The ever-impressive, ski-bum Jeff managed to convince responsible “Teacher Tori” (who was always going to be single and never have kids) to marry him at Squaw Valley on June 19, 2004. Ever since then, they’ve been on a wild adventure with each other and with God.

The kid journey began with two precious little gals named Eleah and Natalie. These girls brought so much joy and pizzazz to the world. Eleah’s intellectual, artistic and musical pursuits balanced Natalie’s tameless energy, go-get-’em approach to life and unquenchable imagination that could only see possibilities ahead.

Little by little, God kept upping the ante on risk-taking. Jeff went from firefighting to being a contractor, and then he felt called to go into teaching. Tori and Jeff even got to teach in the same elementary school together. After being part of a team that started a community youth group, they decided to volunteer at a Bible Camp for the summer. Next, God called them to go to YWAM and do a Family DTS (discipleship training school). They walked out on a limb of faith, quit their jobs and headed to Kona, Hawaii (not a bad place to train) to be missionaries as a family.

Before heading to Uganda, Africa, there was a seed that had been planted in their dating years that began to surface. God spoke to both Jeff and Tori during a corporate time of intercession, and later they would find that their journal entries about what God had said aligned quite well. This was one of those times that God was super clear. It was time to add to the family.

Once back on the mainland, with the world shut down because of COVID, they were busy becoming foster parents. On July 25, 2020, four siblings joined their family, and a year later they officially became Swans. This was an intense period of life where all were stretched and learned to cling to God because they were at their very edge. Eventually, everyone felt like family!

Now, after more than two years under their belt, God once again called them to a life-shift and risk-taking change. They headed back to serve with YWAM!

Lesson #1: You don’t have to be perfect to serve. God takes broken people in ministry and doesn’t disqualify anyone who isn’t put together. We’re all broken anyway.