Our Story
“Family has always meant the world to me. Following and serving Christ is choosing to see BIG God’s family really is.”
Kayla – I was born and raised in a small rural town outside of Clarksville, TN. Most of my extended family lived within 10 minutes of my house. We traveled on short vacations but most of our time outside of school was spent together just enjoying being family.
I graduated from Austin Peay State University with a degree in elementary education in 2013. I taught first grade for one year and then married the love of my life and moved to Indiana. In Indianapolis, I worked at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis as an administrative assistant in Student Affairs. We joined a church called itown Church, where I served in the nursery. I attended, led, and hosted small groups through itown, where I met some of my best friends and truly developed a relationship with Jesus. We had an amazing life, but we felt like there had to be “more”. We didn’t know what “more” looked like until we found out about the World Race. We both knew that we had to go and serve. So we sold our house, quit our jobs, stored our stuff, and decided to travel the world sharing the love of Christ.
“I’ve traveled to lots of interesting places and never expected the World Race would be where ended up. I thank the Lord for that!”
RJ – I was born in Oakland, California and almost immediately started traveling with mom. My dad was in the Navy, so we lived in 6 states before I was 10 years old. Before I started middle school, my family decided it would be best to settle down in a military town called Clarksville, Tennessee. But it was too late – I had been bit by the travel bug and it was buried deep in my soul.
I grew up on a chicken farm down a road that wasn’t paved until I was in high school. I started a rock band with some friends and spent my free time getting involved in as many things as I could. Everything was an adventure for me.
I started dating my last girlfriend ever when I was 16 – Kayla Mechelle. This year on the Race (2018) is our 10 year anniversary of dating! After high school we went to college together and I continued my passion for getting involved, including joining a fraternity (ATO). I helped pilot a Christian retreat in Colorado called Encounter for the fraternity that over 300 young men have experienced now.
After graduating I moved to Indianapolis to travel as a recruiter for the National Organization. Kayla and I were married in 2014 and I became the Director of Growth for ATO later that year. I was able to build a record breaking team of friends and had a lot of fun helping to create positive communities for young men on college campuses.
Who We Are
Kayla – Teacher. Friend. Reader. Organizer. Athlete. Listener. Learner. Helper. Encourager. Teammate. Traveler. Wife. Daughter. Sister.
RJ – Booster. Believer. Connector. Trekker. Worshipper. Thinker. Exciter. Communicator. Risk-taker. Kingdom Builder. Husband. Son. Brother. Coach.
What We Love
Kayla – Books. Volleyball. Softball. Family. Hosting small group. Italian food. Mexican food. Traveling. Audiobooks. Cheerios. Beaches. Babies. Roller coasters. Caribou Coffee Vanilla lattes.
RJ – Live music. Playing guitar. Worship. Mountain biking. Sharing ideas. Podcasts. Joyful people. Big hugs. Flying Delta. Exploring. Local coffeeshops and restaurants. Peach Cobbler. Hot Mint Tea.
“Marrieds” who do the race are AWESOME…well actually God is awesome, but marrieds ROCK-d
RJ and Kayla, my name is Josh and I work with Jay and Denise Heesch, your squad coaches at Bella Goose Coffee. It is so cool seeing married couples doing the race. I am a recent alum of the World Race, I-Squad 2016, and wanted to let you know that I am praying for y’all and following along in your Journey. I love the “Who we are” and “What we love” sections. Creative!