Hey Planet Earth.
My name is Conner. I am currently 20 years old and love serving Christ! My life is never boring because I have 12 siblings between the ages of 3 to 25. Eight of my siblings are adopted and because of that I have a huge heart for orphans. I'm 1 year out of high school and couldn't be more excited walking through the next chapter of my life. I love traveling anywhere and everywhere for missions. I am interested in capturing photos of everyday moments in different cultures. I have more recently started to explore making videos. I want to take all my passions and use them for the Kingdom of God, and that is why I'm trying to travel to every country on the entire planet. Before I explain how I got to the point of desiring to travel extensively, I want to share with you a brief look at my life up to this point.
School and apps.
2000 - 2011
I am the fourth oldest in my family and have always loved being part of a large family. When I started school, I had great difficulty learning. I had vision and processing issues, and I couldn't read until I was nine. I have never been a smart guy in terms of academics, but to me, that doesn't really matter. I love the verse in the Bible where it says, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” - Acts 4:13 (ESV) Being with Jesus is more important than school or anything else in this world. I grew up going to church, but it wasn't until I was eleven/twelve that I was born again. After I turned to Christ, I wanted to help others. I started developing iPhone and iPad apps. I taught myself how to make apps and six months later had my first iPhone app published on the Apple App Store under my own "company" name.
When one of my sisters was younger, she was diagnosed with leukemia. This inspired me to make apps for children suffering with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. I dedicated a portion of my website to expressing my desire to turn cancer patients’ app ideas into reality. God used this little idea of mine to reach many people because of my desire to help others. My mom contacted a local newspaper, and within days I had a TV interview, and the story was featured on multiple news websites, such as the Huffington Post. I received dozens of emails and had international magazines such as National Geographic Kids reach out to me requesting interviews. One of the neatest things that came out of this project was being able to give glory to God for all that He allowed me to do. Once such example was getting the chance to share my story in front of more than 500 K-12th grade children at their school. Though my initial desire was to bless children with life-threatening diseases, I never actually ended up making any apps. While it was a fantastic idea, due to privacy regulations and production difficulties it proved to be a more strenuous task than originally anticipated. Even though the hospitals didn’t allow me to have direct contact with the patients, I was still able to develop an ebook that was relatable to kids who have cancer. I continued developing apps and submitted over a dozen to the App Store. I had thousands of people from all over the world download my free apps. Though my profit never exceeded $50, I was still able to use this opportunity to glorify God.
When one of my sisters was younger, she was diagnosed with leukemia. This inspired me to make apps for children suffering with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. I dedicated a portion of my website to expressing my desire to turn cancer patients’ app ideas into reality. God used this little idea of mine to reach many people because of my desire to help others. My mom contacted a local newspaper, and within days I had a TV interview, and the story was featured on multiple news websites, such as the Huffington Post. I received dozens of emails and had international magazines such as National Geographic Kids reach out to me requesting interviews. One of the neatest things that came out of this project was being able to give glory to God for all that He allowed me to do. Once such example was getting the chance to share my story in front of more than 500 K-12th grade children at their school. Though my initial desire was to bless children with life-threatening diseases, I never actually ended up making any apps. While it was a fantastic idea, due to privacy regulations and production difficulties it proved to be a more strenuous task than originally anticipated. Even though the hospitals didn’t allow me to have direct contact with the patients, I was still able to develop an ebook that was relatable to kids who have cancer. I continued developing apps and submitted over a dozen to the App Store. I had thousands of people from all over the world download my free apps. Though my profit never exceeded $50, I was still able to use this opportunity to glorify God.
Soccer balls, ice-pops, and China.
Just a few months after I turned twelve, I went on my first mission trip to Guatemala. Through that trip, I was able to draw closer to God, and He opened my eyes to the needy of the world. I looked into the eyes of children who didn't have enough food to eat. I saw mothers begging for food to feed their babies. I saw more brokenness, poverty, and need on that trip than I had ever seen in the past twelve years of my life. Since then, my life has been committed to serving Christ wherever He may lead.
While I was in Guatemala on that trip, we went to a school district to do ministry. We had brought a few soccer balls to give to the school, and we gave the head sports director one of those balls. He wouldn’t stop thanking us because all they had to play with was a deflated volleyball. With the presence of the new ball, it didn’t take long for a group of boys to gather around, eager to play soccer.
When I returned home, my mom and I started thinking about ways to get soccer balls into the hands of children who love playing their national sport. We found a company that sells gospel-colored soccer balls, which gave kids the opportunity to not just have fun but also to learn about the gospel. I made a website to raise money to get as many of these balls into Guatemala as possible. I also went to recreational soccer league games, where I set up a table to share about my mission and so people could contribute financially. God blessed this little endeavor, and we ended up shipping 300 Gospel soccer balls to Guatemala.
Then in 2013, right after I turned thirteen, my dad, sister and I traveled to Guatemala, where we were able to give more soccer balls out in a village where we had spent the a week doing ministry. That trip is when I first realized my apathy towards loving my neighbors. I spent time in homes that were so basic compared to everything I saw back in America. I was so broken for all the people around me and saddened over how greedy I had been. It was from that point on that I realized I wanted to serve God in any way I could.
In early 2014, my oldest sister came home from college with an old-fashioned ice cream maker. The kind you have to put salt and ice in and hand crank. I wanted to try out making ice cream as soon as I could, because at this point in life, I had really gotten into cooking and baking. I got all the ingredients and made my first batch of homemade ice cream in the middle of February! As soon as I sampled it, I knew that I wanted to start a business selling ice cream because it was so good! Unfortunately, I didn't end up starting an ice cream business because of all the government regulations. Instead, I got a loan from my parents and started a gourmet ice pop business. I purchased a $3,000 vending cart, found a local business to supply the ice pops, made my own logo and website, and began selling at local farm markets. By the end of the summer, I paid off all my debt. The next year went even better, and I also catered for businesses and birthday parties. The third year wasn’t as successful, but that was ok because it became clear to me that God had other plans for my life.
In 2015, God opened my eyes to my apathy again. My family had started attending a new church, and one Sunday, a husband and wife spoke about their time ministering to high school students by sharing the gospel and the need to abolish abortion. At that point, I realized I had been neglecting my unborn neighbors who are in need, right in my own state and country. I started doing outreach in front of abortion “clinics” and out on the street, sharing the Gospel and seeking justice for those being aborted. To this day, I fight for the unborn because they are being mass murdered. I am thankful that God showed me a way to serve Him right here in America.
Also during this time, God gave me more opportunities to love orphans. In 2013, my family adopted a little boy from China. Then in 2015, we adopted my other little brother from China. At the age of fourteen, I was so blessed to be able to travel with my parents to China on the second trip. I saw firsthand fatherless children being adopted into loving families, yet I also saw children stuck in cribs all day in a lifeless orphanage. After witnessing both the beauty of adoption and the horrors of institutionalization, I wanted to advocate for orphans more than ever.
All over the world.
I started travel more in 2016. My family began the process to adopt a little girl, and I knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to start advocating for orphans. So I started filming the entire adoption process in hopes of making a movie. Since I hadn't made much money that summer, my parents and some kind friends helped me get the right equipment I needed for filming and editing.
In September of 2016, my family and I headed to Albania to adopt my little sister. I was able to film the whole thing and spend time exploring the country for seven weeks. During that trip, I was able to minster at the orphanage and to a group of children in a gypsy area. I also had the amazing opportunities of traveling to Macedonia and of going to the town in Albania where my Grandma spent the first seven years of her life. Being able to adopt my little sister from Albania has been amazing. She has Down syndrome and has taught me so much about love.
After returning from Albania, I headed to Uganda for the first three weeks of February 2017. I traveled there with an ER nurse and a missionary from Guatemala. We had an amazing trip ministering to street children in slums and to pregnant moms, and my eyes were opened again to the brokenness of these children and women. I wanted to do more, but instead, I found myself back in the states finishing up my school work and then starting two jobs. I worked all summer and into the winter. I didn't enjoy my job very much since I was so used to having my own little business. But now that I look back on that job it was what got me here and allowed me to fund my entire trip to a restricted country to deliver the Gospel.
On Christmas Day of 2017, I left for the airport on to head to a country that is very hostile to the Gospel. On that trip, God protected my team members and me as we did some crazy things to get the Gospel into remote Muslim villages. That trip was amazing and brought me closer to God in prayer and taught me to trust in Him for everything. Just two weeks after getting back from that trip, I joined my mom, brother, and sister on a trip to China to adopt my newest little sister, Sophie. I was able to film her “gotcha” day and make it into a video. I also captured this emotional day for six other families. It was an awesome trip, and I had great opportunities to minister to many people there. As soon as I got back to the states, I worked extremely hard to complete the Albanian adoption film. This one-hour documentary film was uploaded to Youtube. Only a week and a half after returning from China, I was heading to Thailand. My time in Thailand was truly remarkable. I was on small team of passionate people, and we had the opportunity to serve in great ways. The trip was full of singing, preaching/teaching, and loving on needy, fatherless children. On my return trip from Thailand, I had a 21-hour layover in a middle eastern country. I got a taxi and explored for a little bit and even left Arabic Gospel tracks around! After being home for a short week, I headed to NYC then to Guatemala for a friend’s wedding. I was in Guatemala for just 72, hours but I was able to record a video of their wedding for them. After Guatemala, I had a 21-hour layover in Mexico, so I went out for a while and explored the city and again left some Gospel tracks around the city.
In September of 2016, my family and I headed to Albania to adopt my little sister. I was able to film the whole thing and spend time exploring the country for seven weeks. During that trip, I was able to minster at the orphanage and to a group of children in a gypsy area. I also had the amazing opportunities of traveling to Macedonia and of going to the town in Albania where my Grandma spent the first seven years of her life. Being able to adopt my little sister from Albania has been amazing. She has Down syndrome and has taught me so much about love.
After returning from Albania, I headed to Uganda for the first three weeks of February 2017. I traveled there with an ER nurse and a missionary from Guatemala. We had an amazing trip ministering to street children in slums and to pregnant moms, and my eyes were opened again to the brokenness of these children and women. I wanted to do more, but instead, I found myself back in the states finishing up my school work and then starting two jobs. I worked all summer and into the winter. I didn't enjoy my job very much since I was so used to having my own little business. But now that I look back on that job it was what got me here and allowed me to fund my entire trip to a restricted country to deliver the Gospel.
On Christmas Day of 2017, I left for the airport on to head to a country that is very hostile to the Gospel. On that trip, God protected my team members and me as we did some crazy things to get the Gospel into remote Muslim villages. That trip was amazing and brought me closer to God in prayer and taught me to trust in Him for everything. Just two weeks after getting back from that trip, I joined my mom, brother, and sister on a trip to China to adopt my newest little sister, Sophie. I was able to film her “gotcha” day and make it into a video. I also captured this emotional day for six other families. It was an awesome trip, and I had great opportunities to minister to many people there. As soon as I got back to the states, I worked extremely hard to complete the Albanian adoption film. This one-hour documentary film was uploaded to Youtube. Only a week and a half after returning from China, I was heading to Thailand. My time in Thailand was truly remarkable. I was on small team of passionate people, and we had the opportunity to serve in great ways. The trip was full of singing, preaching/teaching, and loving on needy, fatherless children. On my return trip from Thailand, I had a 21-hour layover in a middle eastern country. I got a taxi and explored for a little bit and even left Arabic Gospel tracks around! After being home for a short week, I headed to NYC then to Guatemala for a friend’s wedding. I was in Guatemala for just 72, hours but I was able to record a video of their wedding for them. After Guatemala, I had a 21-hour layover in Mexico, so I went out for a while and explored the city and again left some Gospel tracks around the city.
2018. The next chapter.
The last six years of my life has been a crazy whirlwind of letting God lead me to go where He wills and to do what He says. This has been the most exciting part of my life. I only have one life, and I don't want to waste any part of it. During the summer of 2017, I remember scrolling through Facebook while on a break from work. I recall seeing a sponsored ad that actually caught my attention. It said something like "A lady who has traveled to every country shares her 10 favorite countries.” I tapped on the link and read that this lady had traveled to every country in a short amount of time to try to bring world peace. The moment I saw that, I knew that I wanted to do the same thing. However, as a Christian, I know that sharing the good news of the Gospel is the only way to bring true peace. While working at my job in the produce section of our local grocery store, I spent countless hours thinking of about how much I wanted to travel to every country for the glory of God. It wasn't until this year that I approached my mom and dad and shared my dream with them. My parents are great and godly people, and they have fully supported my crazy mission to travel to every country in the world. I just recently finished high school, so I have now jumped into planning out this journey that I'm about to embark on! I want to serve God every day, whether it is in something small or a huge mission around the world. It is my prayer that God would use this journey to bring glory to His name and that many people would put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
"Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God." - William Carey
I have no idea what this trip around the planet will entail, but I know God is in control, and I will simply trust Him to lead the way as I set off into many unknowns. I know this journey will in no way be easy, but I believe that God will guide me in His will, even when times are hard. As a Christian, I'm not promised easy, but to me, that’s a great thing.
Doing easy is boring.
Doing easy is boring.
2019. What a year.
Having started this trip on June 18, 2018 it's been over a year and one insane journey so far. It's kinda hard to believe that this trip is actually happening but hey it is, sooooo praise God! Now let's see if I can make it to every country in the world! Over 100 and counting.