pore) and trickles down to each Landry attendee. It even includes the GTD staff and the God-awesome tone we strive to set on each event. And most importantly, it's the focus on Jesus who supplies the freedom & joy that binds us together. We loved every minute of our Landry adventure and we can't wait for the next one. But for now we will savor and praise God for the spectacular adventure we just completed!! Thank you Landry, Jen, each participant, our staff & volunteers, and our financial & prayer supporters that enable us to do what we do. Our heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you for playing a vital role in this ministry. God bless you all!!!

Take The Plunge! (Landry Academy Trip)

TAKE THE PLUNGE!! A one word definition for faith is RISK. You can exist for 80 years without ever being fully alive. You have to take risks in order to live out your full God given potential. It isn't easy. You will get hurt. You will fail. You will get rejected. Your heart will be broken. AND in the midst of all these things you will find that fullness of life is not about always succeeding and never falling short, but rather that life is fullest when you are daring and trying and pursuing with all your heart regardless of the outcome. That you are becoming an all-weather human being that can engage life and chase after your deepest dreams and highest calling and still count it all worthwhile even if it doesn't turn out exactly like you imagined it. True failure isn't that you fell short of achieving your dreams. True failure is having dreams that are never pursued. You can live with knowing you gave it all you had, but it's so much more difficult to live with the regrets of never trying. Following Jesus isn't safe and wound free. Chasing your calling isn't a guarantee that you won't be injured or experience deep heartbreaks. Just study the life of Jesus, Paul, the disciples. Living out the Christian faith is full of non stop RISK and dangers, but it is always worth it. Take the plunge! Jump fully into the dreams, passions, and calling that is planted deep within your heart. Start building battle scars from great risks and stop building a life of regrets. Become vulnerable and transparent. Live life with a heart wide open. And in doing so, fully live with a heart that fully worships God. Take the plunge! Jump in! And don't look back!

Landry Rafting Day

After 4 days of intense backpacking the Landry Academy team is white water rafting down the Ocoee River!! It's a great reward following an incredible accomplishment!!

A Trip Of A Lifetime!!

It was a trip of a lifetime!! 

17 unforgettable miles. 

42 adventurous river crossings. 

1 phenomenal waterfall. 

14 amazing people. 

1 God-awesome experience!!

We loved every second of our backpacking trip on Jack's River Trail!

(more pictures & videos coming)

Custom message from SPOT GTD (GPS Alert)

GTD (GPS Alert)
Latitude:34.97624
Longitude:-84.59448
GPS location Date/Time:08/14/2015 07:09:52 EDT

Message:GTD Update: The trip is going GR8! We're having a God-awesome time! Click map link 2 see our current location.

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Check-in/OK message from SPOT GTD (GPS Alert)

GTD (GPS Alert)
Latitude:34.97627
Longitude:-84.59415
GPS location Date/Time:08/13/2015 19:06:55 EDT

Message:Quick update from GTD: All's good! Everyone is safe & sound. Click on links to see our location. God bless =)

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Latitude:34.91800
Longitude:-84.54010
GPS location Date/Time:08/11/2015 23:09:35 EDT

Message:Quick update from GTD: All's good! Everyone is safe & sound. Click on links to see our location. God bless =)

Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Landry Crew Has Arrived!!

Our fantastic new crew of adventurers from Landry Academy arrived safely!! Things are getting exciting!!

Nearly a ton of backpacking food has been "procured" for our next adventure!!

Harder Not Smarter!

It's a lot of work to have fun!! Good thing we love work here at GTD!! Harder Not Smarter!

Preparing for our big backpacking trip with Landry Academy!! Can't wait!

Mountain View Lodge!!

This is where our next group will be staying tonight before we head out on our backpacking adventure tomorrow. It has 6 rooms and sleeps 30 people. It will be the perfect place for check-in, orientation, gear distribution, instructions, fellowship, and some great God time. Looking forward to a God-awesome week!!

Our Final Adventure Of The Summer Begins Tomorrow!!

A little glimpse of the adventure ahead!! Group arrives tomorrow. Backpacking trek begins Tuesday. So excited!!