PASTOR, MISSIONARY ACRES VOLUNTEER STAFF
As children, we were raised near Gunnison, a small Colorado mountain town, not far from the Continental Divide. We were both raised in loving Christian home environments, and we both came to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior at a young age. Our relationship with each other began as teenagers as we got to know each other through church and school settings. We were married a couple of years after we graduated from high school and later had two children, Sam and Aimee.
As we were leading the youth group at our home church in Gunnison, the Lord began to work in our hearts about going to college and into ministry. At 32 years of age, we took our two small children and went to school at Northland Baptist Bible College in NE Wisconsin and then Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis. These were powerfully transformational years in our lives as God shaped and molded us for His service.
In 2006, through some unique God-ordained connections, the Lord took us to a small rural church in northern Minnesota to be the undershepherd/pastor. The Lord blessed and enriched our lives over the next thirteen years at Longville Bible Chapel. Certainly, the Lord used the people of LBC to help us grow in our walk with the Lord. We were allowed to see the work of God being accomplished in the lives of others and loved being in ministry there.
In 2019, the Lord called us to move to Pennsylvania and live with our daughter, son-in-law, and four grandchildren, two of whom are adopted, Ugandan-born children. Six months later, Covid hit our area, and we helped our grandchildren with schooling over the internet.
Almost six years later, the Lord brought us into contact with the very unique ministry for retired pastors and missionaries called Missionary Acres Retirement Village in Silva, MO. This ministry provides affordable housing for those who have served the Lord with their lives and need an independent living environment that they can afford and enjoy. Here we have found purposeful retirement as we help with remodeling and maintenance of homes in the village, along with some help with the office work. To be around such great people of faith and serve in this capacity thrills our souls and encourages our hearts.
Our life’s journey with the Lord has not always been easy, but it has always been good. To know that He is always present and always working is an enormous comfort and blessing to us (Isaiah 43:1-4). “Jesus’ presence is more than in the room; we are the room He is in” (Chris Tiegreen).
