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Mike & Ginny's
Mike & Ginny's
Travel Adventures
Travel Adventures
"We will never be completely home again, because a part of our hearts will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in other places."
September 2014; Updated 8/29/2025
Why leave our daily routine, our family & friends, and our comfort zone to travel VERY long distances at no small expense? Hmmm ... that's a very good question. :)
Mike and I do have a sense of adventure. We enjoy seeing beautiful places; being immersed in the history of a country we've never been. But most of all, we love meeting people from other lands - getting to know them personally, learning about their culture, their way of life, and, of course, their FOOD! Mike especially loves attempting to communicate in new languages. We feel connected to those we meet long after we return home.
We are incredibly thankful to have been invited five times as U.S. delegates to International Special Conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses:
2006 was our first big international trip to Prague, Czech Republic. After the convention, we enjoyed sightseeing in Vienna, Austria.
In 2009, we were invited to the Munich, Germany, convention. Before the convention, we toured Istanbul, Turkey, and the ruins of Ephesus. After the convention, we enjoyed seeing the sights of Germany especially the beautiful countryside.
Four years later (2013), saw us go all the way to South Africa! We enjoyed immensely the convention in Pretoria followed by a several days at a nature preserve going on safari near Kruger National Park and several days in Cape Town and surrounding areas.
In 2014, we were pleasantly surprised to be invited again - this time to Seoul, South Korea. Following a week in Seoul enjoying the amazing hospitality of our Korean brothers and sisters, we spent a week in China! Definitely out of our comfort zone.
And this year (2025) we along with our friend, Rhonda, were pleasantly surprised to be invited to visit the beautiful island of Sri Lanka. It is almost the farthest point on the planet from our small hometown in Nevada - 22 hours on a plane!
We have been asked why we go? A family member wanted to know if it was like a "mission". Well, not exactly. We aren't gone very long - 2 weeks or 3 weeks at most. All the visiting delegates try to meet as many of our spiritual brothers and sisters as we can and share an "interchange of encouragement". We also try our best to interact with local residents & to leave a positive impression.
We also share our experiences with our family & friends back home. We feel we are taking each of them with us in a way. In addition to this website, we put together video presentations when we get home. It's said great travel makes great story tellers. We sincerely hope our stories are enjoyable.
Although our intent is to encourage others, we know we are the ones that come away with the greatest gifts: more empathy, more understanding, a broader world view, and a deeper bond of love with our international brotherhood. It is hard to put the experiences we have into words. But if we had to pick two words, "Life Changing" pretty much sums it up!
~Ginny & Mike
Here is an excerpt from a welcome email we received from the Korea branch (before we traveled to Korea) that helps explain why the Witnesses have these special conventions:
In these "critical times hard to deal with", it is a wonderful blessing and gift from ”the happy God” that brothers and sisters from all over the world and from different languages and cultures can dwell together in unity and enjoy genuine peace and happiness. (1 Timothy 1:11)
It is a blessing and a gift that we hold dear.
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