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The Dreaded Support Letter

You made it to the end of the internet. Congratulations.

You’re here because someone handed you this letter, or you found ungerwhere.com, or you’ve been following along for a while and wanted to know what’s actually going on behind the photos and the journal entries. Either way, welcome. I’ll try not to waste your time.

My name is Ryan Unger. I’ve been a YWAM missionary since 2005. I’ve walked about 15,000 miles across some of the most remote terrain on earth since 2014, starting with the Appalachian Trail. Those miles include Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Jordan, and the UK and of course the US. I’ve photographed in 35 countries and I currently live in a van. I do not say any of that to impress you. I say it because it’s the context for everything else in this letter.

Why I Walk

The trails are full of people looking for something.

I know that sounds like a bumper sticker but I mean it literally. In over a decade of hiking long trails and climbing crags from Yosemite to the Appalachian Mountains, I have met thousands of people in the middle of their own search. Not for a summit. For something bigger. About 65% of the hikers I meet on trail, without knowing I’m a missionary, tell me unprompted that they are on a spiritual journey.

God already knows what He is doing in their hearts. I’m just there for the conversations.

A man named Thomas walked 200 miles with me on the PCT asking questions about Jesus the entire time. We talked about the Passover, unconditional love, and what it actually means to be known. We parted ways and lost contact. I spent weeks wondering if I’d said the right things, used the wrong words, missed the moment entirely. Years passed with no word.

“On his 4th attempt to thru-hike the PCT, at the age of 32, he found Jesus. He said it started in our conversation on trail.”

Two years of silence. Then an email.

That’s why I walk. Not because I have all the answers. Because the people out there are worth showing up for.

Ten Years Later

This past spring, I was doing trail magic on the PCT in Southern California — the kind of thing that looks pretty ordinary from the outside. Water. Sandwiches. A folding chair and a lot of time.

A man I’d met ten years earlier came down the trail with his wife. We’d stayed loosely connected over the years — some encouraging conversations, some difficult ones. I didn’t know what he made of any of it.

Before I left, he pulled me aside and handed me a note. He said he wanted to be clear with his words.

“You’ve completely changed the trajectory of our lives.”

He and his wife are now intentionally bringing Christ into the way they serve hikers. They’re plugged into a church back home.

Most of the time, ministry out here looks pretty small. Long drives. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Conversations repeated over years instead of days. You don’t often get to see the ripple.

That afternoon, I got to see the ripple.

These two moments. Thomas’s email and that note on the trail are separated by almost a decade. They are not anomalies. They are the pattern. The work is slow and relational and almost invisible, and then one day someone hands you a note.

What This Actually Looks Like

I don’t work from an office. My office is wherever the van is parked.

Each season I’m on trail, at climbing areas, in small towns along long routes, sitting across from people who are tired and honest in ways they never are at home. I do trail consulting for hikers planning expeditions. I lead pastor wilderness retreats. I photograph the places and people I encounter, and I sell prints to fund the next trip.

I’m part of YWAM Wilderness Associates, which has grown from 12 people to about 150 worldwide doing outdoor ministry in every context you can imagine. I also partner with Outdoor Nations Network, carrying a similar heartbeat into the trails and climbing areas of North America.

People who would never walk into a church will spend six months walking to Maine. They will sit in the dirt and ask the hard questions. They just need someone willing to be there when they do.

I’ve been that person since 2005. I plan to keep being that person.

The Ask

I currently receive $600 a month in missionary support. To be fully funded I need 35 people to give $85 a month.

I know that’s a real number. I’m not going to dress it up. What I can tell you is that every dollar goes directly toward keeping me on trail, in community, and available for the conversations that actually change lives. It funds the van, the gear, the travel, and the photography that documents all of it.

This is not a salary. It’s a mission.

If you’ve read this far you probably already know whether this is something you want to be part of. Here’s what different levels of partnership actually fund:

Monthly

Partner Level

What It Funds

$50/mo

Trail Partner

Fuel and supplies for one trail magic run — the sandwiches, the water, the showing up that makes the conversations possible.

$85/mo

Field Partner

Keeps me fully operational in the field — van costs, gear, and the long-term presence that earns trust over months and years.

$150/mo

Anchor Partner

Funds training, certifications, and disaster response work — expanding the reach and depth of what’s possible.

How to Give

Monthly giving (recommended): Give through YWAM Yosemite at ywamyosemite.org — find my name in the dropdown. Tax deductible.

By check: Write to YWAM Yosemite, 50034 Hangtree Ln, Oakhurst, CA 93644. Note it’s for Ryan Unger. Also tax deductible.

Venmo: @ungerwhere. Not tax deductible but appreciated.

If you’re not in a place to give financially, the second best thing you can do is share this letter with someone who might be. Or subscribe to the newsletter at ungerwhere.com and follow along. The story is still being written.

Every dollar in this mission goes toward keeping me in the places where people are honest enough to ask the big questions. The conversations that look like nothing from the outside. The ones Thomas and I had on the PCT. The ones that end with a note handed to you on a trail ten years later.

Thank you for reading. I mean that.

Ryan Unger

ungerwhere.com

YWAM Yosemite · 50034 Hangtree Ln, Oakhurst, CA 93644 · ungerwhere.com · Venmo @ungerwhere