In August Dad and Mom (Steve and Rachel) will be celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary. As a Christmas gift this past Christmas us kids wanted to surprise them with a special trip for their anniversary. Each of us presented a country that we thought they would like to go to and then they chose which one. They decided to go with a trip to Italy and will be going sometime in September 2024.

Our surprise to them from us however, is we want this trip to be paid for. If possible, it would be special if they didn’t have to spend a dime to go and spend time just the two of them in a beautiful country for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, we kids can’t afford to do this ourselves.

While thinking of how we could raise the money to send mom and dad to Italy we realized that November of 2024 marks 20 years since our family has moved from New Jersey to central Illinois where Dad has served as the pastor of Crosswalk Fellowship.

Then it clicked for us kids. What if we made a GoFundMe and sent it to anyone who may have:

1. Been impacted by mom and dad’s marriage 2. Been impacted by their ministry or

3. Know them and want to bless them for 25 strong years of marriage and 20 years serving the Lord in Central Illinois.

This long-deserved trip could be a gift from everyone as a thank you to them for several years of Christ like example in marriage to each other and service to our church family. The goal for this GoFundMe is to raise around $7,500. This will cover most of their trip to Italy from flights, hotels, food, and other miscellaneous expenses. No amount is too small and can go a long way. We really appreciate everyone’s generosity, love, and support in trying to give our parents a trip they much deserve.

- Waggoner Kids (Caleb, Josh, Micah, Leah & Elisha)