Brought to Whitehall by a Purpose: Meet The Trodicks

We each have a calling - sometimes it just isn't clear to us right off. We have to learn and we have to live, before we realize where we are meant to be. For Jacob and Brittany Trodick, their calling brought them to God and the church and, more recently, to Whitehall.

The Trodicks, along with children, moved to Whitehall earlier this year, taking on the youth director position for ages 5-11 at the Whitehall Assembly of God Church, pastored by Bill Lanes.

Jacob and Brittany, who knew (and disliked) one another as kids, have been married for eighteen years, and have four children (ages 18, 13, 10, and 8). Life hasn't been all sunshine and smiles for the Trodicks, but you would think it had been with their demeanor. They both are easy to smile and quick to laugh, despite the trials and tribulations of their past.

Originally from the Kalispell area, their lives took them to Las Vegas, then Alaska, then back to Kalispell. When their landlord left them in a lurch when he raised their rent by nearly 40%, leaving them living in a camper for three months while contemplating a move somewhere new. Previously, both had been heavily involved in Canvas Church in Kalispell, where Brittany had been the elementary coordinator.

The Trodicks also have dealt with addiction in their past, overcoming it for the last nine and half years through the power of their family and faith in God - which they hope to be able to share with the Whitehall community through their work at the Assembly of God.

"We turned our lives around. I went back to school, got involved in the Church, and we've gone from there," said Brittany. "It really was the Lord's will to let us move down here. Jake was pretty flexible with his work as a construction project manager and was looking for something new as well. And I had interviews at three different places - Choteau, Sheridan, and here," Brittany said.

"Bill [Lanes] got ahold of us first and I was like, it was probably God, but I was like we're moving to Whitehall! And she was like, woah wait a second! She wanted to explore all the options," Jacob said. However, in the end, they felt Whitehall was the proper fit.

"We have felt the hospitality here, we are enjoying the small town scenery - even though Kalispell isn't THAT big of a city - Whitehall has a different feel to it," Brittany said.

"Jake has always helped me with the youth ministry and he's doing that here as well - I'm excited to make an impact in any way I can," Brittany said. Currently, Brittany is getting the Whitehall Assembly's New Year's Party ready - complete with an indoor snowball fight, a hot chocolate bar, pinatas, a silly string war, and more - for children ages 5 to 11. "It's going to be fun! I really love it there [Whitehall Assembly]. It feels like family."

"I want to plant that seed and let the kids know that there's love out there, that they can come in and just get that welcome feeling. To know there's a place in Brittany said.

"The church has been very welcoming to us and very open to her ideas on how to be more inclusive to the kids of the community," Jacob said. "The school has also been amazing. The whole town has been amazing."

Outside of the church, Jacob owns and operates T6 Improvements, and he is ready to take on all of your building projects big and small. He specializes in flooring and general remodeling and enjoys reworking existing construction and doing custom work.

"It's funny, I've become the local handyman lately," Jacob said with a laugh. "My work has spread by word of mouth and I love it. I enjoy bigger jobs and I'm always looking for new business!"

If you have a construction job, big or small, for T6 Improvements call 406-314-9286 for installation, repair, remodel, interior and exterior remodels, and custom finishes.

And if you have a longing for a place to belong, Brittany invites you and your family to the Whitehall Assembly of God Church, where you will be welcomed with open arms, just as she and her family have been.