Board of Directors
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I am blessed to have an amazing family. My beautiful wife Angela is the glue to our family. We celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary October 20, 2011. I am also blessed to have a 9 yr. old son (Jesse Allen Lee II) and a soon to be 6 yr. old daughter (Madeline Paige Lee).
My favorite “me times” are coaching my son’s baseball team and golfing with friends. I have spent 14 years in the banking/financial arena. I am currently employed by First Citizens Bank as a Vice President, Business Banking.
John 14:13 has been the anchor of my walk with Christ for the last several years. “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” This verse became so real to me at a time when I thought there was no hope. I had fallen flat on my face and there was nothing else to do except roll over and look up. I can specifically remember crying out this verse to the Lord over and over. He heard my cry! He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He honored my cry because my cry honored His Son.
We have been attending Thompson Station Church since June of 2008 when we moved to TN from NC. Until joining the TSC family, we didn’t have a clue what a “mission minded” church really was. Our eyes were truly open to the needs that surround us each and every day (domestically and internationally). After almost a year of knowing that I was being called to serve on a short term mission team, a couple of ladies at the church introduced Angela and I to Visiting Orphans in September of 2009. One week later I was signed up to go to Africa 4 days after Christmas. From the day that I stepped off the plane, my life was changed. The pure joy that comes when you go into a setting thinking that you are about to bless someone else. Then BAM!... you are the one that receives the blessing. The pure love that comes from these children is something that you can’t put into words. There isn’t a description that can be given. You just have to experience it for yourself.
Since returning home from that 1st trip, I have been blessed to lead several V.O. trips alongside my wife. I consider it an honor to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for Visiting Orphans. If you are considering a mission trip and are looking for an organization that is built on integrity and most importantly the Word of God, look no further. It would be a pleasure to have you join the V.O. family!
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After graduating from the College of William & Mary in 2005 with a degree in Marketing, David joined the External Affairs department for Dominion Resources where he worked with government and local community leaders in Hampton Roads to ensure that Dominion continued play an integral role in the community.
In 2007, David joined the staff of Visiting Orphans. As the China Program Director for Visiting Orphans, David successfully created groundbreaking partnerships with the Chinese government to allow for foreign aid in government run children’s home. In 2008 David was promoted to Executive Director of Visiting Orphans. As Executive Director, David focused on making the organization autonomous from its parent organization, America World Adoption, through revenue growth and program expansion. In August 2009 David returned to William & Mary to earn his MBA and pursue his interest in brand and product management. He has most recently completed an internship in his hometown of Virginia Beach with SwimWays Corporation, a mass market manufacturer of pool toys. While with SwimWays David worked on developing Disney licensed products for Target, Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us. David currently lives in Williamsburg with his wife and son.
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On March 14, 1998, I married the love of my life and my best friend, Doug Martine. As a newly married couple we had big dreams but would soon discover, those dreams were definitely not as big as the ones the Lord had for us. In 2000 we birthed our first son, Canyon and in 2002 were given the gift of another beautiful child, a daughter we named Dakota. During that same time, the Lord planted the seed for adoption in our hearts. On November 10, 2004, we sent off our application to begin the journey of adoption. This decision is one that would change the direction and focus of our lives forever.
In 2006, the Lord blessed our family with our daughter from China. During that trip, we had the amazing blessing of being the first family ever to enter the walls of the orphanage where our daughter was from. It was in those moments; seeing babies in cribs of metal, laying on plywood, no blankets, no toys, and no sounds of cries that the Lord wrecked our lives for the Fatherless. It was also in those moments that we declared that we would stand at the feet of our Savior one day and our answer to him would be, we pursued what you said is “Pure Religion” (James 1:27 “pure religion is visiting orphans in their distress”) at all cost. Our family is currently in the process of adoption again. This time our journey takes us to Ethiopia. We are excited that once again, he has chosen us to care for one of his children.
For 3 years we have been honored to serve as America World’s Senior Texas Associates. Through this role, we have had the opportunity to host seminars, fellowship groups, organized their 2008 Orphans Ticket Home Gala here in San Antonio, Texas and speak at multiple events on behalf of orphan awareness and adoption within our community. However and wherever the Lord gives us opportunity to share on behalf of his children, we do with passion!
We are very excited to serve on the Board of Directors of Visiting Orphans. We believe in the work of the ministry and the heart of those who make it all happen. We truly believe that the Lord tell us to “GO and Visit the Orphans in their distress” because he knows when we do, we come away with his heart for them and our work won’t stop there. I pray that each person who goes will come home with a new life motto that is best described in Brooke Frasier’s song, “Albertine”: “Now that I have seen, I am responsible”.
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My story begins in Corpus Christi, Texas where I was born. It wasn’t long before my dad was transferred and we ended up in Grapevine, Texas in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex where I grew up and went to high school. I grew up Catholic, but in high school I began going to Young Life after being prompted by my sister who is five years older. This is where I was first introduced to Christ, and after going to a Young Life camp in Colorado my freshman year of high school I gave my life to Christ.
After high school I carted myself to Texas A&M where I spent the next five years growing spiritually, maturing and studying, and graduated in 1997 with a degree in Construction Science. Texas A&M is where I also met my future wife, Cristie. After graduation we both ended up in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and were married about a year later on March 14, 1998.
I like to consider my life as a journey with God and the more I reflect on my past the more clarity his purpose is for my future. God has radically changed everything I had planned for my life. I was the person who had his retirement planned when I got out of college…2 kids, 2 SUV’s, nice home, nice job. God first thwarted my plan with the birth of my son Canyon who is now 10 years old, and then with the birth of my daughter Dakota who is now 8 years old. At this time we felt that were done because I had my two kids, but after going to a concert where adoption was being promoted, Cristie and I both knew that adoption was in our future. After much prayer and prompting by the Holy Spirit we put in our application to America World and brought home our beautiful Maliah Jade Xu Martine in September of 2006.
While in China I was able to visit the orphanage (very rare for this orphanage), and was able to see the babies in cribs where my daughter was just days prior. I also was able to see the actual spot where she was abandoned in a box just weeks before. I believe this changed my heart for orphans forever. Cristie and I returned from China knowing we were not finished, God had more in store for us as a couple and as a family in the area of adoption and orphan care. I began to write outlines and flow charts of orphan ministries and we became the Texas Associates for America World allowing us to consult families, host seminars and have adoption fellowship groups preparing families for adoption and talking about the post adoption issues.
We both knew it was coming, and in the summer of 2010 we both felt the prompting that God wanted to add to our family once again…we heard God say “you have a son in Ethiopia”. So as I write this bio we are in the middle of the adoption process hoping to bring our son Levi home in the spring or summer of 2011. When asked by people why God allows orphans or why doesn’t he care for them, our answer is…he does - his bride, the body of Christ is how he cares for them. We have a passion to awaken the church to the orphan crisis and equip churches and individuals to act on behalf of orphans locally and worldwide. We are excited about the opportunity with Visiting Orphans and feel it is one of the most effective and streamlined ways for people to get introduced to orphan care and see first hand the difference they can make.
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I am an immigration attorney from Denver, Colorado and in addition to my business-focused practice, I’ve practiced in areas of immigration law affecting orphans, refugees and families since graduating from law school at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1998. I have an amazing husband, who happens to also be my law partner (he practices tax law) and we have two beautiful children. God willing, we will be welcoming a new daughter from Ethiopia in 2012. I am a mission team leader for Visiting Orphans to Central America and I am a native speaker (fluent) in Spanish.
While my immigration practice has always been (and continues to be) God’s calling on my life, my focused work with orphans began a number of years ago, when our family hosted two Ugandan girls in our home as part of a ministry that God would later shape into His Little Feet, one of Visiting Orphans’ partner organizations. God, through the work I would do with His Little Feet, moved my heart. In particular, a little boy named Johnson from Haiti (that’s him in the photo), a member of the first His Little Feet choir, stole a piece of my heart! God has moved me to new experiences and work through all of this. Among other things, I was challenged to simply “GO”, so I went, with my daughter, with Visiting Orphans on a mission to Costa Rica. It was there I learned, in no uncertain terms, that God was going to use the gifts and abilities He gave me in new ways, inside and outside the law office. Being part of the Board at Visiting Orphans is a new part of the journey and I am excited to see what God has in store for Visiting Orphans.
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After graduating from Texas Tech University in 2002 with a Masters in Accountancy, Judson moved to Dallas to begin working for Ernst & Young. After several years in corporate tax consulting, Judson took on a role as a personal financial planner for Cain, Watters & Associates, a CPA firm providing comprehensive financial planning, accounting and tax services to businesses across the US.
Judson and his wife, Juliana, always felt drawn towards the orphaned children of Africa and began researching how they could celebrate their 5-year wedding anniversary with a trip to serve them. After some extensive “Googling” and the recommendation of a close friend, they stumbled onto the Visiting Orphans web site and signed up to take their first trip to Ethiopia and Uganda in July 2010. Since that time, the mission of Visiting Orphans has also become their own and they are excited and blessed to continue to support the organization through additional trips, fundraising and now this position for Judson to serve on the Board.
Juliana and Judson have been married nearly seven years and live in Dallas, TX. In his free time, Judson enjoys running with his wife, cooking, and cheering on his Red Raiders in all sports.
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After graduating from Clemson University, Welch began his engineering career working for Corning in Hickory, NC. He has been with Corning for 12 years and currently works as a Project Manager in Fiber Optic Cable Research and Development.
After sponsoring a child in Kenya through World Vision, Welch became more aware of the orphan crisis in Africa and began looking into ways his family could do more. While extensively researching additional ways to become involved, he was introduced to the Visiting Orphans web site and Welch signed up to take the first trip to Uganda in March 2011. During his time in Uganda, Welch’s heart was completely wrecked by what he had seen and experienced. His passion to serve the children of Africa and remind them that they are not forgotten becomes increasingly clear every day.
Being asked to serve on the Visiting Orphans Board of Directors is a tremendous honor and privilege.
Welch enjoys spending time with his wife Heather and two daughters Lily Grace and Kate, running, biking, playing tennis and serving on the production team at Elevation Church.
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