Meet Carol

Once upon a time there lived a man and a woman who had a baby girl that they named Carol, who was destined to become a tall woman. Eventually she grew up and married a tall man named Charles Hansen. Since her husband, known to us as Hans, was in the Air Force for 24 years, they had opportunity to do a lot of traveling. They traveled to England where they visited tall castles and Germany where they saw the tall mountains.

The Air Force led them to Florida, Germany, Indiana, Washington State, England, and finally to North Dakota, where they eventually retired and now call home. They have four children who are coincidentally also tall: Richard (who is married to Natalie), Anna, Sarah, and Sharon.

However, this story is not a tall tale. It is a true story about our sister, Carol Hansen. She was born in Minnesota to her parents Gerrit and Gladys Jansma. She was the baby of the family, having two sisters Judy and Mavis, and four half brothers who were born to her father and his first wife who died of cancer. Three of the brothers have gone on to meet their Lord. Carol has many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and even a couple of great great nieces and nephews. Their large family often got together at Thanksgiving and Christmas. They loved to have sing-alongs. One of her fondest memories is that of listening to her "Papa" sing, using only the musical syllables. He was a very good singer and could sing any song like that. (Quite a talent!) Her family passed on to her a desire to do whatever God would have her do.

Not only her parents, who have both passed away, were responsible for leaving her this legacy, but so were a special uncle of hers, who was a Baptist preacher, and his wife who had a talent for always bringing her Lord into every conversation or situation that she encountered.

While growing up, her family took special vacations. They visited family in Iowa, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver. One of the special trips she remembers was when they drove to Alaska on the ALCAN highway to visit relatives. She also toured with her Bible college choir on two trips. All in all, her traveling has taken her to every state except Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Hawaii. Perhaps she'll be able to make it to all 50 in her future.

Prior to being married, Carol had three years of Bible college and one year of business education. Her single years were spent in Minneapolis, MN; Panama City, FL; and Conway, SC. She has worked as a general secretary to: two Christian schools, two Pastors in different parts of the country, three real estate offices, and the University of North Dakota. She likes her current job as volunteer secretary at New Testament Baptist Christian School in Larimore the best, because it gives her opportunity to work with the greatest people. We love having her there too.

We enjoy hearing Carol sing in our choir and special music groups! She is one of our piano players also. In addition to her love of music, she likes to play board games, eat special desserts, and enjoy the lovely colors God created in autumn. She is an excellent seamstress and identifies with Dorcas in the Bible because she made clothes for others. Her creative sewing talent has been shared with others in the form of quilts and afghans. I am a recipient of one of her lovely quilts. She also enjoys reading.

God and the US Air Force brought Carol and Hans to Larimore. Hans chose to retire and stay here for two reasons: first, so that they could remain members of our church, and second, so that their children could be raised in a somewhat safe environment. They have a strong desire that all of their children will choose to be saved and to live their lives in a God-pleasing way.

As far as Carol is concerned, she believes that the Bible has all of the answers for her life. Most precious to her is knowing the acceptance that she received from her God when she was still a child. She loves the Bible verse Zephaniah 3:17, "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy: He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing."

It is awesome for her to think that God rests in His love and will rejoice over her! She also has some favorite hymns including, "Under His Wings", "How Great Thou Art", "Face To Face", "Ivory Palaces", "O To Be Like Thee", "Channels Only", and "Sunshine In My Soul", especially the words of the second verse 'a carol to my King'. She thinks of herself as that Carol to her King when she sings it.

She tells me that the greatest lesson she has learned in our church is that being critical of others is harmful to her, and causes her to lose ground in the Christian life. She strongly believes that "The Bible way is the best way" to live.

This month, October 26th, she and her husband will celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary. They've been privileged to spend these years together as best friends. We congratulate them and wish them much continued happiness together.

We are blessed that God brought you to us.