Change is in the air.

Hi!

Tonight as I looked outside of our front door I heard a voice of change as the secadias were singing their familiar song. Six weeks until fall. As I listened to them I realized that when God places a new change on our heart it is like he is singing to us telling us just a little more time until I come to get you for your eternal home.

Well change is coming to our household. The following is our prayer letter that we sent out to our prayer and financial supporters this week.

Dear Family and Friends,

This past year has been a whirl wind for our family. With Hannah graduating, getting her to college, moving Jon’s mom to Iowa, taking on additional duties with Village Missions as an Assistant District Representative and continuing to pastor the flock here in Red Cloud, we have been busy. Through it all we have seen the Lord’s hand as he has directed us each step of the way. When we set out on this journey of faith fourteen years ago we would have never imagined that we would serve four VM fields, (Wood Lake, NE, Pierceville, KS, Mingo, KS and for the past seven years we have served here at the Congregational Bible Church in Red Cloud.) These years have been a journey of faith as we have leaned and relied on the Lord for his direction, provision, guidance and wisdom.

This past year we have sensed the Lord was doing a new work in our lives. In May we were invited to teach at the Village Missions Candidate School and while we were there we were asked if we would consider leaving Red Cloud and becoming the District Representatives for the Mountain Central district which includes overseeing 25 missionaries and the churches they serve in the states of NE, WY, SD, MT, CO and KS. After much prayer we have accepted this new position and will begin our new duties on August 1st

One might ask is this a promotion, no it is not, because in Village Missions everyone is equal in position, we just have different duties. Our duties will require a lot of traveling, listening, encouraging and being a servant to the dear missionaries who serve on the fields. We will also be the liaison between the local church and Village Missions, and we will be representing Village Missions at Bible Colleges in our areas, recruiting others who may consider serving with Village Missions.

We ask for your prayers as we enter this new time of ministry. We will be relocating to Chadron, NE sometime the end of August. We have chosen this location so we can still be close to Hannah while she attends school at Frontier School of the Bible in LaGrange, WY. We haven’t had to look for housing for the past 14 years so this was another journey of faith as we waited for the Lord. He has provided a lovely home for us to rent from Christian people. We will begin our travels shortly after getting moved and settled. Our new address is 300 Chapin Street Chadron, NE69337 and our phone number is 402-746-8166. Our emails are pastorjonvm@gmail.com and debhansenvm@gmail.com

You may ask if we still have to continue to raise support, and the answer is yes. We still have to raise the same level of support as we have done the past fourteen years. The mission will be giving us a housing allowance to help us to rent or buy a home. We are so thankful for the faithful supporters the Lord has provided these past 14 years. If you have never supported us and would consider joining our team, we would love to talk to you about how you can be part of sharing the gospel of Christ here in rural North America. As you know there are a lot of unseen expenses with relocating. If you would like to send a one-time gift to help with these expenses that would be appreciated too.

As with all decisions, there are difficult things too. For us it is saying goodbye to the people of the Congregational Bible Church and the community of Red Cloud. We have grown to love them and they are part of us. The great thing is we don’t have to say goodbye completely as Red Cloud will be one of the fields that we will oversee. Red Cloud has become home to us. This is the place that Hannah grew up. It was here that we enlarged our family with the additions of Esther, DeeDy and Steven. We were also able to take care of Jon’s parents before his dad’s death and his mom’s move to Iowa. The church accepted them as family and loved them too. We know this parting will be hard, but we also know the Lord is going to watch over both our family and the church family here, as this change takes place. Village Missions is planning to have an associate missionary (one who has retired from full time service who does interim work) to come for up to six months before placing a new missionary family. This will help everyone during this transition time.
Pray for us as we close up many loose ends and say our goodbyes.

As for our kids, Hannah leaves on August 18th for her second year of college. She has been working at Quizno’s in Hastings, NE this summer and helping us sort and pack. We have so enjoyed having her home. Pray for her as she leaves here in August as she will be saying goodbye to the home, church and friends she has made these past seven years. After getting Hannah settled at Frontier we will come back to Red Cloud and finish the final preparations for our move.

Esther was able to go home to Korea this summer to see her family. She will return the end of August to begin her third year of college.

DeeDy and Dietrich are continuing their education in Leipzig Germany. They live in a small apartment and are enjoying their first year of marriage.

Steven is living in Chicago and working for Moody Food Service. It is our prayer that someday he may become a Village Missionary. He has a special girl in his life Grace Esther Huesby and we are enjoying watching from afar as they seek God’s direction in their lives.

In a few short weeks we will celebrate our 21st anniversary as we set out on this new journey before us.

Please be praying for the following: A quick adjustment to our new responsibilities, the new Village Missionary and family that will serve Red Cloud, and that we will be warmly accepted by both the missionaries and churches that we have been entrusted to oversee.

Once again we want to thank you for your generous prayer and financial support of this ministry. We would not have been able to serve these past fourteen years if you hadn’t played such an important part through your gifts and prayers. As we travel to the fields that we serve, we hope we can stop to see many of you along the way.

Blessings,

Deb