About
More than likely, if you’ve found yourself on this page, you’re probably close friends and family (In which case, the following information is old news). Or perhaps you were making an unrelated Google search, stumbled on this page, and are just now realizing you are in the wrong place (In which case, you probably just left and lowered our avg. session duration stats in Google Analytics). In the rare case that you don’t fit into either of the two previous categories and are still reading, we might have just become more interested in learning about you than you are in learning about us! But please do go on and read the following summary of our family and the journey God has us on…
We (Bonnie and Travis) were both born into missionary families in the same missions organization. Travis’ family served in Sri Lanka when he was little and then Stateside in camping ministry. Bonnie’s family served in Pennsylvania doing youth ministries. We have actually known each other most of our lives. Our families first got to know each other a annual North America Missions Conference. Later, Bonnie’s dad was asked to be the Bible teacher at the camp where Travis’ dad was the camp director. Our families spent the following decade+ serving together over the summers. We started dating in high school and got married after college.
We started serving in full-time ministry, got married, and started our family all right at the camp where we first met as infants (or toddlers- the facts are disputed). Bonnie was finishing up her nursing degree and Travis just had finished a one-year internship for his degree in nonprofit management when he was asked to stay on at the camp as a full-time staff member/missionary. We served there happily for around six years! In that course of time, we somehow ended up with four wonderful children (We first had twins if you are trying to do the math. Since that time, we have added a 5th child!).
Around 2021, we felt the Lord might be calling us to serve someplace else. In early 2023, God had made it clear to us that he was calling us to serve with our denomination (The Orthodox Presbyterian Church) in Karamoja, Uganda. The journey of actually getting there has been full of surprises (Of which you can read about in some of our Emmett Updates!). For instance, our trip to Uganda got delayed for a year, with us finally arriving in the country in July of 2024.
We will be serving at the Orthodox Presbyterian Uganda Mission’s (OPUM) Nakaale, Karamoja location for at least four years, Lord willing. Travis serves as the Facilities Manager and also serves as a presbyter of the mission, being ordained as a Ruling Elder in the OPC. Here in Nakaale, there is currently a church plant and a health clinic. Two and a half hours south in the city of Mbale, OPUM works with another church plant (All Nations Presbyterian Church), runs a seminary (Knox School of Theology), and operates a book room/coffee shop (Reformation Book Room).
We are excited and humbled that God would call us to serve Him in this way and to join a team that has been laboring in Nakaale for the past twenty+ years.
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