We started in 2009 sending care packages out from a small church in Brentwood California. Fifty care packs a month soon became 100 or more and we consistently did this for over ten years. US Army chaplains have been great contacts as they distribute well. We have also been able to deliver care packs to bases like Fort Irwin in Barstow California, Camp Parks and Coast Guard Island also in California. Over the years we have shipped care packs to veterans nationwide finding this is a great source of encouragement. Starting at a church is important to us because we are a faith-based organization trusting God for guidance, direction, and protection.

In 2013, serving as a chaplain, I started serving at Joni and Friends warrior getaways, serving ten years at the Mayland event and at twenty events overall as of 2023. Serving with a group that really serves and impacts veterans and their families has truly been a blessing for our mission. I met the founder of 22TooMany at my first event in 2013 and it provided what would be a complete shift in our mission. Even though I have been serving veterans for years, a lot by phone, our focus now has us serving the families of the 22 veterans that take their own lives daily in this country.

I must say that my VP of operations, Michael Siemer, a US Navy veteran and his wife Santina have been on board since day one! Our shift came from actually meeting some families on the way to the Joni and Friends event in Maryland, as I drive it every September. What we found was a group of folks, the families of the 22, get little to no attention from anyone, and their grief is tremendous. We started ministering to them with visits and later inspired by a mom in Wyoming, we started building beautiful memorial benches for their loved ones.

When covid hit it pretty much destroyed our regular care packing crew and we never really recovered. Another church in Brentwood Calif has taken on that arm of the mission. We still do a really big holiday pack with Brentwood Auto Parts NAPA every year before Christmas, sending out thousands of care packs through the last ten years, over five hundred shipped in 2023.

A few years ago, on a memorial bench delivery to Cambridge Maryland, I invited a couple that I had met at the warrior getaway in Maryland to accompany me on the delivery. Joe Goetz, a Viet Nam veteran from Pennsylvania and his wife Carole were deeply impacted by this delivery and soon started building and delivering benches form the east coast. All of our contacts with families come from the 22TooMany database as we work closely with that organization at every level. in fact one of the 22TooMany moms has accompanied me on four bench deliveries.

The impact for the families is hard to describe, but every family is grateful to have their loved one remembered. Every bench is designed with the family and we do not build until they approve the design. As of April 2024 Joe, Carole, and I have delivered 44 memorial benches. I said before that our mission has shifted, and we are already way ahead of last year with benches in the works. We hope to serve each family well as we work with them and especially on the delivery day. We share the gospel and the love of Christ with each delivery.