My name is Amanda Jones
I have been part of the #12minconvos team from the very beginning, and looking back over the last ten years, the impact on my life has been deep. To me, these twelve-minute conversations are more than just interviews; they are short, enlightening moments where I get to see a piece of someone’s history or life. Most of all, the podcast is a place of happiness for my husband, Engel, and it brings me joy just to see him in that space. He loves a great conversation!
The podcast has changed the very makeup of our home. Geographically, it affected my life by requiring us to create the space and accommodations necessary to facilitate a professional podcast from a home office. But the impact goes much deeper than the physical setup. Some very powerful and meaningful conversations have been "brewed" through this journey.
One of the most incredible results has been how it opened the world to us. The podcast acts as a point of connection, a touchpoint, that allows us to reach out and meet the voices we’ve heard. Because of #12minconvos, we’ve traveled to all 48 states in the U.S. and even across parts of Canada, visiting both the eastern and western sides. We’ve done these road trips twice now, once in 2018 and again in 2025 with the children.
These travels have resulted in substantial, beautiful relationships. We have very good friends like the Slingerlands in Tennessee, Andy Wang in New Jersey, Anastasia Button in Colorado, Gary Tessero in San Diego or Inez Bracy in Florida, just to name a few. I also think of Jean Kay, who has since passed away, but who reawakened a love for poetry in me because of the way she wrote every single day.
Jean Kay
Looking ahead, I am so excited for our new goal of 5,000 conversations with Jesus Believers. I love a great story, and I’m eager to hear the personal testimonies of how people have encountered God and how He is still working in their lives all over the world. Our goal is to follow up these conversations by visiting believers in 195 countries.
I’ll admit, I have some fears about the unknown, with different cultures and the instability of the world right now; especially with the wars going on. But as we go along, we’ll take it all in stride. Being the wife of the podcast host certainly has its perks and privileges, and I wouldn't trade these ten years of connection for anything.