Dr. Justin Kantner, O.D., Bluffton optometrist, says he’s testing his faith.

Really.

The test is to step away from his small-town practice and move with his wife, Elya, and their young son, Caleb, to southern rural Paraguay. There, he will become an optometrist and church planter. Elya will become a Bible translator.

The 2000 Bluffton High School grad joined Dr. Mark Yoder of Family Eye Care, 107 N. Main St., Bluffton, in 2009. Dr. Kantner’s practice there will end this spring. The family will move to Paraguay in June.

The Kantner’s story unfolds in the following interview with the Icon:

How did your intention to become missionaries happen?
A couple years ago something wonderful, and slightly devastating, happened in our lives. After years of my wife and I debating about going to the mission field, specifically regarding the timing of it; God spoke into our lives and wanted us to go now.

For us, there was never a question of if, but when. In fact, it was our call to missions in the first place that helped draw us together when we started dating. My wife, Elya, has been ready to go for years, but I thought waiting another 25 years would make more sense.

And to be honest, looking at the numbers on paper, going 25 years from now still makes way more sense. However, when I read the Bible, I find that very few are called by God during seasons of their lives that would be most convenient. In many cases the opposite is true and that seems to be the case with us…it’s certainly a test of faith.

Where are you going and how long will you be there?
We will be going to rural Paraguay, specifically the southeastern region. It’s a sub tropic climate - think Florida - and characterized by both farmlands and jungles.

Honestly, it would not have been our first choice, but every time we tried looking elsewhere, for example, Africa or Asia, God kept pointing us back to Paraguay.
God just made it really obvious to us.

How long we are going to be there is actually a good question. We’re really not sure, but we say as long as we feel God calling us down there. If we had to guess, we could see it being between 15 to 20 years.

What will you be doing?
My official job title is optometrist/church planter. We will be working with the indigenous people, the Guaraní. I will be using my optometry to meet an unfulfilled physical need because I’ll probably be the only eye doctor around for about 75 miles. But, ultimately, the goal is to share the Gospel with them.

My wife is a teacher, so she’s more than capable of homeschooling our son and plans to co-op with the other MK’s - there are about 12 families down there on the team we’re joining. But, she will also be using her skills to work with the local children and mothers, along with some Bible translation.

Tell us about your family. How are your families handling it?
It will be me, my wife, Elya, and our son, Caleb. Caleb is 5 and he feels the same emotions that we do. Some days you talk to him and he’s sad knowing that he’s going to be leaving behind grandma and grandpa and his friends and his bedroom and so on. Then the next day if you talk to him he’s super excited because when we get down there…we get to have a dog!

My parents are handling it well, though they get choked up sometimes, too. But what they tell me is that when I was a year old they stood in front of the church and had me dedicated to the Lord…and their not taking that back.  

Will Family Eye Care replace you?
Yes. I keep telling people is that we have a few lines out there in the water, but we’re still waiting for the right person to come. Honestly, we could have someone here next month, but we are being really picky.

Practically speaking how does this work?
Obviously we won’t have any income while we are down there and the only way something like this can happen is if we have supporters back here financing it. Thankfully, our church is handling a large portion of that, but the rest just comes from individuals who feel they want to be a part of the ministry.

That’s where it starts getting awkward, because here I am an eye doctor, and now I’m asking people for financial support. I think most people understand this dynamic, but it’s still sort of awkward nonetheless; and we still have a ways to go.

How’s Dr. Mark Yoder handling it?
With joy and tears right along with us. Truthfully, it was harder telling Mark of our calling than telling my parents. Anyone who has a business partner will know this, but in many ways being in a business partnership is like being in a marriage.

In fact we joke that we see each other more than we see our wives.  Mark and I have a great partnership. We have the same philosophy regarding how to run the practice with integrity and doing what’s best for the patient at the best value.  But he’s also my friend and mentor.  I keep trying to get him to come to Paraguay with me, but he’s not biting.

If people are interested in helping, what can they do?
We always want more people who are dedicated to praying for us while we are serving. In fact, we have to have 400 prayer partners before our sending organization (SIM) even allows us to go to the field.  Others said they want to be one of our monthly financial supporters and still others tell us they want to help with our startup expenses, since it’s more expensive than you’d think for a family to move to the jungle.

How much does it cost to move a family to South America and what will be your living conditions?
About $70,000! We’re seriously relaying on God for that. We’ll live in about a 600-square-foot home. It has cinder block walls and a tin or tile roof. We’ll have some electricity and a well with clean water.  

We’ll keep a large garden and probably and have some chickens.  Honestly, my wife and I are both minimalists, and don’t need much to be happy. We’re more nervous about the snakes and spiders. They’re huge and some are poisonous.

If people want to know more or want to assist you, how can they contact you?
We’re so excited about this mission, we love talking to people about it. The best way for people to let us know they’re interested is to email me at: [email protected].