Jan's story
Nebraskan native Jan Utecht and her husband, Rick, moved more than a dozen times over the 28 years he spent in the Air Force and Air National Guard. Coming to Christ as a young adult, she had to learn that God had a plan and a purpose for her wherever she lived.
The couple were married in her hometown of Omaha, and then lived for four months in Panama City, Florida, before moving to Great Falls Montana where they spent a couple of years and had their first son, Jeremiah. When Rick was sent on a remote tour of Alaska, Jan returned briefly to Nebraska, spent some time in Hawaii to help family, and then returned to Omaha to take care of her father. During this chaotic time, she was able to spend one month in Alaska with Rick while he was on leave, and it was at this time that she came to know Christ as her Savior.
Following his time in Alaska, the couple lived the Air Force life, moving to Texas, New Mexico, Florida (where they had their second son, Richard) and Utah.
While living in Utah, Jan says she had a lot of questions about her still relatively new faith, and she wanted to pursue knowing the Bible more. She had a dear friend who lead her through the study "The Five Assurances" and then through the first two books of "Design for Discipleship". When Rick received his new orders to move to Spain, Jan was emotional about that move.
"I was sad because I had finally found someone to mentor me. I knew I was going to really miss Bonnie," Jan says.
The couple moved to a tiny town outside of Madrid, where there were only a few other American couples. But God surprised Jan when one of the couples invited her and Rick to a Bible Study, where they just happened to be going through the next book in "Design for Discipleship."
"What God brought home to me was that it would not matter where I would go, He would always be ahead of me," she says. "He is always in control and I didn't need to worry."
After two years in Spain, the family moved to England, where they spent about four years. Returning to the states, they lived in Texas and Oregon before moving to Fargo, N.D., where they spent the next 11years.
When Rick retired as a base commander in Fargo with the Air National Guard, they decided to visit their son who was spending a year in Japan for school. While there, a new opportunity presented itself when Rick was hired as contractor with the military. The couple then learned about the need for temporary missionaries to work at the Cadence International hospitality house in Masawa, Japan. While Rick vocalized that they were not missionaries, they felt compelled to pray about the offer. And after they had both spent time praying, they agreed God had called them to serve. So Rick maintained his job with the military while they also served as missionaries for four years. They then served as full-time missionaries the last two and a half years they lived in Japan.
While living in Japan, the couple experienced physical turmoil -- experiencing a 9.0 earthquake and the resulting tsunamis -- as well as spiritual opposition.
"Everything that was evil wanted us out of there," Jan says. "We encountered spiritual evil that undermined our ministry, and we fought a constant undertone of darkness."
But they were able to see some light, with God helping them to start their first Japanese Bible study after the tsunamis hit Japan.
But the temporary position continued on longer than they had planned, stretching their finances.
"We were praying that God would make it obvious what we need to do."
The answer to their prayers came, but not in the way they had planned or wanted. A CAT scan showed a bulge in Jan's neck, and she was diagnosed with a tumor.
The couple flew to Honolulu to discuss having a delicate surgery. They needed a second opinion, but were running out of time. So they prayed, and laid it all at God's feet, recognizing they were completely dependent on Him.
"Both of us slept great that night after we gave it all away," Jan says.
The next day, within just a few short hours, connections were made and God provided a way to get their second opinion. And God provided everything else they needed to get the surgery including transportation and housing.
"We had been giving of ourselves so much. We had one small country church in Wisconsin that prayed for us and offered support through connections," Jan says. "All these provisions God was giving us was just so reassuring."
Jan had a long recovery after her surgery, so they, sadly, had to close the ministry in Japan. They handed their Bible study over to their son Richard and his wife, who remained.
They lived for three years in Wisconsin before Rick took a job as a contracted instructor pilot in Gunsan, South Korea. While Rick worked remotely on base for two years, Jan spent time leading a Bible study for military women who worked on the base.
This past November, the Utechts sold their condo in Wisconsin and moved to Northwest Arkansas so they could be near their youngest son, his wife and their two kids.
Recently a second tumor found in her neck has derailed some of her plans in Northwest Arkansas and left her wondering a bit about God's plans for her here.
She says she has spent a lot of time trying to figure out her purpose. And God brought her to the conclusion that she was just supposed to live day by day dependent on Him.
And she now sees that her many life experiences leads to opportunities where she can connect with others in conversation and relate to them in their various situations.
"He just wants my willingness to love people," she says. "I know what it's like to be the foreigner and to be lonely. In the past I had to learn how to just be alone with God. It comes down to me and Him and His Word."
"God has provided for me in all circumstances. I've learned that He is completely trustworthy. This is a love relationship with an awesome God who is always showing me something more about who He is. I am still learning."
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