Dinner With Heroes!

Laurie & I had the privilege of having dinner tonight with a couple of our spiritual heroes in the faith - Pastor William Rice and his awesome wife Cheryl. They are 2 of the most extraordinary & fun people you could ever know. They are planning a vacation to Utah and wanted to pick our brains about what we learned last year. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our time together.

Save The Date

We are so excited to announce that GTD will be celebrating 20 years of ministry this year at our annual banquet!  Mark your calendar! 

Eye Candy - Grand Canyon Trip

Places like this are like candy to the eyes....popping with colors, depth and beauty you can't even imagine!  This year will be my 6th year traveling out to Arizona with GTD to see the Grand Canyon and I will never grown tired of its beauty and adventures it offers!  

This year GTD will be offering a special add on canoe paddle down the Colorado River and a night camping out at the bottom of this world famous spot called Horseshoe Bend!  Not only that, but our participants will have the opportunity to see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and add on more adventures like Slot Canyons or Kayaking on Lake Powell!  

This 6 day/5 night trip of a life time scheduled for October 3-8th, 2016 is being offered at $799 through the end of May (airfare not included)!  

Spots are limited!!! 

To register for this trip, or to find out more info about what's included click on the Grand Canyon link on the left hand side of this page.

Interview Airs Today

They had to put make-up on me to try to decrease the glare from my bald head - LOL!!! If you want to see what I look like with make-up on then check out our interview on CTN TV today at 11:30am or tomorrow night at 7pm.

GTD TV INTERVIEW!!

The show will air Wednesday morning at 11:30am and Thursday night at 7pm. To watch it on TV in the Tampa Bay area please refer to your cable provider channel guide for WCLF (CTN TV). To watch it online at the times mentioned above click here: http://admin.ottdemo.rrsat.com/multibit/ctntv/index.php

Recorded Bay Focus Interview Today

Laurie and I were honored to be interviewed today at CTN TV (Christian Television Network) as part of a segment on their weekly show called Bay Focus which is hosted by the wonderful Darlene Greenlee. Darlene wanted to highlight some of GTD's upcoming events. We were blessed to receive about 20 minutes of air time to promote several events and aspects of GTD.

As usual, we had so much fun and enjoyed every second of it! Darlene always sets a great & fun tone. And Laurie knocked it out of the park during her interview!!

The show will air this Wednesday morning at 11:30am and Thursday night at 7pm. To watch it on TV in the Tampa Bay area please refer to your cable provider channel guide for WCLF (CTN TV). To watch it online at the times mentioned above click here.

Thank you Darlene & CTN TV!!


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LIQUID Pictures Uploaded

The pictures from all 3 LIQUID canoeing trips have been uploaded to our online photo album... enjoy!! Click here to see them.

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LIQUID 2016 WAS A SPLASH!

This past Saturday GTD had the privilege of running 3 free canoeing trips for 50 motivated paddlers at Weedon Island Preserve's beautiful kayaking trail in St Petersburg, FL. It was a mangrove canopy of awesomeness!

We had a marvelous time enjoying God's liquid playground! In addition to paddling we had squishee ball wars, canoe races, a water-top devotional, plenty of quality time together, lunch, and a few capsized canoes mixed in for good measure.

It's always an honor to have people take time out of their busy schedules to embark on an adventure with us. And we are very thankful for our staff and volunteers (Laurie Finger, Erin Powell, Jesse Altamarino) who helped make this day achievable. It takes a lot of hard work to provide adventure outings and we are blessed to have a great team of capable & talented people.

Praising God for good times!

Pictures of the event coming very very soon =)


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WHAT A WHIRLWIND WEEKEND OF GOOD STUFF!!

I was honored to officiate the wedding of one of our dear friends and longtime ministry volunteers - Dana Gibbs - to her new husband Barry. The wedding was beautiful and took place outside in the Orlando area. We are so happy for Dana & Barry and wish them the very best on their new adventure together!

Laurie & I then rushed back to Largo to celebrate the 50th Wedding Anniversary of 2 of the most extraordinary people on the planet - Karen & Dick LaBrant. With 200 people in attendance, it was a testament of what God intended marriage to look like. Dick & Karen have mentored, encouraged, and imparted so much wisdom to thousands & thousands of people & young couples through the years. We absolutely cherish them and their friendship, and are honored to have them on our ministry's board of directors.

Over the weekend Laurie & I also had a fantastic time in Lake Mary, FL spending quality time with another dear friend and partner in ministry - Jennifer Hedger (Daniel Hedger was out of town. We missed you Dan!). It's always great getting caught up with close friends. We had a wonderful time hanging out.

In-between the rehearsal, the wedding, the 50th wedding anniversary, and our hurried travels we also got to see so many friends we haven't seen in years as well as friends we do get to see more frequently. There are many ways in which God can bless a person's life, but one of the greatest of these is through healthy close friendships. I've been so blessed to have met so many people with deep and Godly character through many years of involvement in my local churches. I'm very thankful!

We also had just enough time this weekend to squeeze in a young adult church service and leadership meeting. And I got to do all of this with my best friend by my side - Laurie Finger. It was a good weekend! It was a blessed weekend. Thank You JESUS! =)

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Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!  

Sign up today to join GTD on one of our GOD AWESOME adventures to see more of this beautiful world!  

Hike the Grand Canyon or the Appalachian Trail, explore the Mighty 5 National Parks of Utah, hike the Narrows and Walters Wiggles, paddle the Colorado River, walk through the incredible Slot Canyons, let you eyes soak in the majesty of Havasu and Moody Falls or see one of the most photographed destinations in Arizona called Horseshoe Bend.  

Explore our website to find more details about our trips! 

Calvary Pictures Uploaded

We've uploaded all the pictures from our last 2 events onto GTD's online photo album. Hope you enjoy re-living the moments!!

Elevate Excursion (Calvary Baptist of Clearwater): CLICK HERE

Men's Advance Weekend (Calvary Baptist of Clearwater): CLICK HERE

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Thanks For Volunteering!!!

Special thanks to a great cast of volunteers and staff (including 2 guys not pictured here - Richard Dunn & Alan Tripp) that worked incredibly hard this past weekend to make our Men's Advance Weekend so special! God is cultivating a great group of newer volunteers mixed in with some seasoned veterans and we are thrilled to be partnered with such quality people.

The amazing thing about serving God is that you can pour every ounce of energy you have into ministry and somehow (supernaturally) walk away more refreshed, energized, and blessed than when you arrived. It's how God works! These men have no idea exactly how much they blessed mine & Laurie 's lives, 35 men's lives, and the lives that each one of us touches after we depart from an inspiring ministry event like this.

God could supernaturally use thousands of different resources in order to accomplish His ministry, but I learned a long time ago that His primary choice of methods is to utilize people. God's method is man. He uses man to reach man. It's how He includes us in on a worldwide mission with eternal ramifications.

Our profound thanks to these guys for being willing and available vessels and allowing Christ to work through them to be a blessing to others. We are so glad you are on our team! God bless you!!

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REAL MEN DON'T RETREAT. REAL MEN ADVANCE!

We had a colossal God-awesome Men's Advance Campout this past weekend with 35 exceptional men from Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater!

The event was held in Odessa, FL on a 170 acre private ranch adjoining a beautiful lake and surrounded by thousands of blueberry bushes and plenty of majestic oak trees.

Activities included boating, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, volleyball, shooting at the gun range, Hole Shot, relaxing on hammocks, blueberry picking, watching an outdoor movie, hanging out around the campfire, Biblical lessons and challenges, morning devotions, and a whole lot of shoulder-to-shoulder guy time relationship building. It was the perfect weekend!

Most of the men arrived and didn't know anyone. That's one of the great things about events like this. In the course of 30 hours people can go from complete strangers to good friends (and in many cases we see the birthing of new best friends). The reality is that Christ-centered camping trips are relationship accelerators. There are so many elements within a camping trip that cause teamwork, overcoming, and collaboration. Then when you mix in a Biblical approach with an optimistic perspective, a joyful tone, and mutual encouragement you have a setting that promotes rapid relational growth. We estimate that one weekend event like this is the equivalent of an entire year of casual interaction at church. That's why camps and retreats are (or should be) big priorities to churches... so much growth, development, and salvations happen when we disconnect from the strangle hold of the many distractions found in our day-to-day life.

I want to thank my dear friend Pastor Ron Cooney for all the time, effort, planning, and promoting he did to make this event happen, and especially for the opportunity he gave our ministry to be able to host this event (our 4th time over the past 5 years!). It was a blessing to everyone involved! We are already talking about next year's event!

I want to thank our Staff & Volunteers for the tremendous job they did to turn Calvary's hopes and plans into reality. I can't accurately express how much hard work goes into setting-up camp, breaking-down camp, and everything in-between. They did an amazing job! (I will make a separate post to honor all of their efforts.)

And, as a non-profit organization, I want to thank all of our donors, Monthly Partners, and supporters for their faithful and consistent investment into this ministry. I learned a long time ago that many times God's method is man. He uses man to reach man. He works through willing vessels to make large impacts. Each person's donation to this ministry makes a difference in countless lives and we are forever grateful for your enablement and support that helps make what we do possible. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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Good Morning Calvary Baptist Men

The guys from the  "Men's Advance" weekend retreat with Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater started their day off with blueberry pancakes (fresh picked-onsite blueberries) and devotions from Romans 13.  What a blessing to see these men gathered together in Christ! 

Calvary's Annual Men's Retreat Starts Today!

Kicking off our annual Men's Retreat with Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater this morning!! Looking forward to all that God is going to do!

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I SPY

I spy a GTD t-shirt in Sam's Club and I'm not the one wearing it!!! Way to represent the ministry Elissa! 

HAVASU FALLS 2016!!

YOU ASKED FOR IT. WE LISTENED!
Introducing GTD's Havasu Falls Backpacking Trip 2016!!

They are difficult to obtain, but GTD has locked in a reservation for 15 backpackers to one of the most astonishing destinations in the world - Havasupai Falls down inside of the Grand Canyon.

Ever since we started including an overnight stay at Havasu Falls on our South Rim Grand Canyon Trip participants have been asking for more time at this breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime destination.

We heard your request and we are excited to announce that GTD will be outfitting an extended backpacking trip for 4 days & 3 nights to Havasu Falls Nov 18-23, 2016 (includes 2 travel days).

We love these dates because it's a great time to visit the Grand Canyon and it's just before Thanksgiving which has become vacation time for many people. (Plus it will give you some great stories to share with your family on Thanksgiving day!)

The website link with all the details is in the process of being built. We hope to have it completed in the next 2 weeks, but we wanted to let you know so that you can start planning now.

Most outfitters offer this trip for $1100 - $4000 per person. GTD strives to give you more for less. We are working hard to get this trip under $900 per person.

We hope you can join us on this God-awesome adventure! Stay tuned... More details to come! =)


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Ministry Takes A Team!

Ministry (and life) is a Team Sport! It can't be accomplished or fully enjoyed without others.

One of the best ways to discover your gifts and your talents and your indispensable value is to become an active part of a healthy team.

That's when God begins to peel back any superficial layers that try to cover up who you were made to be and what you were designed to do.

Get involved in your church and local ministries. Let God work through your willingness and availability to make a difference in other people's lives.

Too many people live their lives as spectators. That only builds a lifetime of regrets. Instead, get involved, and build a lifetime of satisfaction, cherished memories, close friendships, and lasting impact. Nothing good results from holding back.

(A special thanks to our team of volunteers & staff pictured here that worked tirelessly on our most recent youth retreat. Camp is hard work and they poured their hearts into the set-up, break-down, and everything in-between so that it was a blessing to our participants. Thank you so much Team GTD for a job well done!)

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SLACKERS!

We put together a mini adventure race during our weekend retreat with the Elevate Youth Group. One of our checkpoints was a slackline across the river... fun times!


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Elevate Youth Group Rocked It!

We had a marvelous camping retreat with the remarkable Elevate Youth Group of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater! Our remote base camp was beautifully positioned on the banks of Withlacoochee River surrounded by enormous oak trees, scenic palm trees, and deliciously scattered with orange trees. Although we got hit with torrential thunderstorms on Saturday it didn't dampen the adventurous spirits of this highly motivated fun group of high schoolers. They were so much fun and were ready for all of our outdoor activities, even in the rain! And these students were incredibly helpful and hard working. From the moment they got off the bus they were ready to take on the physical challenge of setting up camp. I can't tell you how many times students initiated walking up to our staff and asking if they could help out in any way. This tremendous group of young people blew us away with their love for God, positive attitudes, fun-loving spirits, and servant heartedness! We didn't see a bunch students that had formed several cliques. They were more like a big functional family of brothers and sisters that genuinely cared about each other. We never heard one complaint or one put-down or one critical word. We were so encouraged by each and everyone of them. And we couldn't help but connect the dots. These students are a direct reflection of their leadership! Justin, Carie, and Dickie set a incredible tone of Christ-centered character and lively fun attitudes. Their leadership is making a great impact. This retreat was jam-packed from start to finish. We enjoyed daily time in God's Word, nightly campfire sermons, delicious camp meals (including pulled pork prepared by my Dad), smores, roasted marshmallows, canoeing, an adventure race, camp games, hot showers, an outdoor movie, and so much more! Camping is hard work. We pour a lot of effort into set-up, break-down, and everything in-between, but every drop of sweat is so worth it as we watch God do what God does at camp. It was such a great weekend! Thank you so much to our superb volunteers, our generous donors, and our tremendous staff that God uses to make this ministry work! We couldn't do it without you... and we wouldn't want to! All glory to God =)

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Our Next Retreat Starts Today

Our setup crew has arrived to set up camp for our next youth retreat with Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater!  

We are super excited for this event and can't wait to meet everybody! 

Thanks David Vandergraff for taking time out of your schedule to volunteer this weekend!  

GTD's Base Camp is Heating Up!

Introducing The GTD Hot Cleanse 4000XL Portable Shower System! (just made that name up!)

We're looking forward to trying out our newly improved heated camp shower system this weekend!

We usually have to assemble everything when we get to camp, but we were able to build a pre-assembled version on a hand cart for easy mobility and quick set-up. This should save us 1-2 hours on our base camp set-up (depending on how many showers we provide).

The heater unit is an Eccotemp L5 tankless water heater that runs off of propane & 2 D batteries (for the igniter). It can connect directly to a hose or to a Flowjet water pump when a hose is not an option (we can pump water directly from a 55 gallon barrel with the Flowjet). When using the water pump we need electricity to power it which usually comes from our portable generator.

We have an enclosed shelter that envelopes the shower unit for personal privacy.

Thank you YouTube & Google for some critical ideas that helped shape this rough draft design.

I will let you know how it works after this weekend's camping retreat =)

Calvary Baptist Youth Retreat Starts Today!!

We are kicking off a weekend youth camping retreat with this guy, his wife, and their fantastic youth group from Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater!!

I can't say enough great things about the youth pastor dynamic duo of Carie & Justin Facenda. They go above and beyond to pour their lives into their youth and challenge them to grow deeper in character and in closeness to Christ. They use every ounce of energy (and then some more!) each day to be positively involved in people's lives. They give, give, give, and when they are out of energy they give some more! This picture was taken a week ago after Justin had already spent the week pouring into his youth & family. He was physically exhausted. So what did he do when he dropped off some paperwork to us while we were moving items into a new storage unit??? He should have gone home and crawled into bed for a few days... instead he helped us pick up heavy items for the next hour and pack them into our vehicles. It's moments like these that I feel so blessed to know Christ and know so many wonderful people who not only "go the distance" with their faith, but actually go the extra mile to show the love of Christ to others.

So we are blessed to not only host a weekend retreat for an exciting youth group from an amazing church, but also to spend quality time with the leaders God is using to impact thousands of young people's lives in the Tampa Bay area!

It's go time! Keep us in your prayers... it's always an adventure!


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FREE LIQUID CANOE TRIP!!

FREE LIQUID CANOE TRIP!! GTD EVENT ROLL-OUT!! And the hits just keep on coming!

In celebration of our 20 Year Anniversary, GTD is excited to invite you to our annual LIQUID Canoeing Day Trip for FREE!! And LUNCH is INCLUDED!!

LIQUID is scheduled for Saturday April 30, 2016 at Weedon Island in St Petersburg, FL. We will be providing 2 separate canoeing sessions with spots for 20-30 paddlers per session.

We will be providing a free lunch, a Christ-centered devotion, a squishee ball war, and a canoe race. It's always a fun & beautiful time!

To reserve your spot and to read more details click on this link.

Hope to see you there!!


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Happy (Day After) Easter!!

LET'S GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT - Happy Easter from all of us!

We enjoyed a wonderful Easter by going to 2 church services. One with our awesome Pathway's Community Church family in Largo and the second with my incredible immediate family at the great Calvary Chapel Church in Pinellas Park. It was such a nice day!

We have so much to celebrate because of an empty tomb and a risen Savior. Thank You Jesus!!

A Breakfast With SOUL =)

Breakfast ADVENTURES with Paul Williamson​! I enjoyed getting caught up with my fellow Christian adventure buddy at the new First Watch in Clearwater. Paul is the Director of Soul Adventures​ based out of Skycrest Community Church in Clearwater, FL. I love this guy's enthusiasm and zeal for life!

If you are looking for a great Christ-centered adventure ministry for your youth (summer camps, etc) in the Tampa Bay area then check out their website... you'll LOVE it!!


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Vacation Over - Back To Work!

It was a rare 10 day vacation in the spring time that included cruising on the "Oasis Of The Sea" - the largest cruise ship in the world! The Oasis can hold over 6000 passengers, has 21 swimming pools, 2 climbing walls, 2 surfing flowriders, an ice skating rink, a basketball court, a zipline, and so so so much more! It's 5 times larger than the Titanic, and I'm happy to say that this ship didn't come close to sinking! The cruise included stops in the Bahamas and Jamaica.

The entire ship was chartered by Beachbody (makers of P90X, Shakeology, etc). Laurie is a Beachbody Coach and earned points towards the cruise and purchased an extra ticket last year that I ended up benefiting from. It was a wonderful time and the batteries are recharged... praise God!

Yesterday was the first day back to work. We are looking forward to a God-awesome spring!


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Blessed To Meet Cream-of-the-Crop People =)

One of the great blessings of being involved in this ministry is getting to meet so many Christ-centered people who sacrifice their lives for the sake of helping others. They could be using their talents and gifts for personal ambition and amassing great wealth, but they choose to humbly jump into to a messed up world in order to reach out to people with the love of Jesus and a message of hope, freedom, and salvation. I had the honor of meeting with Nick Stratis (the Superintendent of Keswick Christian School) on Tuesday, and Laurie​ & I met with Pastors Paul Ferrara​ & Tim Jennings​ of Pathways Community Church yesterday. These are cream of the crop people! We are looking forward to what God has in store =)

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IGNITE was RAGING!

Savoring a God-awesome IGNITE Retreat with nearly 60 outstanding kids, teenagers, parents, young adults, prime-aged adults, and even grandparents.

This multi-generational family-friendly camping trip was jam packed full of fun, laughter, great food, friendship building, worship, Christ-centered devotions, a pancake food fight, and all sorts of adventures. It ended up feeling more like the ultimate family reunion!

I want to profoundly thank our amazing staff, volunteers, and participants for helping make this such a special and memorable retreat.

A lot of hard work went into this weekend and I was blessed to have so many hard working and dedicated people share in the labor of camp set-up, break-down, and everything in-between.

Camping is primitive living and it is hard work, but it is fruitful work. The greatest part is that those who share in the sacrifice also share in the blessing!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in IGNITE 2016!! We have many more GTD events planned for 2016 and we can't wait to see what God has in store =)

To see all 655 pictures from our IGNITE Retreat click here.

To God be the glory <><

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Thanks Hegedus!

So thankful for awesome volunteers! Thank you Erin Hegedus for surrendering your afternoon to help us in the office today. It blessed us more than you know :)

Biggest Event!

WE are preparing for our biggest event EVER over here at GTD...we have about 80 people signed up for our annual camping trip this weekend and we are so excited to welcome all our friends and family on this trip! It's going to be GOD-AWESOME! Here is to 20 years of ministry for GTD (Going The Distance Adventure Ministry)!

M.I.F. Meeting

We loved our meeting today with our friend, David Brownlee, who is the Area Director for Mission Increase Foundation (MIF). Running a non-profit organization has very unique challenges that require specialized decision making. MIF partners with Christian non-profit organizations (like GTD) to train each ministry so we have new sustainable fundraising and leadership skills to fulfill our vision. Their mission is to help ministries fulfill our mission. MIF is an absolutely fantastic organization, and David is an incredible blessing to us and countless ministries in the Tampa Bay area. GTD has a HUGE vision for the next 20 years of ministry, and MIF is helping supply specialized training to equip us for the journey ahead. We look forward to the future as we walk shoulder-to-shoulder with experts like David Brownlee focused on using our time, talents, and treasures in ministry for the purpose of advancing God's Kingdom!


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