A little bit about Bryan ...
Pouring concrete in Guatemala is done bucket by bucket.
Bryan was born and raised in Boise, ID as child number 3 out of 4 by his loving parents Pat & DiAnn. During junior high school, Bryan's youth pastor dove into his life and helped him grow immensely in his faith. The same youth pastor challenged Bryan to consider going on a short term mission trip the summer before his freshman year of high school. That summer, and the two following, Bryan spent a few weeks in Guatemala helping a local church pour a concrete roof or foundation for their church building. The faith of those he met and the trips in general left a lasting impression on Bryan. A passion for overseas missions work had been ignited in his soul.
Besides missions, Bryan has loved construction since he was a little boy. He was always "under the sink" with any repair man that came to the house. He has always found joy in creating or fixing things with his hands. After high school, Bryan attended Vanderbilt University where he pursued this passion through a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master's Degree in Construction Management. After completing school he worked in construction management with Clark Construction building a new convention center in downtown Nashville, TN. The convention center was a huge project and forced Bryan to learn quickly as he managed the more than 110,000 cubic yards of concrete that were poured to create the core of the building. He enjoyed learning more about construction from this once in a lifetime project.
Besides missions, Bryan has loved construction since he was a little boy. He was always "under the sink" with any repair man that came to the house. He has always found joy in creating or fixing things with his hands. After high school, Bryan attended Vanderbilt University where he pursued this passion through a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master's Degree in Construction Management. After completing school he worked in construction management with Clark Construction building a new convention center in downtown Nashville, TN. The convention center was a huge project and forced Bryan to learn quickly as he managed the more than 110,000 cubic yards of concrete that were poured to create the core of the building. He enjoyed learning more about construction from this once in a lifetime project.
Nicole is pretty cool too ...
Don't get between Nicole and the ball,
it won't end well for you.
Nicole was born in Bellevue, WA, but lived in Colorado through junior and senior high school. She is the eldest of four super cool children and, like Bryan, was raised by her loving parents, Trent & Marie. Nicole's life long love has always been soccer. Her mother claims she hasn't stopping kicking since the third trimester and her sore ribs can prove it! As a teenager, she always felt torn between her passion for soccer and for the Lord, feeling it was an either or situation. It was not until high school when she had an epiphany; she realized that she could use soccer to serve and worship her Heavenly Father. During her senior year of high school, she went on a short term missions trip to Brazil with her high school soccer team. The goal of the trip was to use soccer as a platform for building relationships with the community and sharing the Gospel. God used the trip to show Nicole that her soccer skills can serve as a bridge between different cultures.
Over the years she has had the opportunity to play on many different teams. During high school and college Nicole was responsible for running several different soccer camps. At Vanderbilt University she continued to pursue her passion by playing soccer on the women's varsity team, while earning a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Sociology. She is currently working on completing a Master's Degree in Construction Management.
It was love at first scoot ...
We met during our sophomore year at Vanderbilt. At the time, Bryan was walking with a cane due to a motorcycle accident and Nicole was on crutches and a scooter from a benign bone tumor in her tibia. After another surgery, Bryan was also forced to use a scooter. It was love at first scoot for the two of us! God slowed each of us down long enough to get to know each other. But once we were both healed, we were off to the races together.
Less than two years later we were engaged. As we discussed our dreams of what life might be like, one of the many things we talked about was the possibility of overseas missions work. Shortly after that, Nicole was talking with her teammate about using their gifts (soccer) to spread the Gospel. Her teammate knew of an organization that did just that (Sports Friends). So Nicole asked for some more information, but instead of just giving us some information, we received an invitation to go on a trip for a couple of weeks to Camp Langano. About 5 weeks after we were married, we headed off to Ethiopia for an amazing time of ministry working along side Ethiopian coaches as camp co-counselors. God used that time to encourage us that the time to serve Him on overseas was not a distant idea for the future, but something that He wanted us to pursue now. He grabbed our hearts and changed our lives!
After returning to Nashville, we continued praying together and began looking into many different mission organizations. As we gathered information about different sports ministry opportunities, we kept coming back to one aspect of the Sports Friends' philosophy that sets Sports Friends apart from the other sports ministries. Sports Friends believes that constant interaction with the youth is essential to facilitating the spread and growth of the Gospel. Sports Friends coaches are involved in their players lives on a weekly, if not daily basis. The coaches are trained, not only in sports, but they are also equipped with skills and tools to build relationships, share the Gospel and disciple believers. As we asked more questions about Sports Friends, two needs opened up at Camp Langano. The missionary couple that had been serving as the facilities development and maintenance manager and camp ministry associate decided that it was time to retire after many years of missionary service. It felt as though God was creating the perfect openings for each of us.
At Camp Langano, Bryan is using his passion for construction to create a unique camping experience for the youth. He is working with a team of Ethiopian men to build new facilities as well as maintain the current facilities. Bryan's desire is to create an environment free of distraction that fosters opportunities to allow the Gospel to be proclaimed and discussed. Recently, Bryan's role has expanded to include the management of the operations side of the Langano station in addition to his responsibilities for facility management. Nicole is using her passion for soccer as a part of the Camp Ministry Leadership Team when camp is in session. When camp is not in session, Nicole will be coaching soccer teams and diving into the lives of the youth in the surrounding village. She will also have the opportunity to share her knowledge and love of the game with other females as she helps train new coaches for girls teams across the country.
We love the fact that God created each of us with our own special talents, gifts and abilities. It still blows our mind that God is choosing to use sinners like us to further His Kingdom!
Less than two years later we were engaged. As we discussed our dreams of what life might be like, one of the many things we talked about was the possibility of overseas missions work. Shortly after that, Nicole was talking with her teammate about using their gifts (soccer) to spread the Gospel. Her teammate knew of an organization that did just that (Sports Friends). So Nicole asked for some more information, but instead of just giving us some information, we received an invitation to go on a trip for a couple of weeks to Camp Langano. About 5 weeks after we were married, we headed off to Ethiopia for an amazing time of ministry working along side Ethiopian coaches as camp co-counselors. God used that time to encourage us that the time to serve Him on overseas was not a distant idea for the future, but something that He wanted us to pursue now. He grabbed our hearts and changed our lives!
After returning to Nashville, we continued praying together and began looking into many different mission organizations. As we gathered information about different sports ministry opportunities, we kept coming back to one aspect of the Sports Friends' philosophy that sets Sports Friends apart from the other sports ministries. Sports Friends believes that constant interaction with the youth is essential to facilitating the spread and growth of the Gospel. Sports Friends coaches are involved in their players lives on a weekly, if not daily basis. The coaches are trained, not only in sports, but they are also equipped with skills and tools to build relationships, share the Gospel and disciple believers. As we asked more questions about Sports Friends, two needs opened up at Camp Langano. The missionary couple that had been serving as the facilities development and maintenance manager and camp ministry associate decided that it was time to retire after many years of missionary service. It felt as though God was creating the perfect openings for each of us.
At Camp Langano, Bryan is using his passion for construction to create a unique camping experience for the youth. He is working with a team of Ethiopian men to build new facilities as well as maintain the current facilities. Bryan's desire is to create an environment free of distraction that fosters opportunities to allow the Gospel to be proclaimed and discussed. Recently, Bryan's role has expanded to include the management of the operations side of the Langano station in addition to his responsibilities for facility management. Nicole is using her passion for soccer as a part of the Camp Ministry Leadership Team when camp is in session. When camp is not in session, Nicole will be coaching soccer teams and diving into the lives of the youth in the surrounding village. She will also have the opportunity to share her knowledge and love of the game with other females as she helps train new coaches for girls teams across the country.
We love the fact that God created each of us with our own special talents, gifts and abilities. It still blows our mind that God is choosing to use sinners like us to further His Kingdom!