before moving to texas, wanda and i had been members of four churches…over a span of 39 years.
we met when we were 15 years old in my home church of national city first christian church:
by the time we got married and left for the lights and glitz of LA, national city first christian was running about 125 people (in a building that seated 300) and was about half white and half filipino. pretty interesting mix.
after we got hitched (at age 21) we moved to fullerton california and started working on the campus of pacific christian college as head residents in the women’s dormitory. soon after, we threw ourselves in with the church family at anaheim first christian church. it was the place we were both mentored in youth ministry. it was a really big church (for us)…about 700 people. it looks exactly the same today as it did in 1976.
we left anaheim after four years of training, and i became the youth and family minister of first christian church of huntington beach. we stay there from 1980-1990. it was a big church then. it’s pretty huge now. i’ve always took credit for the growth they’ve had. we leave…they grow. makes sense to me. here’s what the building looks like today. i’m not too sure about the purple color, tho…
in 1990, we raised our missionary support, packed up for our old home town of san diego, and i became the director of mission trips for amor ministries…the same group we partner with when we go to mexico in juarez. that was my “day job”. on the side, there were six families that joined together to plant a church in the inner city of east san diego, where we had all moved. the first place we met was in wilson middle school:
we stayed in san diego for nearly five years, until god said it was time for these so cal homers to move to texas.
amazing. the first church in 39 years that really felt like “home” to me. sheesh.
when it’s home…and it’s family…it really doesn’t matter where it’s located. even if it’s not 72 degrees with a cool, off-shore breeze.
can’t wait to be back.
I am a husband, a dad, a spankin' new grandpa (big papi), a pastor, a teacher, a fellow-wanderer, a baseball junkie, a lover of 24, waffles, the first day of fall , loud music, kids, play, the grace of God, and St. Augustine grass!
5 responses so far ↓
Debbie // July 7, 2009 at 9:41 pm |
You can stop rubbing it in that it’s 72 degrees in S. Cal. We were just 94 today but there’s the promise of triple digits within the next 24-48 hours. Glad ya’ll are having a good time, but it will be nice to have you back “home.” Took a break from the game to vote for Ian. Hope the Angels get stomped tonight. Thanks for posting pictures.
Jason // July 8, 2009 at 8:09 am |
Maybe we (Buzzy) could stucco our building and put some purple paint on it…………….I also noticed you had the window down while taking pne of the pictures. You can’t do that here without some sort of heat shield.
Raeshel Parker // July 8, 2009 at 9:20 am |
Come home “dude”….
Diana // July 8, 2009 at 6:14 pm |
Hey is that our Maxima?
That picture was from it’s better days, you know before our girls started driving it? It is now in the metal scrap heap somewhere.
Becky // July 8, 2009 at 10:28 pm |
Hey if I had to come back, then its time for you guys to come back too!
p.s. I filled in bowling tonight, but it wasn’t quite the same without Wanda’s little squeals of joy and acrobatics when she gets a strike.
See you soon!