God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

JD and I have much to be thankful for, even/especially in the face of loss this summer.

For the last several years, JD and I have known we wanted to dedicate some time to doing mission work overseas. After tossing it around for so long, we finally decided that this year was the year. We would leave our jobs in faith and go on an adventure with God as our tour guide. Around Christmas of ’09 we starting researching and applying with different organizations and found OM (Operation Mobilization) was the most flexible, affordable, and had the most opportunities. We sent our applications which were then circulated to every world team they had. We then began receiving invitations, some more desirable than others. The first batch was to Pakistan, Tajikistan, Siberia (which we were seriously considering), Turkey, Austria, etc. the list goes on. We had been hoping for a Spanish-speaking country that was more aligned with our gifts and abilities and so we decided to wait and pray for a couple of months. Apparently, my God-father and Uncle, George, was praying for the same thing (unknown to us at the time). Then in March, we received an invitation from Argentina (our application had been buried in an inbox they later discovered) and were very interested in having us join their team. GOAL! Not only would we use a language we were somewhat familiar with, but they wanted to use us in the areas we were gifted in. I will be teaching things like art, dance, English, etc. and JD will be setting up a number of second-hand computers that were donated to the organization. It was the perfect fit, so we accepted and began the courting process. Later, once we told family and friends our decision, Uncle George said “Oh yeah! I’d been praying you guys would go to a Spanish-speaking country.” Again, God answers our prayers! (Thanks, Uncle George.)

Then, on June 30, my 24^th birthday, Dana College closed. We were out for sushi that night, when, with friends and co-workers, we found out the news. Suddenly most of my friends, me, and my husband were unemployed. Our Alma mater was gone. The place where JD and I met, made lifelong friends, and grew into the adults we are now had abruptly and unexpectedly ceased to exist.

JD and I weren’t all that concerned with losing jobs, because we knew we would be leaving shortly for Argentina and we trusted God’s plan, but in the meantime, I found myself faced with the task of helping my 70+ recruits/families through our loss and the need for a very quick change in college plans. The day after, I called every single one of them to figure out a game plan and to console/reassure students who had their hearts set on Dana, some since last fall.

About four months ago, the Director of Student Recruitment at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, NE began asking if I would come to join their Admission Team, and I repeatedly declined the offer. You can bet the night of June 30^th I was on the phone checking in on that offer and to see what MLC would do for displaced Dana students! They hired me on board that week and I began working there to make the transition for Dana students easier. (And I still got to work with most of my recruits! Have I mentioned how good God is to me?)

JD was invited to join Midland’s IT Team two days later; another answer to prayer. With only one vehicle, God gave us both jobs at the same location and made commuting a heck of a lot easier.

We were then able to move in with my parents on the farm which cut the commute and has allowed us to not only save on everything from money to groceries (thanks, Mom and Dad!) but has also given us an extra month and a half to spend time with them before we leave. And as lame as it sounds, we are secretly really enjoying living with the ‘rents. My dad has a huge garden in the back (think ultimate farmer’s garden on steroids) so we have fresh produce 24/7, campfires, unlimited supplies of beef, corn, and peas (did I mention they have an entire deep freezer set aside for such things? It’s like going shopping in their basement), and to top it all off, they have a dishwasher. *Sigh* We are getting very spoiled right now.

In addition to such blessings, some very good friends of ours in Blair volunteered space in their basement for storing our belongings while we are gone (thanks Dennis, Kara and baby Emily!). Again, God is so good! And my Papa is letting us store our car in their shed, so no storage fees in that department either. (There might be a small bean-walking payment, but I can handle that.)

Another big area that God has been faithful to us is with my art. About a year ago I created a 15 piece painting collection for an art dealer in Omaha, and after a year of their business changing hands and falling through, I got my work back in June, nothing sold. I asked God to help me take care of it before we left, and, surprise! He did.

Debbie Jensen, the owner of Scooter’s in Blair (p.s. her location makes the best Espresso Smoothies compared to any Scooter’s I’ve ever been to; seriously), let me hang most of my collection up at her shop, free of charge. Within the last two months, 13 paintings have sold and there is only one left on her walls. See a theme here? God is so good. He is unswervingly faithful to me. He heard my prayer and answered it. I have never been more affirmed in my faith than these last two months. He is even in the details and continues to amaze me with his goodness and faithfulness.

With much financial and prayer support from friends and family (thank you, friends; you know who you are), and after months of preparation, we are as ready as we’ll ever be to jump into the culture in Cordoba and start building relationships with people there, growing our own relationships with God, and sharing our relationships with God with the people of Cordoba.

God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.

We will love and miss you all. Until we see you next summer!-

heather & JD

p.s. stay tuned, we plan on documenting our entire trip right here...don't be strangers:D