About The Author

Joy has been happily married for over 50 years to John Budensiek and is the mother of three children, Julie, John Jr. and James.  Bart Thompson and Ada Duren joined the family through marriage to Julie and John Jr.  John and Joy are the grandparents to eight lively and delightful grandkids range for 14 to 24
Although enjoying “retirement years” John and Joy are enjoying their new freedom to travel,
meeting new friends and keeping those lifelong friendships alive..

Joy graduated from Brownsville Area High school in 1971.  She obtained an AA in Business from Penn Commercial Business College, a BS in Education from Hobe Sound Bible College, a BA in Counseling from Hobe Sound Bible College and a MA in Ministry from Moody Graduate School.

Teaching has been her passion for many years. She has served as the Chairperson of Intercultural Studies at Hobe Sound Bible College, and just recently retired after 44 wonderful years in the classroom.

She was the co-founder of Touching Lives for Christ, a summer short-term missionary ministry of Hobe Sound Bible Church. She served as the director for several years. Joy has personally taken teams and traveled to many countries.

Weekends will often find John and Joy traveling to various churches and conferences where she shares her adoption story or introduces her new book, By the Way, series.  Taking photos for this series has become a new mutual hobby for them.

Two favorite missionary quotes she often shares with her students are~ 

“Wherever you are, be all there!  Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God,” by Jim Elliott.

 Another favorite is by Sir Winfred Grenfell, missionary to her own beloved Newfoundland, “When two courses are open, take the more adventuresome one.”

Although nearing retirement age, neither John nor Joy have any plans for such a thing!  Too many adventures are waiting just around the next curve!