Joel and Joye Dicharry
An insanely creative family! They paint, write, sing, play musical instruments, build motorbikes, and they love hunting too! Don’t mess with these guys! Meet the Dicharry clan!
CR8VSPOT: There are so many amazing things the world needs to know about the Joel and Joye Dicharry clan. Please tell us about yourselves.
JD & JD: We are a big, loud, crazy family of nine! Our oldest is 15, then we have boy/girl twins that are 13, a 10 year old, 8 year old, 6 year old, and 4 year old. They all have unique personalities as well as pretty unique names: Thad, Boston, Astair, Legend, Story, Ivy, and Soul. Their middle names are all pretty unique, too, and are very prophetic.
—“We all joke that between him and our oldest, there isn’t anything they can’t fix.”
CR8VSPOT: We’d love to get some insight on the numerous creative sides to your family: from the parents to the kids...music, building motorbikes, crafts, photography and so much more!
JD & JD: Joel is a man of many trades and many skills. He is a musician as well as a minister, carpenter, networking missionary, speaker, and now, a Well Driller! We all joke that between him and our oldest, there isn’t anything they can’t fix. I (Joye) love creative expression through writing, photography, and nature journaling. Our kids all have their own passions and interests as well. We enjoy spending family time together exploring the outdoors and adventuring to new places. We do a lot of nature studies together on hikes. We have a hobby of collecting bugs! Our little girls would rather catch a bug than run from it. Our second oldest son, Boston, loves to study reptiles and amphibians and had a pet chameleon his dad caught in the wild when we lived in Kenya. Astair is very creative and can be found painting, photographing, and doing creative projects. Our oldest son loves to rebuild dirt bikes and small engines. He also likes to build PCs and is learning coding. Our son Legend, likes to learn history, and study the Bible. Story loves to play the guitar and write songs. Ivy and Soul love to sing in their “sister band”.
CR8VSPOT: As a photographer and musician, how do you guys stay inspired?
JD & JD: We have learned to carve time for what we love. It’s just as important to make time for our creative pursuits as it is for our work. For us, it is an expression of love for our Creator.
—“They have learned not to be afraid to be creative. It’s a process that they can enjoy, not a competition.”
CR8VSPOT: What do you do to encourage creativity in your kids?
JD & JD: Letting our kids be a part of our creative pursuits has given them a chance to discover their own passions. They have learned not to be afraid to be creative. It’s a process that they can enjoy, not a competition. Having them create alongside us is very fulfilling for us all.
CR8VSPOT: You embarked on a daring project called Commission Mankind. What is the project about?
JD & JD: We were praying for ten years asking God to send us out as missionaries. He gave us the name Commission Mankind and showed us a mapping system that would connect missions around the world. For years, that was all we had. Just a name and a vision.
We kept believing God would open the right doors at the right time, and He did. He actually brought a woman from Kenya into our lives and she shared her story of trying to get her village a well. We were moved with compassion and we knew God was asking us to start Commission Mankind as a means to get our family to Kenya and help them get a water well. We knew that the rest of the vision would come as we continued to be obedient to God. And it has! We are launching the website mappingmissions.org where every Christian missionary can be on the world map along with a way to donate. It’s a connection on a global scale!
—“…you have to drill over 600 feet through volcanic rock to hit water.”
CR8VSPOT: Tell us about the challenges you’ve faced so far, the cost of each well, how you got funding, and how many more wells you have to go.
JD & JD: When we heard God tell us to go to Kenya, we knew that we were supposed to move our family in January of 2020. We didn’t have enough funding for one well or support for our family yet. We also didn’t have a vehicle to get our family to the remote village we would be living in. God clearly told us that we were to walk by faith even if we couldn’t see each step.
One week before we got on the plane, we received the money for our vehicle! Later, when covid19 spread around the world, and we were advised to return to the States before the airport was closed for an indeterminate time, we prayed and decided God wanted us to stay.
The cost of drilling in this area of Kenya is $35,000. The price is so expensive because it is a mountainous region and you have to drill over 600 feet through volcanic rock to hit water. We didn’t know how God was going to get the funds, but we kept believing He wouldn’t send us there if He didn’t have a plan. We even started the drilling process without the money! But two days into the drilling, God miraculously provided the money through a Facebook campaign started by a friend in the States! After seeing God provide for this well, we knew we had to keep believing Him for more.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of villages in this area in need of clean drinking water. We came back to the States asking God to help us get funding for five wells in five months. We now have 6 wells funded!! We are planning to return to drill in late March.
CR8VSPOT: All your kids are currently involved in the initiative. What’s the feeling like for them and you?
JD & JD: It hasn’t been easy for our kids to leave their friends and family. It’s not easy for any of us to leave the fast-food! (Haha). It’s definitely required a lot of patience and understanding. Our oldest especially was having a hard time with all the travel and time changes. When we came back to the states and didn’t have a home, he struggled. But God miraculously touched his heart. When he saw that God was asking us to care and asking us to help these kids that we met and got to know personally, he realized that not having a home was small compared with not having clean water. We have to obey God, and sometimes, that is uncomfortable, but it’s always worth it.
CR8VSPOT: Adjusting to new cultures can be very challenging and fun at the same time. In what ways has your new environment impacted your worldview, passion, and creativity?
JD & JD: Living in a different culture has been one of the most rewarding and life-changing experiences for us all. It is definitely challenging and can be uncomfortable. But it helps us grow and love greater. It gives us a deeper ability to understand where people are coming from and what forms their worldviews. It teaches us compassion and brotherhood. Our new environment was so inspiring! Everything felt new and exciting! It made us eager to use our creative passions to capture everything we were experiencing.
CR8VSPOT: What other adventures do you see your family embarking on?
JD & JD: We love cross-cultural ministry. We have a real heart for remote people groups. Our passion is to one day bring teams into some of the hardest-to-reach places with the message of the Gospel of Jesus.
—“It made us eager to use our creative passions to capture everything we were experiencing!”
CR8VSPOT: If you had the chance to speak to someone doubting their purpose in life today, what would you tell them?
JD & JD: Hold onto the promises of God. Don’t doubt the passions He’s given you--they’re for a purpose! His timing is definitely not our timing, but He is developing the passions He’s given you so that when it’s the right time--you will walk into what He has prepared for you willingly. His dreams for you are so much better and bigger than you can imagine or dream up for yourself.
Joel and Joye Dichary are passionate about getting clean water to people in the remote places of Kenya, East Africa. If you are a subscriber to our channel or live anywhere close to that part of the world, please connect with them. You can see more of their selfless and amazing work on their website, www.commissionmankind.com.
