Fredericksburg local, Jill Holland is a professional full-time working artist, wife and mother of two. She is also a real estate investor, vacation home manager and the founder of multiple successful art initiatives in her community including The Yellow Door Studio, First Friday Art Walk Fredericksburg and The Fredericksburg Art Guide (and a self-admitted professional plate spinner!).
Holland’s artwork has represented in multiple high-end galleries in key markets like Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, Martha’s Vineyard and British Columbia. She has been painting professionally for 17 years, and has been in numerous individual and group shows around the country. Holland’s paintings have been seen on episodes of Bizarre Foodswith Andrew Zimmern and The WB’s Lying Games. Jill has sold thousands of paintings that reside in private and corporate collections both nationally and internationally.
Jill is also known as “Mamma Africa” to her 420 children in Uganda. Jill has a non-profit organization called Atlas & Arrow. Atlas & Arrow is a 501(c)3 philanthropic organization that raises money to fund life giving efforts to those in the greatest need around the world. They aim to have a global impact (Atlas) with a specific intention (Arrow) of providing food, water, shelter and education to the poor, needy, orphans and widows.
“I am a dreamer and a doer. I am constantly challenging myself to believe that anything is possible with God, that He is anxious to give us the desires of our hearts. I want to live a life that screams from the mountaintops a story of the goodness of God.”
“I am not a doctor, nor am I a scientist, but I submit my life’s findings hoping to benefit any person that has ears to hear. If this information impacts or changes even one person’s life for the better it is worth the effort of sharing because every human life is of the utmost importance and significance.” -Marilee
Marilee Nelson co-founded Branch Basics to help others avoid the suffering she and her family endured. We are passionately committed to providing the safest formulation because we’ve seen first hand how a safe environment can make a life changing difference. Read Marilee’s full story to learn more.
Kathy is a mom of six children and now grandma . She is a Certified Personal Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a Personal Pool Trainer Specialist with Aquatic Exercise Association. Kathy also carries a Special Populations Certifications with Coopers Institute that allows her to work with folks who have auto-immune diseases. Kathy is also licensed in Life Style Weight Management, Kickboxing, TRX Suspension Training, International Fitness Leaders of America in Cycling and facilitates Fitness Boot Camps in Ingram, Texas!
WE’RE COMPELLED TO HELP THE TRIBAL GROUPS IN THE SIERRA MADRE.
Mexico Medical Missions is a non-denominational Christian organization that provides medical and community development services to the people of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Chihuahua. Five million people live in Chihuahua, the largest state in Mexico.
Rising majestically in the western portion of Chihuahua, the vast, beautiful and remote Sierra Madre Mountains dominate the horizon. The Conquistadors came here 400 years ago looking for gold. What they found were long-established Indian civilizations flourishing in the great plains that rose up to the foothills of the towering mountains.
Some of the tribes were conquered and became assimilated by the Spanish culture. Some fled northward into the land that would later become the United States. And others retreated deep into the Sierra Madre where the Spanish armies could not reach. These are the tribal groups we see today – the indigenous Tarahumara, Tepehuan, Pima and Guarajillo peoples who inhabit the ridges and valleys of the largest canyon system in the Western Hemisphere, often spoken of collectively as “the Copper Canyon.”
Sadly, high infant and maternal mortality rates plague the people of the Sierra Madre along with inadequate health care, contaminated water and a poor diet. They are subsistence farmers who are also burdened with the heartbreak of frequent droughts and crop failures.
We are compelled to help the tribal groups in the Sierra Madre. They suffer greatly from ignorance and superstition. Worshipping idols and spirits, they live in fear of the “One God” of whom their traditions speak. Mexico Medical Missions seeks introduce these precious people to the “One God” that died for them so that they might enter into a loving relationship with Him. We seek to alleviate the physical and spiritual suffering of these people. We provide healthcare and community development, all in the name of Jesus Christ.
Born with a song in her heart, Katie Drake’s earliest performances were for family and friends, and by the time she was nine the California native was leading the music portion of the children’s service at church. Katie started to accompany herself first on piano, and then on guitar. She also played trombone in her high school band. Citing a wide range of influences from Lauryn Hill, Celine Dion, Trisha Yearwood, Karen Carpenter, Alison Krause and The Dixie Chicks to No Doubt, Keith Urban, and Shania Twain, Katie has a unique style all her own.
Although many of her favorite singers are also songwriters, Katie didn’t start writing songs until her mid-twenties. “I didn’t feel like I had enough to say,” she explains. “I hadn’t experienced significant emotional trauma or heartache, which is what I thought most songwriters wrote from.”
All of that changed after Katie attended her cousin’s wedding and heard a song she had written for her husband. “I came away wanting to write a song for my own wedding, which resulted in “Bless This Man”. Katie continued to turn to music to process specific life experiences—“In Your Shoes”, “Meet In The Middle” and “Ready For A Change” all reflected her experience working with horses at her Uncle Pat Parelli’s Natural Horsemanship facility in Colorado, but they were also among the first songs that Katie felt were universal enough for others to identify with. She has recently recorded a full-length cd entitled Speak Your Heart, co-written with writer/producer/musician Chris Caswell which explores the variations of expansive change, to include the amazing growth of her two young children. As Katie writes in the liner notes…“special thanks to my fans. Some of you are my dearest friends, and others of you I have never met, but I want you to know that you are largely the reason I do this. When I get to hear that my music has touched someone else’s heart it blesses me beyond words.” Find out more at:
www.katiedrakesongs.com
Holly Woodard
Holly is a blessing to Wanted Campference and to so many. A natural teacher, mentor and encourager, delegator and problem solver, Holly’s got your back and she does it all with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Married to the love of her life, Rick, they reside in Tuscola, TX. Recently retired from teaching Holly would like to go into full time ministry working with and helping others reach their potential however God leads her to help. When Campference was birthed there was only one person to call to help organize, lead and minister.
Barbara Collins:
Artist
Your Hostess for the weekend
Barbara is a child of God, wife of 30+ years, mother of six daughters and grandmom. She loves Jesus, art, music, writing, singing, dancing, horseback riding, the outdoors, being surrounded by family and having dinner parties with interesting people. She hopes you will enjoy your time in the canyon.
Wanted Campference vision is for women to retreat in a camp setting. The hope is that everyone who comes and experiences camp leaves knowing they are wanted by God.
