Hey Planet Earth.
My name is Conner. I am currently 21 years old and I love Christ! My life is never boring because I have 12 siblings between the ages of 5 to 27. Eight of my siblings are adopted and because of that I have a huge heart for orphans. I finished high school 4 years ago and hit the road. I love traveling anywhere and everywhere, since starting my trip I've been to over 140 countries. I am interested in capturing photos of everyday moments in different cultures, and I also have been fidgeting around with making videos the past few years. In short I'm just a kid that is trying to travel to every country on the entire planet. I'm sure I'm a bit crazy and I'm ok with that.
Now that's me in a few sentences if you want a deep dive read below, but it's kinda a lot of words...
Now that's me in a few sentences if you want a deep dive read below, but it's kinda a lot of words...
2000-2011. school and apps
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 that I was born again. After Jesus came to me 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 still had a blast and don't regret that time at all.
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 still had a blast and don't regret that time at all.
2012-2015. 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. 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.
2016-2018. 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, it was like God was downloading the same vision but instead of just being a tourist, traveling with Him . While working at my job in the produce section of our local grocery store, I spent countless hours thinking and prayer about the desire God gave me to visit every country with him. 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 had 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.
"Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God." - William Carey
I had no idea what this trip around the planet would entail, but I knew that God is in control, and that I'd simply trust Him to lead the way as I set off into many unknowns. I knew this journey will in no way be easy, but I believed that God will guide me in His will, even when times are hard.
As a Jesus lover I'm not promised easy, but to me, that’s a great thing. Doing easy is boring.
On June 18, 2019 I boarded my flight to Iceland arriving on the 19th and officially starting my journey around the world. After a 18 hour layover in Iceland I boarded my flight to Brussels, Belgium where I would start my journey around Europe. In just 3 short months I visited 44 countries across the continent then flew to South Korea and had a layover in China on the way. After 2 weeks in South Korea I flew to Japan and the back to the US for a quick visit. My next region was Central America, after that I flew back to the US for a quick week to spend with my family for Christmas then off to travel around Asia in the new year! In 2018 I got visit 59 countries!
As a Jesus lover I'm not promised easy, but to me, that’s a great thing. Doing easy is boring.
On June 18, 2019 I boarded my flight to Iceland arriving on the 19th and officially starting my journey around the world. After a 18 hour layover in Iceland I boarded my flight to Brussels, Belgium where I would start my journey around Europe. In just 3 short months I visited 44 countries across the continent then flew to South Korea and had a layover in China on the way. After 2 weeks in South Korea I flew to Japan and the back to the US for a quick visit. My next region was Central America, after that I flew back to the US for a quick week to spend with my family for Christmas then off to travel around Asia in the new year! In 2018 I got visit 59 countries!
2019. what a year
2019 was an entire vibe the whole year was full of adventures and plenty of ups and downs. It was a year full of lots of challenges but many more testimonies. I was robbed many times and wanted to give up but Christ held me through it all. I had the opportunity to visit 68 new countries and visited many regions. I saw lots of Asia, some of the Middle East, almost all of South America and the Caribbean, and West Africa!
2020. let's gooooo..... ohhh noooo
2020 started off amazing visiting to epic countries back to back then getting to revisit a few countries in South East Asia and meet up with some friends there. Then right as I was in SEA news of a new virus called coronavirus broke and countries started to react especially those in Asia. Within a week of the virus becoming global news there were signs put up everywhere in Thailand, extra questioning and temp checks at Malysia land border, and the entire country of Singapore going into panic mode right before my eyes. My next region was Southern Africa and it was all open and most countries there had no cases of Covid-19 so I flew to JBO Johannesburg and traveled around Southern Africa in February into March. For the most part things were pretty normal besides a few borders having a health screening.
When I got to Botswana after having visited 5 other neighboring countries I started to realize that travel might be able to go on as normal. Botswana had the most intense health screening yet and while I was there they started to enforce things like hand sanitizer and social distancing. I still had hope that I could keep going and had a bus ticket booked to Zimbabwe and contacts lined up in Zambia. The night before my bus ticket to Harare, was too depart I got a message saying that my next country after Zimbabwe was closing its borders and that there would be a necessary 14 day quarantine. At that minute I started to ask God what to do and I sought his wisdom for hours into the night until I had complete peace to fly back to the US to wait the worldwide pandemic out. I didn't want to go back but in knew it was what I needed to do. When I woke up I booked a ticket for early the next day and flew to JBO and then boarded my flight home with emirates with a stop in Dubai. I was on the very last Emirates flight from Dubai to New York for an entire 2 months.
I spent a dreadful 9 months back in the USA, it really was the last place I wanted to be but God used it for good as I lost lots of weight, grew closer to Him, got to spend precious time with my family, and was able to save up some money by doing food delivery. I did get to go on a quick trip to Turkey and Guatemala in 2020 during my time in the US but I had already been to them before. 2020 in many ways was my least favorite year that I can really remember but I did grow and learned to keep leaning on God!
When I got to Botswana after having visited 5 other neighboring countries I started to realize that travel might be able to go on as normal. Botswana had the most intense health screening yet and while I was there they started to enforce things like hand sanitizer and social distancing. I still had hope that I could keep going and had a bus ticket booked to Zimbabwe and contacts lined up in Zambia. The night before my bus ticket to Harare, was too depart I got a message saying that my next country after Zimbabwe was closing its borders and that there would be a necessary 14 day quarantine. At that minute I started to ask God what to do and I sought his wisdom for hours into the night until I had complete peace to fly back to the US to wait the worldwide pandemic out. I didn't want to go back but in knew it was what I needed to do. When I woke up I booked a ticket for early the next day and flew to JBO and then boarded my flight home with emirates with a stop in Dubai. I was on the very last Emirates flight from Dubai to New York for an entire 2 months.
I spent a dreadful 9 months back in the USA, it really was the last place I wanted to be but God used it for good as I lost lots of weight, grew closer to Him, got to spend precious time with my family, and was able to save up some money by doing food delivery. I did get to go on a quick trip to Turkey and Guatemala in 2020 during my time in the US but I had already been to them before. 2020 in many ways was my least favorite year that I can really remember but I did grow and learned to keep leaning on God!
2021. a whole vibe
Yup 2021 was so much more of a good vibe compared to 2020. Even though I only visited 14 new countries in 2021I met some truly incredible people and got to visit some of the most underrated countries! Like I made it to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq and all basically back to back!
I started off the new year in Southern Africa where I had left off in March of 2020 by flying into Zimbabwe. I then visited Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia, and Kenya on a layover where I had a blast! God clearly directed up to the Middle East as I was in Africa and I reluctantly went but I soon realize why I was meant to go when I did as I had the most incredible time in Afghanistan after spending 2 weeks in UAE just chilling and waiting. I then visited Iraq after Afghanistan and even had my birthday there, my second time celebration outside of the US! I then flew back to US for a much needed break as I had filmed a bunch of videos the whole half of the year for Ministries and joined my family at the beach! I went to Guatemala with my little sister and visited some friends there which was a blessing. I then flew off to Pakistan and was blown away by the country and the kindness of the people. I eventually made it back to Africa in October and spent 2 months exploring East Africa visiting Rwanda, DRC Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. I flew home for Christmas and surprised my family.
2021 was a year of traveling slow and learning how to rest! It really was a whole vibe in such a good way. I could write for hours of all my amazing experiences and the things I learned along the way!
I started off the new year in Southern Africa where I had left off in March of 2020 by flying into Zimbabwe. I then visited Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia, and Kenya on a layover where I had a blast! God clearly directed up to the Middle East as I was in Africa and I reluctantly went but I soon realize why I was meant to go when I did as I had the most incredible time in Afghanistan after spending 2 weeks in UAE just chilling and waiting. I then visited Iraq after Afghanistan and even had my birthday there, my second time celebration outside of the US! I then flew back to US for a much needed break as I had filmed a bunch of videos the whole half of the year for Ministries and joined my family at the beach! I went to Guatemala with my little sister and visited some friends there which was a blessing. I then flew off to Pakistan and was blown away by the country and the kindness of the people. I eventually made it back to Africa in October and spent 2 months exploring East Africa visiting Rwanda, DRC Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. I flew home for Christmas and surprised my family.
2021 was a year of traveling slow and learning how to rest! It really was a whole vibe in such a good way. I could write for hours of all my amazing experiences and the things I learned along the way!
2022. just 49 left to go...
When I first started my trip I thought I'd be finished in less then 2 year lol 😂 now its approaching 4 years and honestly I think the speed at which I'm going is fine... but I'm hoping to visit more countries in 2022 then 2021. Let's see what this new year has to offer!