Donald is an Oregon boy, born and raised. His wife, Carrie (Garwood) Welch, was also born in Oregon but moved to Missouri when she was eight. Carrie and Donald have been married since 2005, and have two children: Jayne and Lukas. Donald left Oregon when he first felt the call to serve the church in 1998: in Anchorage, Alaska for five years, then in Mesa, Arizona for seven years, and finally in Council Bluffs, Iowa for eight years. He has held many job titles for the church – youth pastor, church planter, mission center missionary coordinator, and pastor – but after 20 years, he could not resist the urge to come home. His family moved to Salem, Oregon in August 2018. |