Moved by Love
Motivated Health By Don White
How unlikely is it that Daniel and Kristina McFeeters can get people in an area noted for obesity to commit to healthy eating habits? Some might say as unlikely as the circumstances leading to their commitment to each other. The 29-year-olds have lived in a modest home near Cumberland Falls for three years now, practicing what they preach. How they came to be here is a love story with more twists than an organic fruit rope. “When we first met at age 10, I had no idea we’d ever get together, and Kentucky was nothing more than as name to memorize in home school geography class,” says Kristina. Daniel, naturally shy, wasn’t sure what to make of the opinionated and outspoken cute little girl in the wirerimmed glasses. “We had a few arguments, but we must have made up, because I gave her one of the potted Creeping Charlie plants I was selling as a home business.” Though they were childhood acquaintances in Washington State, their paths soon parted ways, and eventually Daniel’s family moved to Somerset when his father found a teaching position at Somerset Community College in 1997. Upon arrival in Pulaski County, their first two weeks were spent living in a tent on Burnside Island while searching for a more permanent home. Both Daniel and Kristina were home schooled through high school and started out early as entrepreneurs, with Daniel opening a computer consulting business at the age of 16. The fall he enrolled in Somerset Community College, Kristina drove from Washington State to attend her second year at a Bible college in Arkansas. She 32
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took a side trip to help with a Christian home school seminar in Virginia and needed a place to stay in Kentucky
on her way to school. She contacted Daniel’s family through a mutual friend, and that meeting set the stage for a renewed friendship. Kristina worked in 18 different states selling Christian books door-to-door to earn her way through school, and trained high school and college students how to do the trade. After graduating from college, she and Daniel worked together to start a Christian ministry to teach others how to use nature to illustrate the Bible. Working together convinced them to make a lifetime commitment. Soon after marrying in March of 2009, they moved into their home in McCreary County. “People ask us, ‘Why on earth did you move to McCreary County?’ The answer is simple: for one, we love the beauty of the area, with lots of opportunities for hiking, canoeing, camping, and photography close by,”
says Kristina. “But just as much, we realized that our neighbors in this community have many needs in the area of health. If you look at the national statistics, McCreary has some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and other conditions that relate directly to lifestyle. We wanted to be able to help our community, so it seemed the best place to start. “Our faith is really what motivates us to do what we do. We want to help people-to see them live better lives. As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we believe in a holistic approach to healing and to spirituality in general. If you’re not feeling well, your mind can have a harder time comprehending spiritual things. Jesus spent as much time healing people as he did teaching, so we believe in investing in health and sharing with others how to live better lives.” Kristina has always loved cooking healthy meals from scratch, canning, preserving food, and gardening. Both of her parents come from a medical background, her mother being a nurse and her father being a nurse and optometrist. Kristina and Daniel both grew up assisting their parents with cooking classes and community health events. “Coming from Northeast Washington, where almost everyone is a health nut, I was shocked to find how much our friends here don’t know about basic things like fruits and vegetables,” she says. The slim and energetic young couple follow a strict vegetarian diet. “We do it for health reasons,” says Kristina. “We don’t condemn people who don’t follow the same diet, but we’ve been this way since we were teenagers, and I know we’re a lot healthier for it.” Kristina has also had health
Southern Kentucky Health & Family Journal