BORN:

NOVEMBER 4, 1938 IN GILBERT, AZ.

MOVED:

RELOCATED TO CORCORAN, CALIFORNIA MAY 21, 1941

SCHOOL:

STARTED KINDERGARTEN IN 1943 IN CORCORAN ELEMENTARY. CONTINUED ON TO JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL UNTIL MY SENIOR YEAR. MOVED TO MODESTO, CA. WHERE I STARTED MY SENIOR YEAR. QUIT AFTER EIGHT WEEKS. COMPLETED REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL IN 1960 AT NIGHT SCHOOL IN HANFORD, CA. STARTED JUNIOR COLLEGE AT COS, VISALIA, CA. IN SPRING SEMESTER 1965. TRANSFERRED TO CAL POLY, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA. 1968. GRADUATED 1971 WITH A DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING.

TESTIMONY:

ON JANUARY 12, 1964 MY WIFE, BEVERLY, WOKE ME AND ASKED IF I WOULD GO TO CHURCH WITH HER AND OUR THREE DAUGHTERS. I DECLINED, BUT CHANGED MY MIND WHEN SHE WAS ALMOST READY. THE PREACHER SPOKE ABOUT THE PRODIGAL SON. IT SPOKE VOLUMNS TO MY INNER MAN. AT THE END OF THE SERMON, I WENT TO THE ALTER AND ACCEPTED GOD’S PLAN FOR FORGIVENESS FOR MY SINS AND ACCEPTED JESUS AS MY SAVIOR. I WAS BORN AGAIN AS DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE, IN JOHN CHAPTER 3. THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY WALK WITH GOD.

I GREW UP IN THE CHURCH, AND MANY TIMES TRIED TO LIVE A CHRISTIAN LIFE, BUT IT DID NOT WORK. I WAS NOT ABLE TO OVERCOME PEER PRESSURE TO SMOKE, DRINK AND DO THE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT WERE EXPECTED IN ORDER TO BE PART OF THE GROUP. THERE WERE ALSO THE USUAL TEMPTATIONS THAT GO ALONG WITH GROWING UP. I HAD NO POWER TO OVERCOME. THAT IS, UNTIL I WAS BORN AGAIN.

BEING BORN AGAIN REALLY IS BEING REBORN. THE THINGS I HAD JUST DAYS BEFORE DEEMED TO BE SO IMPORTANT, BECAME UNIMPORTANT. MY VALUES WERE CHANGED. MY HABITS WERE CHANGED SUPERNATURALLY. IT WAS NOT ME, IT WAS A NEW ME. A NEW ME WHO WANTED TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH GOD, WHO WANTED TO BE IN CHURCH, WHO DID NOT WANT TO SMOKE AND DRINK. (PLEASE NOTE, SMOKING AND DRINKING ARE ONLY THE SUPERFICIAL THINGS THAT TO ME REPRESENTED MY SEPARATION FROM GOD. THEY MAY NOT REPRESENT ANYTHING TO THE NEXT PERSON.) IT WAS STRANGE, IT WAS AWESOME, IT WAS EXCITING. I STARTED TO READ MY BIBLE. I FOUND IT IS GOD’S WORDS. THEY WERE (ARE) ALIVE. THEY SPOKE TO ME. GOD SPOKE TO ME. I SPOKE TO HIM. THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE SPEAKS TO ME, AND I AM NOBODY SPECIAL OR DIFFERENT FROM ANYONE ELSE. IT IS THE SAME WAY FOR ANYONE. ANYONE WHO SIMPLY ASKS FOR GOD’S FORGIVENESS AND ACCEPTS GOD’S PLAN FOR SALVATION WILL BE BORN AGAIN. IT’S TOO SIMPLE, IT SEEMS. I DO KNOW THAT IT WORKS. I AM SO THANKFUL THAT I FOUND THIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

SOMETHING ELSE BEGAN TO HAPPEN. AS GOD WAS CLEANING ME UP ON THE INSIDE, I BEGAN TO WANT TO CHANGE MY EXTERNAL IMAGE. I HAD MY TEETH REPAIRED. I STARTED BEING NEATER. I DEVELOPED AN INTEREST IN GOING BACK TO SCHOOL. DOORS OPENED AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME FOR ME TO START TO WORK AT NIGHT SO I COULD GO TO SCHOOL AT COS DURING THE DAY. AT COS, ONE DAY DURING LUNCH, A JAPANESE GIRL INTERRUPTED A CONVERSATION I WAS HAVING WITH A GIRL I KNEW FROM CHURCH TO ASK “WHO IS THE JESUS THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT”? WE INTRODUCED HER. SHE WAS BORN AGAIN RIGHT THERE IN THE CAFETERIA. WE STARTED MEETING WITH HER EVERY DAY. SOON, MANY WERE MEETING WITH US. OTHERS WERE BEING BORN AGAIN. TODAY, I KNOW THREE WHO WERE BORN AGAIN THERE IN THAT GROUP THAT ARE IN FULL TIME MINISTRIES.

TIME CAME FOR US TO TRANSFER TO CAL POLY, SAN LUIS OBISPO. RENTAL HOUSES AND JOBS WERE HARD TO FIND THERE. ONE NIGHT THE LORD SPOKE TO ME AND SAID HE HAD A JOB FOR ME AT THE SLO CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE. BEVERLY ASKED ME WHAT I WAS GOING TO BE DOING. I WAS SO EXCITED, I HAD FORGOTTEN TO ASK. A FEW WEEKS LATER, WE WERE GOING DOOR TO DOOR INVITING PEOPLE TO COME TO OUR CHURCH TO HEAR ROBERT MIRANDA, WHO WAS JUST HOME FROM VIET NAM. ONE OF THE FAMILIES WE VISITED OFFERED TO RENT US A HOUSE IN MORRO BAY. SO, THERE WE WERE READY TO GO WITH THE HOPE OF A HOUSE AND JOB IN SLO. WE MOVED INTO THE HOUSE, AND I GOT THE JOB. IT WAS NOT AS A YOUTH PASTOR OR SOMETHING GLAMOROUS, IT WAS AS THE JANITOR. GOD DOES HAVE A HUMOR. IT SUITED OUR NEED AND ENABLED US TO FINISH COLLEGE IN 1971 WITH A DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING.

GOD IS CONTINUING TO GUIDE OUR PATHS AND BLESS OUR WORK. FORTY ONE YEARS LATER, I CAN SAY IT GETS BETTER EVERY DAY. I TALK WITH HIM EVERY DAY. ONE EXPERIENCE I CAN SHARE, HAPPENED ONE EVENING. I WAS STAYING IN A MOTEL IN MORRO BAY. I WAS ON THE INTERNET. SOMEONE SENT ME AN IM. I BEGAN TO TALK TO THIS PERSON. HE WAS RELUCTANT TO TELL ME WHO HE WAS. AFTER SOME CONVERSATION, I FOUND IT TO BE AN INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN PERSON. HE GAVE ME HIS PERSONAL CONTACT NUMBERS. THE NEXT MORNING, GOD GAVE ME SOME WORDS FOR HIM. I WROTE THEM DOWN AND DELIVERED THEM THE NEXT DAY. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW ALL THIS HAPPENED. I JUST KNOW IT DID.

ANOTHER TIME, I WAS IN A BUSINESS MEETING, HAVING LUNCH WITH THE OWNER OF AN INSURANCE CO., HIS VICE PRES, AND THREE ATTORNEYS FROM A LARGE NATIONAL FIRM. I ASKED IF I COULD OFFER A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING FOR LUNCH. NO ONE OBJECTED, SO I DID. SOME MONTHS LATER, THE OWNER OF THE INS CO CALLED ME. AFTER SOME SMALL TALK, HE SAID “ YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, AREN’T YOU”? I SAID YES. HE THEN ASKED IF I WOULD PRAY FOR HIM. I FOUND THAT HE HAD ONCE BEEN STUDYING TO GO INTO THE MINISTRY. HE HAD GOTTEN AWAY FROM GOD. WE PRAYED. WE KEPT CONTACT FOR SEVERAL YEARS UNTIL HIS DEATH.

ON NOV. 4, 1996, MY FIFTY-EIGHTH BIRTHDAY I HAD A HEART ATTACK. I WAS WORKING IN THE MOUNTAINS. IT WAS COLD. I OVER EXERTED. ABOUT 11:45, I BEGAN TO FEEL ILL. I GOT OFF THE ROOF WE WERE WORKING ON AND FELL DOWN IN THE FLOOR OF THE OFFICE. MY PARTNER CALLED THE FOREST RANGERS THEY CAME AND MINISTERED FIRST AID. GOD WAS NEAR. I COULD SENSE HIS PRESENCE. I REALIZED I WAS DYING. THEN, AFTER MY EYES WERE CLOSED, THE SPIRIT APPEARED TO ME. HE ASKED IF I WANTED TO GO OR STAY. WE WERE GOING THROUGH SOME HARD TIMES. I SAID NO; I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE BEVERLY HERE TO CLEAN UP FOR ME. HE SAID I COULD STAY AND THAT HE WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO BE GIVEN MORE THAN I COULD BARE. I SURVIVED A SIX HOUR TRIP TO VISALIA BEFORE GETTING TO THE CARDIAC UNIT. THAT EXPERIENCE CHANGED MY LIFE. I GOT CLOSER TO GOD. HIS PROMISES ARE TRUE.

OUR GOD IS SO AWESOME. HE CREATED THE UNIVERSE. NO ONE FULLY UNDERSTANDS IT. BUT, IT IS IN PERFECT ORDER. HE CREATED US AND EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD. HE HAS TIME FOR YOU AND ME EVERY DAY AT ANY TIME. IT’S TOO MUCH FOR ME TO COMPREHEND BUT, I KNOW IT IS TRUE. I AM EXPERIENCING IT EVERY DAY. THE LAST CHAPTER IS STILL BEING WRITTEN. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS MAY BE DIRECTED TO: BGG721@AOL.COM OR 559-553-3305 TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!