New Chapter, Same Mission

Good morning everyone. Jeff here.

It’s been a while. We’ve missed socializing online and we are eager to get back to it. We have much to update you on. It’s been one whole year of silence. For those of you who have followed along on our Jeff’s Good Works journey, there’s a big WHY to the sudden stop in marketing. Let’s recap:

Last February 2024, Jeff’s Good Works hit and completed goals we can only give God credit for. We’ve had the most projects ever completed in a year, we hired another skilled contractor named George (who we are all enjoying) and my son Paul transitioned into a foreman role. It’s been marvelous to witness and of course challenging at times too.

Overall, things were looking great.

All of a sudden, my grandson Gunnar (Paul’s son) was abruptly air-lifted to Fargo hospital and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He immediately started chemotherapy at the innocent age of three. My son Paul and my daughter-in-law Courtney were thrown into a whirlwind of grief and uncertainty. Paul had to drastically reduce his work hours to be there for his family and our crew had to pull extra weight to stay on track and on time for project completion. On top of that, Courtney was organizing all of our marketing and outreach for the company. In an instant, she halted her training business along with her dedication to Jeff’s Good Works to step into a full-time care role for her son Gunnar. Therefore, 2024 went from stability and excitement to instability and setbacks. 

It’s been necessary to give Paul and Courtney time to recover and heal from these intense hardships. My wife Darla (who does the book-keeping) stepped into weekly hands-on care for Gunnar as he climbed through these chemo cycles. I was even able to take some time off of work to come and be with my grandson. The late summer was a brutal phase of treatment for Gunnar and we all needed each other at that time. I’m thankful we have a solid team of men and women who have all worked together to keep ‘the JGW ship’ steering forward so we could support my son’s family. Gunnar has had one thing on mind even on the worst of days: Play! So, that’s of course what we did. One day I took the day off to come play with him. Doing one of my favorite things to do as a kid, I took a left-over large box from a kitchen remodel and we turned it into an epic castle. (With swords and dragons of course) 

Regardless of these trials and tribulations, we all took an oath as an entire family to stand firm in the promises of God. We believed unceasingly in hope and for a full recovery for Gunnar. I am elated to report that Gunnar finished nine rounds of chemotherapy and officially transitioned to maintenance care in December of 2024. Recently, Gunnar has been thriving. He’s doing great with homeschooling; he has lots of energy, he’s healthy, happy and he is slowly starting to rebuild social skills after countless bouts of isolation. 

Because of Gunnar’s improved wellness, Paul is back to full-time work and Courtney is back to work with us too. What a blessing. Now that she’s back, you will be seeing a push in our social media content. We’re thrilled to show you what we’ve been up to and showcase some of our recent projects. We also want to take you behind the scenes to reveal the ins and outs of ‘The Life of a Contractor.’ Our new hope for 2025 is that you can get to know us to feel comfortable to allow us into your home. We want to knock out a long-overdue bathroom remodel or a thoroughly thought-through kitchen renovation. (We do much more, but these are some of our favorite projects) Our goal is that when you call us, you can get a hold of us! Have you ever contacted a contractor and they don’t get back to you? How discouraging is that. We want to be here for you and stick to our word.

God’s love and protection has been consistently surrounding Gunnar along with my son Paul and daughter-in-law Courtney. Even though there’s been suffering, it’s been also paired with tremendous blessings. Gunnar is cancer free. We have all witnessed countless miracles, endless joys and mighty spiritual covering not just from Jesus, but also from you reading this. The prayers that were released during this time were not only received, they were felt in our hearts and our spirits. Thank you for loving our family and also thank you for everyone who came to support my grandson at the Bemidji Fundraiser. 

Finally, our ultimate mission is relational. We all aspire to be the hands and feet of Jesus and we are committing to praying for you. We take our contacts very seriously and we make it a point to ask ourselves, “How can we serve you?” It’s much more to us than bolts, screws, hammers and everyday home repairs. We know your home is your sanctuary and we want to do our best not just to have a satisfied customer, but also bring Glory to Christ. Christ has navigated an intense storm that came on our family last year and we firmly believe Christ will also help us navigate whatever 2025 call us to do. Again, thank you for your prayer and encouragement for Gunnar and our family.

Blessings,

Jeff Haseltine