TABLE SPONSOR ALERT!!

TABLE SPONSOR ALERT!! We are excited to share that we have our first 2 Table Sponsors for our 2015 Annual Banquet!!

Table 1) Our profound thanks to a Tampa based attorney firm that likes to keep their donations anonymous for being our first Platinum Level Table Sponsor!! We deeply appreciate your belief in and generous support of GTD!! God bless you!

Table 2) And our profound thanks to Landry Academy for being our first Silver Level Table Sponsor!! We deeply appreciate your belief in and generous support of GTD!! God bless you!

We are always blown away by people's kindness and support! 25% of our annual budget comes through donations. It's a deep honor to be a part of a ministry that receives thoughtful & sacrificial expressions of support through contributions towards our mission and cause. We are always humbled, touched, and blown away to receive even one penny. It causes us to praise God and greatly rejoice =)

If you would like to help support the cause by sponsoring a table or making a one-time donation or becoming a monthly partner then click on this link. Thank you so much!!!


.

Delicious Breakfast & Great Hair Day :)

Breakfast this morning with our dear friend and ministry partner - Jason Doyle. Love, respect, and appreciate this guy! (How am surrounded by such good looking people with awesome hair!?!? LOL!)  :)

It's baaaaaaaack!!

The backpacking trip your mamma warned you about is back!

Swamp Thing Everglades Backpacking Trip returns Dec 19-20, 2015

Details coming next week!


.

One Giant Leap! (Utah 2016)

One small jump for Doug; one giant leap for GTD! Utah 2016... Our newest group destiNATION!! 

Find out more at our Annual Banquet on Nov 17th :)

Panoramic Fun (Finding Myself)

This is a photo I call, "I WENT TO UTAH TO FIND MYSELF" - LOL!

The Friendship Factor

As part of our weekly Staff Meeting we are going through a book called, "The Friendship Factor". I've always seen friendships as my calling in ministry. While some may think of GTD as an activity ministry, I've always seen it as a friendship ministry full of people who share Christ centered adventures together. God created us for relationships and community. One of the greatest honors in life is to have trusted friends that don't allow you to feel comfortable in apathy and compromise, but rather spur you on towards closeness to God. Friendships are vitally important! The reality is that true ministry is centered around relationships. In fact, at the heart of our relationship with God is friendship. In my favorite verse in the Bible (John 15:15) Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends..." Wow, that blows me away! We have the opportunity to be considered a friend of the living God! Friendship is a priority to God which automatically means it should be a priority to us. One of the challenges we face in running a mobile adventure ministry is that it constantly takes us away from home and family and friends and turns prolonged physical distance into relational distance. As the years go by our close friendships naturally become less & less close. Because of this we are taking time to focus on "The Friendship Factor" and emphasize the importance of close friendships. We are striving to rekindle friendships that were once vibrant and flourishing, but have now grown distant as well as investing in new friendships that God has placed before us. In both instances, we are looking forward to what God has in store. Have a great day FRIENDS!!

Save-The-Date!! (Nov 17, 2015)

SAVE-THE-DATE!!

Tues Night - Nov 17, 2015

GTD's Annual Fundraiser Banquet!!

Come celebrate 19 years of ministry with GTD! Be a part of a wonderful night of inspiration, excitement, & celebration. Help take GTD to the next level as we raise funds for next year's programs, as well as prepare for the next 20 years of ministry.

<> $25 per person (or $40 per couple)
<> Table Sponsorships start at $150
<> Catered By Carrabba's
<> Largo Cultural Center
<> Fundraising Goal: $30,000

Details  |  Donate

ATTACKING THE PILES!

It has been a very productive week back in the office. Part of the challenge of being on the road for several months and not having an office manager is that we return back to a mountain of tasks that need immediate attention while at the same time having to work on current tasks as well as prepare for upcoming events. It can be a little overwhelming and feel a little paralyzing. But last week we took a week to rest & recover. We have taken the time to pray over everything. And we've started back at our weekly staff meetings. Like the old adage goes, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." We have broken our mountain of tasks into smaller "bite size" piles and we are attacking them aggressively. The past 5 days have been very productive and we are marching forward as we still have several weeks to go to get all caught up. Our profound thanks to our prayer supporters and Ministry Partners who help enable us to go the distance!! We look forward to what God has in store for us and sharing the progress with everyone :)

Rest & Recovery

Took the past week off to rest, recover, and get ready for our fall adventure season. We pushed hard for 5 straight months of non-stop events including 4 months of travels, camping, and primitive living. It was a jam-packed God-awesome season of camp ministry. It's a whole lot of fun, but it's a ton of physically demanding work too. I spent the week getting caught up with family, watching some of my favorite shows that were recorded, and sleeping in everyday. It was just what I needed. Now it's time to transition back to my administrative work, fall events, office reconstruction, and preparation for our 2016 events. Thank God that I love work otherwise I'd have a hard time leaving this comfy couch - LOL!! I'm so looking forward to all that God has ahead of us. PJ!! Giddy up! 

(PS: Thank you so much Jason Doyle & crew for designing & building my little "happy place" here at GTD Central!! It has blessed me more than you'll ever know!)

Home Bound!

Truck & trailer are loaded up. It has been a God-awesome 4 months mostly on the road. It's time to return home. Departing Hiawassee, GA at 11:45pm. Tampa Bay bound!! Any wagers on how long it will take us to drive 9 hrs??? See you soon Sunshine State!

Back In The Eastern Time Zone

We've landed in Atlanta safe & sound. Heading to stay with Kevin & Ashley Starner's tonight before we pack up from all the summer/fall trips and drive the GTD trailer back down to FL over the next couple of days. :)

Climbing Zion

The final piece of the Utah puzzle... yesterday we located a few places to rock climb inside of Zion NP (in addition to more hikes and activities for our participants to enjoy). This is going to be a great new destination for GTD! Can't wait to start bringing groups back here :)))

Wrapping Up In Utah

These are our last couple of days in Utah. We are hammock camping and visiting future destinations as we literally plan out GTD's first official trip to Utah (Lord willing in 2016). Exciting :)

WE FINISHED!

THE AGONY OF VICTORY!! Laurie & I finished in record time... as in record slow time (LOL!)... She is hobbling, but doing well. AND Jason & Heather Lazzaro finished close to record fast time!! So impressed with everyone for finishing!! Praise Jesus!!

Custom message from SPOT GTD (GPS Alert)

GTD (GPS Alert)
Latitude:36.10606
Longitude:-112.09450
GPS location Date/Time:10/02/2015 15:49:53 EDT

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

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/R5vpc/36.10606N/112.09450W

If the above link does not work, try this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36.10606,-112.09450&ll=36.10606,-112.09450&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

GTD (GPS Alert)

You have received this message because GTD (GPS Alert) has added you to their SPOT contact list.

Ready for Adventure
FindMeSPOT.com

PIECING IT ALL TOGETHER

During our 10 day recon trip of Utah we visited the "Mighty 5" National Parks within the state. All were spectacular! But they may not all fit within the criteria of a future GTD group event. And that's why we recon them before we bring groups here. We are now taking all the information we've acquired and piecing together what we believe will be a once-in-a-lifetime God-awesome event to provide to future groups. Utah definitely has the WOW factor! In Romans 1:20 God's word says that God has made His invisible qualities evident through creation so we believe that every destination on earth reveals another unique attribute of our amazing Creator. Utah was no let down in this regard. On the contrary, it exceeded expectations! A big thrust of our ministry is to bring people to places that display the majesty of God. You can't avoid His majesty in the mountains, plains, valleys, and canyons of Utah. There is so much variety of magnificent beauty here. It's absolutely breathtaking! We believe that the 10 days we spent here were a great investment for the future of GTD. Now Laurie and I are spending a few more days here to piece it all together into a trip that we prayerfully hope to offer next year during GTD's 20 Year Anniversary!! It's all coming together quickly. We want to thank our supporters and ministry fans for your prayers as we seek to follow where we believe God is guiding this ministry. We believe our supporters will be overwhelming pleased with Utah as our next GTD destination out west. And we know you will all be happy with the frugalness that was taken in this endeavor as we used airline points to purchase our flights, camped out & stayed in inexpensive humble accommodations, used discounts to rent our vehicle, and ate mostly backpacking style & grocery bought meals. In other words, we did this trip on the cheap just like a non-profit organization should. We look forward to sharing with all of you the final trip plan as soon as we finish piecing it all together. It's happening quickly! Thank you for believing in and supporting this ministry! A new God-awesome trip is in the works!! God bless :)