About The Fettigs

Amber was born in St. Paul, MN and spent most of her childhood in Western Minnesota. Jacob was born in Oceanside, CA and then grew up in Waconia, MN. They both attended the University of Northwestern - St. Paul (UNW) where they met in 2014 as teammates on the Track and Field team. They were married in August of 2017 and have two children, Gideon (born January 2022) and Lucy (born June 2024).

At UNW, Amber majored in ESL Education and Bible, while minoring in Intercultural Studies. In 2021, she also received her MAED from UNW with an emphasis in Culturally Responsive Teaching.

For his undergraduate degree Jake majored in Biology, Biochemistry, and Bible, and minored in Science and Theology. He received his MS in Soil and Water Management (emphasis in Sustainable Land Management) at Brawijaya University in Malang.

In February of 2019, Amber and Jake moved to East Java, Indonesia to work with Resource Exchange International (REI). REI is a holistic development organization with a mission of "building people to build nations". After initially joining the REI Indonesia team as apprentices for two years, Amber and Jacob became REI Field Staff in 2022. In June of 2023 they were asked to take on the role as Country Leaders for REI Indonesia. 

 

When Jake and Amber first joined the REI Indonesia team, Jake assisted a fruit dehydrating business founded by REI staff as a social enterprise to stimulate economic development and welfare improvement in rural areas of the country characterized by low investment, limited employment opportunities, and unjust wages. This approach allowed the REI team in Indonesia the opportunities to connect with individuals in these communities, invest in them, learn together with them, and collaborate with them to see their communities and nations transformed from the inside out. This business, largely self-sustaining, now operates independently of input from REI. 
 

Currently, the REI Indonesia team partners with Brawijaya University and the Ministry of Agriculture's Institute for Agricultural Instrument Standardization to provide education, effective standardization, farmer training, and the development of underutilized resources.  At Brawijaya, REI Indonesia staff will not only provide instruction and training for students and faculty at these colleges, but they will have the opportunity to create service projects and research programs for undergraduate and graduate students, training up future leaders in these fields with values of righteousness, justice and goodwill. 

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Our hope is that we would be able to work with the Ministry of Agriculture, Brawijaya University and other universities to focus on the development and utilization of local agricultural resources. In such projects, we would begin by approaching local leaders to hear what resources in their areas they view as valuable but underutilized, and then work with them and our institutional partners towards understanding those resources, integrating them into agricultural systems, and developing their value chains. As we develop these resources in partnership with the local people, we hope to pursue our holistic vision, investing in people first as the basis for developing communities. By incorporating university students in this process, we hope to train up professionals who value doing good for others and creatively use underutilized resources. And, ultimately, we envision noble-hearted Indonesians motivated by righteousness and justice trained up to oversee the continuing development of their own communities.

Amber has offered English Language education in a number of different ways, including through a local non-profit, as an independent tutor, and guest lecturing at a local university. She continues to explore different ways REI personnel can provide educational opportunities to communities we work with.
 

Amber and Jake enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and camping, exploring in the kitchen, reading and learning, and spending time together as a family. 

You can find links above to the REI main website to learn more about our organization, as well as a link to sign up to support our work financially. Thank you for visiting us here, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions for us!