It's so weird when I think about what was going through my head this time last year. I had no idea what was coming, that's for sure! I remember Terri telling me that she felt like she wanted to try looking for a different job in the next year. She was the director of our preschool at the church I grew up at in Sulphur Springs, Texas and I was custodian at the same church. Both our jobs were starting to feel like it was time for a change, but we had no idea what to do about it. I am the kind of guy who doesn't do change very often. Understatement of the year is what Terri would say to that. I attended the same church since I was born, lived in the same East Texas town for all but 3 years and stayed in my last 2 jobs for about 8 years each. Terri and I have been happily married since May 28, 1994. We hardly ever move around unless we have to. Little did we know last year what kind of change was going to come our way in half a year from then.
We managed to settle back in to our lives for a while after that. We had some great friends and family to get us through, as well as wonderful ministries with the children in our church and preschool. But there was a definite unsettled feeling in both of us. I've always felt in tune when God calls me to something and I knew for a fact that I was called to do even more in children's ministry than the opportunities I was getting at my own church. It is my God-inspired longing to someday be a children's pastor. I've even taken several online courses to get it started. I loved serving in the church as custodian but I never exactly liked the monotony that came with it each day. One day, I hit a point where I felt like I ran into a brick wall and knew I was being called to do something else. Within a day and then the following 2 weeks, Terri and I were faced with opportunities out of nowhere and I was on my way to Denver, Colorado as a 1 week trip to see what God might be preparing for us. I left Colorado that week with jobs for me and Terri, a church home ready for us and an undeniable feeling that we were meant to move all the way to the Mile High City!
Just over a month later, I was headed off with the 2 youngest boys to Denver to our new house we'd never seen while my wife and eldest son were about to fly to Peru for a missions trip for 2 weeks. I was the only one of us who had actually been to Colorado before, so they were all moving to a brand new state. With all that said, you should know this, I never would have done something so seemingly crazy if I didn't trust that I was following God's lead. I trusted Him so completely to not lead us into disaster and it has been anything but a that. We moved here and have a small but decent house in a pretty good neighborhood. We really, really miss our family and close friends but God has blessed us with lots of new friends and opportunities since we've been here. And I must say, we absolutely love the weather here! We had the hottest summer Denver has seen in years and yet we thought it felt like springtime in Texas, on a cool day! We've seen lots of snow and it is certain that we will have snow on the ground for Christmas! That's definitely a first for us! It was a huge deal to move a junior and freshman in high school, as well as a 5th grader to a brand new city and new schools without their friends. It has been difficult in some ways, but our boys have been blessed with some awesome new friends and a wonderful youth group and youth pastor, Brandon Dobson. They've been able to do things already in just over 6 months than they ever could have done where they were. God has blessed us with wonderful jobs and an absolutely amazing church!
I never made a real big deal out of the added bonus that I was going to a church that had a need for some leadership in children's ministry. The reason why is because, again, I trust God to follow through on how He's called me into children's ministry and time will reveal how all that works out. I have a full-time job as an animal/pest control tech that is very time-consuming, but let me add that I have never in my life enjoyed a job more than I do this one. But it only leaves me part-time to work with the children's ministries at Belmar Baptist and I think it's totally fine. We have a small church that averages about 125 or so and we love it there! Our good friend, Derald Gautier, who grew up here, is our pastor and he, his wife, Penny, and their family, including a slew of Gautier's and Sundeen's, have been unbelievably awesome to us all! Terri has been able to work with the youth group, which is something she always wanted to do and I still get to work with some amazing kids! I've slowly worked into the children's ministry here but the next year holds promise of lots of great things. I did get to help lead my first VBS this summer and we are starting a midweek program for the kids that coincides with some Bible studies the church is providing for the men and women. I am so looking forward to seeing how all this plays out and I thank the Lord so much for all His blessings and provision!!!
