July 12

Grace Church is filled with stories of people practicing the way of Jesus in their daily lives! Celebrating these stories is what StoryWorthy is all about! Three years ago, Jennifer Hetland began attending Grace Church. She has developed meaningful relationships, served and supported in a variety of ways and when invited to participate in StoryWorthy, she humbly agreed to share some of her story with us. 

"My story began in Albuquerque, NM, 1961. I was the third born, only girl and found out fairly young that I carry Cherokee blood. I thought that was pretty cool. My dad was a Minister of Music and my mom was a homemaker! I realized pretty early that I wanted to please my parents, please God and stay out of trouble! My brothers, not affectionately, called me Mommy 2 due to the fact that I wanted them to stay out of trouble too. We moved quite frequently and ended up in South Alabama in 1968 and was I raised in the south until I married.

Fast forward to 1988, when I met my Norwegian husband, Leif. We had our son here in the states and then moved to Norway for nearly 7 years where we had our three daughters. I also chose the vocation of Mom and have never regretted the time I was able to be blessed to be home with them. We returned to the states in 1998 and in 2000 we started Global Mission Awareness, a non-profit geared to raising up indigenous people to do the work of the Father in their countries, giving them ownership in what God is doing in their land. We moved our ministry to Peachtree City in 2012 to get my husband closer to the Delta hub as he travels up to 260 days a year.

I was in a season of needing a church home that was a bit more grounded in the Word! I actually met Charlie and Anna Nelson at a fund raiser and sometime after Charlie reached out to see if my husband and I could meet with Anna to discuss Norway as she was heading there for a trip. My husband is Norwegian and even though he couldn't meet, I could. It was through the dinner that Anna mentioned Grace! I came the following Sunday, wept during the first service and felt a hunger to get involved. That Sunday, on the screen were the opportunities to become involved in the community and I love that aspect of service. Anna and Kem quickly became fast friends and reached out immediately, praying for trips I was to go on, praying for my children and more.

I recently became a grandmother for the first time, Dec 2023 and again in Jan 2024. It has been a joy to continue to love my children by loving theirs.

God is still teaching me so many things. I was recently pondering why some of it had to wait until so late in life, but I am eternally grateful that He is still teaching! I have a strong plumb line that I try to maintain and share with my children, (now all adults) to try and focus on what is eternal. Everything else will burn or be left to others, but humans are eternal. Stuff will pass away and the only thing that is truly important is what we are "giving" the next generation. I want to be known for loving Jesus well and representing Him well to others."

Finally, just for kicks, we asked Jennifer what she likes to do for fun! She shared, "I love to bake and cook and read. I love to do Jigsaw puzzles! I can speak Spanish, (enough to get in trouble) and Norwegian and I really enjoy Hallmark!"

Hearing the stories of those around us creates opportunity for connection and friendship! Thank you, Jennifer, for being willing to share your story! 

Nominate someone for StoryWorthy! 

Wanna know what's going on at Grace? Stay connected to the events page through the app or website!
Coming up:

• July 18 - Mobile Food Pantry
• July 28 - Grace Kids 2nd Hour Leaders Training
• August 5 - Women's Back to School Breakfast