FROM SURFING TO SERVING

I was born on July 2nd, 1981 in Santa Maria, California.  My mother’s side of the family are non-practicing Jews.  I didn’t know what that meant exactly until later when I became a follower of Jesus.  I would occasionally attend a non-denominational church called FourSquare Church with my grandmother Lois, on my father’s side.  Sitting in the front row with the adults, I would listen to the Pastor’s sermon and sometimes fall asleep midway.  My best memories in life would come from spending my childhood with my grandparents on both sides.  My dad’s two sisters and his parents all showed me the love of Christ.  I still remember seeing my grandfather Elmer’s favorite Bible scriptures highlighted.

Things changed when my parents separated and found new partners because I was made to feel out of place at home and, to add to the pain, my connection with my grandparents dwindled as none of my grandparents on either side accepted my parents’ new partners.  Going through my parents’ separation was difficult.  My dad’s girlfriend, Mary, did not like me.  She called me names which shattered my developing self image, she was the boss of the house, and she also believed in the “universe” or a “higher power” which my dad went along with, so without the Christianity I was raised on I became doubtful of God’s existence. 

When we moved to Pismo Beach I stopped going to church until I met some friends in middle school who invited me to youth Bible studies at Calvary Chapel in Arroyo Grande.  At this time,  I was living with my mom, who wasn’t strict with how she raised me.  God was giving me a choice on which crowd to follow and it didn’t take long for me to get wrapped up with the wrong type of people.  At age thirteen I was drinking, smoking, tried LSD and was also sexually active. 

I moved out of my parents at age sixteen and into a friend’s house where smoking pot was the lifestyle.  I had no structure or direction and was kicked out of high school for delinquent attendance.  I was sent to a continuation school but soon dropped out.  For the next fifteen years I was without hope, depressed and struggled often with suicidal thoughts.  I coped by using meth almost everyday for four years and felt like I was headed for prison or death if I did not change.  In 2008, I quit the drugs and got my GED and then began attending college.  I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but I found a rekindled passion for surfing.  I was still struggling with an addiction to porn and sexual immorality.  Most importantly, I still didn’t know God. 

In 2019, I started attending a men’s group at Harvest Church in Arroyo Grande once a week.  I finally picked up a used Bible.  Even though my knowledge of the Bible was very minimal, as I had only read the Book of Ecclesiastes in my teens, I kept going to the men’s Bible study because I enjoyed the fellowship.  My turning point was when we started learning details about the Bible through Dr. Bruce Wilkinson’s program called “Bible Survey”.  Immediately, disbelief turned into an insatiable hunger for more of the truth and I went and purchased my first brand new study Bible.  I started reading the Bible everyday, seeking the mystery of God and His plan for my life.  I consistently began attending church service on Sunday where I met a few mentors that have really helped me find direction and purpose in our Lord and Savior Jesus Chirst.  I am so grateful that God pursued me and used these godly men to be the male role models I so desperately needed.

One Sunday at church, I responded to an altar call and asked for prayer from Randy, one of the church members.  I finally had enough of my old lifestyle and felt a change from that day on.  I got baptized on July 12th, 2019.  Unfortunately, I fell back into sin so I got re-baptized by Mike Maddy at 1000 Hills Ranch in Pismo Beach.

In November 2019, I joined Mike Maddy’s daily prayer meeting and Bible study on Zoom.  The group of people I met on this call have shown me a love of family that I hadn’t ever known before.  They have really helped me to grow in my faith.  They hold me accountable to walk righteously and to abstain from sin, and they have also helped me learn more about the Bible by leaning on God’s wisdom rather than on my own understanding. 

In my youth at Calvary Chapel, I had always dreamed of going on missionary trips to serve in other countries, but no door had opened for me no matter how hard I tried to make it happen.  God never forgot my dream and neither did I… especially when I read Matthew 28:19-20 which says: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.  I continued seeking a mission field overseas but nothing was feeling like the right time or place. 

A couple of months ago, an opportunity to visit Zimbabwe, Africa for a mission came up on one of the daily prayer calls and I said ‘yes’ to a four month trip.  Having no idea what that entailed, I put my full trust in God’s plan, embracing the Bold Faith Journey slogan: “Going Not Knowing”.  In order for this opportunity to work out, there needed to be less of me and more of God.  I got rid of most of my belongings and left a good job, surfing, friends, family and everything I knew to pursue The Great Commission in a foriegn land on the other side of the world. 

One person who’s been there for me a lot over the past few months is Samantha from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who I met on social media earlier this year.  We chatted for a while, then I invited her to join the Zoom call.  Outside of the call, we talked and read scriptures over the phone almost everyday, getting to know one another with God always being at the center of our conversations.  She has the same passion to serve God as I do and we are both on the same page, willing to leave our old lives behind to follow God’s lead.  When we were both invited to Zimbabwe, feeling excited but unsure of what to expect, we agreed that it sounded like an opportunity of a lifetime and went for it!  We arrived in Zimbabwe in July and plan to stay until the end of November. 

This is my testimony and I pray that it helps someone in their walk with Jesus.  

The last thing I’d like to share is a scripture that really stood out to me. This verse was the first one that penetrated the walls around my heart and burst my bubble of doubt and disbelief:  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will  He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. – Matthew 6:28-35