Our Background
If this is your first time to be introduced to us, we are Jon and Lisa Vande Riet. We were born three months and a thousand miles apart. I (Jon) was raised on meat and potatoes in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lisa comes from spicy New Orleans with its Shrimp Gumbo and Jumbalaya.
My ancestry reaches back to a long line of preachers and teachers from the Netherlands. My grandfather, who was a pastor, prayed so much he wore holes in the knees of his long underwear. He was also a writer and editor for the Christian Reformed Church.
Lisa's maternal side is Cajun French and paternal is Irish. Her Irish side, the Quinns, has the entrepreneurial spark. Her Irish grandfather, Francis Patrick was born on St. Patrick's Day. He came to the U.S. and tried settling in Michigan, but after seeing a sign at the Ford Motor Company, "Irish Catholics Need Not Apply", he went south and never bought a Taurus.
In New Orleans, Francis Patrick had a son called Pat, a grandson called Patrick, and a great grandson named Francis Patrick. Although the first Francis Patirck only had 75 cents when he arrived in the U.S., these "Patricks" now own a number of hotels in New Orleans. When we visited the clan back in Ireland one summer, their Iris charm made this Dutch boy feel like a Patrick!
I moved to New Orleans in 1978 to minister among Russian seamen who were at port there, and to help at a local church. I met more than Russians. I met, fell in love with, and married Lisa in 1979.
We have two wonderful daughters: Rachel and Mary. Rachel was born in Texas (She roots for the Dallas Cowboys). She has attended school in both the Dutch and German languages and later learned Russian in Moscow. She seems to have inherited the writing gift from her Dutch ancestry and has won awards in creative writing in both Russia and America.
Mary was born in Oregon, when we were ministering among Russian immigrants there. She loves pets (most recently talking us into adopting a stray cat) and is a "people person." She seems to have received the love of humor, storytelling and the "gift of gab" from her Irish side.