Rich is the Administrator for HOLD the children (Htc), responsible for the day to day activities of the Htc program. He also serves as project coordinator for Mission Discovery as needed. Rich’s first active involvement in missions occurred following the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. He participated in hurricane relief work with a team from Emmanuel Church in October 1992 and then led another team the following year to South Florida to continue relief work. Rich and his wife Darlene first served with Mission Discovery as adult leaders on a youth trip to Jamaica in 1994. He continued serving every year since as a volunteer with Mission Discovery in various capacities, including project coordinator in the Bahamas and Jamaica. God called Rich to full time service with Htc in the fall of 2007. Rich and Darlene, married since 1987, reside in near Johnstown, PA. They have three married adult children and six grandchildren. Rich grew up in a Christian home and came to the saving grace of Jesus Christ at a young age of 13. He spent two years in college before leaving to take a job with a small equipment manufacturer in Johnstown. He ended up spending the next 30 years (1972-2002) working for the same company before leaving in 2002. While working full time in a similar capacity with another company, Rich enrolled a Degree Completion Program at Lancaster Bible College and earned a B.S. degree in 2005. In September 2007, God led Rich to depart from the business world to accept a staff position serving the world’s poor with Mission Discovery and HOLD the children. Why I'm Here: God placed the desire in my heart to serve the poor, then He opened the doors of opportunity to make it possible. My Great Experiences: I served on mission trips with my parents, my wife and my children, I received a BS degree at age 54.