Conversations with Buddy

Fausto is a young man who embodies the principle of making the effort. He lives with intentionality — choosing every day to show up, serve others, and grow into the person God designed him to be. He understands that true freedom begins when we “let go of the leash” — the need to control, to hold onto pride, or to live by fear. In letting go, he makes space for faith to lead. 

His life is marked by compassion and awareness — always making a difference for that one, always looking for those whom God places in his path. When he says, “I...

Gregg is a man who has lived with passion, vision, and a relentless work ethic. From a young age, he dreamed of owning a restaurant, and today that dream has become a reality with Independence Grill. For Gregg, it was never just about cooking food or running a business—it was about creating an atmosphere where people feel welcome, cared for, and valued. He has always believed in visualizing the life he wanted to live, and with determination, he stepped forward to make it happen. In many ways, Gregg is living the dream he once imagined as a child.

Tim is a man with a deep passion for both his hobbies and his faith. He has owned Kliever’s Abbey Carpet and Flooring, where he has always found joy in helping families make their homes beautiful.

Outside of work, Tim is well known for raising and showing pigeons—he owns over 250 and travels across the country with them. He also has a love for classic cars, proudly driving a ’69 Camaro and a ’34 Ford, both of which are true showpieces. Family is central to Tim’s story; he has two daughters whom he had the honor of baptizing...

Valerie was born and raised in Sequim, Washington, near the breathtaking Olympic Mountains, she has carried that appreciation for God’s creation with her throughout her life. 

Valerie accepted Christ as a child and sensed a call to intercultural ministry while still in high school. That call led her into a dynamic ministry career, with much of the first half spent in and out of China, where she lived out her passion for cultural education and sharing the radical love of Jesus across borders. Her academic journey supported this calling as well, with a B.A. in Chu...

On this episode of Conversations with Buddy, I sit down with Rich Duncan, Owner and President of Rich Duncan Construction. Rich’s story is one of grit, community, and an unwavering commitment to building—not just structures, but people and relationships.

Rich has a “find a way” attitude. His journey shows that great projects aren’t just about blueprints and budgets; they’re about people, mentorship, and the relationships built along the way.

Rich shares the incredible experience of being part of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where his team rallied with love and community support to transform...

What is spiritual strength? Isaiah unpacks the journey he has been on since accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior!

From physical strength to spiritual strength is all about being focused on eternal things rather then just earthly things!

We all get distracted from time to time, so how do we avoid going down an old road that we thought we left?

Isaiah shares what men’s ministry does for him and also the men he is around!  Bible studies, battle groups, mens discipleship and men’s retreats!

Men need to be invol...

Tim and I had an amazing conversation! He is a man with many gifts, radical faith and a love for Jesus! 🙏

He shares his life from a young kid who lost his dad at 4 years old, growing up with his mom and different step dads, to his love for music, the Marines, marriage, parenting 12 kids, the loss of his parents in a car crash & finally his journey of faith with Jesus! 🙏

His story is very compelling and you will be moved by his testimony!

Tim is also a licensed real estate agent here in Ore...

What is HOPE, you ask? Well, Marci shares her life from growing up in Brazil, living in poverty to now running a non-profit called Hope Station Community Services feeding 4,000 people a month!

Marci is all in with Jesus and gives HIM all the credit as her Director of Business! Her faith is real and she lives it out everyday, trusting God with the people she feeds and all of HIS provisions!

When Marci needs something for the non-profit, she prays and God answers!

Please consider visiting Hope Station with Marci and see what...

Connor shares his life, his passion and his faith! “Don’t die without Jesus!” 🙏

He is highly disciplined, gets up early and works out 6-7 days a week! His mindset is at a professional level! 💪

Avid learner… reads lots of books and devours podcasts for breakfast! 👍

For only being 25 years old, he has accomplished a lot… currently working on his masters degree living in Colorado, while finding his way to a career in coaching baseball at the collegiate or possibly the pro level along with starting a brand called picknpivot!

To learn more about Co...

Great podcast with Cole! Getting to hear about his upbringing, mom and dad, girlfriend, college, future plans and his walk with Jesus! 🙏

Hanging around young people and hearing about their dreams and desires is amazing and Cole is no exception…

He has a great head on his shoulder and a bright future ahead of him!

Let’s see what Cole does after graduation from Oregon State University, what career path he takes and if he makes his way to Bali to live! 😎

Psalm 118:1-6

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is...

Skylar and I had a great conversation about his life and the lessons God is teaching him!

You will enjoy learning how Skylar has lived his life for God through each phase of his life. From a young kid, high school, college, military and now to a husband and father!

He is still learning to have faith and trust in Jesus on a daily basis with all his needs! (PS. We never arrive on this side of heaven!)

“And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he...

Desiring to win at anything always costs something… what was the cost of becoming a 2 time high school wrestling state champion? Les Schwab career?

And now, finding purpose after retirement? How is God still working out HIS plan in Mike’s life?

Mike shares his life… high school and college wrestling, his amazing wife, kids, grand kids, a 30+ year career with Les Schwab and his faith in Jesus!

Everyone wants to win at something, but it’s rare to win at everything!  With that said, wanting to win in one area of your life will...

JD Shinn and I did 3 podcasts together in one day. It was awesome and this was the first of the 3! 👍

In this podcast, JD and I talk about his personal podcast, “Christianese with JD Shinn”!

If you want to have a conversation on what it means to be a Christ follower, this podcast is for you!

Labeling yourself as a Christian does not save you, UNLESS you have accepted Jesus as your Savior like what you read in Romans 10:9-10…  “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart t...

This podcast episode, Mike shares the difficulties or challenges in the different  seasons of life.  We also talk about God given gifts and how he thinks he is gifted!

Mike is a first class marketing/business owner! He realizes the value in coaching people and also being coached.

He is a continual learner, which shows his humility!  He cares about his family and also the clients he works with! Creativity is his strength.

For more information about Mike and Hite Digital, go to: https://mikegpeterson.com/

If you missed his first epi...

In this podcast, Kary shares his life as a coach! Coaching is a gift and a calling he has been given… knowing that early on, watching his dad coach sports, that he had a desire to be around athletes with his dad, and one day become a leader and a coach!

Like father, like son! 🙌

To be given a National Hall of Fame award as a wrestling coach, is truly amazing!

Well done, Coach Kary!!! 💪

The impact a coach can have on his student athletes can be life changing to them in their...

Kyle is an incredible human being! He has compassion for life, talent for basketball, love for family and faith in Jesus! 

Growing up in Salem, playing basketball in high school, D1 in College and now a professional player in Spain! Living out his childhood dream! 🏀 

Being away from family this past year helped him grow to depend more on his faith in Jesus and close friends who help him stay sharpened! With all this freedom now comes a higher responsibility! 🙏

I love some of his quotes:
“If you’re not early, you are late!”

A must listen… In this episode, we have our very first husband and wife on here sharing their life… Ashley and T.G. are honest and transparent about how they have agreed to do life and interact with each other.

They are super respectful and intentional about their marriage! Making their priorities focused on family and fun! 

Ashley is a marriage and family counselor and T.G. is a detective…. They share how this has helped them in their marriage! 

T.G. is an author as well. To order his newest book, “Cut Them Down”...

In this episode, Kevin talks about the “ripples in the pond” being the good or bad decisions we make that affect everything and everyone around you!

Kevin talks about growing up in Salem, family life, marriage, kids, grand kids, ministry, building homes and next chapters!

This will challenge you to show up better in your life as a man of God, husband, father, friend, brother and mentor!

To connect with Kevin and/or talk about building a home, go to: https://www.stonecustomhomes.com/

“But seek first His kingdom and His righte...

This episode with Rob is part 2. If you missed part 1, go back and listen to it as well. 

Rob knows the Gospel and has for most of his life, and admits that he struggles to continuously follow Jesus daily by surrendering to Him… we all do at times in our lives! 

Learning to live the authentic Christ centered life, the way God designed us, provides joy and peace… if we live out the calling God has on our life!

When we don’t live out the life God has called us too, like Jonah, w...

In this episode, Ryan shares his life… Growing up in Oregon, working with his dad in the family business, learning how to “work hard and play hard”, raising kids and the calling to minister to people on mission trips…. being willing to traveling far and wide to serve people they are going through hard times! 

Life on this side of heaven is not perfect, but God uses each one of us that say yes to HIS calling and Ryan is that guy that continues to faithfully do what God has called him to do! 

“For I delivered...

This episode with Rick and Sam was great! The calling of God to be a preacher is just that!  To obey God is to pray, trust and do what He has called each one of us to do! 

The conviction that Rick has toward his faith in Jesus, his love for his family and the calling God has on his life is incredible to see! 

The trust that Sam has put in God to move himself, his wife and 3 kiddos to Oregon and be a part of the Hispanic Church planting alongside Rick shows incredible fai...

Yes, this is my podcast, but my friend, Nick McWilliams, asked if he could interview me on the podcast! 

Of course, I am an open book and want people to see and know the real me… the good and the bad! 

To be authentic and transparent about my faith in Christ is what really matters!

I hope you enjoy this episode! 🙏

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down...

Adopted at birth… Todd shares the joys and also the pains of being adopted! Wondering if he was really loved!

He also shares his journey to faith, marriage, family, servanthood and also the loss that occurs with divorce.

God is still on the throne of Todd’s life and you will see redemption in his story!

To connect with Todd, and learn more about his story, you can reach him at (971) 304-9284 or email at ttzieg@gmail.com.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in bel...

Andy is a great man of God who deeply loves Jesus, his wife and kids!  Pay attention to a man who has his priorities in place! 🙏

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Cor. 5:17

He’s also a first born who is entrepreneurial with goals of building wealth through real estate. 🙌

God created all of us in HIS image! 🙏 God has so much creativity and the fact that we were made in HIS image is nothing short of amazing!

Andy’s pass...

Mark shares his life from really bad decisions that left him feeling empty! The world promises much, but always delivers less than what God promises! 

We are all ONE decision away from doing something that isn’t God’s best! But, thankful for the grace of God that is always available to each one of us! 

Listen to Mark’s transparent and authentic story that causes him to make some drastic changes in his life! 

We all have something that needs to be shared and redeemed… To be set free by addiction we must bring...

Great podcast with Mike! Anyone who has lived long enough knows that life will have its challenges, which he shares in this episode! 

Mike had a great upbringing with wonderful parents and siblings, but that does not translate into smooth sailing with no problems in life! 

He is transparent and authentic and shares the ups and downs he has faced and remains positive about where God has him at… 🙏🙏🙏

“Feed My People” is something Mike heard early on from the Lord and he has since opened up several restaurants and catering food trucks to obviously make...

Craig and I have a great friendship and it was awesome to have him on the podcast to share his journey of faith, marriage, kids, grandkids and discipleship!

He’s an all in kind of guy! 

If you want to be challenged, meet up with Craig! He will encourage you in ways you may not have thought of and there will also be some Biblical exhortation! 

Through our bi-weekly coffee meetings at Starbucks over the past couple of years, I have learned that we can mentor guys to be better husbands, fathers and disc...

Phillip and I had a great conversation and I really appreciate his transparency!  His conviction about his faith, family, filmmaking and more were the topics we covered!

His main passion is filmmaking and he is the co-founder/producer at Ambition Pictures.  Mt. Adam’s is a sci-fi film he was a part of a few years ago and they have a new film that is close to being done.  Check out the full podcast episode to hear more!

Reach out to him if you want to learn more about filmmaking… His contact info is:
971-273-91...

Rian is a long time Jesus follower, but is vulnerable enough in this episode to share an addiction he had and how he overcame it.  Listen to the podcast to hear the full story!

He’s also a husband and a father with a deep conviction to love his wife and bless his children!

His passion is around men’s ministry.  He works for Salem Leadership Foundation and also involved in several Bible studies.

To connect with Rian, go to: https://www.salemlf.org/staff/

#Jesusfollower #faith #familyman #SLF #rainfest #mensdiscipleship

...

David Brown in not just a guy I know, but a longtime friend of 45+ years!  He shares his upbringing, growing up Catholic… and the feeling something was missing as a young man!  But in 1984, he gave his life to Jesus Christ!

“Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

As David talks about in the podcast, knowing and accepting Jesus as your Savior, does not mean you never sin anymore… but it does mean you can humbly come to the throne of Grace and confess your sins and thank God for HIS forgiveness and incredible...

Jaffet and I have enjoyed deep conversations and this episode will prove to be no different.  He’s a deep thinker, similar to Jordan Peterson, with lots of questions about life, consciousness and walking in God’s truth!  

He admits that he struggles with this stuff… just like the rest of us!  🙏

The hope is that this will encourage you, the listener, to walk through Jaffet’s “Three sentence framework” to simply get you back on track to following God and being an obedient Christ follower that benefits you, your family, your community and the world! 

1. F...

Arjay talks about life… being adopted, his track and field identity and his view of God before and after accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior!

Life without Christ and feeling like he did not belong led to confusion and ultimately an attempt at suicide. 

Arjay was very open and transparent about his personal life…  reach out to him through social media and hear his story!

The Good News… God continues to pursue each one of us, not wanting anyone to perish, but to have eternal life with Him in heaven!

The encourag...

This is a great podcast with Matthew!  This is part 2 of his journey in this life!  Make sure and go back to also listen to our first conversation in Episode 97.

Learning to lean on the Holy Spirit who desires to produce fruit in each of our lives is the topic of our conversation!

Question….
• How is God working in your life?
• Have you accepted the free gift of
   ETERNAL LIFE that only Jesus Christ
   can provide? 
• Will you trust in HIM today and begin to
   follow HIM for the rest of your life...

Zak shares his life growing up with awesome parents, his amazing marriage, awesome kids, outdoors, hunting, wakeboarding, photography and so much more!

Referred by a mutual friend, Billy Botieff…. 🙌

A near death experience while down in Florida became a wake up call for Zak…

Make every day count! You never know when it’s your last one!!!

Reach out to Zak and consider hiring him for your photography needs… go to:  http://www.zakstonephotography.com/

For more Zak Stone YouTube footage:
https://youtube.com/@zakstone9821?si=ahhc-NISE9YdmVOM

Wake sk...

Gary shares his life, marriage, kids, ministry and being semi-retired… 

Concern for the body of Christ:
Easy believism
False teaching
Lack of discernment
Lack of knowledge. 

Romans 6:6-11 dead to sin, alive to God

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 reconciled to be ambassadors Christ... 

Colossians 2:6-9 firmly rooted with gratitude

Ephesians 4:11-16 no longer children tossed by false doctrine, Christian maturity, building up of the body.

Interests: 
Gospel Music
Jesus movement era or what some would call early Christian rock
Classic Rock. 
Most an...

Great conversation with Brandon!  Growing up without his real dad in the house and his deep desire to have a father figure in his life… he did grow up with a younger brother and a loving mom! Thank God for moms!

God does provide opportunities and in this episode you will hear how his Grandpa also played a major role in his life!

I appreciate the transparency Brandon has in this episode.  Though it all, he’s not bitter or angry, but grateful…  Maybe God was the Father figure all along?

Brandon is a husband...

Cary shares his life growing up with a great family in Southern Oregon and without the hope of Jesus… but God was calling him all along like He does all of us and eventually came to faith in his late 20’s!

His story is profound because God is always putting someone in our life to share the Good News of Jesus!  Listen to Cary’s story to hear who God was using to lead him to a relationship with Christ.

(Who is God using in your life to share the Good News?)

Connect with Ca...

Special Event: The 3rd Annual Pacific Northwest Men’s Conference “Unleashing a Better Manhood” is coming to Salem, Oregon on Feb. 22, 2025 at the Salem Convention Center!

If you could figure out how to improve your walk with Jesus, your marriage and all that life throws at you, would you come to a ONE day event to learn what those principles are?   

The Challenge: click on the link below and sign up for a full day with Chris Harper and the BetterMan crew… Godly men who are “Disciple-Makers”!  Bring a friend with you!

http://pnwconference.c...

Spenser shares his life growing up in a Mormon home and what he eventually came to believe at 8 years old!

“Beyond The Bars” is his life after leaving a career as a correctional officer…  but, it’s actually more of a metaphor for life before accepting Christ as his personal Savior and what life is like now as a Christ follower and the freedom he now has!

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free.” Galatians 5:1

We all want this thing called freedom, but it’s only found in a relationship with Christ!

...

David shares his personal story, from learning how to begin making money at 8 years old to becoming a full blown entrepreneur… Real Estate career started at 18, while becoming a 2nd Generation Builder, Coach, Mentor and much more!

Most importantly, he is a follower of Jesus, married to a wonderful wife and they have 4 kids… Family is his driving force!

Get to know David! You can connect with David by going to: https://poweredbyground.com/

#Jesusfollower #builder #poweredbyground #realestate

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For more stories like this, go to: https://www.youtube.com/@Budd...