Epoch Missions Gala - by Adventures

Kim Pace Founder of BlueSky Camp: A native of Peachtree City, Georgia, Kim Pace left for Nairobi, Kenya, to build a ropes course – and almost 11 years later, still calls Kenya home. Her numerous creative ventures all uniquely mesh her love for Jesus, experiential education, and international ministry as she daily serves the multi-national community of Nairobi.

Kim’s original ropes course and team-building program was quickly recognized by local businesses and organizations for its developmental value, and has since become a locally run fixture in the community. Kim later discovered that there was no summer camp for the children in Nairobi to attend, so she organized BlueSky Camp to provide the experience of summer camp and share the love of Christ with local children.

This past summer, BlueSky Camp hosted 525 campers from at least 30 different countries and equally numerous culture and faith background, who daily heard the Gospel in a fun and active setting not available to them before. Out of her dedication to youth, Kim also began a youth ministry and student outreach program that provides mentorship and discipleship opportunities throughout the school year.

For her next venture, Kim and her team are presently looking to open the first indoor climbing room in Nairobi to provide a year-round place for ministry and personal development. Kim continues to creatively build relationships with the diverse community of Nairobi as she pursues new ways to uniquely share Christ’s active love.

www.brackenhurstministries.org
www.blueskyglobal.org

Nominated by: Rachel Lockman of Avondale Estates, GA

Justin Miller Co-Founder and Executive Director, CARE for AIDS, Inc.: During an interview in 2006, Bono challenged the church to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and stressed the role local churches must take in administering both physical care and spiritual transformation. Justin Miller was in attendance – and he took Bono’s challenge to heart.

Justin and two friends started CARE for AIDS in the fall of 2007 as juniors in college after visiting Kenya and meeting local Kenyan community and church leaders. By the next year the first CARE for AIDS center opened. Today Justin serves as the full-time Executive Director of CARE for AIDS, which currently has 14 centers throughout Kenya and has recently graduated its 1,000th family from it’s unique nine-month support program.

Justin can be described as a true servant leader and visionary, as he and his team continuously reinvent ways of partnering American and Kenyan churches to provide physical, spiritual, and life-skills care to those living with HIV/AIDS. CARE for AIDS hopes to see at least another 40 centers open in Kenya over the coming years, and is eager for their model of church-based care and support to grow to other East African nations.

Justin received a Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University in Economics and Human and Organizational Development, and lives with his wife Lindsey in Atlanta, Georgia.

@CAREforAIDS
www.careforaids.org

Nominated by: Wes Gay of Sugar Hill, GA and Tammy Preston of Fayetteville, GA

Charles Kaye Founder of theBridge (El Puente): Charles Kaye was a successful businessman with degrees from Harvard and Wharton, and with experience in investment banking and hedge fund management – and was well on his way to the top of the investment world. Then he met Jesus on his second date with his now wife, Sarah – and things began to change.

As Charles and Sarah grew in their faith together they began to sense a call to missions, specifically in Central America. Charles went on numerous mission trips over the next several years, and he soon began to imagine ways of bringing long-term help and hope to the areas he was visiting. A vision took root in Charles and Sarah to set-up a mission base to bring people from the States to work within these remote communities.

In 2006 they joined the staff of Adventures in Missions to make their vision a reality – a vision that today is known as theBridge, or El Puente. A mission base and multi-faced ministry serving the spiritually lost in the poorest barrios of Granada, Nicaragua, theBridge provides a tranquil center for international missionaries and local residents to serve the community and find working solutions to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the surrounding area.

God pushed and pulled Charles out of his world of facts and figures into a world of peacemaking and service – and a community in Central America is being transformed as a result. Charles now lives with Sarah, and their children, Banks and Willa, in Granada, Nicaragua.

www.thebridgegranada.org

Nominated by: Kathleen Kaye of Washington, DC

Tom & Cindy Bauer Founders of Surfing The Nations: Tom Bauer fell in love with surfing at a young age, but soon found himself caught in a culture often characterized by drugs, partying, and self-centeredness. He knew that surfers could be leaders of change within their communities, and with the mantra of “surfers giving back,” Surfing The Nations was founded in 1998.

A humanitarian organization based in Hawaii, Surfing The Nations aims to share a message of love and hope through the sport of surfing and acts of selfless service. Surfing the Nations has graduated hundreds of interns, established international remote teams in more than ten nations, and has 30-40 dedicated full-time staff at any given time – all working to transform the impoverished neighborhood they live and work within.

Their Feeding the Hungry program currently feeds 3,000 people locally a month, and internationally Surfing the Nations has established ongoing relationships with surf communities in Indonesia, the Middle East, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. From running a “Surfer Church” to mentoring neighborhood children, Surfing the Nations is positively transforming the world, and surf culture right along with it.

Tom and Cindy are actively and creatively pursuing God as they continue to serve and surf in Wahiawa, Hawaii, with the rest of the dedicated STN team.

@STN1040
www.surfingthenations.com

Nominated by: Liz Menor of Milliani, HI

Bryan Kaiser Co-Founder of God’s Eyes: Bryan Kaiser Co-Founder of God’s Eyes Bryan Kaiser, L.D.O., has been helping people see for 32 years, has made over 70,000 prescription glasses, and has operated multiple optical businesses in the United States – but in 2005 he set out to bring sight to the world. Bryan decided to tangibly use the skills and passions God had given him to supply eyeglasses to the world’s poor. Through the creation of God’s Eyes, Bryan has been to the poorest and most remote areas of Peru, Honduras, Zambia, Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua, and Haiti, conducting eye clinics and making new prescription eyeglasses free of charge. Whether setting up makeshift clinics out of tarps or trekking through jungles to isolated villages, Bryan is a one-man mission with hundreds of volunteers, together they bring sight and the love of Christ to the world. God’s Eyes has currently distributed many thousands of new frames, prescription lenses, and eye drops to medical missionary clinics and churches around the world, and partners with other non-profits and local clinics to ensure a continual flow of glasses are reaching the people who need them. In 2007, God’s Eyes met their 1st goal of distributing 1,000 pairs in one year, and they are closing in on their 2nd goal to donate 1,000 pairs every month! Dedicated to his mission, Bryan continually opens the world’s eyes through love and faith. Bryan lives with his wife Jennifer and their three children in Peachtree City, Georgia.

www.godseyes.biz

Nominated by: Dana Chitwood of Peachtree City, GA

Brett Durbin Founder of Trash Mountain: When he left for Honduras in search for a mission in which to engage his local church, Brett Durbin had never considered what life in a trash dump might be like. But while visiting a trash community, Brett witnessed the harsh physical and spiritual realities of those who call mountains of trash home. He saw the need not for another mission trip, but long-term change – and then set out to create it.

Trash Mountain Project seeks to serve trash communities through sustainable and community based efforts, and currently operates in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Cambodia. Through partnering with local agencies and missionaries, Trash Mountain Project provides schooling, clean water, housing, dental and health care, and aims to year-round support those they serve in new and creative ways.

"I have always searched for the true meaning of discipleship… and I found it on a mountain of trash." Through addressing the specific needs of these unique communities, Brett continues to follow God’s vision of redemption and new growth even in the midst of visible brokenness, and is looking to serve trash communities in Columbia and Brazil in the near future.

Brett holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Criminal Justice and a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership from Asbury Theological Seminary. He and his wife Jaelle live in Topeka, Kansas, with their children Gabriel, Matthew, and Susan.

@TrashMountain
www.trashmountain.com

Nominated by: Carol Rose of Lakeland, FL

Shaun King Founder of TwitChange: Shaun King is a techie-humanitarian-family man who has a passion for social media and social change – thus, following the devastating earthquake in Haiti he sought out a way to creatively leverage his tech savvy experience to raise needed funds. Sean dreamt up a way to auction off celebrity tweets and funnel the money received through the auction to Haiti. Numerous people told him it would never work.

And then Eva Longoria got on board, followed by 100 other celebrities, and TwitChange was born. Within the first two weeks they had received 30 million hits, hundreds of thousands of tweets and retweets, and $500,000 in initial bids. To date TwitChange has received over 90 million hits and has raised over $1 million for Haiti, families of American soldiers, and education for girls in developing nations.

In 2010 TwitChange was awarded Mashable’s Most Creative Social Good Campaign Award, and has been featured on CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and dozens of other national news outlets. Shaun continues to bring fans, celebrities, brands, and causes together to make the world a better place through TwitChange and their ongoing campaigns.

Known as a serial entrepreneur, Shaun has launched almost a dozen other successful start-up ventures and just recently left his leadership role at Courageous Church in Atlanta, Georgia, to continue pursuing innovative ways to bring about social change. Shaun currently lives with his wife Rai, and their four children in Atlanta, Georgia.

@TwitChange
@ShaunKing
www.twitchange.com
www.shauninthecity.com

Nominated by: Lee Catherine of Sandy Springs, GA

Bishop Truman L. Martin, DDS Founder and Senior Pastor of Maranatha Community Fellowship Church: In 1978, Dr. Truman Martin felt called to leave his dentistry practice to enter ministry full-time – and his community has not been the same since. The church he began in his local neighborhood reflects his own passion for service and deeply engages in a five-fold vision including worship, missions, education, housing, and healthcare.

Alongside his local engagements, Dr. Martin began serving abroad throughout the Ivory Coast of Africa, and in 1995 was confirmed as Chief of Progress and Development in Adukrom, Ghana. He is responsible for establishing a clinic, school, and place of worship for the surrounding villages, as well as coordinating economic development efforts in the area including the cities of Accra, Cape Coast, Petepom, and others.

Dr. Martin received The Presidential Award at the 1996 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration for his diligent work in the community, church, and abroad. Through his collaborative work alongside other local leaders and programs, Dr. Martin strives to address the wide-range of problems facing the residents of his local and global communities.

Dr. Martin serves on the boards of numerous non-profits, has led many creative ventures, and is undoubtedly a God-centered and community-centered leader. Truman lives with his wife, Pastor Beverly J. Martin Ph.D, D.Min, and their five children in Dayton, Ohio.

www.maranatha.cc

Nominated by: Lindsey McCleskey of Decatur, GA and James Wafer of McDonough, GA

June Blanshan Founder and Executive Director of Ignite South Africa, Inc.: June Blanshan first encountered South Africa on a mission trip with her home church, and as a registered nurse with 10 years of nursing management experience she felt a personal responsibility to address the AIDS pandemic. Two years later she moved to South Africa and joined an HIV/AIDS prevention program operating within local schools.

When the organization she was serving with shut its doors, June knew her own work in the school systems of QwaQwa, South Africa, was not finished – so with tenacity and trust, June pioneered a new non-profit. Ignite South Africa, founded in 2010, seeks to equip leaders of all ages through various community outreach programs centered around discipleship and developing Godly leaders.

Through a partnership with the Department of Education in South Africa, Ignite South Africa has been able to build relationships with headmasters and school officials to reach 600 district schools and over 8,000 students annually with a biblically based HIV-prevention and leadership development curriculum. Leaders in the community are trained to teach the students, thus creating a system of local support and community enrichment.

In a country where HIV infects 1 in 4, and 68% of youth won’t graduate high school, Ignite South Africa is drastically changing the lives of their community through local collaboration and innovation. June continues to live and love in South Africa, with her design-minded daughter, Jaime Vix, being a frequent visitor.

@ignite_sa
@aheart4africa
www.ignitesouthafrica.org
www.aheart4africa.wordpress.com/

Nominated by: Amy Riep of Slidell, LA

Andrea Baker Co-Founder and Director of Word Made Flesh, Bolivia: Andrea Baker traveled to Bolivia for her first overseas mission trip in 1994, and it was there that she discovered a passion for missions and a heart for the poor. In 2001, Andrea and her family moved to Bolivia to dedicate their lives to serving those caught in the sex trade – long before the sex trade was being addressed by Word Made Flesh or the mission field at large.

Word Made Flesh works among prostituted women, children, and transgender individuals in El Alto, Bolivia, through weekly street visits, their House of Hope drop-in center, and SutiSana which provides alternative employment options for women desiring to leave the sex industry.

Understanding that real transformation happens holistically, Andrea builds long-terms relationships with the individuals she serves and loves them in both joyful and painful situations. Numerous individuals have had their lives touched through her ten years of dedicated service and friendship to those working the streets in El Alto.

Andrea holds a Masters of Arts in World Missions and Evangelism from Asbury Seminary. She lives with her husband Andy and four active sons in La Paz, Bolivia.

@boliviamama
www.wordmadeflesh.org

Nominated by: Susan Ellison of Louisville, KY and Heather Wilson of Lilburn, GA

Mary Frances Bowley Founder and President of Wellspring Living: 1 in every 4 women is abused sexually by the time she reaches adulthood – and it is this statistic that Mary Frances Bowley seeks to overcome through Wellspring Living, a holistic recovery program for sexually abused girls and women in Georgia.

Wellspring Living, founded in 2001, helps survivors of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation overcome their broken pasts and move towards hopeful futures, through advocacy, education, and treatment programs. Wellspring Living tirelessly supports girls and women who have been trapped in destructive cycles of violence and abuse through their counseling centers and residential recovery home, which is the only approved residential programs for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) victims.

Mary Frances is a tireless advocate and care giver, and as a result was appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Domestic Violence, and is a founding member of the Governor’s Task Force for CSEC Victims. She has been awarded the DAR Community Service Award and the Soroptimist Ruby Award for her leadership in the fight against child sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

Wellspring Living is a sought after model on holistic recovery, as they provide healing for the body, soul, and spirit of abused girls and women. Mary Frances is the author of A League of Dangerous Women: True Stories from the Road to Redemption, and resides with her husband Dick in Peachtree City, Georgia.

@wellspringlivin
www.wellspringliving.org

Nominated by: Jessica Smith of Marietta, GA

John Sowers President of The Mentoring Project: Fatherlessness is a destructive story of rejection that John Sowers knows well, and it’s one shared by generations of American youth. After writing his dissertation on the crisis of fatherlessness and exploring his own experiences, John dedicated himself to providing a new story to the fatherless through the positive impact of mentoring.

Along with New York Times best-selling author Donald Miller, John helped found The Mentoring Project in 2005 – an organization dedicated to training mentors and equipping local churches and communities to better serve fatherless youth. Currently their “End the List” campaign is training mentors to serve the over 1,000 fatherless youth currently on a waiting list for a mentor in Portland, Oregon.

John began serving as President of the organization in 2009, has been a part of the White House Task Force conversation on Fatherhood and Healthy Families, and his work has been featured in CNN, Relevant Magazine, and Christianity Today. In 2010 The Mentoring Project was awarded the Big Brothers Big Sisters Pacific Northwest Partner of the Year Award for their ongoing efforts to serve fatherless youth both locally and on a national scale.

John received his Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, where he wrote his dissertation on fatherlessness, which was released by Zondervan under the title Fatherless Generation: Redeeming The Story. John and his wife Kari reside in Portland, Oregon, and are new parents to twin girls.

@tmproject
@johnsowers
www.thementoringproject.org

Nominated by: Trevor Weber of Portland, OR

Penny Compton Co-Founder of Open Door Ministries: Penny Compton felt called to become a missionary while caring for her own eight year old son, terminally ill with a rare and crippling genetics disorder. Penny and her husband Barry were unsure how missions played into their lives, and why now (of all times), but they grew closer to God during their son’s illness and passing, and soon began going on short-term mission trips.

Eventually, they had to do something more. They began Open Door Ministries, a missions program located in Honduras inside one of the worst neighborhoods imaginable, as a means to break the cycle of godlessness, lack of education, and extreme poverty they saw prevalent in the community. They operate a feeding program for local children, have a safe home for pregnant or new young mothers, provide orphan housing, and are in the process of developing a bi-lingual school.

A family dedicated to service, the Comptons regularly silence naysayers who insist this neighborhood largely developed by gang members and narcotics dealers is not worth their time. Instead of running away they have planted a local farm, mentored and housed young girls off the streets, and are building a local chapel all as testaments to God’s ability to turn the most broken of situations into something beautiful.

In a neighborhood even local police won’t enter, Penny regularly gives love and hope to children that desperately need care and restoration. Penny and Barry live in Kissimmee, Florida, and have three children, Lauren, Camry, and Brentyn.

www.open-doorministries.com

Nominated by: Lauren Keck of La Ceiba, Honduras

Rev. Dr. Edward Glover Founder, President and Pastor of Urban Impact: In 1986, Dr. Edward Glover and wife Tammy moved into the North Side of Pittsburgh, a neighborhood marked by drugs, violence, and homelessness to begin working with urban youth. Although often overwhelmed by the brokenness around him, Ed was continually reminded by God that change can happen “one person, one family, one block at a time.”

Ed founded Urban Impact, a youth and family outreach made up of athletic, academic, and performing arts relational ministries dedicated to transform individuals and their neighborhood. Today, Urban Impact ministers to over 1100 children during the year, as well as through summer camps and mentoring programs throughout Pittsburgh.

Ed also founded Global Impact USA, Inc, designed to offer the opportunities and motivation for youth to share their faith both locally and globally, with more than 54,000 youth and leader having participated in Global Impact since its inception. Ed is dedicated to bringing about lasting change both in his neighborhood and in the lives of the youth he serves.

A graduate of Lambuth University, Ed received his M. Div from Alliance Theological Seminary, and serves as an Associate Preacher and Director of Urban Missions for Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. Ed continues to live life on the North Side of Pittsburgh with his wife Tammy and their four children.

www.urbanimpactpittsburgh.org

Nominated by: Thomas Kreider of Cranberry Township, PA

Hugues Bastien Founder and Director of Coalition of Children in Need Association (C.O.C.I.N.A.): Hugues Bastien was born in Haiti and at the age of 15 moved to the United States with his family, but when he returned eight years later Hugues saw for the first time what desperate need and poverty many within Haiti lived – and it drastically changed him. He came back to the States determined to do something for his native country.

In 1990, Hugues founded the Coalition of Children in Need Association (C.O.C.I.N.A.) and has since developed a model program of holistic Christian community development in Northeast Haiti. Settling in the community of Ouanaminthe – a community lacking in sufficient sanitation, with an alarming 85% unemployment rate and 60% illiteracy rate – Hugues set out to improve the lives of everyone around him.

His vision to transform Ouanaminthe led to the opening of a comprehensive community medical clinic, a vocational education program, and the building of a chicken and egg farm. Begnning from the ground-up, Hugues led a team to create a Christian school that is highly ranked within Haiti, with nearly 100% of pupils passing the challenging Haitian national educational exams, many of which are refugees from the 2010 earthquake.

In an area of Haiti largely ignored by foreign aid, Hugues is creating momentous growth and change all in the restorative name of Jesus Christ. Hugues graduated from City College, New York, and continues to live and daily serve others in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.

www.haiticocina.org

Nominated by: Hal Merz of Columbus, OH

Carl & Laura Ralston President and Co-Founders of Remember Nhu: In 2003, Carl Ralston was attending a conference hosted by the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Cambodia when he was made painfully aware of the child sex trade. A missionary at the conference shared the story of Nhu, a 12-year-old girl who had committed her life to Christ and as a result had her virginity sold by a disapproving family member. The missionary had no idea what had become of Nhu.

Carl returned home to Ohio, but Nhu’s story remained with him. As a result, Carl and his wife Laura started Remember Nhu, a ministry that would prevent children from entering the sex trade by meeting the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of potential victims. Through their Children’s Homes in Cambodia and Thailand, they have cared for numerous high-risk children, and have recently expanded to India and the Philippines.

And what about Nhu? After going on six different trips to locate her, Carl finally discovered her at a hair and nail salon working 10-12 hour days with only two days off each month. He told her about how God had used her story and that they would be opening a home for girls in the very neighborhood in which she lived. Nhu asked how she could help and on September 19, 2006, Nhu became the first official employee of Remember Nhu. Along with their daughter Ashley and her family, Carl and Laura also consider Nhu as their adopted daughter and are honored to partner with her as they continue to care for at-risk children around the world.

@remembernhu
www.remembernhu.org

Nominated by: Elizabeth Woods of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Timothy O’mara Founder and Director of The Beltline Bike Shop: In 2008, Tim O’Mara and his wife, Becky, moved into Southwest Atlanta, a community with a history of drug abuse, violence, and poverty – and befriended a neighborhood girl in need of new bike tires. They made a deal with her that if she helped them out with chores around the house, they’d help her get new tires. She soon earned her wheels, but they surprised her with a new bike instead.

The word got out, and more neighborhood kids began coming by looking to earn bikes too. And they weren’t just in need of bikes – they were in need of supportive relationships and the community itself was in need of some care. Tim began to see how bikes could be a means of restoring their inner city neighborhood, so he invited kids to earn a bike of their own through community service.

The Beltline Bike Shop began operating in 2009 with the mission of reaching further into tough inner city neighborhoods and transforming the voices that influence Atlanta’s youth. An open work space where kids can keep their bikes functioning, the shop repairs donated bikes, teaches new skills, and enables deeper relationships within the community.

To date 156 neighborhood children have earned bikes – and as a result 748 bags of trash and debris have been collected, over 1,000 tires have been removed from the area, and The Beltline Bike Shop has repaired just over 1,000 bikes. Tim and Becky continue to live in Southwest Atlanta, Georgia, as they change their neighborhood through bikes, love, and a little elbow grease.

@beltline_bike
www.beltlinebikeshop.org

Nominated by: Jason Bright of Lawrenceville, GA

Nicole Marett Founder of Radiant Cosmetics: Nicole Marett spent most of her life dreaming of becoming a beauty editor at a high-end fashion magazine. But after moving to New York to pursue her dream, she found herself unfulfilled and returned home to Texas to discover what else was on her heart. Soon after graduating from Baylor University, Nicole felt a call to service and left for an 11-month long adventure overseas on Adventure in Missions’ The World Race.

In Thailand in the midst of the red-light district, Nicole discovered the story God had for her. There she befriended a prostitute and Nicole’s heart broke for those held captive in the sex slave trade. And it was there that God gave her a vision. She could combine her passion for service and her passion for the beauty industry to help end human trafficking.

And so Radiant Cosmetics was born in August 2011. A social business based out of Austin, Texas, Radiant Cosmetics gives 20% of its profit to human trafficking organizations and is building partnerships with various nonprofits to find other creative ways to bring an end to the slave trade. Nicole envisions creating makeup lines based on the country those products serve, and hopes to one day visit and employ rescued women.

Launching the company has been a surreal experience, as Nicole has watched God use everything from foundation to eye shadow to provide freedom to men and women around the world. However, Nicole knows this is only the beginning, as she continues to innovate the social business landscape and set the captive free, one lipstick at a time.

@radiantcosmetic
www.radiantcosmetics.org

Nominated by: Ashley Higgins of Gainesville, GA

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