Describe where you lived after getting married.

Being a Pastor’s family had many advantages as well as disadvantages in regard to where we lived.

Advantages – we were able to live in different states. Disadvantages – we were leaving friends and family behind.

We had little money when we were dating. So, when we got married, I purchased Noel’s wedding ring from a wholesale catalog for $11. It has lasted for over 60 years and is still beautiful. Noel purchased my engagement ring and wedding band from Klopp’s Jewelry in Blair, NE. I don’t know the cost but we were both working and had to make monthly payments for several years. It was well worth it.

When we first got married, I, Noel, took Ruby back to Dana College, where she still had two weeks to finish the semester. I went on to Dubuque, Iowa, where I was a Freshman at Wartburg Seminary. I went to Blair, picked her up, and moved her to our apartment at the Seminary. We didn’t have much furniture most of it came from my parents or Salvation Army. I remember that our bed and box spring were from The Salvation Army – kind of squeaky.

That summer, we moved into the campus trailer court. We had purchased a small trailer that was only 26 feet long. This was our home during my 2nd and 4th years at the Seminary. During my 3rd year of Seminary, we lived in Dutton, Montana, where I served a year of internship. During this year, our first son, David, was born. My supervisor pastor lived in Choteau, Montana, about 32 miles West of Dutton. We lived in Dutton for a year, returning to Dubuque towards the end of summer.

After I graduated from Seminary, Ruby, David, and I moved to Froid, Montana, where I served a two-point parish, Froid and Homestead. Later, another pastor served Homestead, and I served a rural church in McCabe, Montana, close to Froid. After four years serving Froid, we moved West to Chester, Montana, serving a two-point parish. The main church was in Chester, and the rural church was 35 miles out in the country, to Ledger, Montana, located on Bootlegger Trail.

Shawn and Brian were added to the family by this time, born in Williston, North Dakota. We served in Chester for seven years. At the end of seven years, we added Darin to our family. Mom and Dad and now four boys. We were blessed.

From there, we moved to a single parish in Stover, Missouri, located about 20 miles from the Lake of the Ozarks. We enjoyed our ministry there and loved the people. Some had cabins on the lake, so we got to spend time there enjoying boating and swimming whenever we wanted.

It was at this time that we added Phu Tran to our family. Phu was a student from Vietnam who wanted to become a doctor and we said we would help him out as much as we could. One evening when we sat at the table, he said, “If I am going to join your family, I am going to have to change my name, to Mark Petersen.” He still calls us Mom and Dad and his 2 girls call us Grandma and Grandpa. Today he is in Columbia, Missouri. He and his family have been a blessing to us.

After seven years of ministry in Stover, in the summer of 1982, we moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where we have lived now for almost 40 years. Thirty-two as a full-time pastor and now seven years as Visitation/Part-time Pastor.

God has been good. Great place to serve, wonderful people, and good friends. Now most of the family and grandkids and great grandkids live around us.

Again, we are blessed.