We had a FANTASTIC family Thanksgiving complete with delicious food, fun & games, a campfire, an outdoor movie, and attended by special guests - Birddog & The Ambassador (AKA: Mom & Dad)!! It was perfect and special in so many ways!
It was so great to bring Mom home for the first time in over 6 months! The day was full of special and cherished moments with Mom & Dad that we may never have again... and that was the purpose of this Thanksgiving... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!! Thank You JESUS & thank you volunteers!!!
Over the past 2 weeks a small army of friends and family came over each day to help me transform a cluttered mess into a less cluttered comfy hangout ready to host our family Thanksgiving (and more fun get-togethers in the future AS WELL AS a nice area to enjoy as we continue all the other renovations).
The Family of God / Body of Christ is one of The Greatest Wonders of The World! Everyday I would get an unexpected text or phone call from a friend or family member asking if they could help me do some work that day. It was amazing! It was a daily answer to prayer!
We moved a massive amount of GTD gear from inside my house to a storage container in the backyard (and organized about 80% of it!). We cleared out most of one bedroom and made a temporary bedroom for Dad so he didn't have to sleep in the livingroom. We hauled off old outdoor furniture and replaced it with new & improved stuff (we had several volunteers who spent several hours just assembling outdoor furniture and games). We had the PODS container hauled off and removed. We tidied up the livingroom and dining room and decorated for Thanksgiving. We tore down old fencing, dug up old fence posts, built new framework for the back gate and relocated that gate 10 feet further back to the property line to maximize our trailer and truck storage. We moved bricks, busted up concrete, raked leaves, built a trashcan area, and built 2 fire rings. We installed hose reels and assembled outdoor heaters. We added 16 super comfortable Adirondack chairs, 4 zero gravity chairs, a complete outdoor sofa/dining set, a swinging bench, several strings of hanging lights, a waterproof outdoor stereo system, and finished creating an outdoor movie screen my parents and I started building together 4 years ago!! I now like to refer to our outdoor movie area as "Shantytown Theater" where admission is free, but attendees may help with a home improvement project ;) . We watched the edited version of Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (a classic comedy misadventure of trying to make it home for Thanksgiving... the perfect Turkey Day movie!)
In a short period of time we created a nice little hangout that my parents loved! And so did/do I! I hope I don't leave anyone out in my list of awesome people to thank who sacrificed their free time to help me, but my profound thanks to Tom & Cindy, Diane, the Routman family, the Zeitler family, the Vescovi family, 3 fantastic college students from Southeastern University, my Dad, Laurie, Lauren, my right hand man - Carson, and a friend who asked to remain unrecognized who has helped me once a week for 2 months putting in 10, 12, & 13 hour intense work days!! From the bottom of my heart - THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! We did it!! BECAUSE OF YOU WE DID IT!
Thank you to all of you for your prayers, support, & encouragement! They helped us more than you may ever know until we get to Heaven.
Thank you so much to my [Laurie] parents for sponsoring a table again for GTD’s Annual Fundraiser Banquet.
One of my favorite memories with my parents has been going on a GTD Costa Rica Mission Trip with them. The experience and the impact it made on all of us was life changing and I will forever cherish that time together serving on the mission field in one of my most favorite places.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your love, support, and encouragement. And from all of us from GTD, thank you for your partnership in ministry year after year. WE LOVE YOU!
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2022 ZSOM CR MISSION TRIP
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To learn more about GTD, to attend the banquet, sponsor a table or make a donation, go to: GTD BANQUET by clicking HERE
We got sad news a couple of days ago that our Mom has officially entered into the final stages of Alzheimer's, and Hospice is recommended. We definitely didn't see that coming right now. We don't know how long she has before she goes to Heaven... could be months... could be a year... God only knows. Mom is one tough woman so I wouldn't bet against her. Thankfully she still remembers all of us and is so sweet & precious to be with. Unfortunately one of the many downsides of late stage Alzheimer's is that she losses her appetite and stops eating the types & amounts of food her body needs. This causes malnourishment, and that causes her body to start slowly shutting down. Mom has lost a lot of weight over the last 4 months. She isn't getting the proteins and nutrients needed for her body to help heal small cuts & scrapes which exposes her to infections. Small wounds that her body would easily heal when she is well nourished become openings to potential life threatening infections. Hospice screened her on Saturday and began wound treatment and other treatments today. Mom is still fully alive, enjoying her days, and staying active in a wheelchair at Seasons in Belleair (a WONDERFUL longterm memory care facility) so nothing is imminent, but she does have an infected wound on her ankle that other wound care specialists have been working on for nearly a month. Now Hospice is taking over her treatment and wound care. It's possible that Mom responds well to their wound treatment approach, but Alzheimer's attacks from many different angles so each week can bring new battles. For the past few years we have treated every holiday like it could be Mom's last. We are especially feeling that now. This may be our last Thanksgiving with Mom so we are doing everything we can to make it extra special. A couple of years ago my Sister and I had one goal: Help Mom live to her 90th birthday! Now we are shooting for her 92nd birthday in March. Mom has been blessed with a long life, and we have been blessed beyond measure to have her in our lives for many many years. I can't imagine life without her, but I can picture her completely whole and healed and joyfully dancing with Jesus in Heaven! That's a beautiful picture indeed. But, until then, we will especially cherish the moments we have with her in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Thank you all for your love and prayers! They have helped us all persevere through this journey! We are forever grateful!!
Trail Life USA is a Church-Based, Christ-Centered, Boy-Focused mentoring and discipleship journey that speaks to the heart of a boy. Established on timeless values derived from the Bible and set in the context of outdoor adventure, boys from Kindergarten through 12th grade are engaged in a Troop setting by male mentors where they are challenged to grow in character, understand their purpose, serve their community, and develop practical leadership skills to carry out the mission for which they were created.
Troop 901 meets at Grace Christian Fellowship in Largo on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month from 7-8:15 p.m..
Thank you Trail Life for the important and amazing work you do with the next generation. Also, thank you so much for sponsoring a table at GTD's Annual Banquet!
To learn more about Trail Life go to: TRAIL LIFE by clicking this link.
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To learn more about GTD, to attend the banquet, sponsor a table or make a donation click HERE.
We are "PUMPED UP" about adding our newest activity >>> inflatables for kids!! Over the last couple of years we have had more & more families with young children participate on our camping trips so we are adding more & more activity options for the little ones. At last month's Fall Retreat we introduced our 2 NEW INFLATABLES and they were a HUGE HIT for the kids (and a big blessing to the parents)!! The kids played on them non-stop! It captivated their attention while giving them a safer activity to expend all their kid energy. I guess you could say we are fighting agaisnt a "deflating" camp experience with inflatables LOL.
It will also open up more event opportunities for GTD such as birthday parties, church picnics, rentals, and more.
It's just one more way GTD got even better in 2022!!
Our special thanks to our generous donors and supporters who help enable us to add-on quality equipment to enhance the camp experience, to help kids fall in love with camping, and to help create family & friendship bonding experiences through shared activities.
PS: Yes, that's a goat in the picture! Whenever possible, the ONE-AND-ONLY Stacy Meunier brings one of his goats on GTD events... aaaaaaaaand the kids love it! Well, actually, people of all ages love it!!
Thank you for your generosity Brandon Hanes of Graystone Solutions for sponsoring a Silver Table Sponsorship for GTD’s Annual Fundraiser Banquet!
Brandon has been a long standing participant and partner with GTD over the many years we have known him.
Graystone is an IT company that focuses on helping drug rehab centers. For more information about Graystone check out their website at: https://graystone.solutions/
Please keep Brandon in your prayers as he is having a knee replacement the same day as our banquet.
There's S'MORE to GTD than just fun activities! Plan to join us for a sweeeeeet time on one of our God-awesome events in 2023!!
GTD's 2023 Public Event Calendar to be revealed & Pre-Registrations begin on the night of November 29th at our Annual Banquet at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center!
On our last retreat GTD introduced our newest addition - a 100 ft slip'n slide! I like to call her Giganti-Slide!! It was an absolute blast! I loved it as much as the kids did haha!! GTD is doing more & more family events so we are adding on activities that can include small children (or in this case - all ages). This is just one more way GTD got even better in 2022 =). Thank you generous supporters for making this possible!!!! GTD is making God-awesome memories & bonding families together one event & one activity at a time =)
We are hard at work on the prep for the home renovations. Dad assembled a cart to help us move lots and lots of stuff. Huge thanks to Dad, Carson, & Lauren for their hard work today! One more step forward!
If you want to help us make room for my Dad to permanently move over to my house let me know.
Lord willing, we will be working on this for the next 6 months. I will be releasing our weekly work schedule each week (hopefully on Sunday afternoon).
This week we will be working Mon-Sat 9a-5p with a few interruptions here & there. Text me if you have some time and want to help. Plenty of various projects for all levels of experience and inexperience as well as all ages :)
Ahhhhhhhh! This is the first chance I've had to work on our Annual Banquet. Our most important event of the year is only 2 weeks away!! We are going to need a miracle... good thing we know The Miracle Maker!
Join us in 2 weeks for a special night celebrating 26 years of ministry as we also prepare for our 27th year!! Glory to God!
My sincerest apologies to all of our amazing supporters for being so far behind on thank you's, distribution of Ministry Partner gifts (from last year!!), banquet invitations, phone calls, and more. You deserve better!! Thank you for the patience, grace, and faithfulness you have shown me & GTD as we navigate many family health challenges. This has been one of our greatest years of God-awesome events, and you share in the bountiful fruit because you share in the planting & watering of this ministry. God bless you! And all my love and respect!!
ANNUAL BANQUET:
Nov 29, 2022 (Tues Night)
6:30pm - 9:00pm
Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center
4951 78th Ave N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781
The most astonishing part of the journey over the past couple of years is that despite the personal exhaustion, setbacks, injuries, & heartbreaks - by the grace of God & all glory to God - we keep hobbling up to the plate like Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series and hitting game winning homeruns. It has been absolutely amazing... or God-awesome as I like to say. For 26 years we have run hundreds & hundreds of incredible events that have impacted thousands & thousands of people who still savor and talk about those events today (Thank You Jesus!), but somehow the past few years - despite the personal injuries & exhaustion - we are providing events at an even higher caliber and an even higher level of excellence than ever before. On paper, it shouldn't be. By all accounts we should be striking out to lose the game. But by the power of God - when I'm at my weakest - He keeps supplying the supernatural strength to limp up to the plate and hit game winning homeruns event after event after event. People are getting saved, people are rededicating their lives, people are being revived, people are being renewed, people are being encouraged, families are bonding, kids are making positive life decisions, fears are being overcome, life is being seized. I can't take any credit for how far the ball is flying off of the bat. That's all God! The only part I can relish in is knowing that I could have stayed on the bench, but I didn't. I could have let the injuries and exhaustion take me out of the game, but I didn't. I could have made the heartbreak an excuse to tell the Coach I can't play, but I didn't. Just like when I was 17 years old and broke my hand playing baseball in my senior year of high school I still showed up and practiced everyday, and every game I put my uniform on and tied my baseball glove on to the outside of my cast and I showed up ready to play. Back then the coach found ways to get me into the game as a pinch runner and even to pitch a few innings (I would catch the baseball on the outside of my mitt with both hands). After 4 weeks I ripped the cast off my arm and went back to playing fulltime to finish my senior season. I take that same attitude into running GTD events. Nothing is going to keep me from showing up to practice, suit up for game day, or to be ready to play the game. I may be in agony before the game and I may collapse after the game, but I'm going to play the game and help my team win. And what I'm finding is what I've always found >>> great things happen when you let God have whatever you've got - especially when all you've got is the least you've ever had. God will take the little that you have and turn it into something supernatural. God gets all the glory and you get the miraculous experience of a lifetime! Nothing compares to and no one can ever take away the inner elation that God gives you when He uses your hobbled body to hit a game winning homerun. Thank You Father that when we are at our weakest YOU are making your strength and power work perfectly! We are finishing up our 26th year of ministry - arguably our greatest year ever, and this "aging and worn down" player can't wait for our 27th year of ministry. Camps, retreats, adventure trips, and mission trips are already being scheduled for 2023. In fact, we are actually working on expanding GTD! I may need off-season surgery, but I'm eager and able to play high caliber ball. I'm exhausted, injured, and crushed aaaaaaaaand I'm washing my uniform getting ready for the next season and the next game! There are more game winning homeruns to hit! I'm already looking forward to our next event :)
I need a small army of help! Over the next few months we will be permanently moving Dad over into my house, and my house needs all types of renovations that I had to stop working on when our parents’ health issues got real bad 2 years ago. I've gutted much of my house (2 years ago I removed the drywall, removed the kitchen, tore up my flooring, etc... basically began the demo in order to renovate but stopped to help my parents). Last June we started planning to move Mom & Dad over here, but everything got backburnered when I had to leave to run our summer camps, I got sick for a month, and I had to run a mission trip in Costa Rica for 2 weeks. During this time we came to the crushing realization that bringing Mom back home was no longer an option (I still need to write a post about this). Dad hired a highly recommended Elder Attorney to help us wisely navigate all the heavy decisions. To our amazement we found (or rather God blessed us with) a PHENOMENAL long-term memory care facility called Seasons (in Belleair) that Mom LOVES and we LOVE! She has so much fun there, and the staff literally makes everyday a celebration. Thankfully Mom's Alzheimer’s makes her think she is just there for the day. It has been a very smooth transition and an instant improvement to Mom's daily quality of life. But Dad's health has been the newest front burner issue, especially after he injured his knee and hasn't been able to walk for 7 weeks. He has lost his independence to live by himself at his house. To our astonishment, He was completely open to the idea and is totally on-board with moving over here. He even wants to fund the portion of the house we renovate for him. So funding is the easy part. The hard work is relocating all of our adventure gear & equipment elsewhere into the garage & storage container in the back of the house, but needing to heavily insulate & add climate control to prevent the degradation of expensive gear... plus renovating bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, upstairs, landscaping, installing fencing, etc. The only non-negotiable for me is that I want to do the work. That may sound crazy to some who know how overwhelmed my Sister & I are, but the whole reason I bought this house was a lifelong dream of renovating my house. I don't care if it kills me, but I refuse to contract out anything that I'm capable of doing myself (not things like electrical, gas, hvac, etc). I'll take oversight, expert directions, and help doing the work, but I will be physically involved hammering, drilling, digging, crawling, lifting, placing, installing, and everything else that I'm capable of doing for the renovation. You would have to pry the hammer out of the hand of my cold dead body for me not to be completely involved LOL. Having said that, I could use a lot of help with all of the work. I literally need a small army of helpers with this endeavor that not only includes helping with renovations for Dad, but also renovations for GTD, and renovations for me personally. I already have some of the materials and tons of quality tools. I just need a lot of help. This is something I will be working on nearly every day from now until summer with an all-day emphasis on Wed, Fri, & Sat (except when we are running events or major holidays). Just reach out to me and let me know if you're interested in coming over for a day or for several days. I have a wonderful friend that wants no recognition that comes over every Wednesday for about 10-12 hours and helps me get tons of work done. We are the same age and I can't keep up with him. We have a lot of fun as we do the work. Most of the work significantly helps GTD which is an official non-profit organization so it qualifies for students and employees that are required to have a certain amount of annual volunteer hours.
On a personal note, you can pray for me and our family. We are so exhausted and at times overwhelmed. We seem to have a health crisis about every 2 weeks on top of the regular caregiving that takes place every day. This year has been especially challenging. The past 2 years were very challenging, but I had a lighter event schedule due to all the shutdowns from COVID. But now we are on the other side of the COVID shutdowns and our event schedule nearly doubled this year which has me running all over creation (literally). I'll rush from helping my parents to spend days preparing for an event then leave town to run the event for several days then rush home to clean-up from the event then rush to help my parents. While I'm away my sister carries the full load which is A LOT... then when I get home I rush to make up for the caregiving time that I missed while I was away. Glory to God, the events have been outstanding, but rushing from thing to thing means that I can't stay on top of anything - friendships, relationships, consistent prayer life, mail, emails, text messages, phone calls, deadlines, mowing the yard, buying groceries, taking care of the dogs, vehicle maintenance, laundry, workouts (haha, I wish!), sleep... I could list a hundred things here, but hopefully you get the point. And it's not like things stay in suspended animation if I don't address them. Quite the opposite. Things breakdown and degrade when they are not maintained which makes the repairs more expensive as well as more time & energy consuming. On my good days I roll with it and operate in faith & joy as I watch things implode. On my more typical days I try not to think about it and just try to survive the day. On my bad days I'm so frustrated, pissed off, and weary I can't even put it into words. I'm like Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. And that's the point. I'm exactly where God wants me to be. He wants to address the bad days. Like the "Again" scene in the movie Miracle (you can Google it) my Head Coach (God) wants to address the underdeveloped and immature parts of my character that give safe harbor to selfishness, self-centeredness, & self-absorption that reveals itself through inner frustration, inner anger, & inner weariness instead of operating in faith, peace, & joy. To address it He has to bring me face-to-face with it, and I have to get to the point that I'm willing to let it go. I'm not there yet. I'm too pissed off. In this one area I'm like Jonah setting sail for a different direction. God has called me to go to "Nineveh" which is a route and destination that I'm not on-board with so I've said forget that, I'm going to "Tarshish". I'm not exactly sure what my Nineveh is. I'm still processing it. But I think it has to do with me letting go of a lot of dreams, goals, & desires that I've been locked into since I was a kid (not trivial things, big things to me - things like building my Mom a mansion, being a great husband, and being a great dad, raising a family, pouring into my kids, walking my daughter down the aisle, playing catch with my son - tears flood my eyes as I type... I'm close to hitting the nail on the head). I don't want to let go of any of those dreams, but there are things bigger, better, & more important than my dreams - like God's Kingdom. Like the "Again" scene when the coach says, "The name on the front of the Jersey is a 'heck' of lot more important than the name on the back." I may have to let go of some or all of these lifelong dreams and that makes me angry... not angry at God, just angry. I'm like Jonah pouting, Saul kicking against the bricks, and Elijah sitting under the broom tree. But I know how the story ends. I will stop sailing towards Tarshish. I will stop kicking against the bricks. I will get up from sitting beneath the broom tree. I will eventually concede that "my" way is a colossal waste of time. I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way there, and even sharing this helps me take another step towards there. Sometimes I'm like how Winston Churchill described America, “You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else.” Nailed it. If you have read all of this then you deserve some type of award. That's sort of my self-absorbed update. Thank you for reading this and thank you in advance for praying. Life is a journey, and not all parts of it are sugar & spice and everything nice. Sometimes it's a process of letting go of the old and taking hold of the new. Sometimes that's a very hard process.
Thank you so much to the Kiwanis of Pinellas Park for sponsoring a table! This is the 13th year the Kiwanis has sponsored a table for GTD’s Annual Fundraiser Banquet. Your continued support over the years has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for all you do for our community and your support of GTD. We are very grateful. . [BRONZE TABLE SPONSOR]
***PHOTO*** IGNITE 2022
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Kiwanis of Pinellas Park conducts a variety of events, projects and fundraisers to help support initiatives that benefit the children of our community in conjunction with Kiwanis, a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time since 1960. We meet for lunch every Thursday at noon and host a monthly social on the third Wednesday of each month. Everyone is welcome. We hope you will enjoy our hospitality and learn about our many service projects. No invitation is needed to attend a meeting.
The Kiwanis Club of Pinellas Park has been serving the community since 1960. We find that being a member of Kiwanis is one way we can help keep Pinellas Park one of the best places to live. Whether you’re raising a family or retired, The Kiwanis Club of Pinellas Park is a great way to stay active, give back to your community and make new contacts.
To learn more about the Kiwanis of Pinellas Park visit their websiteCLICK HERE
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To learn more about GTD, to attend the banquet, sponsor a table or make a donationCLICK HERE.
Thursday, November 10, 2022
HOFSTEAD FAMILY
Thank you Ministry Partners Josh and Julie Hofstead for your constant unwavering support of GTD. Your partnership in ministry has blessed us and countless others. We love you and appreciate you. Thank you for your table sponsorship! [BRONZE TABLE SPONSOR]
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[SWAMP THING 2022] - Josh Hofstead and Doug Garner***
To learn more about GTD, to attend the banquet, sponsor a table or make a donation CLICK HERE
Get ready to come celebrate with GTD on November 29th 2022 at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center of Pinellas Park at 6:30 p.m..
Whether you are new to GTD, a veteran of the ministry, or would like to learn more about us and what we do we hope you will join us for our biggest most important event of the year!
This is a night of celebration for all that God has accomplished in and through the ministry and his people...our Ministry Partners, Staff, Volunteers, and Participants! Come hear testimonies, see videos, enjoy an amazing dinner catered by Carrabbas and join the entire GTD family for what often feels like a big family reunion!
To R.S.V.P., Sponsor a Table, make a donation, or to learn more about GTD please CLICK HERE.
Thank you for you for your support and interest in GTD, we hope to see you there!
Keep my nephew and right hand man in your prayers... 2 weeks ago he got stung by a stingray in his calf and has been unable to walk since. Multiple trips to the doctor and ER yielded few answers. Yesterday afternoon he had an MRI and last night the Dr called and told him to get to the hospital stat because he has an infection. Carson will be undergoing surgery today to address the infection. My Sister said an infection control team will be working with him. You can follow Traci's Facebook page for regular updates. Praying for a quick & full recovery!! As you can see, Carson is in good spirits per usual :)
Today we transitioned Dad from "Hotel Vescovi" to "Doug's Shantytown". It's the inverse of a rags to riches story LOL. Traci, Dave, & Carson did a FANTASTIC JOB of taking care of Dad for the month of October. He loved it over there! Now he will be living with me and I'll be caring for him for the month of November. His neighbors Tom & Cindy were a huge help as usual. We brought over everything he needs including his new electric lift recliner that he purchased a few months ago. I put a little dog fence up to help keep my dogs away from him. His knee replacement surgery is tentatively scheduled for mid December. Please continue to lift him up in prayer as he presses on through another 6 weeks of not being able to walk (except with assistance during physical therapy). The good news is that the VA approved hygiene care 3 days per week (3 hours each visit) which also includes helping him with any other homecare needs (showers, shaving, changing linens, laundry, making lunch, etc) while they are here. That will help both him and me. This is on top of his Dr's orders for physical therapy & home health nurse visits. Dad also got a new wheelchair this past week. Small "steps" of progress week by week. Thank you for praying for him and for your encouragement! More updates to come =)
Our most important event of the year is only 1 month away! Join us for our Annual Banquet and help GTD raise 100k to launch this God-awesome ministry into our 27th year of operation!!
Catered by Carrabba's and full of great testimonials, fun festivities, and exciting highlight videos this event is always an unforgettable special occasion.
GREAT WAYS TO SUPPORT GTD:
1) Sponsor a table
2) Make a one-time donation
3) Become a monthly partner
4) Create a Donor Match Challenge
Make plans to join us on Nov 29th at 6:30pm at The Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center for a night of celebration and inspiration.
For more details, to sponsor a table, to make a donation, and/or to become a monthly partner CLICK HERE
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