Why, you may ask, have we adopted a Spanish name…? Well, there’s a perfectly good short explanation for that, but I prefer the long way…
If you want the short version, click the arrow…
Our family is moving to Spain for 3 months this summer to partner with old friends who have committed to living as missionaries full time in Spain. So, for 3 months, we’ll be known locally as La Familia de Pimientos.
I’m dad, also known as Kevin. Angela (my beautiful wife you see in the picture) and I have been married for almost 18 years now. We have a beautiful daughter, Clara, and a handsome son, Collin. Together, we are La Familia de Pimientos (The Peppers Family).
Since Angela and I began dating, we’ve lived in the northern suburbs of Atlanta where we established our family, getting married in Blue Ridge, and raising our kids in Woodstock. Angela and I met almost 20 years ago working at an Italian restaurant in Canton called Provino’s. After a short time working together, we both went onto the mission field together, but in separate locations. We flew to California together and trained there before boarding separate planes, with separate teams, and headed across the ocean to work with elementary-aged children using Bible stories to help them practice conversational English.
That was my first foray into international missions. Angela had been overseas three times previously – twice to Asia and once to Africa. When we returned from our respective trips that year, we became close friends which then blossomed into a dating relationship. After a year of dating, we were engaged and married a year later.
During the time we were dating, we attended what is now Revolution Church in Canton, GA. It was called Ridgestone church back then. It was there that we met our dear friends, Jason & Carrie Noble. The Nobles had moved from Ames, Iowa to plant Ridgestone church and invited me and my brothers into a small discipleship group/bible study with them. I was rather immature in my faith at that time, and they exercised great patience helping me to better understand how to study scripture and apply its teachings to my life.
After some time, the Nobles moved back to Iowa in order to be closer to their parents as they focused on building their own family. In the time they were back in Ames, they had four boys and remained close to the Lord. During that same time, however, Angela and I found ourselves floundering a little in our faith journey until sweet Clara was gifted to us by God.
We knew when she was born, that we were called to be stewards of the wonderful gift God had entrusted to us so we returned to fellowship at Revolution Church (which had rebranded from Ridgestone during our absence). God was beginning to work in our lives, drawing us closer to Him as we served the church by hosting and leading small groups – just as Jason & Carrie had done for us several years before.
A couple of years after Clara arrived, we were blessed with the birth of our son, Collin. We moved into our new house at that time, where we have been ever since and committed to raising our children up in the way God would have them go. After a while, we sought to find a slightly smaller community of believers within which to grow more intimately with the Lord.
We began attending Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Hickory Flat, GA in late, 2017. It was through that move that God began to place an emphasis to global missions back on our hearts. The church membership is committed to advancing the Gospel both locally and globally. Having served the mission committee’s annual fair through our work in the hospitality ministry for a couple of years, I was asked to join the committee where I now serve to help develop and execute missions strategies for our congregation.
Throughout the years, Jason and I had remained friendly, checking in with one another from time to time. It was in early 2019, however, that I received a call from Jason and Carrie where they informed me that they were stepping out in obedience to God and were preparing to move their family to Spain to pursue full-time missions work. After prayerful consideration, Angela and I committed to faithfully and financially partner with them in their efforts abroad.
In early 2020, Jason & Carrie prepared themselves and their four boys to move to Spain, arriving in early February – just before the COVID lockdowns began. Their first year on the mission field was fairly isolating, though they were able to connect with a local evangelical church in the town of A Coruna. Jason committed to preaching and teaching and Carrie served the moms in the community as much as she could during that time.
After about a year on the field, Jason & Carrie began to feel a draw towards serving pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago (another post is forthcoming on that). They found a building in a small, rural village along the Camino route and the Lord opened doors for them to inhabit and rent the space while pursuing ownership of the building.
In 2023, our church youth pastor and I worked together to build a summer mission trip opportunity for our youth group to visit the Noble family in Spain. We had so much interest, we had to break into 2 groups over 2 weeks. The teams passed each other in the Atlanta airport as one was arriving back and the other was departing for Spain. That year, the teams worked to help them do some light construction around the building where Jason & Carrie have created a “Pilgrim Rest Stop” aimed at providing refreshment, water, and Gospel to passersby. The youth were able to connect with many pilgrims throughout the weeks they were there to hear their stories and share their own testimony’s of God’s faithfulness in their lives.
Shortly after arriving back from that trip, I began preparing to lead an adult trip from our church to Spain in the Spring of 2024. My wife was able to join me on that occasion along with some of our dear friends to pour into and serve the Noble family, while also serving pilgrims as they wandered by. Several from that group endeavored to walk a portion of the Camino journey that week to get a better understanding of the pilgrim’s perspective. They walked just under 54 miles in three days journeying from Santiago de Compostela to Muxia.
The difference between the trips I took between 2023 and 2024 is what led to my family’s commitment to serving during the summer of 2025. In July of 2023, Jason & Carrie had a young couple from Germany partnering with them, living in the building with them, and serving the groups they hosted. Matthias was instrumental in helping to transport groups as they arrived/departed, run for supplies, and keep the pilgrim rest stop running while the groups were doing other projects. His wife, Laura, worked hand-in-hand with Carrie to prepare meals for their families and the teams they were hosting throughout the busy season.
When we arrived in 2024, Jason & Carrie did not short-term partnership for the season (they were planning a furlough home in August and thus did not arrange for short-term help during the season). When we arrived in May of 2024, our team sprang into action to assist them. I was able to help drive our team and run for supplies while the ladies from our group supported Carrie with cooking, washing laundry and general house cleaning. The team also worked to help with some light construction and electrical work in the building to support them for the long-haul.
After speaking with Jason & Carrie and learning that they weren’t sure how the Lord would provide for them during the Summer 2025 high season (where they host teams between 12-30 people week-in and week-out), my heart and mind began to entertain the idea of joining them for the season. In Spain, one can visit for 90 days without having to apply for a visa. While 90 days doesn’t quite cover their full high-season, if our family could join them in partnership for an extended period of time up to 90 days, we could help them in similar fashion to how Laura and Matthias faithfully served them in the summer of 2023.
After visiting herself in May of 2024, Angela, too became all to aware of the need and also began to entertain the idea. We prayed about it diligently and decided that if the Lord wanted us to make this commitment, He would show us. We had several potential obstacles that any one of which could absolutely de-rail our plans to commit.
We began homeschooling our children in 2019, so the school schedule wouldn’t be an issue for us – door 1: opened before we realized we needed it to be opened.
I work a full time job in a single-income household, but have worked remotely since July of 2020 – door 2: opened before we realized we needed it to be opened.
I still had to get permission from my leadership team to work remotely from another country for up to 90 days. When I returned from the trip in May, 2024 I began having those conversations with my direct boss. He seemed pretty quickly on-board – door 3: opened.
I still had to get permission from the Vice President of my division and my direct boss suggested I go to him directly. So, after lots of prayer and explanation of how I would remain committed to my job while serving overseas, he approved the decision – door 4: opened.
We also have a dog that we would need to leave behind for three months, and who on earth is going to adopt a dog for that amount of time?! Well, I’m glad you asked! Our dear friend Philip committed to staying at our house, checking our mail, keeping up with our lawn and caring for our dog for the 3 months we are gone – door 5: opened.
Now there’s also the matter of finances. Airfare to Spain for four adults (our kids are 14 and 12 so, according to the airlines, they qualify as adults) isn’t necessarily cheap. So we began to save money as much as we could, cutting back on expenditures and putting away little-by-little every month. And then, out of nowhere (well, we know where), we were gifted funds to cover three out of four of the airline tickets – door 6: busted right down.
And so, we emphatically put our “yes” on the table! We coordinated dates with Jason & Carrie and began preparing ourselves and our children to live overseas for up to 90 days this coming summer. Airfare is booked, passports are secured for all of us, suitcases are emptied and ready for packing, and Spanish language learning has been added to our homeschooling.
Part of that Spanish language learning involved how to say, “we are the Peppers family.”
Well, “¡Nosotros somos la familia de Pimientos!”
This site will chronical our journey as we prepare to go, arrive, serve, and return back home. If you’ve read this far, I commend your attention span. I’ve never been accused of being a short-hand writer.