In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine and Harris sit down with Hunter Pinke; former University of North Dakota Football team captain, whose life changed in an instant because of a ski accident. 

Hunter is a lifelong North Dakotan who grew up in the rural town of Wishek, ND. While attending Wishek high school, Hunter participated in Class B basketball, 9-man football, track and field, American Legion baseball, FFA, International and State Science Fairs, Science Olympiad, choir, band, piano festivals, drama and speech. He graduated in 2016 as the valedictorian of his class of 18 students.

Hunter went on to pursue a college education from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. In addition to his studies, Hunter was a tight end on the UND football team and served as team captain for the 2020-2021 season. During his time at UND, Hunter served for three years on the leadership team of the UND Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is devout Christian. In the winter of 2019, Hunter was injured while skiing in Keystone, Colo. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury and a broken back after a collision with another skier propelled Hunter into a tree. Hunter was airlifted off the mountain and underwent an eight-hour surgery at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood, Colo. Hunter suffered a complete spinal cord injury, leaving him currently paralyzed from his chest down.

Hunter did his spinal cord injury rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo.

He returned to the University of North Dakota where he graduated with a bachelors of science in Mechanical Engineering. Hunter recently graduated in the Spring of 2024 from the University of Arizona with a graduate degree in real estate development while also competing on the University of Arizona Wheelchair Basketball Team where he served as team captain the past two seasons.  

Hunter’s greatest passions include outdoor recreation in rural North Dakota and Minnesota, participating in or being a fan of any type of athletics, and sharing his story of gratefulness and overcoming adversity throughout the country.

https://www.hunterpinke.com/

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine sits down with Pascal Nery Jean-Charles and Jenna Thorson, with Children of The Promise, located in Cap Haitian, Haiti.  

Pascal has received awards from the American Psychological Association and the Pontificia Catolica Madre y Maestra University for his excellent work in the Haitian community. He began his university studies in the Dominican Republic. He entered the Pontificia Catolica Madre y Maestra University from 2004 to 2009 where he graduated with honors Cum Laude in Psychology. After graduating, he went to Spain, Madrid to continue his education. He entered the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid where he obtained a Diploma in Higher Education in Psychotherapy and a Master of Science in Psychology of Education. He also obtained a Master of Arts in Clinical and Health Psychology from the Instituto Superior de Estudios Psicologicos, ISEP, Madrid.

Back in Haiti, he has worked in both the public and private sectors, non-governmental and international organizations such as Save The Children International, Plan International and Children of The Promise filling role as advisor , senior program director, consultant for programs in health nutrition, family, school and children with special needs. Currently he’s the National Executive Director for Children of The Promise. He co-founded and co-directs La Petite Chenille Therapy Center since 2016 specializing in the care of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, he teaches and participates in research since 2014 at Quisqueya University and Notre Dame University in Jacmel. He was 2021-2024 president of the Haitian Association of Psychology and the Haitian Foundation for Learning Disabilities and a consultant for Etincelle.  

Jenna Thorson has more than 12 years of experience in marketing across both the international non-profit and for-profit sectors. She has organized and led countless mission teams and individuals, creating shared, cross-cultural experiences that expand worldviews. She believes deeply in the transformative power of short-term mission trips and the ways the Lord uses those experiences to shape our purpose.

As the Development Director at Children of the Promise (COTP), Jenna is particularly interested in understanding what motivates people to give and how storytelling can drive lasting impact.

----

Children of the Promise (COTP) is a non-profit organization serving vulnerable children and families in Northern Haiti. Rooted in the belief that every child belongs in a healthy, Christian home, COTP exists to serve families at risk of separation—those facing crisis or vulnerable to it. We invest in family-strengthening programs designed to keep families together and empower them toward sustainable health and wellness. Our programs address key vulnerabilities and provide services that strengthen, support, and equip families to thrive. When separation has already occurred, we pursue family-based solutions, using family-style residential care only as a temporary, short-term option. Our ultimate goal is to see every child placed in a healthy, sustainable family through reunification, domestic placement, or international adoption.

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine chats with Glen Just; who  currently serves as a missionary in the U.S. with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ).  With over 34 years of experience in global missions, collegiate ministry, event planning, direct discipleship and mentoring, he has served thousands of staff and students around the world and here in the U.S.

He is currently working with Family Life, Cru's family ministry, where his focus is ministering to widowers, single dads and blended families.  His first wife of 19 years, Nancy, who was also with Cru, died in 2017 of a rare cancer, leaving Glen as a single dad of their two boys and two girls, all under the age of 13 at the time.  In 2022, Glen married Heather, a single mom of three boys.  Their seven children and two dogs live in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis.

Besides a full life with a big family that enjoys the outdoors, camping, and hiking together, Glen occasionally finds time for modern board games, pinball and connecting with his closest friends.

Nancy Hertz Just - A Journey of Faith

Cru

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine sits down with Dawn Clouse, founder of Community Basics in Willmar, Minnesota. Community Basics oversees the Hope For Our City food giveaway; which gives thousands of pounds of food each week to people in the Willmar area and beyond; and the Home to Home Project; which supplies home goods to people who have been through extreme hardship or natural disasters and are starting over. Learn how Dawn has had a huge ripple effect in her community; and how it all started with a man named George.

https://www.communitybasics.org/

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

On this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine sits down with musician Jeff James. From his adoption at the age of 5, singing his first solo at the age of 6 and getting his first guitar at 15...Jeff's story is one you won't want to miss. Learn how his career started, how he got from Minnesota to Nashville and back, what live looping is, and why he has such a heart for Haiti. To date, Jeff has played more than 5000 shows, and has released nine albums and one live CD. Check out his website and some of his passion projects!

https://www.jeffjamesmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeffjamesportraitartist

http://www.healinghaiti.org/

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Harris Duininck interviews...Harris Duininck. It's a special episode with grandson and grandfather; 65 years apart and still best friends. Learn about their special bond, the lessons learned both directions and why they started a business together when the younger Harris was nine years old.  

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

It's a follow-up of sorts in this episode of The One Pebble Podcast. We're actually releasing an interview that Tom Truszinski did with Dr. Scott and Barb Abrams for a Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge podcast. Tom is the CEO of Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge and was a guest on The One Pebble Podcast a few months ago. Dr. Scott Abrams is also a former guest who talked about his journey with addiction and recovery. He is joined by his wife, Barb, for this episode. It's a story of hope and healing that you don't want to miss. 

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine shares from her heart about breast cancer awareness, the staggering statistics, why early detection is so important, and how her own experience opened her eyes to what so many women are going through in their own breast cancer journeys. It's a heartfelt message for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

American Cancer Society

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode of The One Pebble Podcast, Kristine and Elsie chat with Brad Gray, President and CEO of Walking the Text.  His organization helps people study the Bible in an entirely new way. 

Walking The Text is a non-profit organization that creates digital media resources and study trips to Bible lands to help people understand the Bible in its original context. Brad is the co-creator and host of The Lord’s Prayer film and The Sacred Thread series, as well as the author of Make Your Mark: Getting Right What Samson Got Wrong and co-author of Bringing Heaven Here: How The Lord’s Prayer Can Change Your Life and Our World – releasing November 25th. 

He has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East and has been leading study trips since 2010. Brad is also a national speaker, communication specialist, ordained minister, and former teaching pastor with over a decade of serving in the local church. He has a business management degree from Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, Michigan), a master of divinity from Western Theological Seminary (Holland, Michigan), and a graduate certificate from Jerusalem University College in Israel.

Brad and his wife, Shallon, live with their four children in the greater Nashville area.

To learn more about Brad and his ministry, please visit walkingthetext.com.

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!

In this episode, Kristine sits down with Dr. Steve and Jodi (Duininck) Swanson, who spent twelve years working in a mission hospital in Tanzania, and have now launched a new initiative to improve healthcare for children across Africa.

Dr. Steve Swanson is a pediatrician and infectious disease/tropical medicine physician working in northern Tanzania since 2013.  He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1997, and subsequently completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital and Research Centre at Oakland.  He was a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalist at Stanford University Hospital before completing a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at Washington University School of Medicine and Epidemiology training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health.  Following his time at Minnesota Department of Health, he served as the pediatric inpatient medical director at Hennepin Country Medical Centre, and on faculty at University of Minnesota Global Pediatrics Program.

Since moving to Tanzania, he has been a mentoring physician and a catalyst for local pediatric training, neonatology curriculum development, and the establishment of the highest level neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Tanzania. He also continues his involvement as an associate professor with the University of Minnesota Global Pediatrics Program and teaches across the USA and Africa.  In 2021, his team in Tanzania helped launch Africa’s largest conference in neonatology, Tiny Feet, Big Steps—Advancing Care of Critically Ill and Premature Babies in Africa. This international training conference is held annually in Arusha, and has trained over 600 African doctors and nurses from 20 African countries in the fundamentals of neonatology and how to advance their hospitals’ ability to care for premature infants.  

In 2023, Dr Swanson and his wife, Jodi, established the Institute for Child Healthcare Africa (ICHA), registered as a non-profit in the United States and a non-governmental organization in Tanzania.  This organization is charged with continuing to advance neonatology training across Africa, while also building local pediatric infrastructure in northern Tanzania through the establishment of a Pediatric & Maternity Centre for children and mothers.

Jodi trained in Biology at Wheaton College and received a Nursing Doctorate (ND) in Pediatric Nursing as Case Western Reserves University. She works at Selian Hospital and has been instrumental in the implementation of a standardized feeding program for hospitalized children with severe acute malnutrition.  She works in both hospital settings, feeding clinics, and villages, to treat and prevent malnutrition in small children.  In recent years, she has been active in elementary and secondary school nutrition education. 

Steve and Jodi have 3 adult children. The Swansons have completed 12 years of ministry in Tanzania and plan to continue their work through ICHA. 

http://www.ichafrica.org/

http://www.tinyfeetbigsteps.com/

Global Incubator Podcast

Neonatology Africa

ICHA Origins Video

Check out our Facebook page; find us on Instagram or send us an email at [email protected]. You can also watch this episode on YouTube!