The Helsing's life this past year...

Almost one year ago we moved our family to Iowa so that Dana could fulfill his call to ministry by attending a Lutheran Seminary! The roadtrip from Washington state to Iowa started out as an adventure and by the end of day four we were all worn out and more than ready to see our new home for the first time! We rolled into town, after driving through the most horrific rain storm I've ever experienced, quickly unloaded our car and truck (which held all of our belongings!) and crashed to sleep on our wet mattress in the most humid air I've ever been in! We were wondering at that moment if we were missing some signs from God or if we were on the right path!

Three days later Dana started his Summer Greek. This was a six week long course that had to be completed by the incoming class before fall semester began. Once that started the girls and I rarely saw Dana. He was up and gone before the crack of dawn and usually came home after we were in bed for the night. When he wasn't in class he was studying at the library on campus or with his study group - actually studying! Not exactly what we were expecting as far as time for our family, but it was only going to be for six weeks... so we figured we could make it through our lack of time together and his daily migraines. Just learn the greek and move on to the next!

Then he began fall semester and the real fun began. The schdule didn't really let up, just different classes, but now on top of that I was working and the girls were in school. You would think that would make things easier, but our life just seemed to get more chaotic and feel more out of control in many ways. Life as we had known it was over! No more easy weeks of Dana working four ten hour days and me being home with the kids. Now on top of his full schedule at school and his part-time school job I was working nights and weekends and we both were overwhelmed with trying to get some sort of routine for our family's sake and time together at some point before winter hit! Our home had a swinging door and it seemed we were never in it at the same time. It became depressing! We had no family here and the job I got was a blessing, but not at all what I had envisioned and the pay was definitely not what we were counting on before moving our family out here. Oh.. and did I mention that there were quite a few "major" costs associated with seminary that we were not aware of before coming here? And that Dana would be gone for a few weeks in January and for the entire summer in a chaplainacy training program, which we also had to pay for on top of tuition! Feeling more overwhelmed at this point. What would we do with the kids all summer, my minimum wage job was not even paying all of our living expenses and that didn't include full-time summer daycare!

What else to do but PRAY and have FAITH... all the time! I felt as though we had hit rock bottom in so many ways and had been humiliated in ways that I never fathomed. I had to rely on God and his plan for us at that point. Dana was so focused on school and had to be because of the intensity of the studies and the load of reading and writing of papers was beyond human ability! A wise upperclassmen told us early that Dana would have to "pick and choose the assigned reading materials because there is no way to actually complete all that are assigned in a semester". That should have been our first red flag... we were still in our happy bubble at that point though and oblivious. Ignorance is bliss.... for a while anyways!

Dana worked really hard and completed all of his classes fall semester and then had a nice winter break to decompress and relax a bit. He was able to be home with the girls during their break from school which was great! Dana was scheduled to travel to North Dakota for a week of "Rural Immersion" in January to complete his J-Term requirement, but the trip was cancelled due to severe weather conditions there. The farmers had no time to host guests as they were too busy trying to keep their livestock alive. Understandable.

I was still working for the craft store, but had transferred to a new department and around this time requested as consistent of a schedule as my boss could offer for our family's sake. He was very accomodating and did what he could, although it's retail and weekends are always required! I was feeling better that atleast we could have dinner together as a family a couple of nights a week, but still sad to not be with the girls during the week (they are in school) and then have to leave them on the weekends.

Then spring came. Yippee!! Spring has always been one of my favorite seasons and this year it proved to be the best for me personally! Things started to take a turn for the better. Around April we knew where Dana would be spending his summer, which turned out to be St. Joseph, Missouri in a hospital there that would provide him with room and board and an excellent program as well! This was exciting as we didn't know how we could/would afford to set him up with a place to live while he did this course. There are no local hospitals in Dubuque that can fulfill this particular requirement. So, he would be about six hours away which is manageable for us to go visit him when we can. We still had to figure out what to do with the girls for the summer. Our finances were drained before Winter semester even began and we decided we could live off of our IRS refund! Feels like we're going backwards in life! But God provided almost to the dollar just enough to get us through summer without me working. No extra and no room for error...nothing could break down and we would have no gas money to see Dana, but our girls would be cared for by their Mom! No idea what I would do in the fall for a job, but we felt certain that I could get another minimum wage job somewhere! Putting my college education to great use! Pretty much given up hope of a "real job" at this point as we will be moving in one year for internship now and then moving yearly for three years after that. Who want to hire somebody knowing that they are leaving in one year?

Dana gave me a way too peppy talk about having faith and that it was time for me to give up control and give notice and my crummy job and be with our girls for the summer. I just couldn't do it not knowing where I would work in the fall or atleast having something lined up. I'm basically the sole provider and practically failing at that! Dana kept talking to me about faith and God's plan and I finally literally felt like a took a physical leap and quit my job with just enough cash to get us through the end of summer.

Within days I had a call from a stranger (my neighbor's boss) who basically offered me a job without ever having met me or even seeing my resume yet! Who does that? I sent my resume to like 100 people in Dubuque and not one of them called me even for an interview.. well Target did. That doesn't count. And that's a whole other story, much funnier when told in person! So, after a proper interview and all I accepted a paying job to do Event Planning (my passion) for a non-profit Christian organization. Hellllllo? How cool is that, oh.. and I get to work from home so no daycare costs! The people with this organization have been such a blessing to me and my family. I have never worked for people with such a wonderful spirit for the Lord and such genuine caring and kindness. It's been a wonderful experience thus far and such an unspeakable blessing!

Shortly after that we received some financial support from the most unexpected places. A couple of letters and checks came within probably ten days of eachother at the most. I can't even begin to express with words how that made us feel... besides moving us, well me, to tears. To know that complete strangers are thinking of and praying for our well being was tremendously comforting and awesome!

And that is how we ended our school year! I had one week between jobs that I got to spend with Dana before he left for Missouri and that was an awesome gift! God stripped me to the core and then when the time was right he started to build me back up. I have come to love and respect Him even more and to TRUST in His timing and plan. It is a daily battle for me to give up control and trust that His plan for us will come together, I just have to let it and go with it. It has also lifted a huge load from my shoulders to know that we are not in this alone. We are on the path He has chosen for us and He is guiding us daily. We may take detours once in a while, or often, but I feel comfort in knowing He is always with us!