The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Dear Big Sandy Neighbors, Friends, and Family:

I am writing this letter to our community to say, “Thank you.” At the beginning of the summer, my family reached the 10-year mark of our tenure in the Big Sandy community. During my daily prayers, I rarely forget to spend time thanking God for the time we have lived here, the people who have become part of our lives, and the opportunity we have to serve the wonderful community of believers at the Church of God. As often as I have thanked God for the blessing, I realized I had not yet thanked the town. I do regularly express my gratitude and joy to those around me, but I truly love this community and want to express my appreciation for welcoming me and my family.

For a guy who grew up as an Air Force brat, with its lifestyle of moving every couple years, 10 years in one spot feels like a lifetime. This has shaped my sense of “home” into something most folks would call eccentric. Home has always been wherever I happen to be right now and where my family lives. Over the course of the last year, I have realized that Big Sandy is home in a way that nowhere else can be. While I am not blood related to folks here and cannot say that my grandparents homesteaded here, members of this town have invited me into some of the most precious and personal aspects of their lives. This is what I am most thankful for.

I have been blessed to have been invited to Big Sandy’s dining room tables to celebrate Thanksgiving, to talk about family struggles, and to laugh over a hand of pinochle. Thank you for making me a small part of your families in those moments.

I have been brought in to sit with families as they watched loved ones go home to be with Jesus. I’ve been privileged to stand with young (in age and at heart!) couples as they swore before God to join their lives in marriage. I’ve been honored to hold newborn babies and pray with exhausted parents over their bright futures. And I have been blessed to help loved ones untangle the messes in their relationships or heal from deep wounds in their past. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t feel honored and unworthy to be a part of the most intimate and beautiful moments in the lives of folks in our community. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lives on the sunny days, as well as during the thunderstorms or prairie fires that break out in your lives. Apart from God Himself and my own family, it is the thing I treasure most in life.

Most of all, and more so, I get to be the one who points to God in the midst of laughter, tears, anger, and joy with the reminder that He is there laughing or weeping with them. Words cannot express the weight of this honor in my life. Thank you so much for letting me be God’s spokesman in your midst. Although my efforts are imperfect, Big Sandy has loved and shown me grace anyway.

Finally, I am most thankful for the way the town has embraced my family. The Sietsemas have been blessed to see our family grow since we were planted here. I’ve watched folks love my kids and care for them. I’ve seen my wife welcomed into the community. Last week, my daughter commented that she is a “Montana girl.” I nearly pointed out that she was born in Indiana, but then realized that she is exactly that. She has been adopted into your town and is blossoming beautifully here. The same can be said for my boys. Thank you.

The Church of God, to whom I owe the greatest debt of thanks for putting up with me all these years, threw an appreciation party for my 10-year anniversary of moving here. More than once I have said that it was a party to express my appreciation to y’all for inviting us in and putting up with us. In reality, I have realized that it has been 10 years since I came HOME to Big Sandy. Many folks have wished us well and commented that they were sorry they missed the party; I hope they will make it to the 20-year anniversary gathering.

Thank you, Big Sandy, for everything. My family and I love you and are deeply grateful for the blessing that it is to live and serve here.

Your neighbor and brother in Jesus,

Erik Sietsema

Big Sandy