Marriage & Family
The Family They Chose to Build
Ryan remembers a turning point in Don's career, Patti speaking up, and the decision that kept their family at the center of their life.
Remembered by Ryan Nichols
Read the storyDon & Patti Nichols · Our story
A life shared.
A faith lived.
A marriage. A family. A calling to serve. Get to know the people behind the mission through the moments their family remembers.
From raising their boys to caring for neighbors, from a fishing boat to a village clinic, these are chapters in Don and Patti’s life together.
The family collection
The moments that stay with us.
A decision that put family first. A mother’s steady faith. A night on the lake that still makes a good story. Begin anywhere. Each memory offers another way to know Don and Patti.
8 stories
Faith & Ministry
The Faith Patti Passed On
Sunday mornings, youth group, and a mother's steady example: Ryan remembers the faith Patti helped pass from one generation to the next.
Remembered by Ryan Nichols
Read the storyMarriage & Family
Ministry at Home
Caring for their parents, helping their community, and showing up for their children are part of the life of service Ryan remembers at home.
Remembered by Ryan Nichols
Read the storyFaith & Ministry
The Ordination Question Don Never Forgot
One question from Don's ordination stayed with him: what would his priorities be in ministry? His answer began with God and his family.
Remembered by Don Nichols
Read the storyFamily Memories
The Night the Fishing Boat Wouldn't Start
Early in his marriage to Patti, Don took his father fishing on Lake Fork. The trouble came at daylight, when it was time to head home.
Remembered by Don Nichols
Read the storyFamily Memories
Fishing, Faith, and the Nichols Family
Don described a fishing book that would bring family photographs, memories across generations, and Scripture into the same pages.
Remembered by Don Nichols
Read the storyFamily Memories
My Dad Was Always My Superhero
Ryan remembers Don's Marine Corps belongings, the stories he heard growing up, and the example that helped shape his own desire to serve.
Remembered by Ryan Nichols
Read the storyFaith & Ministry
The Conversations Behind Don's Daniel Notes
Don kept the notes from teaching the Book of Daniel. He wanted future readers to understand the classroom conversations that went with them.
Remembered by Don Nichols
Read the storyThe people in these pages
Get to know Don & Patti.
Their life at home and their work in the mission field belong to the same story: faith lived out in the people they love and serve.
Remembered by Don and their son, Ryan
These stories are adapted from recorded family recollections. Don shares memories from his own life; Ryan Nichols reflects on growing up as Don and Patti’s son. Each story identifies whose memory you are reading.
Recording dates tell you when a memory was shared, rather than when the events happened.
Their story continues
Walk alongside the mission.
Read Don and Patti’s updates from the field, pray for the people they serve, or help make their next trip possible.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19